Chapter Five

1–5. Murmuring among the Jews. 6–11. Nehemiah’s impact on the nobles and those in authority. 12–13. The oath given by the people. 14–15. A characterization of Nehemiah’s work as governor.

Nehemiah 5:1. And there arose a great murmuring among the people and their wives against their brothers, the Jews. “And there arose a great murmuring among the people and their wives.” The circumstances described at the beginning of chapter 5 apparently took place during the period of building the walls. The murmuring arose among the lower classes of the people. As is evident from what follows, the cause of the murmuring was the difficult situation created, on one hand, by the obligation to work without pay on the city walls, and on the other, by exploitation from the “nobles and those in authority” (v. 7). It was precisely against the latter that the murmuring arose (“against their brothers, the Jews”).

Nehemiah 5:2. There were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; and we want to obtain grain and eat and live. In verse 2, the discourse is about proletarians who had no fields of their own and, at the same time, being occupied with unpaid public work, could not earn bread for themselves. They therefore asked to be given grain.

Nehemiah 5:3. There were also those who said, “Our fields, our vineyards, and our houses we are mortgaging in order to obtain grain during the famine. But the owners of fields and vineyards also suffered want because of the high price of grain that had begun, which was apparently caused by a) the concentration of people in Jerusalem, b) the lack of transport from neighbors with whom there were hostile relations, and c) the inability to engage in proper cultivation of fields and vineyards. Fearing to give all their property as a pledge, small landowners also turned with a request for grain.

Nehemiah 5:4. There were also those who said, “We have borrowed silver for the king’s tax against our fields and our vineyards; Nehemiah 5:5. Our bodies are like the bodies of our brothers, and our sons are like their sons; and see, we are about to surrender our sons and our daughters to slavery, and some of our daughters are already enslaved. We have no means for redemption in our hands; and our fields and our vineyards are in the hands of others. Even more difficult was the situation of those who, having already mortgaged their fields and vineyards, were forced to sell their sons and daughters into slavery in order to obtain grain (cf. Lev 25:14-17; Exod 21:7; Jer 34:8-11).

Nehemiah 5:6. When I heard their murmuring and such words, I was very angry. “I was very angry,” – that is to say, at the rich and the noble who had violated the law.

Nehemiah 5:7. My heart was troubled, and I rebuked the nobles and those in authority and said to them, “You are taking interest from your brothers.” And I called a great assembly against them Nehemiah immediately turned to the nobles and the rich with a reproach that they were taking interest from their brothers. The law of Moses forbids charging interest to a fellow countryman (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36; Deut 23:20). Therefore the action of the Jerusalem rich was a violation of the law.

Nehemiah 5:8. And I said to them, “We, as much as we were able, redeemed our brothers, the Jews, who had been sold to the nations; and yet you are selling your brothers so that they might be sold back to us?” They were silent and did not find an answer. Nehemiah 5:9. And I said, “It is not good that you are doing. Should you not walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of the nations, our enemies? In rebuking the violators of the law, Nehemiah, as an example, pointed to himself and those near him. “We redeemed,” that is, Nehemiah and those near him, – redeemed, evidently, in Babylon. Along with this, Nehemiah reminds them of the need to observe the law as the condition by which the disgrace of the people would cease and blessings might be sent to them from the Lord.

Nehemiah 5:10. Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants have been lending them silver and grain. Let us forgive this debt. Nehemiah 5:11. Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, and the one hundredth part of the silver, grain, new wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them. From verse 10, it is clear that Nehemiah reproaches the creditors for the fact that they took pledges, which he himself and those near him did not do. In conclusion, he invites the creditors to forgive the debts (Slavonic: “let us forgive the usury”), return the pledges, and the interest that was taken.

Nehemiah 5:12. Then they said, “We will return them and will not demand anything from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear that they would do this. Nehemiah 5:13. Also I shook out my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone who does not keep this promise from his house and from his labor, and may he be thus shaken out and emptied!” And all the assembly said, “Amen.” And they praised God; and the people kept their word on this. Those who were reproached expressed their agreement to submit to Nehemiah’s admonition, and in order to make this decision binding for the future, Nehemiah took from them a solemn oath. – “And I called the priests and made them swear” – them – not the priests, but the creditors. After the oath, the decision of the nobles and the rich was confirmed by a symbolic action (cf. Acts 18:6) and the pronouncement of “Amen,” which confirmed all that had been said. – “And they praised God” – because, on one hand, the situation of the poor was eased, and on the other, peace and unity in the community were restored.

Nehemiah 5:14. Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The reference to his own example, made in the address to those who had violated the law (v. 8), gives occasion for Nehemiah to characterize his work in general for the benefit of the people. (“Moreover,” that is, in addition to what was said in v. 10). Here also is noted the duration of Nehemiah’s work. – “Did not eat the food allowance of the governor,” that is, did not take the sum that is allotted for the governor’s table.

Nehemiah 5:15. But the earlier governors, who were before me, had oppressed the people and had taken from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants ruled over the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. The unselfishness of Nehemiah is all the more remarkable in that the former governors, not known to us, burdened the people with exactions, and this, evidently, had become recognized by all as a custom. “Took from them bread and wine, besides (achar) forty shekels of silver.” These last words are not clear, and the meaning of the Hebrew achar, rendered in the Russian as “besides,” is rendered differently in other texts – among the Septuagint as eschaton (last), in the Vulgate as quotidie (daily), and in the Syriac it is omitted entirely. The Slavonic text, combining the reading of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, translates as “besides the silver (daily) forty drachmas.” Accordingly, the meaning of the expression is determined differently among exegetes. Apparently the thought of the expression is that the governors demanded more than 40 shekels, which were assigned to them for the table. 40 shekels equal about 46–48 rubles in our money.

Nehemiah 5:16. Moreover, I devoted myself to the work on this wall; and we did not acquire fields, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. “And we did not acquire fields.” The meaning of the words is not entirely clear. The thought is either that Nehemiah did not take advantage of the difficult time and did not buy fields for himself (Ryssel), or that although Nehemiah and his immediate associates were not property owners with fields, nevertheless they took part in building the wall.

Nehemiah 5:17. There were at my table one hundred fifty of the Jews and the officials, besides those who came to us from the neighboring nations. “Besides those who came to us from the neighboring nations.” These refer to Jews who lived outside the small territory occupied by the returned community.

Nehemiah 5:18. And there was prepared for me each day one ox, six choice sheep, and birds; and once every ten days all kinds of wine were furnished. Yet in spite of all this, I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the heavy service weighed upon this people. “And once every ten days all kinds of wine were furnished.” The indication of ten days without the designation of a definite quantity of wine is unclear. The thought of the expression may be that the wine supply was replenished every ten days.