Nehemia 5:3-4

5:3 There were others who said, “We are putting up our fields, our vineyards, and our houses as collateral in order to obtain grain during the famine.” 5:4 Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king ¹  on our fields and our vineyards.

Nehemia 5:11

5:11 This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ²  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

Nehemia 5:5

5:5 And now, though we share the same flesh and blood as our fellow countrymen, ³  and our children are just like their children, ⁴  still we have found it necessary to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. ⁵  Some of our daughters have been subjected to slavery, while we are powerless to help, ⁶  since our fields and vineyards now belong to other people.” ⁷ 

Nehemia 9:25

9:25 They captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took possession of houses full of all sorts of good things – wells previously dug, vineyards, olive trees, and fruit trees in abundance. They ate until they were full ⁸  and grew fat. They enjoyed to the full your great goodness.

[5:4]  ¹ tn Heb “for the tax of the king.”

[5:11]  ² tc The MT reads וּמְאַת (umÿ’at, “and the hundredth”) which is somewhat enigmatic. The BHS editors suggest emending to וּמַשַּׁאת (umasha’t, “and the debt”) which refers to the interest or collateral (pledge) seized by a creditor (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; see HALOT 641-42 s.v. מַשָּׁא). The term מַשַּׁאת (masha’t) is related to the noun מָשָּׁא (masha’, “debt”) in 5:7, 10.

[5:5]  ³ tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”

[5:5]  ⁴ tn Heb “like their children, our children.”

[5:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).

[5:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.

[5:5]  ⁷ sn The poor among the returned exiles were being exploited by their rich countrymen. Moneylenders were loaning large amounts of money, and not only collecting interest on loans which was illegal (Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19-20), but also seizing pledges as collateral (Neh 5:3) which was allowed (Deut 24:10). When the debtors missed a payment, the moneylenders would seize their collateral: their fields, vineyards and homes. With no other means of income, the debtors were forced to sell their children into slavery, a common practice at this time (Neh 5:5). Nehemiah himself was one of the moneylenders (Neh 5:10), but he insisted that seizure of collateral from fellow Jewish countrymen was ethically wrong (Neh 5:9).

[9:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “they ate and were sated.” This expression is a hendiadys. The first verb retains its full verbal sense, while the second functions adverbially: “they ate and were filled” = “they ate until they were full.”