Nehemiah 5:5-7

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Nehemiah 5:5 tn Heb “according to the flesh of our brothers is our flesh.”
2. Nehemiah 5:5 tn Heb “like their children, our children.”
3. Nehemiah 5:5 tn Heb “to become slaves” (also later in this verse).
4. Nehemiah 5:5 tn Heb “there is not power for our hand.” The Hebrew expression used here is rather difficult.
5. Nehemiah 5:5 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).
6. Nehemiah 5:6 tn Heb “words.”
7. Nehemiah 5:7 tn Heb “my heart was advised upon me.”
8. Nehemiah 5:7 tn Heb “nobles.”
9. Nehemiah 5:7 tn Heb “taking a creditor’s debt.” The Hebrew noun מַשָּׁא (mashaʾ) means “interest; debt” and probably refers to the collateral (pledge) collected by a creditor (HALOT 641-42 s.v.). This particular noun form appears only in Nehemiah (5:7, 10; 10:32); however, it is related to מַשָּׁאָה (mashaʾah, “contractual loan; debt; collateral”) which appears elsewhere (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; cf. Neh 5:11). See the note on the word “people” at the end of v. 5. The BHS editors suggest emending the MT to מָשָׂא (masaʾ, “burden”), following several medieval Hebrew mss; however, the result is not entirely clear: “you are bearing a burden, a man with his brothers.”
10. Nehemiah 5:7 tn Heb “his brothers.”
11. Nehemiah 5:7 tn Heb “I gave.”