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Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Nehemiah 5:5

The power of a father to sell his daughter into slavery is expressly mentioned in the Law Exodus 21:7. The power to sell a son appears from this passage. In either case, the sale held good for only six years, or until the next year of jubilee (see the marginal references). read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Nehemiah 5:5

Nehemiah 5:5. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren We are of the same nature, nation, and religion with them; nor is there any other difference between us, but that they are rich and we are poor; and yet they treat us as if we were beasts or heathen, forgetting both humanity and God’s law, Deuteronomy 15:7 . And our children as their children As dear to us as their children are to them; and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and daughters We are compelled to sell them for... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 5:1-19

The greed of the rich (5:1-19)Another problem that Nehemiah dealt with was the tension that had developed over the years between the rich and the poor. Those in financial difficulty borrowed money from the rich to buy food and pay their land taxes to the Persian government. The rich took advantage of them by charging heavy interest. Then, when the poor could not pay, the rich took their land from them in payment, and in some cases took their children as slaves. Troubles increased when a famine... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Nehemiah 5:1-19

3. The strife among the workers ch. 5This chapter evidently describes a situation that prevailed for more than the 52 days the wall was under construction (cf. Nehemiah 5:14). The writer probably included it in the text here because it was another situation that threatened to block the fulfillment of God’s will."Up to this point Nehemiah’s challenges as a spiritual leader focused primarily on those outside of Judah. But before the walls were finally rebuilt, he encountered the most difficult... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 5:1-19

Nehemiah’s Measures in alleviation of Poverty1. The people] i.e. the commons (as contrasted with the nobles and rulers, Nehemiah 5:7). These had neglected their own interests to labour gratuitously on the fortifications, and now in the time of dearth were feeling the pinch of want. 2. Therefore we take up corn] better, ’we must get corn.’ The language is that of desperate men, compelled by necessity to accept the harsh conditions imposed by those to whom they had recourse for the corn they... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Nehemiah 5:5

(5) We bring into bondage.—But the climax of the cry was the bondage of their children, especially of the daughters, whom they had been obliged to sell until the Jubile for money: children as precious to their parents as were the children of the rulers to them. read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Nehemiah 5:1-19

USURYNehemiah 5:1-19WE open the fifth chapter of Nehemiah with a shock of pain. The previous chapter described a scene of patriotic devotion in which nearly all the people were united for the prosecution of one great purpose. There we saw the priests and the wealthy citizens side by side with their humble brethren engaged in the common task of building the walls of Jerusalem and guarding the city against assault. The heartiness with which the work was first undertaken, the readiness of all... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Nehemiah 5:1-19

CHAPTER 5 1. The complaint of oppression (Nehemiah 5:1-5 ) 2. Nehemiah’s rebuke and demands (Nehemiah 5:6-13 ) 3. Nehemiah’s generosity (Nehemiah 5:14-19 ) Nehemiah 5:1-5 . The internal conditions among the toiling people were serious. The work which was done in rebuilding the walls was a labor of love; no wages were paid. As the people were thus engaged their other occupations, including agriculture, had to be neglected. As a result the poor had been driven to mortgage their lands,... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Nehemiah 5:5

5:5 Yet now our flesh [is] as {d} the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children: and, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and [some] of our daughters are brought unto bondage [already]: neither [is it] in our power {e} [to redeem them]; for other men have our lands and vineyards.(d) By nature the rich are no better than the poor.(e) We are not able to redeem them, but out of poverty are forced to sell them to others. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Nehemiah 5:1-19

THE GREED OF RULERS REBUKED (vv. 1-13) At a time when many were laboring unselfishly for the Lord, it is distressing to hear that others, and in fact those who were nobles and rulers, were guilty of oppressing the poor. This was brought to Nehemiah's attention by a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren (v. 1). There were many who had been reduced to poverty to the point of hunger for food (v. 2). Some also had mortgaged their lands and vineyards and houses... read more

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