Nehemiah 5:1

NEHEMIAH'S HANDLING OF A SEVERE SOCIAL CRISIS

There are conflicting views of reputable scholars regarding the nature of this chapter. Whitcomb labeled it "parenthetical";[1] but Williamson divided the chapter into two sections, making Nehemiah 5:1-13 a description of a crisis that came during the building of the wall, but admitting the rest of the chapter as a later parenthetical addition. Of the first section he wrote that, "The wives ... were more conscious of the approaching calamity, because they were having to manage at home while their husbands were engrossed in the wall-building."[2]

There are a number of reasons why this writer accepts the viewpoint that the whole chapter is parenthetical and that it was included at this point in Nehemiah's memoirs for reasons which we believe will appear later in the narrative.

"This parenthetical chapter describes how Nehemiah succeeded in stopping the practice of usury, which resulted in extreme poverty and even bondage for many Jews. There is also a record here of Nehemiah's example of unselfishness and generosity during his twelve years as governor."[3]

It seems to this writer that Nehemiah might well have included this chapter just here as an advance glimpse of the evil nobles who, along with the priests, would eventually vigorously oppose Nehemiah's reforms.

A MAJOR SOCIAL CRISIS CONFRONTS NEHEMIAH

"Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews. For there were that said, We, our sons and our daughters, are many: let us get grain that we may eat and live. Some also there were that said, We are mortgaging our fields and our vineyards, and our houses: let us get grain, because of the dearth. There were also those that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute upon our fields and our vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as 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 into bondage already: neither is it in our power to help it; for other men have our fields and our vineyards."

There are three classes of protesters here: "These were (1) the landless who were desperately short of food (Nehemiah 5:2), (2) the landowners who, because of famine had been compelled to mortgage their properties (Nehemiah 5:3), and (3) those who had been forced to borrow money at exorbitant rates to meet the Persian king's property taxes (Nehemiah 5:4)."[4]

Man's inhumanity to man is tragically visible in the sad circumstances that precipitated this uprising of the people.

There are also three causes of the situation, as enumerated by Rawlinson. "These were over-population (Nehemiah 5:2), recent famine (Nehemiah 5:3), and heavy taxation (Nehemiah 5:4)."[5]

"Because of the dearth" (Nehemiah 5:3). "Dearth is the usual word for famine, as in Genesis 12:10, and in many other places."[6]

One reason for accepting this chapter as a record of events unrelated to the wall-building, is this mention here of a widespread shortage of food, due to famine. There was no hint of such a shortage during the building of the wall; besides that, "The wall-building did not take long enough (less than two months) to cause widespread suffering."[7]

"For other men have our fields and our vineyards" (Nehemiah 5:5). Keil explained the tragic significance of these words: "Since our fields and vineyards belong to others, what they produce does not come to us, and we are not in a position to be able to put an end to the sad necessity of selling our sons and our daughters for servants."[8]