a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
servants
וּנְעָרַ֔יu.ne.'a.Rai
H5288
(concretely) a boy (as active) · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
exact
נֹשִׁ֥יםno.Shim
H5383
to lend or (by reciprocity) borrow on security or inter… · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
money
כֶּ֣סֶףKe.sef
H3701
silver (from its pale color) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
corn
וְדָגָ֑ןve.da.Gan
H1715
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
off
נַֽעַזְבָהna.'az.vah-
H5800
to loosen · verb, qal infinitive construct, 1st person common plural
usury
הַמַּשָּׁ֥אha.ma.Sha'
H4855
a loan · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
2 Corinthians 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
Exodus 22:25-27 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
Nehemiah 5:7 Then I consulted with myself, and I rebuked the nobles, and the rulers, and said unto them, Ye exact usury, every one of his brother. And I…
Psalms 15:5 He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
Ezekiel 18:8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true jud…
Ezekiel 18:13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall s…
Micah 2:1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of…
Luke 3:13-14 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Nehemiah 5:6-13
It should seem the foregoing complaint was made to Nehemiah at the time when he had his head and hands as full as possible of the public business about building the wall; yet, perceiving it to be just, he did not reject it because it was unseasonable; he did not chide the petitioners, nor fall into a passion with them, for disturbing him when they saw how much he had to do, a fault which men of business are too often guilty of; nor did he so much as adjourn the hearing of the cause or proceedings upon it till he had more leisure. The case called for speedy interposition, and therefore he applied himself immediately to the consideration of it, knowing that, let him build Jerusalem's walls eve…
THE USURERS REBUKED. (Neh 5:6-19)
I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words--When such disorders came to the knowledge of the governor, his honest indignation was roused against the perpetrators of the evil. Having summoned a public assembly, he denounced their conduct in terms of just severity. He contrasted it with his own in redeeming with his money some of the Jewish exiles who, through debt or otherwise, had lost their personal liberty in Babylon. He urged the rich creditors not only to abandon their illegal and oppressive system of usury, but to restore the fields and vineyards of the poor, so that a remedy might be put to an evil the introduction of which had led to muc…
Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God - If ye wish to accredit that religion ye profess which comes from the God of justice and mercy; should you not, in the sight of the heathen, abstain from injustice and cruelty? Can they credit your profession, when they see such practices? The inconsistent conduct of some professors of religion does much harm in the Church of God.
John Gill on Nehemiah 5:10
Dictionary and topics
Jubilee — A joyful shout or clangour of trumpets, the name of the great semi-centennial festival of the Hebrews. It lasted for a year. During this year the land was to be fallow, and the Israelites were only…
Usury — The sum paid for the use of money, hence interest; not, as in the modern sense, exorbitant interest. The Jews were forbidden to exact usury (Lev. 25:36, 37), only, however, in their dealings with…
Beneficence · .The Jews who returned from the exile — .The Jews who returned from the exile
Borrowing · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Country · LOVE OF — LOVE OF
Creditor · OPPRESSIONS OF — OPPRESSIONS OF
Creditors · Sometimes entirely remitted debts — Sometimes entirely remitted debts
Example · GOOD — GOOD
Interest · but not generally signifying unlawful or unjust rates) — but not generally signifying unlawful or unjust rates)
Kindness · .The Jews to the people — .The Jews to the people
Lending · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Money · Silver used as — Silver used as
Rich, The · General scriptures concerning
I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn,.... For our maintenance, in consideration of the services done by us, which would appear but reasonable, but this we decline for the sake of easing our poor brethren:
I pray you let us leave off this usury; and not exact it, as has been too much and too long used.
Keil & Delitzsch on Nehemiah 5:6-13
The abolition of usury. - Neh 5:6 Nehemiah was very angry at this complaint and these things, i.e., the injustice which had been brought to his knowledge.
Neh 5:7
"And my heart took counsel upon it (ימּלך according to the Chaldee use of מלך, Dan 4:24), and I contended with the nobles and rulers, and said to them, Ye exact usury every one of his brother." ב נשׁא means to lend to any one, and משּׁא, also משּׁאה, Deu 24:10; Pro 22:26, and mashe', is the thing lent, the loan, what one borrows from or lends to another. Consequently משּׁא נשׁא is to lend some one a loan; comp. Deu 24:10. This does not seem to suit this verse. For Nehemiah cannot reproach the nobles for lending loans, when he and h…
I myself . . . have been lending: Nehemiah and his associates were evidently making loans without burdening people. Nehemiah’s example was the solution: to give financial help without pushing people further into debt by charging interest (see Deut 15:7-11).
Rashi on Nehemiah 5:10
I, too, and my brothers and my servants I, too, and my colleagues lent them money, and we shall abandon and relinquish to them all these loans.
have lent Heb. נֹשִׁים, like (II Kings 4:1): “...and the creditor (וְהַנֹשֶּׁה) has come to take.”
Usury Or Interest · The Jews: Required to restore — The Jews: Required to restore
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
