Глава 5

1–5. Murmuring among the Jews. 6–11. The influence of Nehemiah on the nobles and rulers. 12–13. An oath given by the people. 14–15. Characteristics of Nehemiah's activities as a governor. Nehemiah 5:1. And there was great murmuring among the people and their wives against their brothers the Jews. “And there was great murmuring among the people and among their wives.” The circumstances mentioned at the beginning of Chapter V apparently occurred during the period of construction of the walls. Murmuring arose among the lower classes of the people. The reason for the murmur, as can be seen from what follows, was the difficult situation created, on the one hand, by the obligation to work freely on the walls of the city, on the other, exploitation by “the nobles and rulers” (v. 7). It was against the latter that the murmur arose (“against their brothers the Jews”). Nehemiah 5:2. There were those who said: We, our sons and our daughters, are many; and we would like to get bread and feed and live. In 2 tbsp. We are talking about proletarians who did not have their own fields and, at the same time, engaged in free public work, could not earn their own bread. That's why they asked for bread. Nehemiah 5:3. There were also those who said: we mortgage our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, in order to get bread from hunger. But the owners of the fields and vineyards also suffered from poverty due to the high cost of grain, the reason for which, obviously, was a) the accumulation of people in Jerusalem, b) the lack of supplies from neighbors with whom there were hostile relations, and c) the inability to properly cultivate the fields and vineyards. Afraid to pledge all their property, small owners also asked for bread. Nehemiah 5:4. There were also those who said: we borrow silver to pay taxes to the king on the security of our fields and our vineyards; Nehemiah 5:5. We have the same bodies as the bodies of our brothers, and our sons are the same as their sons; but we must give our sons and our daughters as slaves, and some of our daughters are already enslaved. There is no means of ransom in our hands; and our fields and our vineyards belong to others. Even more difficult was the situation of those who, having already planted fields and vineyards, were forced to sell sons and daughters as slaves in order to get bread (cf. Lev. 25:14–17, 39; Exodus 21:7; Jeremiah 34:8–11). Neh.5:6. When I heard their murmur and such words, I became very angry. “I was very angry,” of course, at the rich and noble who broke the law. Nehemiah 5:7. My heart was indignant, and I sternly reprimanded the nobles and leaders and said to them: you take interest from your brothers. And I called a large meeting against them Nehemiah immediately turned to the nobles and rich with a reproach for taking interest from their brothers. The Law of Moses prohibits taking interest from a fellow tribesman (Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36; Deut. 23:20). Therefore, the action of the Jerusalem rich was a violation of the law. Nehemiah 5:8. and he said to them: We ransomed our brothers the Jews, who were sold to the nations, as much strength as we had, but you sell your brothers, and they are sold to us? They were silent and did not find an answer. Nehemiah 5:9. And I said: you are doing something wrong. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God, so as to avoid the reproach of the nations our enemies? In denouncing lawbreakers, Nehemiah uses himself and those close to him as an example. “We redeemed”, i.e. Nehemiah and those close to him were apparently redeemed in Babylon. At the same time, Nehemiah reminds us of the need to observe the law, as a condition under which the humiliation of the people will cease and blessings from the Lord can be sent down to them. Nehemiah 5:10. And I, my brothers and those who served with me, lent them silver and bread: let us leave this debt to them. Nehemiah 5:11. Give them back now their fields, their vineyards, their olive gardens, and their houses, and the increase in silver and grain, wine and oil, for which you lent them. From Art. 10 shows that Nehemiah reproaches the lenders for taking collateral, which he and those close to him did not do. In conclusion, he invites creditors to forgive debts (glory: “let us forsake this extortion”), return the deposits and the interest taken. Nehemiah 5:12. And they said: We will return it and will not demand from them; We'll do as you say. And I called the priests and ordered them to take an oath that they would do so. Nehemiah 5:13. And I shook out my clothes and said: So may God shake out every man who does not keep this word from his house and from his possessions, and so may he be shaken out and empty! And the whole congregation said, Amen. And they glorified God; and the people fulfilled this word. Those accused agreed to obey Nehemiah’s suggestion, and in order to make this decision binding for the future, Nehemiah took a solemn oath from them. - “And I called the priests and ordered them to take an oath” - to them - not to the priests, but to the lenders. After the oath, the decision of the noble and wealthy was confirmed by a symbolic action (cf. Acts 18:6) and the utterance of amen affirming everything said. - “And they glorified God” - because, on the one hand, the situation of the poor was alleviated, on the other hand, peace and unity were restored in the community. Nehemiah 5:14. Again: from the day when I was appointed their governor in the land of Judea, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years I and my brothers did not eat the bread of the governor. The reference to his example, made in a speech to those who break the law (v. 8), gives Nehemiah a reason to characterize his activities in general for the benefit of the people. (“More”, i.e. in addition to what was said in v. 10). The duration of Nehemiah's activity is also noted here. - “They did not eat the regional ruler’s bread,” i.e. did not take the amount that is due at the regional governor’s desk. Nehemiah 5:15. But the former governors who were before me burdened the people and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants dominated the people. I didn’t do that out of fear of God. Nehemiah’s selflessness is all the more remarkable because the regional governors who preceded him, unknown to us, burdened the people with extortions, and this, obviously, became a custom recognized by all. “They took from them bread and wine, besides (achar) forty shekels of silver.” The last words are not clear, and the meaning of Heb. achar, transferred to Russian. i.e. “except”, in other texts it is conveyed differently, namely in the LXX ἕσχατον (last), in the Vulg. quoteidie (daily), and in sire. goes down completely. Slav. t., combining the readings of the LXX and the Vulg., translates “until now there are fourty didrachms of silver (for every day”). Accordingly, the meaning of the expression is defined differently among exegetes. Apparently, the meaning of the expression is that the governors demanded more than 40 shekels assigned to them on the table. 40 shekels equal 46–48 rubles in our money. Nehemiah 5:16. At the same time, I supported the work on this wall; We didn’t buy any fields, and all my servants were going there to work. “And we didn’t buy any fields.” The meaning of the words is not entirely clear. The idea is either that Nehemiah did not take advantage of the difficult time and did not buy up the fields for himself (Rissel), or that although Nehemiah and his closest associates were not the owners of the fields, they nevertheless took part in the construction of the wall. Nehemiah 5:17. There were a hundred and fifty Jews and rulers at my table, besides those who came to us from the surrounding nations. “Except for those who came to us from surrounding nations.” Of course, the Jews lived outside the small area occupied by the returnee community. Nehemiah 5:18. And this is what was prepared for one day: one bull, six choice sheep and birds were prepared with me; and in ten days a great deal of all wine was consumed. And despite all this, I did not demand the bread of the regional governor, since heavy service lay on this people. “And in ten days a great deal of all wine was consumed.” The indication of ten days without indicating a specific amount of wine is incomprehensible. The idea behind the expression may be that the supply of wine was renewed every ten days. You might be interested in: