There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
What's easy to miss is that these weren't just people hungry now, but people forced to mortgage their future for past or present scarcity. The Hebrew word choice actually emphasizes that this state of affairs was ongoing, showing a desperate cycle of borrowing against their future just to survive. This wasn't a one-time emergency purchase of food, but a profound loss of generational security.
There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Nehemiah is dealing with a severe internal crisis as the people complain that their own countrymen are oppressing them. After addressing the issue of fathers selling their children into servitude, the complaint shifts to the economic hardship faced by many, who have had to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes just to buy food amidst a scarcity. This points to a deeper problem of wealth inequality and exploitation within the community, directly contradicting the rebuilding efforts Nehemiah is leading.
Imagine your entire livelihood—your fields, your vineyards, your very home—being put on the line just to feed your family. This wasn't a hypothetical threat; it was the harsh reality for many in Nehemiah's time.
The Grip of "Dearth"
The people in Nehemiah’s day faced a severe scarcity, referred to as a "dearth." This wasn't just a minor inconvenience; it was a crisis that forced desperate measures.
The Downward Spiral
This verse paints a picture of people trapped, their options shrinking rapidly as they tried to survive.
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The way this complaint is phrased isn't just about a single event, but a chilling state of being. It reveals a community under immense pressure, where survival itself was a constant struggle.
Caught in the Act
The Hebrew verb used here is crucial. It doesn't just describe a past decision, but an ongoing reality.
A Present Predicament
This highlights the immediate, pressing nature of their crisis – a community spiraling downwards, losing its foundation.
Understand the original words
ra'ab · Hebrew Noun
A severe and prolonged shortage of food, often used in Scripture as a sign of judgment or a test of faith, leading to physical suffering and social instability.
The hardship described in Nehemiah 5 wasn't entirely new; a similar drought decades earlier, prophesied by Haggai, had already strained the community's resources. This history likely exacerbated the present crisis, making the people more vulnerable to exploitation.
c. 520 BC
Drought punishment for neglecting temple
The prophet Haggai declares a divine drought and famine upon the land because the people prioritized rebuilding their own homes over the Lord's temple.
c. 518 BC
Drought continues after Haggai's prophecy
The drought and resulting scarcity continue, impacting the people's ability to produce crops and sustain themselves, as described in Haggai's prophecies.
c. 445 BC
Nehemiah begins Jerusalem's reconstruction
Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem and begins the ambitious project of rebuilding the city walls, facing opposition from surrounding peoples.
c. 445 BC— this verse
Economic hardship and debt crisis
A severe famine or drought has gripped the land, forcing many returned exiles to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses to buy food, leading to widespread distress.
This passage from Leviticus highlights God's heart for the vulnerable, commanding compassion and support for those struggling financially, directly contrasting with the exploitation seen in Nehemiah 5.
Exodus 22:25This verse reveals God's prohibition against charging interest to the poor, a principle that was clearly being violated by the wealthy lenders in Nehemiah's day, leading to the desperate mortgaging of property.
Deuteronomy 15:7Here, God instructs His people to not harden their hearts or shut their hands against a poor brother, but to open them and lend freely, showing the ethical standard that was being broken by the oppressors.
Ezekiel 18:8Ezekiel describes a righteous person who does not practice extortion and shares food with the hungry, painting a picture of the ideal community that Nehemiah was trying to restore, free from the economic exploitation.
Haggai 1:9-11This passage from Haggai explains a past drought sent by God as a consequence of the people prioritizing their own comfort over rebuilding the Temple, which scholars suggest may have contributed to the economic hardship felt during Nehemiah's time.
pulpitNehemiah 5:3: "Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth."
Verse 3. - Because of the dearth. Some, who could not say that their families were large, claimed relief on account, as it would seem, not so much of a present as of a past famine, which had forced them to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses. That Judaea was liable to famines about this time appears from Haggai 1:6, 9-11; Haggai 2:16-19.
clarkeNehemiah 5:3: "Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth."
Because of the dearth - About the time of Zerubbabel, God had sent a judicial dearth upon the land, as we learn from Haggai, Haggai 1:9 , etc., for the people it seems were more intent on building houses for themselves than on rebuilding the house of the Lord: "Ye looked for much, and, lo, it is come to little; because of mine house that is waste; an…
What's easy to miss is that these weren't just people hungry now, but people forced to mortgage their future for past or present scarcity. The Hebrew word choice actually emphasizes that this state of affairs was ongoing, showing a desperate cycle of borrowing against their future just to survive. This wasn't a one-time emergency purchase of food, but a profound loss of generational security.
Nehemiah is dealing with a severe internal crisis as the people complain that their own countrymen are oppressing them. After addressing the issue of fathers selling their children into servitude, the complaint shifts to the economic hardship faced by many, who have had to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes just to buy food amidst a scarcity. This points to a deeper problem of wealth inequality and exploitation within the community, directly contradicting the rebuilding efforts Nehemiah is leading.
Nehemiah is dealing with a severe internal crisis as the people complain that their own countrymen are oppressing them. After addressing the issue of fathers selling their children into servitude, the complaint shifts to the economic hardship faced by many, who have had to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and homes just to buy food amidst a scarcity. This points to a deeper problem of wealth inequality and exploitation within the community, directly contradicting the rebuilding efforts Nehemiah is leading.
"There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”" — What's easy to miss is that these weren't just people hungry now, but people forced to mortgage their future for past or present scarcity. The Hebrew word choice actually emphasizes that this state…
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Last reviewed October 2026