Nehemiah 5:1
in Nehemiah 5About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
KJV
And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.
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This verse in Nehemiah 5
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The condition of the poorer inhabitants was indeed deplorable; for, besides the deficient harvests caused by the great rains (Ezr 10:9; also Hag 1:6-11), a dearth was now threatened by the enemy keeping such a multitude pent up in the city, and preventing the country people bringing in provisions.
This site's exposition
there was a great outcry from the people
on Nehemiah 5:1-3
The complaint rises "against their fellow Jews" rather than against Persia. Some have many mouths and no grain: "We must get grain in order to eat and stay alive" (5:2). Others are "mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our homes to get grain during the famine" (5:3).
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives, etc. Indeed, the people desired to build the city wall, but due to the great famine, they were hindered from the sacred work. This famine was caused not only by the shortage of …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And there was a great cry of the people, and of their wives,.... Those of the poorer sort: against their brethren the Jews; the rich that oppressed them; and this cry or complaint was made to Nehemiah for redress.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Now the cry of the people and their wives was great The poor people were crying exceedingly.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתְּהִ֨י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| צַעֲקַ֥ת | tzaakat | <the> cry of distress of | H6818 → | |
| הָעָ֛ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם | unesheihem | and wives their | H802 → | 781 times |
| גְּדוֹלָ֑ה | gedolah | great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾacheihem | countrymen their | H251 → | 630 times |
| הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃ | haiyehudim | the Jews | H3064 → | 75 times |
וַתְּהִ֨יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
צַעֲקַ֥ת<the> cry of distress of
tzaakatH6818 →
הָעָ֛םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖םand wives their
unesheihemH802 →781 times
גְּדוֹלָ֑הgreat
gedolahH1419 →526 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲחֵיהֶ֖םcountrymen their
ʾacheihemH251 →630 times
הַיְּהוּדִֽים׃the Jews
haiyehudimH3064 →75 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
it leads to
- Psalms 80:8–11
You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it.
- Matthew 3:8–10
Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
- Jeremiah 12:10
Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
- James 5:4
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
- Deuteronomy 15:9
Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He…
- Psalms 80:8–11
Through
Acts 7:26The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
it leads to
- Exodus 2:13–15
The next day Moses went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you attacking your companion?”
- Genesis 45:24
Then Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way!”
- John 15:17–18
This is My command to you: Love one another.
- Exodus 2:13–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Nehemiah
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).