Nehemiah 5:4

5:4 Then there were those who said, “We have borrowed money to pay our taxes to the king ¹  on our fields and our vineyards.

Nehemiah 5:10-11

5:10 Even I and my relatives ²  and my associates ³  are lending them money and grain. But let us abandon this practice of seizing collateral! ⁴  5:11 This very day return to them their fields, their vineyards, their olive trees, and their houses, along with the interest ⁵  that you are exacting from them on the money, the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil.”

Nehemiah 7:71-72

7:71 Some of the family leaders gave to the project treasury 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 7:72 What the rest of the people gave amounted to 20,000 gold drachmas, 2,000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments.

Nehemiah 5:15

5:15 But the former governors who preceded me had burdened the people and had taken food and wine from them, in addition to ⁶  forty shekels of silver. Their associates were also domineering over the people. But I did not behave in this way, due to my fear of God.

[5:4]  ¹ tn Heb “for the tax of the king.”

[5:10]  ² tn Heb “brothers.”

[5:10]  ³ tn Heb “lads.”

[5:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “this debt.” This expression is a metonymy of association: “debt” refers to the seizure of the collateral of the debt.

[5:11]  ³ tc The MT reads וּמְאַת (umÿ’at, “and the hundredth”) which is somewhat enigmatic. The BHS editors suggest emending to וּמַשַּׁאת (umasha’t, “and the debt”) which refers to the interest or collateral (pledge) seized by a creditor (Deut 24:10; Prov 22:26; see HALOT 641-42 s.v. מַשָּׁא). The term מַשַּׁאת (masha’t) is related to the noun מָשָּׁא (masha’, “debt”) in 5:7, 10.

[5:15]  ⁴ tc The Hebrew term אַחַר (’akhar) is difficult here. It normally means “after,” but that makes no sense here. Some scholars emend it to אַחַד (’akhad) and supply the word “day,” which yields the sense “daily.” Cf. TEV “40 silver coins a day for food and wine.”