Nehemiah 5:1-19 (Presbyterian, 5:1-9)

Nehemiah Deals with Economic Hardships

5:1 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin. 2 For there were those who said, "With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive." 3 There were also those who said, "We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine." 4 And there were those who said, "We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king's tax. 5 Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others."

6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. 7 After thinking it over, I brought charges against the nobles and the officials; I said to them, "You are all taking interest from your own people." And I called a great assembly to deal with them, 8 and said to them, "As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations; but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!" They were silent, and could not find a word to say. 9 So I said, "The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us stop this taking of interest. 11 Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them." 12 Then they said, "We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say." And I called the priests, and made them take an oath to do as they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, "So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

The Generosity of Nehemiah

14 Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people, and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 Indeed, I devoted myself to the work on this wall, and acquired no land; and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover there were at my table one hundred fifty people, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us. 18 Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance; yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the heavy burden of labor on the people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people. (Nehemiah 5:1-19, NRSV)

On November 4, 2007 (Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost, references for the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One, Year One), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from October 30, 2005 (the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One); they are repeated here:

In yesterday’s reading we learned about opposition to Nehemiah’s work from outsiders, Sanballat and others, in the form of intimidation (Neh. 4:1-3, 11) and plots to “fight against Jerusalem and cause confusion in it” (v. 8). With strengthened security measures, Nehemiah and his people were able to overcome this opposition. But another obstacle is reported in today’s reading, problems within the Jewish community itself. Nehemiah reports “a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish kin” due to famine and related issues (5:1). Some people, says Nehemiah, were saying, “"With our sons and our daughters, we are many (MyB9r1, rabbîm); we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive” (v. 2). It has been suggested that one letter has dropped out and that we should read Myb9r4fo, ‘ōr ^evîm (“pledges”), for MyB9r1, rabbîm (“many”) ( R. Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, 22^nd ed., 1937, apparatus on Neh. 5:2). On that basis, Tamara Cohn Eskenazi says, “We are many [should read], alternatively, as ‘pledge’ (see v. 3), suggesting that sons and daughters are pledged as security for loans and become slaves when loans are defaulted” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Neh. 5:2; cf. David J. A. Clines, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Neh. 5:2; cf. also v. 5). If not their sons and daughters, they (perhaps others) were “having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine” (v. 3). For others, the issue was the imperial tax burden. “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king's tax” (v. 4). The suggestion above that sons and daughters were given in pledge to borrow money for necessities is confirmed, for the people say, “Now our flesh is the same as that of our kindred; our children are the same as their children; and yet we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been ravished; we are powerless, and our fields and vineyards now belong to others” (v. 5). These issues, according to Eskanazi, result in “indentured slavery and loss of land and home to wealthier compatriots,” and she adds, about the term “ravished, [that] daughters were particularly vulnerable at times of economic hardship” (op. cit., on v. 5). (We are reminded of similar atrocious abuses, even in our “enlightened, modern” world.) “The claim,” says Hindy Najman, “is that the creditors are seizing property that the returnees pledged when they needed to take loans. This is forbidden in the case of the poor (see Exod. 22:24=26). In earlier periods such concerns fell under the purview of the prophets such as Amos, but prophecy as an institution was weakened in the postexilic period, so Nehemiah takes control of the situation” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Neh. 5:1-5).

Nehemiah, “very angry,” intervenes personally upon hearing “their outcry and these complaints” (v. 6). He thinks it over and brings charges against the nobles and officials, saying: “You are all taking interest (Myxw97no . . . xw0!6ma, maššā’ . . . nōšî’m) from your own people” (v. 7a). W. Rudolph suggests xWm (maśśā’, “burden = hardship” [William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. xW0Ama, maśśā’, I.3] for xw0!ma (maššā’, “claim”), and Myx9W4no (nōś’îm, “taking?”) for Myxw97no (nōšî’m, “taking interest”) (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 1976, apparatus to Neh. 5:7). Clines says of “taking interest” that “the Hebrew [read with Rudolph?] means rather, ‘seizing (persons, land, and goods) given in pledge against debts.’ Interest on loans was illegal (Lev. 25:367-37; Deut. 23:19-20) but taking pledges was sanctioned by the law (Deut. 24:10). Nehemiah, himself one of the moneylenders (v. 10), is not confessing to any illegal act, but accepts that pledge-taking from kinspeople is not good (v. 9)”(op. cit., on v. 7). Nehemiah calls a great assembly (hlAOdg4 hl0Ah9q4, q ^ehillāh g ^edôlāh) “to deal with them” (v. 7b). He says, “As far as we were able, we have bought back our Jewish kindred who had been sold to other nations; but now you are selling your own kin, who must then be bought back by us!” (v. 8a). These officials were stunned into silence. “They were silent, and could not find a word to say” (v. 8b). And Nehemiah continues with a stern rebuke: “"The thing that you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God, to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? “ (v. 9).

Nehemiah admits to some lending himself. “Moreover I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain” (v. 10a). But he is determined to have the practice stop. “Let us stop this taking of interest (hz0,ha xw0Am0a-tx,, ’eth-maššā’ hazzeh)” he says (v. 10b, cf. v. 7). According to Eskenazi, “Nehemiah helps the nobles save face by admitting a measure of responsibility” (op. cit., on v. 10). Nehemiah instructs the nobles and officials: “Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards and there houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting (Myw9no, nōšîm, cf. v. 7, above). In response, they agree to do this. “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say” (v. 12a). Nehemiah says, “I called the priests, and made them [the nobles and officials] take an oath to do as they had promised” (v. 12b). According to Eskenazi, “Nehemiah calls upon the priests to “administer a religiously binding oath to ensure the efficacy of the appended curses” (op. cit., on v. 12, cf. 13). Nehemiah himself emphasizes the oath by shaking “out the fold of his garment,” and saying, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied” (v. 13a). This oath, including the sanctioning curses, is ratified as “all the assembly said, ‘Amen,’ and praised the LORD” (v. 13b). And we are told that “the people did as they had promised” (v. 13c).

Nehemiah further provides an example of leadership in difficult times. “Moreover,” he says, “from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor” (v. 14). According to Clines, “Nehemiah’s appointment as governor was only implicit in 2:5-8. It ran from 445 to 433/2 BCE. As governor, he was entitled to deduct his own expenses from the taxes he collected for the central government, but he refrained from doing so” (op. cit., on v. 14). According to Najman, “Nehemiah served two terms as governor, according to 13:6. The first one lasts twelve years, while the second is not specified” (op. cit., on v. 14). “Nehemiah leads by example,” says Najman, “even to the point of refusing what is legally his allotment” (ibid., on Neh. 5:14-19). “The former governors who were before me,” says Nehemiah, “laid heavy burdens on the people, and took food and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people” (v. 15a). “Forty shekels of silver a day (about 1 pound),” says Clines, (ibid., on v. 15). “But I did not do so,” says Nehemiah, “because of the fear of God” (v. 15b). According to Eskenazi, “The Bible does not preserve names of other governors after Zerubbabel, though archaeology has uncovered some names, possibly from the intervening period” (op. cit., on v. 15, but she does not give the names). Rather, Nehemiah concentrates on his work “Indeed, I devoted myself to the work on this wall, and acquired no land; and all my servants were gathered there for the work” (v. 16).

Nehemiah suggests reasons why he might have, but did not, request the food allowance. “Moreover there were at my table one hundred fifty people, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations around us” (v. 17). According to Eskenazi, “those who came to us from the nations [were] officials and guests from the rest of the empire” (op. cit., on v. 17). This required extensive dinner preparations. “Now that which was prepared for one day was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and every ten days skins of wine in abundance; yet with all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because of the heavy burden of labor on the people” (v. 18). That was enough, as we might say with a little exaggeration, to feed an army! And Nehemiah concludes this report with a prayer. “Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people” (v. 19). According to Eskenazi, “such conclusions typify Nehemiah (see 4:4-5; 13:31). Najman agrees, though noting that “similar requests are common in a variety of ancient Near Eastern prayers” (op. cit., on v. 19).

or Ezra 1:1-11 (alternative reading, Presbyterian and Lutheran traditions)

For text and comments on this reading, see the presentation for October 22, 2009 (Thursday in the week before last).

Acts 20:7-12

Paul's Farewell Visit to Troas

7 On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. 9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." 11 Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. 12 Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted. (Acts 20:7-12, NRSV)

On August 8, 2009 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), when the reading was Acts 20:1-16, comments were based on those of September 27, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two), of November 4, 2007 (the Sunday closest to November 2, Year One), of August 11, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 3, Year One), and of September 30, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 21, Year Two); relevant comments for Acts 20:7-12 are repeated from August 8, 2009, with editing and supplement.

Today’s reading is the ninth in a series of eleven Sunday readings selected from Acts. Paul is in the midst of his third missionary journey, counted from his brief visit to Antioch of Syria, his “headquarters,” so to speak (Acts 18:22-23). After ministry at Ephesus, opposition by Demetrius and fellow silversmiths “who made silver shrines of Artemis” (19:24), and an ensuing riot (chap. 19), and the revisiting of Macedonia (20:1), Greece (v. 2) and Macedonia again (v. 3), Paul begins his final journey to Jerusalem. His traveling companions include persons from Beroea, Thessalonica, Derbe (Gaius), Lystra (Timothy) and Asia (v. 4), who “went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas (v. 5). Although Luke doesn’t name himself here, he uses first person pronouns, “we,” “us” (vv. 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15). It would appear that Luke joined Paul at Philippi (vv. 5-6). Christopher R. Matthews notes that the previous “we” passage ended at Philippi (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Acts 20:5, with reference to 16:17). Here, Luke tells us that while the traveling companions “were waiting for us in Troas” (v. 5, cf. above), “we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we joined them in Troas, where we stayed for seven days” (v. 6).

As today’s reading proper begins, Luke tells us about Paul’s long “after-dinner speech” at Troas. “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight” (v. 7, cf. “until dawn,” v. 11). Luke explains how a meeting extended into the night was feasible. “There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting” (v. 8). This extended speech becomes the first known occasion when someone fell asleep during a sermon. According to Luke, “A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead” (v. 9). Beverly Roberts Gaventa points out that “Eutychus means ‘good fortune’ ” and adds, “On inappropriate sleepiness and the need for watchfulness, see v. 31; Lk. 9:32; 12:35-38; 22:45-46” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Acts 20:9). Paul is able to reassure the people about Eutychus’s condition, saying, ““Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him” (v. 10). This is reported as a serious miracle, but someone has seen humor in the situation. The journal Christianity Today used to carry a series of cartoons bearing the heading “Eutychus and his Kin.” Matthews calls this event “an understated miraculous resurrection” with reference to 14:19-20 (op. cit., on 20:10). “Like Peter (9:36-42),” says Gaventa, “Paul is here identified with Jesus’ power to raise the dead (Lk. 7:11-17; 8:41-42; 49-56). With this interruption the conversation is extended. “Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left” (v. 11). “Meanwhile,” says Luke, “they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted” (v. 12).

Luke 12:22-31

On May 20, 2009 (Wednesday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One), comments were based on relevant comments from October 31, 2008 (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to October 26, Year Two), and earlier comments as noted there, when the Gospel reading included the Parable of the Rich Fool (Lk. 12:[13-15] 16-21) and advice about Not Being Anxious (Lk. 12:22-31 [32-34]). Today’s reading, also the latter section, is based on the relevant comments from May 20, 2009, The advice about Not Being Anxious, as presented by Matthew and by Luke, is presented in the following table:

The sequence is significant here, with Jesus’ warning against greed, addressed to the crowd in response to a question (Lk. 12:15, cf. vv. 13-15), followed by the Parable of the Rich Fool illustrating greed focused on one’s own interests (vv. 16-21), and then the admonitions not to be anxious (vv. 22-34). As G. W. H. Lampe points out, the parable of “the Rich Fool [is] peculiar to Lk., who, as often, provides a dramatic setting to the teaching. The preceding teaching,” he adds, “on God’s providential care implies detachment from worldly concerns and covetousness” (Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 2001, sec. 729 c. p. 835, on Lk 12:15-21). Lampe reminds us that “the necessary condition of the assurance of God’s providential care is that one should be seeking the Kingdom, which God will give to disciples” (ibid., on v. 30). As noted above, this teaching on care and anxiety (vv. 22-34) has a parallel version in Matthew (Mt. 6:25-34, 19-21).

This passage from Luke is very similar to the parallel passage in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (chap. 6). In the above table, above the line (Mt. 6:25-34; Lk 12:22-32), differences are highlighted with bold type. Below the line (Mt. 6:19-21; Lk. 12:33-34), similarities are highlighted. The order of the two units is reversed in Matthew, and they are separated by the saying about the Healthy Eye (Mt. 6:22-23; Lk. 11:34-36) and the saying on Serving Two Masters (Mt. 6:24; Lk. 16:13), sayings found in different parts of Luke. For much of these passages, the verbal agreement is extensive, more so in some respects in Greek. Matthew’s word “Gentiles” (Mt. 6:32) correctly translates e[qnh (ethnē ), but the same word with the added phrase “of the world” ( e[qnh tou: kovsmou, ethnē tou kosmou, Lk. 12:30) is correctly translated “nations [of the world].” Each Evangelist apparently had his audience in mind. If Matthew can apply Jesus’ advice not to be anxious because God “will clothe you” to a Jewish [i.e. not Gentile] audience, and Luke can apply it to “the nations of the world,” then we have the right to claim it for ourselves, don’t we?

Jesus tells his disciples (and us) not to worry about food, drink and clothing (Lk. 12:22; cf. Mt. 6:25a). “For life,” he says, “is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Lk. 6:23). Matthew presents this as a rhetorical question. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing (Mt. 6:25b)? We are asked to “consider the ravens” (Lk.) or “the birds of the air” (Mt.) who, though they “neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns” (Mt.), or “have neither storehouse nor barn” (Lk.), yet they are fed by “your heavenly Father” (Mt.), or “God” (Lk.). And again Luke’s statement, or rather, exclamation, “Of how much more value are you than the birds!” corresponds to Matthew’s rhetorical question, “Are you not (oujc, ouch) of more value than they?” (Lk. 12:14; Mt. 6:26). Jesus’ question, as reported by Matthew, is introduced with the negative particle oujc (ouch), which implies an affirmative answer, “Yes, of course we are of more value than they [i.e., the birds].”

Jesus continues with another question, “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” (Lk. 12:25 = Mt. 6:27). This seemingly simple question has some subtle undertones.

tivV de; ejx uJmw:n merimnw:n duvnatai ejpi; th;n hJlikivan aujtou prosqei:nai ph:cun~ (Lk. 12:25)

Who   of you by worrying can           to his hēlikian (of him = his) add      a cubit/hour?”

tivV de; ejx uJmw:n merimnw:n duvnatai prosqei:nai ejpi; th;n hJlikivan aujtou ph:cun e”na~ (Mt. 6:27)

Who   of you by worrying can           to his hēlikian (of him = his) add   one  cubit/hour?”

The word hJlikiva (hēlikia) is defined as “the period of time that one’s life continues, age, time of life,” and in that respect, “generally of time that is past” (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v.hJlikiva, hēlikia, meaning no. (1) ). This meaning of hJlikiva (hēlikia) would explain the translation of ph:cuV (pēchys), usually “cubit,” as “hour” (Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:25), as is done in many recent translations (e.g. NRSV, TNIV, NAS, New Century Version, New Living Translation), though a few follow the Authorized (KJ) Version with “cubit” or some reference to added height (cf. NKJV, K. S. Wuest’s The New Testament: An expanded translation of 1961, 1997, and E. H. Petersen’s The Message of 2003). The latter follow an alternative presented by the Lexicon that lists Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:15 under meaning no. (3) “bodily stature” as in Lk.9:3 of Zaccheus. “Some scholars,” says the Lexicon, “hold that Mt. 6:27; Lk. 12:25 should be listed here” (BDAG, s.v. meaning no. (3) ). In an abridgment of the second edition of the Lexicon, F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker say that for hJlikiva (hēlikia), the sense “age, time of life . . . is possible in Mt. 6:27 = Lk. 12:25, but it is probable that hyperbolic humor about increasing one’s height underlies the maxim; see [meaning no. 2,” where they define the term as “bodily stature” and add that it “is probable for Mt. 6:27 = Lk. 12:25”] (Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 2^nd ed., 1983, s.v. hJlikiva, hēlikia).

In another question, Jesus points out that the lilies “neither toil nor spin; yet I tell ;you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these” (Lk. 12:27; cf. Mt. 6:28-29). And he follows with an a fortiori (“all the more”) argument. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you–you of little faith” (Lk 12:28; cf. Mt. 6:30). So Jesus advises us, “And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying” (Lk. 12:29). Matthew’s version says not to ask worrisome questions, “ ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or [in addition to Luke’s concerns here] ‘What will we wear?’ ” (Mt. 6:31; cf. Lk. 12:27-28; Mt. 6:28-30). As noted above, according to Jesus it is the “Gentiles” (Mt.), or “the nations of the world” (Lk.) that “strive after all these things” (Lk.), or “strive for all these things” (Lk. 12:30; Mt. 6:32). “Instead,” says Jesus in Luke’s account, “strive for his kingdom [apparently for God’s kingdom, cf. refs. to God in Lk. 12:24, 28, 30], and these things will be given to you as well” (Lk. 12:31). Matthew adds emphasis, and includes a favorite word: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt. 6:33). Both Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of the teaching about not being anxious call for strong faith in the providence of our heavenly Father. Neither should be understood to suggest that we be presumptuous and fail to do our part in these matters. But there is a strong emphasis on spiritual priorities

Jesus continues with reassurance for his disciples. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Lk. 12:32); compare Matthew’s version: “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Mt. 6:34). But these verses are beyond today’s reading.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net