The Meaning of Nehemiah 5:1 Explained

Nehemiah 5:1

KJV: And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

YLT: And there is a great cry of the people and their wives, concerning their brethren the Jews,

Darby: And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

ASV: Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brethren the Jews.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And there was a great  cry  of the people  and of their wives  against their brethren  the Jews. 

What does Nehemiah 5:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Nehemiah 5:1-19 - Securing Justice For The Poor
The prospects of the poor people among the returned exiles were deplorable. There had been deficient rains and poor harvests, Haggai 1:6-11. They had mortgaged their lands to their richer brethren, and had even sold their children to pay the royal taxes and procure means of subsistence. The rich had taken advantage of their necessities, oppressing them with grievous exactions and heavy usury. When Nehemiah heard of it, he seems to have withstood the wrong with strenuous protest, depending on his God for support. And, in a great assembly, he carried the day against selfishness and greed. There is nothing here to condemn mortgage, or interest in themselves. Each is a legitimate method of trade, except when undue advantage is taken of a brother's necessities. The Nehemiah 5:14-19 were evidently added at a subsequent period to the rest of the chapter, and relate the habits of Nehemiah's administration. How full is this book of ejaculatory prayer! Even from his writing-table, this true-hearted man would lift up his eyes to God. [source]

Chapter Summary: Nehemiah 5

1  The Jews complain of their debt, mortgage, and bondage
6  Nehemiah rebukes the usurers, and causes them to make a covenant of restitution
14  He forbears his own allowance, and keeps hospitality

What do the individual words in Nehemiah 5:1 mean?

And there was a outcry of the people and their wives great against their brothers the Jews
וַתְּהִ֨י צַעֲקַ֥ת הָעָ֛ם וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם גְּדוֹלָ֑ה אֶל־ אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם הַיְּהוּדִֽים

וַתְּהִ֨י  And  there  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
צַעֲקַ֥ת  a  outcry 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: צְעָקָה  
Sense: cry, outcry.
הָעָ֛ם  of  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וּנְשֵׁיהֶ֖ם  and  their  wives 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
גְּדוֹלָ֑ה  great 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
אֶל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אֲחֵיהֶ֖ם  their  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
הַיְּהוּדִֽים  the  Jews 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: יְהוּדִי  
Sense: Jew.