Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth.

NEHEMIAH 5:3KJV
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Nehemiah 5:3 (KJV)

What does Nehemiah 5:3 mean?

Nehemiah 5:3 describes how some people in Jerusalem had to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses just to buy grain because there was a severe shortage of food. The verse shows that the economic hardship during this time was so great that families had to give up their property to survive.

In this verse, the people are speaking to Nehemiah, explaining their desperate situation as they try to cope with a famine. The mention of mortgaging land and homes highlights the depth of their struggle and the sacrifices they were forced to make. This complaint is part of a larger outcry among the people about the heavy burdens and injustices they were experiencing.

The Hebrew behind Nehemiah 5:3

  • "Mortgaged" (עָרַב, ʿarav): This word means to pledge or give something as security for a debt. Here, it shows that people were risking their main sources of livelihood just to get enough food.
  • "Dearth" (רָעָב, raʿav): This word means famine or severe hunger. Its use emphasizes that the food shortage was not minor but a crisis affecting daily survival.
  • "Corn" (דָּגָן, dagan): In the Hebrew context, this word refers to grain in general, not just corn as we think of it today. It means the basic staple foods people depended on.

Why Nehemiah 5:3 matters

  • Nehemiah 5:3 makes clear that the crisis was not just about hunger but about losing homes and land, which were essential for a family's future and identity in ancient Israel.
  • The verse highlights the social and economic pressures that built up during the rebuilding of Jerusalem, setting the stage for Nehemiah’s response to injustice among his own people.
  • This verse helps explain the depth of distress among the people, showing why Nehemiah’s leadership and reforms were urgently needed.

Where else these words appear

“mortgaged” Hebrew H6148 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 43:9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever:
  • Proverbs 6:1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
  • Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

“corn” Hebrew H1715 · used in 40 verses

  • Genesis 27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
  • 2 Chronicles 32:28 Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks.
  • Lamentations 2:12 They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers' bosom.

“vineyards” Hebrew H3754 · used in 82 verses

  • Genesis 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
  • 1 Kings 21:1 And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
  • Isaiah 1:8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.

“dearth” Hebrew H7458 · used in 88 verses

  • Genesis 12:10 And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land.
  • 2 Kings 25:3 And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people of the land.
  • Jeremiah 32:24 Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.