Text: Nehemiah 5:7
OT Text Referred to: Leviticus 25:46
Subject: debt reform
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Echo
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Leviticus 25:46 forbids harsh rule (פֶּרֶךְ) over fellow Israelites, distinguishing how brothers must be treated from how non-Israelite servants may be held. Nehemiah 5:7 records the governor confronting the nobles for "exacting usury from your own brothers" — charging interest (מַשָּׁא) on loans to fellow Jews, a practice that amounts to the economic harshness Leviticus prohibits. Nehemiah's public assembly to address this abuse applies the Levitical distinction between permissible treatment of outsiders and the required generosity toward fellow covenant members, demanding that the wealthy stop treating their kinsmen as sources of profit.