With whom would this group have “mortgaged” their fields?
Nehemiah 5:3 (ESV)
3There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
Though Nehemiah 5:3 does not answer that question, the formulation of Nehemiah 5:1 compels us to conclude that they have had to turn to their Jewish brothers for assistance. Nehemiah will confirm this conclusion in Nehemiah 5:7.
3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”