Rashi
Jewish
1040–1105
“one hundred and fifty men were eating at my table, in addition to the proselytes who came to us from the gentiles, for they too were eating at my table.”
The interpretation timeline
Neh 5:17
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Jewish · 2 Reformed · 1 Methodist · 1 Catholic
Neh 5:17 · Douay-Rheims
“The Jews also and the magistrates to the number of one hundred and fifty men, were at my table, besides them that came to us from among the nations that were round about us.”
Scholastic
c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
666 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation
c. 1650 – 1900
1771
A.D.
John Gill
Reformed
1697–1771
“Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep,.... Or fat ones; of beef and mutton a considerable quantity, abundantly sufficient for his guests and servants, and shows what a good table he kept: also fowls were prepared for me; what number is not said: and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine; the country afforded; that is, either once in ten days his stock of wine was renewed, or a more liberal entertainment was made, a banquet of wine, Est 5:6, yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor; the salary that used to be given him, but did this at his own expense, out of his own estate in Judea; or what he had got by his office as cupbearer to the king of Persia, the salary of which perhaps was continued: because the bondage was heavy upon the people; the tribute of the king of Persia, and their labour and expense in building the walls of the city.”
1832
A.D.
Adam Clarke
Methodist
1762–1832
“A hundred and fifty of the Jews - He kept open house, entertained all comers; besides having one hundred and fifty Jews who had their food constantly at his table, and at his expense. To be able to bear all these expenses, no doubt Nehemiah had saved money while he was cup-bearer to the Persian king in Susa.”
1849
A.D.
George Leo Haydock
Catholic
1774–1849
“Men, my brethren, not (Calmet) Persians. (Grotius) — Them; ambassadors. (Menochius) — If Nehemias behaved with such generosity for twelve years, he must have been very rich; or he received a great pension from the king, or voluntary and abundant contributions from the rich.”
1871
A.D.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Reformed
1871
“Moreover there were at my table an hundred and fifty of the Jews--In the East it has been always customary to calculate the expense of a king's or grandee's establishment, not by the amount of money disbursed, but by the quantity of provisions consumed (see Kg1 4:22; Kg1 18:19; Ecc 5:11). Next: Nehemiah Chapter 6”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.