Nehemiah 5:17

Moreover. This was not all. Nehemiah not only had taken care of all his own expenses, but had shown the hospitality people expected of a governor, and had fed daily the 150 family heads of the people living in Jerusalem (see chapter 11:1). Besides these regular guests, Nehemiah also entertained at his table Jews who came to Jerusalem on business from the towns of Judea and from surrounding nations. Nehemiah must have been a man of considerable means in order to live in Jerusalem for 12 years in the manner here described. That some of the Jews living in Babylonia had become very wealthy is attested by the business documents of “Murashu Sons,” excavated at Nippur (see p. 65).