Encyclopedia entry
Tobiah
Pleasing to Jehovah, the “servant,” the “Ammonite,” who joined with those who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Exile (Neh. 2:10). He was a man of great influence, which he exerted in opposition to the Jews, and “sent letters” to Nehemiah “to put him in fear” (Neh. 6:17-19). “Eliashib the priest” prepared for him during Nehemiah’s absence “a chamber in the courts of the house of God,” which on his return grieved Nehemiah sore, and therefore he “cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber” (13:7, 8).
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
(goodness of Jehovah).
“The children of Tobiah” were a family who returned with Zerubbabel, but were unable to prove their connection with Israel— (Ezra 2:60; Nehemiah 7:62) (B.C. before 536.) “Tobiah the slave, the Ammonite,” played a conspicuous part in the rancorous position made by Sanballat the Moabite and his adherents to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. (B.C. 446.) The two races of Moab and Ammon found in these men fit representatives of that hereditary hatred to the Israelites which began before the entrance into Caanan, and was not extinct when the Hebrews had ceased to exist as a nation. But Tobiah, though a slave, (Nehemiah 2:10,19)—unless, this is a title of opprobrium—and an Ammonite, found means to ally himself with a priestly family, and his son Johanan married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. (Nehemiah 6:18) He himself was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, (Nehemiah 6:17) and these family relations created for him a strong faction among the Jews.
In the Bible
15
Verses where Tobiah is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- Ezra 2:60
the descendants of Delaiah, the descendants of Tobiah, and the descendants of Nekoda, 652 in all.
- Nehemiah 2:10
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.
- Nehemiah 2:19
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
- Nehemiah 4:3
Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!”
- Nehemiah 4:7
When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious,
- Nehemiah 6:1
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left—though to that time I had not yet installed the doors in the gates—
+9 more verses naming Tobiah.
Entries that reference Tobiah
11
Tobiah references
19
Sources · Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869) · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.