Tobiah

Biblical Account

Tobiah first appears in the Book of Nehemiah as "Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite" (Nehemiah 2:10). Here "servant" may indicate low social standing, or it may be a title for a royal official. Along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arabian, he opposed Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall. The main episodes are as follows.

• Ridicule: He was greatly grieved when he heard that a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel, and he then mocked the Jews (Nehemiah 2:10, 2:19). He is recorded as saying, "Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall" (Nehemiah 4:3).
• Conspiracy and intimidation: On hearing that the wall was being joined together, he plotted with others to fight against Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:7–8). Later, he and Sanballat bribed Shemaiah in an attempt to make Nehemiah afraid. In response, Nehemiah prayed, "My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat" (Nehemiah 6:12–14).
• Ties with the nobles of Judah: He was the son-in-law of Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Johanan married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Because of these marriage ties, many of the nobles of Judah exchanged letters with him and took his side (Nehemiah 6:17–19).
• The temple chamber incident: While Nehemiah was away from Jerusalem, the priest Eliashib, who was allied with Tobiah, gave him a great chamber in the courts of the temple. The room had originally been used to store the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the tithes. Upon his return, Nehemiah cast all of Tobiah's household goods out of the chamber and had the chambers cleansed (Nehemiah 13:4–9).

Significance Within Scripture

Tobiah illustrates both the external pressure and the internal influence that the Jerusalem community faced as it rebuilt its walls and restored temple order after the return from exile. Nehemiah 13 records the chamber incident immediately after the public reading of the law stating that "the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever" (Nehemiah 13:1–3). The New Testament makes no mention of him.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Status: Many scholars take "servant" as the title of an official who administered the Ammonite region under the Persian Empire. His name means "The LORD is good." For this reason, some suggest that he may have been a worshiper of the LORD or of Judean descent, though the text does not say so.
• Relationship to a later family: Some connect him with the Tobiad family, which later rose to prominence east of the Jordan. This theory relies on archaeological evidence and is not established fact.
• Others of the same name: The "children of Tobiah" in Ezra 2:60, Tobijah in Zechariah 6:10, and the Levite Tobijah in 2 Chronicles 17:8 are regarded as different individuals. Tobias, the son of Tobit in the Book of Tobit found in Catholic Bibles, is likewise a separate figure.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Tobiah is discussed mainly together with Sanballat in expository preaching on the Book of Nehemiah. Sermons present him as an example of those who mock and obstruct the work of God, and he is frequently cited in sermons on church building or the rebuilding of a community. The chamber incident in Nehemiah 13 is sometimes applied in preaching to teach that whatever does not belong to God must be driven out of the church and the life of faith.