Tobiah: Edit history

Biblical Account

Tobiah first appears in the Book of Nehemiah as "Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite" (Nehemiah 2:10). The term "servant" may indicate low social standing, or it may be the title of a royal official. With Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arabian, he opposed Nehemiah's rebuilding of the wall. The principal 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: When he heard that the wall was being joined together, he conspired with others to fight against Jerusalem (Nehemiah 4:7–8). Later, he and Sanballat hired Shemaiah in an attempt to make Nehemiah afraid. Nehemiah responded by praying that God would remember Tobiah and Sanballat for what they had done (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 absent from Jerusalem, Eliashib the priest, 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. On his return, Nehemiah cast all of Tobiah's household stuff 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 reestablished temple order after the return from exile. Nehemiah 13 records the chamber incident immediately after the public reading of the law declaring that "the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever" (Nehemiah 13:1–3). The New Testament does not mention him.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

• Status: Many scholars understand "servant" as the title of an official who governed the Ammonite region under the Persian Empire. His name means "The LORD is good." On this basis, some suggest that he may have been a worshiper of the LORD or of Judean descent, although the text does not state this.
• Relationship to a later family: Some scholars connect him with the Tobiad family, which later rose to prominence east of the Jordan. This theory rests on archaeological evidence and is not established fact.
• Others of the same name: The "children of Tobiah" in Ezra 2:60, the Tobijah of Zechariah 6:10, and the Levite Tobijah of 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 Korean Protestant churches, Tobiah is treated chiefly alongside Sanballat in expository preaching on the Book of Nehemiah. Sermons present him as an example of forces that mock and obstruct the work of God, and he is often cited in sermons on church building or the rebuilding of a community. The chamber incident of 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.