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Tobiah

Nehemiah's adversary living at the time of Exile and Return

Tobiah was an Ammonite official who, along with Sanballat the Horonite, opposed Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

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Tobiah, described as an Ammonite official, was one of the main opponents of Nehemiah during the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh.2.10, 19; 4.3, 7; 6.1, 12, 14, 17, 19; 13.4, 7, 8). Along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arab, Tobiah mocked and threatened Nehemiah and the Jews, trying to discourage and intimidate them from completing the work. Tobiah had close ties with some of the Jewish nobles, who kept him informed about Nehemiah's activities (Neh.6.17-19). He even had a room in the temple courts, which Nehemiah later cleared out (Neh.13.4-8). Despite the opposition and threats, Nehemiah persevered in rebuilding the walls, trusting in God's protection and strength. Tobiah's actions demonstrate the political and social challenges faced by Nehemiah in his efforts to restore Jerusalem and reform the Jewish community.

Family

Spouse or partner
daughter of Shecaniah
Children
Jehohanan

Connections

Part of: Persian era: Esther and the return

Nehemiah against Sanballat and Tobiah

RoleStated in the text

Sanballat of Samaria and Tobiah the Ammonite opposed the wall by mockery, conspiracy and intrigue, including a letter and a hired prophet. Both had connections with priestly families in Jerusalem; Tobiah even had a room in the temple, which Nehemiah removed.

NehemiahReturned leaderSanballatNehemiah's opponentTobiahNehmiah's opponent
Where the text shows it: Neh 2:10 — Sanballat and Tobiah displeasedNeh 4:1-8 — Mockery and plotNeh 6:1-14 — Invitation to Ono; hired prophetNeh 13:4-8 — Tobiah's room in the temple

Sources: Neh 2:10 · Neh 4:1-8 · Neh 6:1-14 · Neh 13:4-8

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Tobiah Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

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).

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Tobiah appears

12 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2900

Nehemiah12

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.