Topic
Tobiah
13 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Nehemiah 2:10Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Opposes the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
- Ezra 2:60Smith · ISBE · Nave 1. Ancestor of a family of Babylonian captives
The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred fifty and two.
- Nehemiah 6:18Smith · ISBE · Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Subverts nobles of Judah
For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.
- Nehemiah 7:62Smith · ISBE · Nave 1. Ancestor of a family of Babylonian captives
The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two.
- Nehemiah 2:19Smith · Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Opposes the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
- Nehemiah 6:17Smith · Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Subverts nobles of Judah
¶ Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.
- Nehemiah 4:3Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Opposes the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall.
- Nehemiah 4:7Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Opposes the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
¶ But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,
- Nehemiah 4:8Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Opposes the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem
And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.
- Nehemiah 6:1–14Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Conspires to injure and intimidate Nehemiah
Now it came to pass, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arabian, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had builded the wall, and that there was no breach left therein; (though at that time I had not set up the doors upon the gates;) That…
- Nehemiah 6:17–19Easton
¶ Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken…
- Nehemiah 6:19Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Conspires to injure and intimidate Nehemiah
Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.
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- Nehemiah 13:4–9 Nave 2. An enemy of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah — Allies himself with Eliashib, the priest
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 4 references
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).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 6 references
- "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.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 7 references
to-bi'-a (Tobhiyah; Codex Alexandrinus Tobias; omitted in Codex Vaticanus):
(1) An Ammonite slave (King James Version, "servant"), probably of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria (Ne 2:10). He was grieved exceedingly when Nehemiah came to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. In two ways he was connected by marriage with the Jews, having himself married the daughter of Shecaniah, the son of Arab, and his son Jehohanan having married the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah (Ne 6:18). Because of this close connection with the Jews, the nobles of the latter corresponded by letter with him and also reported his good deeds to Nehemiah and reported Nehemiah's words to Tobiah. In consequence of the report, Tobiah sent letters to Nehemiah to put him in fear (6:17-19). Nehemiah seems to have considered him to be his chief enemy; for he put him before Sanballat in his prayers to God to remember his opponents according to their works (6:14). In 13:4 we are told that he was an ally of Eliashib, the high priest who had the oversight of the chambers of the house of God and had prepared for him as a guest chamber the room which had before been used as a storehouse for offerings of various kinds. Nehemiah, having heard during his second visit to Jerusalem of this desecration of the temple, cast out the household stuff of Tobiah and cleansed the chambers, restoring the vessels of God and the offerings as of old.
(2) The eponym of a family which returned with Zerubbabel, but could not trace its descent (Ezr 2:60; Ne 7:62).
R. Dick Wilson
In the topical indexes
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.