Tobiah
Who he was
Tobiah is mentioned in Ezra 2:60 and Nehemiah 7:62 as an ancestor of some of the returned exiles from Babylon who were unable to prove their Israelite lineage. These individuals were among the descendants of Delaiah, Tobiah, and Nekoda, who sought to be registered as priests but were excluded because their names could not be found in the genealogical records. As a result, they were considered unclean and disqualified from serving as priests. The mention of Tobiah in this context highlights the importance of genealogical records in determining priestly eligibility and the challenges faced by some returning exiles in establishing their Israelite identity.
Every mention
Ezra 1 mention
Nehemiah 1 mention
What the dictionary says
Pleasing to Jehovah, the “servant,” the “Ammonite,” who joined with those who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Exile (Neh. 2:10).
Sources
- STEPBible TIPNR · Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References · CC BY 4.0 · github.com/STEPBible/STEPBible-Data
- Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary (1869) · Public domain