The Tobiads were a Jewish dynasty in Ammon with origins possibly rooted in the First Temple Period, both literary and archaeological evidence point to their prominence during the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty and at the beginning of the Hasmonean period. They were philhellene, supporters of Hellenistic Judaism, in the early years of the 2nd century BCE.
What is known about the Tobiads is a combination of references in the Zenon Papyri, accounts of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews xii. 160-236) and the Books of Maccabees. These are supplemented by biblical references, the letters from Nimrud, the Lachish letters, and archaeological remains of the Tobiad estate in Iraq al-Amir.
History The Tobiad family, most probably named after their ancestor bearing the name Tuvia (Tobias) ("God is my good" or "Good is my God"),Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). 'MAiraq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads'm. Oxford: BAR Publishing. p. 30. a name which remained in the family by papponymy and patronymy for several hundred years, received its noble status possibly during the First Temple Period and retained it until the death of their last scion, Hyrcanus. Though no complete history of the Tobiad family has survived, a partial narrative may be reconstructed, based on the many diverse literary and historical sources and archaeological remains upon which they left their mark. The written sources include the Lachish letters, the letters from Nimrud, the books of Isaiah, Nehemiah and Zachariah, the Zenon papyri, the books of Maccabees and the writings of Josephus. Archaeological remains include Qasr al-Abd and other remains from Iraq al-Amir in today's Jordan.
First Temple Period
As Benjamin Mazar established, there were influential families in the Kingdom of Judah who held estates in the Transjordan who did not necessarily lose their lands even when the Neo-Assyrian Empire destroyed the Kingdom of Israel. Mazar suggested that the Tobiads were prominent landowners in the Transjordan who were exiled from their lands by Tiglath-Pileser III. Based on the account in the book of Chronicles, he concluded that the Tobiad's rise to prominence and their ownership of land in Ammon occurred during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah and his son Jotham, who were said to have been victorious over the Ammonites. This would explain their residence in the area from shortly thereafter.
A probable mention of an ancestor to the Tobiads from the 8th century BCE is in the Book of Isaiah, within the context of the kings of Aram and Israel trying to depose the Kings of Judah and replace him with a figure by the name of Tobel:
According to Naftali Herz Tur-Sinai, King Josiah's reform of the 7th century BCE effected changes in personal names, and the theophoric suffix -el was converted to the suffix -iahu. It follows that the name Tobel would be changed to Tobiah(u). Additionally, the prefix "son of" (ben) was common among high officials in Ugarit and in the biblical lists of King Solomon's officials, and as was posited by Alt, most probably denoted an office passed on from father to son, making the son of Tobel an individual of prominence and a link in a dynasty of sorts, something which would have made his replacement of the king more acceptable. Considering that some of the later kings of Israel, and even Pekah himself, had demonstrated strong ties with estate holders in trans-Jordan, it is plausible that this Tobel was one of them.
Further support for the presence of a ruler in Ammon by the name of Tobel can be found in one of the letters of Nimrud, dated from between the reigns of Tiglath-Pileser III to Sargon II, namely between 740–705 BCE, mentioning a messenger from the land of Tabel and providing an account of a skirmish between the inhabitants of Gader and the people of Moab, the latter famously bordering with Ammon. Another individual of high status named Tobiah was mentioned in two Ostraca from Lachish, dated 588 BCE, bearing the titles "Servant of the King" and "Arm of the King" (referring to King Zedekiah), possibly serving as another testimony to the political status of the Tobiads and their relationship with the Monarchy in Jerusalem, towards the end of the First Temple Period.
Second Temple Period
Achaemenid Empire Another source about a figure with the name Tobiah, placing him at about 519 BCE, can be seen in the Book of Zechariah, where he is mentioned among other notable figures as part of "the branch" that shall rule in the future alongside the High Priest of Israel and shall rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Mazar proposed this individual to be the grandfather of Tobiah the Ammonite mentioned in the Book of Nehemiah.
Indeed, Tobiah the Ammonite is recognized by various scholars to be an ancestor of the clan, and he is mentioned often and in some detail in the book of Nehemiah. "Tobiah The Servant, The Ammonite", is said to have conspired in 445 BCE with other land-owners, Sanballat of Samaria and Geshem the Arabian, to oppose Nehemiah on the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, possibly due to the reform on land owning that Nehemiah forced through. It is mentioned that the "sons of Tobiah" were among those who could not prove their lineage; it appears that this is referring to all the residents of the land of Tobiah,Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. pp. 23–24. and it is possible that their lack of record is due to their residence outside of Judah or to the possibility that they neglected to take their records with them into exile.Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. p. 24. They eventually were accepted into the community,Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. p. 23. and that the aforementioned Tobiah was a Jew, was related by marriage to the High-Priest Eliashiv, was on good terms with him to the point of having an office in the Temple court, and was listed among the "Nobles of Judah" along with some of his relatives. Though it is quite obvious that he was at odds with Nehemiah, seeing as the latter expelled him from the Temple and insisted that the place be ritually cleansed thereafter, it is possible that this was due to Tobiah's attempt of insinuating himself into the Temple and even the priesthood.Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. p. 27. According to Mazar, his title "Ammonite servant" refers to an official of high standing, and despite it being used scornfully, what is meant is "Ammonite servant of the king," i.e. servant to the Achaemenid emperor, residing in Ammon. This title is generally seen to denote a rank providing ministerial services to the Persians in Ammon, and there is reason to assume that Tobiah was the governor there.
Hellenistic Period Among the business documents of Zenon, secretary of Apollonius, chief finance minister to Ptolemy II Philadelphus, are two letters from a figure named Toubias, dated May 12 259 BCE, one addressed to Apollonius and the other to King Ptolemy. In these letters Toubias responds to a request by the king via Apollonius for him to send animals, due to the king's affinity to unusual beasts, and specifies the animals he sent, all of them domesticated.Tcherikover, Victor A.; Fuks, Alexander (1957). Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum Volume I. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 128–129. As a testimony of his high rank, Toubias addressed the king using the customary formula of subservience, though not in an exaggerated fashion, while he addressed Apollonius as an equal. Toubias is mentioned further, albeit not directly, in another papyrus dated April–May 259 BCE and written up in the fortress (Birta) of Ammon (Ammonitis), reporting the purchase of a slave-girl by Zenon from Nicanor of Cnidos, with Nicanor and two of the witnesses, one cavalryman and one Persian Jewish soldier, being "in the service of Toubias".Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. p. 17 Other papyri tell of Toubias providing Zenon and his company with pack animals ("beasts of burden") and flour on their journey through the region.Tcherikover, Victor A.; Fuks, Alexander (1957). Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum Volume I. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 118–121. Rosenberg concludes that "Toubias was head of a mixed-nationality cleruchy or military community and indulged in breeding animals and slaves and supplying them to the Ptolemaic Court. Tobias must have been an important local landowner, as he was on friendly terms not only with Appolonios but even with the ruler Ptolemy II Philadelphos".Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. pp. 19–20.
Josephus wrote extensively about Joseph, the nephew of the High Priest Onias and the son of Tobias.Josephus. Antiquities 12:154–236.Rosenberg, Stephen G. (2007). "Tobiads". In Skolnik, Fred (ed.). Encyclopaedia Judaica Volume 20 To–Wei (2nd ed.). Michigan: Thomson Gale. p. 8. Although the known individuals mentioned in the account all belonged to patronymic and papponymic dynasties, their precise identities are still disputed among modern scholars, as are the precise dates of the events.Rosenberg, Stephen Gabriel (2006). Airaq Al-Amir: The Architecture of the Tobiads. Oxford: BAR Publishing. pp. 32–39. According to this narrative, Joseph was granted the rights to farm taxes from Syria, Phoenicia and Samaria instead of his uncle Onias, by King Ptolemy, due to the former's refusal to pay tribute to the latter, and did so for twenty-two years.Rosenberg, Stephen G. (2007). "Tobiads". In Skolnik, Fred (ed.). Encyclopaedia Judaica Volume 20 To–Wei (2nd ed.). Michigan: Thompson Gale. pp. 8–9. It is further stated that Hyrcanus, the youngest of Joseph's seven sons, was sent to represent his family in Ptolemy's celebration in honor of the birth of his son. It was at this celebration that Hyrcanus reportedly supplanted his father as a tax farmer, an act which his father and brothers resented deeply. The population split into two camps, though the majority and the high priest supported the older brothers.Rosenberg, Stephen G. (2007). "Tobiads". In Skolnik, Fred (ed.). Encyclopaedia Judaica Volume 20 To–Wei (2nd ed.). Michigan: Thompson Gale. p. 9. After killing two of his brothers in battle and being refused entry into Jerusalem, Hyrcanus fled across the Jordan. They set up the family estate where he lived in conflict with his Arab neighbors for seven years. The story of Hyrcanus concludes with his suicide after Antiochus IV Epiphanes rose to power in 175 BCE and the destruction of the estate.