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One of the most well known events involving the Tobiads, was Tobiah's interaction with Ezra and Nehemiah during the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. In order to understand the political tensions and the internal situation within the trans-Euphrates, including Judea, Sameria, and elsewhere, following the return in 539 B.C.E. from the Babylonian captivity we need to understand the context and mechanism of that return.

The historian Ben Sasson proposes that upon conquering the Babylon Empire, Cyrus, embarked on a policy of reconciliation with his new subjects. This policy stood in marked contrast with the bitter rule of Nabonidus the last Babylonian king, who had heavily taxed his subjects and ordered all the temples of his empire closed and their idols removed and brought to protect the capital city. Perhaps wishing to present himself as a restorer of religion and order in Babylon and benefactor of all his subjects, Cyrus issued decrees allowing the rebuilding of temples, and the return of their idols, throughout his empire.

The proclamation by Cyrus, King of Persia, to the exiles of Judah in Babylon permitting them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, appears to be one more examples of Cyrus policy of restoration and rebuilding of temples. The proclamation was made during his first year of rule after conquering the Babylonian Empire. Most historians date this event to 538 BCE. This was followed by several attempts, eventually successful, over several generations, to restart the Jewish sacrificial system, rebuild the Temple, and enclose the Temple area with a wall.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah describe these events. The main characters in these books are Zerubbabel (later Nehemiah), Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshmu the Arab. It is generally assumed that Zerubbabel was "Jewish" and Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshmu were native non-Jewish "adversaries of Judah and Benjamin" (Ezra 4:1). The books of Ezra and Nehemiah lend themselves to the simplistic explanation that once the Temple was destroyed, the "Jews" were exiled to Babylon. Afterwards non-Jewish colonists were moved into the Land of Israel in their place. When the "Jews" returned in 549BCE, they started to rebuild the Temple. The local (non-Jewish) population wanted to participate in the construction of the Temple, but was denied. This led to strife and conflict between non-Jew and Jew led by Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshmu against the governors of Judah.

However, upon closer examination the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and in light of archaeological findings, this simplistic explanation does not stand up to critical review. Modern scholarship suggests that Zerubbabel, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshmu were governors appointed by the Persia government for military, religious, taxation and general administration purposes. It also appears that they were each from leading families among the Jews in Babylon and returning exiles. The local population was an admixture of colonists, poorer Jewish families that had remained, and neighboring ethnic groups that had expanded into what was once the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

David Hughes goes further and suggests that these "leading families" were related to the Jewish royal family and the previous governors of each respective area. Sanballat believed himself to be related to the royal line through the kings of Israel. Tobias was a Levite, and believed himself to be a descendant of the princes of Messashe, governors of Ammon, Moab and Edom, and through them to the royal line. Geshmu was a descendant of the Jewish governors over Nabatu and Sheba, and through them to royal line. According to this theory, when Cyrus sent govenors to rule over what had once been Israel and Judah, he sent men from the royal family. These men functioned as tax farmers for the Persian government. In order to gain acceptance with the local population and fascilitate the collection of taxes they heavily intermarried with the local population, except for those associated with the "tribes of Judah and Benjamin". Critical analysis of the text of Ezra and Nehemia reveals that sets of four occur throughout the text: four govenors, four regional districts, four high priests, four scribes, etc. Yet we find that "Jerusalem ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates" (Ezra 4:20). This would imply that the Temple and religious hierarchy in Jerusalem was to function for "all of Israel" throughout the Trans-Euphrates, from Egypt to southern Syria). Thus political tension in the Land of Israel would not necessary be centered on ethnic and religious strife, but rather on the fact that the govenors, Sanballat, Tobiad and Geshmu were put in a position where they had to pay for a religious system over which they had no control, "From the taxes of Trans-Euphrates the complete costs are to be given to these men" (Ezra 6:8) This would explain the two-fold resistence to the Temple in Jerusalem, first when it has decreed that there would be a single Temple throughout the Trans-Euphrates, and secondly when it was allowed that the Jews could build a wall around the Temple restricting control to a single political group. By following the "sets of four" that occur throughout the text, it can be seen that the Persian govenors paralleled each other in many ways, with the exception that the religious prerogative had been specially endowed on the governor of Judea, as detailed in the following table:

Persian Governance of Trans-Euphrates
(as described in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah)