The Tovia Family: From Taxes to Priesthood – An Untold Journey

Ever heard of those families, where half the kibbutz lands are under their control, the grandfather was a director at the Dead Sea Works, the children maneuvered into the Israel Electric Corporation, and the nephews fast-tracked to judgeships? Yes, they exist in Israel. You won't be surprised to learn this isn't a new phenomenon; such families have always existed in the region.

Today, let's delve into the Tovia family. Tovia, the grandfather, at some point during the Babylonian exile or even before, seized vast tracts of land beyond the Jordan, in what is now the Kingdom of Jordan, including the city of Amman – Rabat Ammon. His name surfaces in the Book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah son of Hachaliah, a leader in Judah during the Second Temple period, and a friend of Ezra the scribe and a member of the Great Assembly, mentions “Tovia the Ammonite” as one of the adversaries who tried to hinder the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls.

Tovia likely was Jewish, but preserving tradition wasn't his forte. He was a ruler, controlling the region, uninterested in establishing a new center. Likely, he collected taxes from the nomads roaming the land. Regional leaders respected him, and he was uninterested in the trouble a Temple in Jerusalem might bring.

Though his plot to prevent the Temple's construction failed, his power remained formidable. Eliashib, the High Priest, a relative of Tovia, honored him by preparing a chamber for him within the Temple in Jerusalem! Nehemiah vehemently opposed this and evicted him from the Temple. But Tovia continued to amass power. After his death, his sons and successors, known as “Ben Tovia,” established an impressive estate at a place called Tyre. Josephus describes it: “He built a strong fortress, made entirely of white marble stone to the ceiling, surrounded by a great deep moat, engraving in stone giant creatures. He dug into (the cliff) projecting from the opposite hill and constructed caves many miles deep. Then he hewed into the rock chambers, some for feasting and others for sleeping and dwelling, and brought in a vast flow of water, making the estate a delight and an ornament. However, the entrances to the caves he made very small (so that) only one person, no more, could enter at a time. He did this intentionally, for his safety, so he wouldn’t be vulnerable to siege and capture by his kinsmen. He also built excellent courts of great size and adorned them with wide orchards. After completing the place, he named it Tyre, located between Arab and Judah beyond the Jordan, not far from the land of Heshbon.”

In modern times, the estate was identified at the site "Iraq al-Amir," approximately 35 km east of Jerusalem, fitting the above description, standing on impenetrable cliffs, constructed of giant stones, and beautifully decorated.

And what did the sons of Tovia do in this estate? They offered their tax collection services to King Ptolemy, who replaced Persian rule, in exchange for promising to double the taxes. They had their own cavalry, traveling through towns, villages, and nomadic tribes, collecting taxes, either willingly or by force, at the updated rates. At the archaeological site Iraq al-Amir, half a ton of silver coins was discovered! Every penny pillaged from the toils of the region’s villagers in Judah and across the Jordan. Even a sophisticated, impressive stable for their horses was found at the site.

Joseph son of Tovia, descended from Tovia the Ammonite, aspired to the high priesthood, and through his connections, successfully ousted High Priest Honio. As High Priest, he also engaged in tax collection. This was the beginning of the degradation of the high priesthood – instead of being a spiritual leader, focused on holiness and atoning for the people's sins in the Temple with the purity of body and soul, the high priest turned into a public official, a scheming political money collector. Later, the Hasmonean revolt briefly corrected this, but the Hasmonean descendants again corrupted the role, about which more will be revealed in the series of articles about the path to destruction, to be published in the month of Tammuz, G-d willing.