1. When the Law of Moses was being read aloud to the people, they came to the passage that said that no Ammonite or Moabite was ever to be permitted to join God's people.
2. This was because the people of Ammon and Moab did not give food and water to the Israelites on their way out of Egypt. Instead, they paid money to Balaam to curse Israel, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3. When the people of Israel heard this law read, they excluded all foreigners from the community.
4. The priest Eliashib, who was in charge of the temple storerooms, had for a long time been on good terms with Tobiah.