And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, [was] allied unto Tobiah:
Ver. 4. And before this] Before the commandment came as a lamp, and the law a light, as Pro 6:23 causing a reformation. As toads and serpents grow in dark and dirty cellars, so do sinful disorders in ignorant places and persons.
Eliashib the priest] The high priest; but such a one as from whom profaneness went forth into all the land, Jeremiah 23:15. The sins of teachers are teachers of sins.
Having the oversight of the chamber] i.e. Of all the chambers of the temple, by virtue of his office; and, therefore, thought belike he might do what he wished with them (now in Nehemiah's absence) without control.
Was allied unto Tobiah] A bitter enemy to God's people, but sly and subtle, seeking to insinuate by alliance and letters of persuasion; such as Cardinal Sadolet wrote to the Genevenses, in Calvin's absence, and Cardinal Lorraine to the Protestant princes of Germany, that he and his brethren, the Guises (those sworn swordmen of the devil), would embrace the reformed religion.