The Book of Tobit

The Book of Tobit, named after its principal character, combines Jewish piety and morality with folklore in a fascinating story that has enjoyed wide popularity in both Jewish and Christian circles. Prayers, psalms, and words of wisdom, as well as the skillfully constructed story itself, provide valuable insights into the faith and the religious milieu of its unknown author. The book was probably written early in the second century B.C.; it is not known where.

Tobit, a devout and wealthy Israelite living among the captives deported to Nineveh from the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722/721 B.C., suffers severe reverses and is finally blinded. Because of his misfortunes he begs the Lord to let him die. But recalling the large sum he had formerly deposited in far-off Media, he sends his son Tobiah there to bring back the money. In Media, at this same time, a young woman, Sarah, also prays for death, because she has lost seven husbands, each killed in turn on his wedding night by the demon Asmodeus. God hears the prayers of Tobit and Sarah and sends the angel Raphael in human form to aid them both.

Raphael makes the trip to Media with Tobiah. When Tobiah is attacked by a large fish as he bathes in the Tigris River, Raphael orders him to seize it and to remove its gall, heart, and liver because they are useful for medicine. Later, at Raphael's urging, Tobiah marries Sarah, and uses the fish's heart and liver to drive Asmodeus from the bridal chamber. Returning to Nineveh with his wife and his father's money, Tobiah rubs the fish's gall into his father's eyes and cures him. Finally, Raphael reveals his true identity and returns to heaven. Tobit then utters his beautiful hymn of praise. Before dying, Tobit tells his son to leave Nineveh because God will destroy that wicked city. After Tobiah buries his father and mother, he and his family depart for Media, where he later learns that the destruction of Nineveh has taken place.

The inspired author of the book used the literary form of religious novel (as in Esther and Judith) for the purpose of instruction and edification. The seemingly historical data, names of kings, cities, etc., are used as vivid details not only to create interest and charm, but also to illustrate the negative side of the theory of retribution: the wicked are indeed punished.

Although the Book of Tobit is usually listed with the historical books, it more correctly stands midway between them and the wisdom literature. It contains numerous maxims like those found in the wisdom books (cf. 4:3–19, 21; 12:6–10; 14:7, 9) as well as standard wisdom themes: fidelity to the law, intercessory function of angels, piety toward parents, purity of marriage, reverence for the dead, and the value of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. The book makes Tobit a relative of Ahiqar, a noted hero of ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature and folklore.

Written most likely in Aramaic, the original of the book was lost for centuries. Fragments of four Aramaic texts and of one Hebrew text were discovered in Qumran Cave 4 in 1952 and have only recently been published. These Semitic forms of the book are in substantial agreement with the long Greek recension of Tobit found in Codex Sinaiticus, which had been recovered from St. Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai) only in 1844, and in mss. 319 and 910. Two other Greek forms of Tobit have long been known: the short recension, found mainly in the mss. Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Venetus, and numerous cursive mss.; and an intermediate Greek recension, found in mss. 44, 106, 107. The Book of Tobit has also been known from two Latin versions: the long recension in the Vetus Latina, which is closely related to the long Greek recension and sometimes is even closer to the Aramaic and Hebrew texts than the Greek is; and the short recension in the Vulgate, related to the short Greek recension. The present English translation has been based mainly on Sinaiticus, which is the most complete form of the long Greek recension, despite two lacunae (4:7–19b and 13:6i–10b) and some missing phrases, which make succeeding verses difficult to understand and make it necessary to supplement Sinaiticus from the Vetus Latina or from the short Greek recension. Occasionally, phrases or words have been introduced from the Aramaic or Hebrew texts, when they are significantly different. Forms of the Book of Tobit are also extant in ancient Arabic, Armenian, Coptic (Sahidic), Ethiopic, and Syriac, but these are almost all secondarily derived from the short Greek recension.

The divisions of the Book of Tobit are:

1. Tobit's Ordeals (1:3–3:6)
2. Sarah's Plight (3:7–17)
3. Preparation for the Journey (4:1–6:1)
4. Tobiah's Journey to Media (6:2–18)
5. Marriage and Healing of Sarah (7:1–9:6)
6. Tobiah's Return Journey to Nineveh and the Healing of Tobit (10:1–11:18)
7. Raphael Reveals His Identity (12:1–22)
8. Tobit's Song of Praise (13:1–18)
9. Epilogue (14:1–15)

-bible.usccb.org.

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The Book of Tobit (/ˈtoʊbɪt/),[a][b] a work of Second Temple Jewish literature, is one of the deuterocanonical (or apocryphal) books of the Bible. It dates to the 3rd or early 2nd century BC. It emphasizes God's testing of the faithful, his response to prayer, and his protection of the covenant people, the Israelites.[1] The narrative follows two Israelite families: the blind Tobit in Nineveh and Sarah, abandoned in Ecbatana.[2] Tobit's son Tobias is sent to recover ten silver talents once deposited in Rhages in Media, and on his journey—guided by the angel Raphael—he meets Sarah.[2] Sarah is afflicted by the demon Asmodeus, who slays her prospective husbands, but with Raphael's help the demon is exorcised and she marries Tobias.[1] They return together to Nineveh, where Tobit's sight is miraculously restored.[2]

Since the 20th century, scholarly consensus has held that Tobit was originally composed in a Semitic language.[3] Five Aramaic and Hebrew fragments were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to the 1st or 2nd century BC.[4] The book influenced the authors of the Testament of Job, the Testament of Solomon, and possibly (depending on dating) Sirach, Jubilees, and the Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children.[5] It was included in both the Jewish-originated Septuagint[6] and the Old Latin Bible, which preserves textual traditions of Hebrew or Jewish vorlage.[7][8] It is extant in major Christian codices such as Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Basiliano-Venetus. Multiple ancient recensions are preserved in Greek and Latin, along with translations into Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Syriac.[9]

In the New Testament period, Tobit was cited or echoed by Jewish Christians including Matthew,[10][11][12][13] Luke,[14][15][16][17] John,[18][19][20][21] and the Didache.[22] Early patristic use appears in 2 Clement,[23] Polycarp,[24] and Origen, who after visiting 3rd-century Alexandria, Rome, Caesarea, and Athens, remarked that "the churches use Tobit".[25] Irenaeus further noted that the 2nd-century Gnostic Ophites included Tobit among the biblical prophets[26]

By contrast, explicit canonical rejection of Tobit by Rabbinic Judaism is recorded from the 2nd century onward. Rabbi Akiva declared "The books of Sirach and all other books written from then on do not defile the hands",[27] while a contemporary Talmudic baraita insisted that "our Rabbis taught" the present twenty-four book Masoretic canon.[28] Origen, though emphasizing Christian acceptance, acknowledged that "the Jews do not use [it]",[29] and Jerome likewise noted that the Bethlehem Jews had "excised" the book from their canon, relegating it to the non-canonical "agiografa", though still copying and reading it.[30] Fifteenth-century Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts attest to its continued transmission, as does the medieval Midrash Tanhuma, which attributes a probable Tobit allusion to 11th-century Moshe ha-Darshan.[31]

The book is regarded as deuterocanonical by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, though it continues to be absent from the Jewish Masoretic Text. The Protestant tradition similarly deems it Apocrypha, useful for teaching and liturgy but not canonical; in the historic Protestant traditions, the Book of Tobit is located in the intertestamental section straddling the Old Testament and New Testament.[32][33][34][35] Most scholars see the book as a didactic folktale or novella which inserted storytelling elements into a historical context, rather than a strictly literal narrative.[36][37]

Structure and summary

Bouguereau: Tobias Saying Good-Bye to his Father (1860)

The book has 14 chapters, forming three major narrative sections framed by a prologue and epilogue:[38]

• Prologue (1:1–2)
• Situation in Nineveh and Ecbatana (1:3–3:17)
• Tobias's journey (4:1–12:22)
• Tobit's song of praise and his death (13:1–14:2)
• Epilogue (14:3–15)

(Summarised from Benedikt Otzen, "Tobit and Judith").[39]

The prologue tells the reader that this is the story of Tobit of the tribe of Naphtali, deported from Tishbe in Galilee to Nineveh by the Assyrians. Tobit himself has always kept the laws of Moses, and brought offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem before the catastrophe of the Assyrian conquest. The narrative notes his marriage to Anna, and they have a son named Tobias.

Tobit, a pious man, buries dead Israelites, but one evening, while he sleeps, sparrows partially blind him by defecating in his eyes; he later becomes fully blind after physicians place ointment in his eyes.[40] He becomes dependent on his wife, but accuses her of stealing and prays for death. Meanwhile, his relative Sarah, living in far-off Ecbatana, also prays for death, for the demon Asmodeus has killed her suitors on their wedding-nights and she is accused of having caused their deaths.

God hears their prayers and dispatches the archangel Raphael to help them. Tobit sends Tobias to recover money from a relative, and Raphael, in human disguise, offers to accompany him (along with Tobias' dog). On the way they catch a fish in the Tigris, and Raphael tells Tobias that the burnt heart and liver can drive out demons and that the gall can cure blindness. They arrive in Ecbatana and meet Sarah; and as Raphael had predicted, the fish-offal drives out the demon.

Tobias and Sarah are married, Tobias grows wealthy, and they return to Nineveh (in Assyria) where Tobit and Anna await them. The gall cures Tobit's blindness, and Raphael departs after admonishing Tobit and Tobias to bless God and declare his deeds to the people (the Israelites), to pray and fast, and to give alms. Tobit praises God, who has punished his people with exile but who will show them mercy and rebuild the Temple if they turn to him.

In the epilogue Tobit tells Tobias that Nineveh will be destroyed as an example of wickedness; likewise Israel will be rendered desolate and the Temple will be destroyed, but Israel and the Temple will be restored; therefore Tobias should leave Nineveh, and he and his children should live in righteousness.

Citations

1. Levine 2007, p. 11.
2. Fitzmyer 2013, p. 31.
3. Milik, J.T. (1966). La patrie de Tobie. Revue biblique, 73(4), 522
4. Cross, F.M. (1961). The development of the Jewish scripts. In G.E. Wright (Ed.), The Bible and the ancient Near East: Essays in honor of William Foxwell Albright (p.138)
5. Moore, C.A. (1996). Tobit: A new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 40A). Doubleday (p.46)
6. Dines, J.M. (2004). The Septuagint. T&T Clark / Bloomsbury Publishing (pp. 18–19)
7. Tov, E. (2012). Textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible (3rd ed., rev. & expanded). Minneapolis: Fortress Press (p.134)
8. Kedar, B. (1988). The Latin translations. In M.J. Mulder (Ed.), Compendia rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum: Vol. II.1. Mikra (pp. 299-338). Fortress Press.
9. Fitzmyer, J.A. (2003). Tobit. In L.T. Stuckenbruck, P. W. van der Horst, H. Lichtenberger, D. Mendels, & J. R. Mueller (Eds.), Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature (p.3)
10. Tob 12:3, 8; 4:7-11 - Matt 6:1-21
    Tob 4:15 - Matt 7:12
11. DeSilva, D.A. (2002) Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance, pp.81-2
12. Daubney, Use of the Apocrpyha in the Christian Church, p.16
13. Hagner, D.A. (1993) Matthew 1-13 - Word Biblical Commentary, pp.157-8
14. Tob 4:15 - Luke 6:31
15. Donald, S. (2008) "Preface" in A Handbook on Sirach, pp.210-1
16. Lange, J.P.; Schaff, P. & Bissell, E.C. (2008) A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures - Apocrypha, p.361
17. Bullard, R.A. & Hatton, H.A. (2001) A Handbook on Tobit, pp.78-9
18. Tob 12:12, 15 - Rev 8:2-3
19. Beale, G.K. (1999) The Book of Revelation - A Commentary on the Greek Text, p.454
20. Aune, D.E. (1998) Revelation 6-16 - Word Biblical Commentary, p.509
21. Bratcher, R.G. & Hatton H. (1993) A Handbook on the Revelation to John, p.133
22. Tob 4:15 - Did 1:2
    Tob 12:9 - Did 4:6
23. Tob 12:8 - 2 Clem 16:4
24. Tob 4:10; 12:8 - Phil 10:2
25. Ep. Africanus, 13
26. Against Heresies 1.30.11
27. Tosefta Yadayim, 2:13, as quoted in Leiman, S.Z. (1976). The canonization of Hebrew scripture: The Talmudic and Midrashic evidence (Vol. 47). Archon Books (p.109)
28. b. Bava Batra 14b–15a, as quoted in McDonald, L.M. (2007). The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority (3rd ed.). Baker Academic (pp.202-3)
29. Ep. Africanus, 13
30. Gallagher, E.L. (2015). Why did Jerome Translate Tobit and Judith? The Harvard Theological Review, 108(3), 356–375
31. Moore, C.A. (1996). Tobit: A new translation with introduction and commentary (Vol. 40A). Doubleday (pp.48, 64, 249-52)
32. Geisler, Norman L.; MacKenzie, Ralph E. (1995). Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences. Baker Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-8010-3875-4. Lutherans and Anglicans used it only for ethical / devotional matters but did not consider it authoritative in matters of faith.
33. John Wesley (1825). The Sunday Service of the Methodists; With Other Occasional Services. J. Kershaw. p. 136.
34. Dyck, Cornelius J.; Martin, Dennis D. (1955). The Mennonite Encyclopedia: A-C. Mennonite Brethren Publishing House. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8361-1119-4.
35. Kirwan, Peter (16 April 2015). Shakespeare and the Idea of Apocrypha: Negotiating the Boundaries of the Dramatic Canon. Cambridge University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-316-30053-4.
36. Fitzmyer 2003, p. 31.
37. Macatangay, Francis M. (2011). The Wisdom Instructions in the Book of Tobit. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-025534-8.
38. Fitzmyer 2013, p. 58.
39. Otzen 2002, p. 4-7.
40. Tobit 2:7-10

-Wiki-

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1. The Apocrypha. The Book of Tobit. Alexander Scourby. Audio & Text - 2025.

https://youtu.be/g6qqNjBmwm0?si=lR-Evz5Ap3SNcWLJ

2. The Book of Tobit Apocrypha. Christopher Glyn. Audio & Text - 2022.

https://youtu.be/T6nOBq38p7Q?si=36lXK7KjKXOdIT8R

3. The Book of Tobit. The Wisdom Vault. Audio & Text - 2026.

https://youtu.be/1XiHOL9weQo?si=1khkFHU31WkdWHgs

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