The Book of Tobit

The Book of Tobit

illustrated, and with commentary

The Book of Tobit

Tobit was from the tribe and city of Naphtali
(which is in the upper parts of Galilee above
Asher, after the way, which leads to the west,
that has on its left the city of Sephet).
Although he had been taken captive in the
days of Shalmaneser, the king of the
Assyrians, even in such a situation as
captivity, he did not desert the way of truth.
So then, every day, all that he was able to
obtain, he bestowed on his fellow captive
brothers, who were from his kindred. And,
when he was among the youngest of any in
the tribe of Naphtali, he showed not so much

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as any childish behavior in his work. And

then, when all went to the golden calves
which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had made, he
alone fled from the company of them all. Yet
he continued on to Jerusalem, to the temple of
the Lord, and there he adored the Lord God
of Israel, offering faithfully all his first-fruits
and his tithes. So then, in the third year, he
administered all his tithes to new converts and
to new arrivals. These and similar such things,
even as a boy, he observed according to the
law of God.

Truly, when he had become a man, he

received as wife Anna of his own tribe, and
he conceived a son by her, to whom he
assigned his own name. From his infancy, he
taught him to fear God and to abstain from all
sin. Therefore, when, during the captivity, he
had arrived with his wife and son at the city
of Nineveh, with all his tribe, (even though
they all ate from the foods of the Gentiles,) he
guarded his soul and never was contaminated
with their foods. And because he was mindful
of the Lord with his whole heart, God gave
him favor in the sight of Shalmaneser the
king. And he gave him the power to go
wherever he would want, having the freedom
to do whatever he wished. Therefore, he
continued on to all who were in captivity, and

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he gave them helpful advice.

But when he had arrived at Rages, a city of

the Medes, he had ten talents of silver, from
that which he had been given in honor by the
king. And when, in the midst of the great
tumult of his kindred, he saw the destitution
of Gabael, who was from his tribe, he loaned
him, under a written agreement, the
aforementioned weight of silver. In truth,
after a long time, Shalmaneser the king died,
while Sennacherib his son reigned in his
place, and he held a hatred for the sons of
Israel. Every day, Tobit traveled though all his
own people, and he consoled them, and he
distributed to each one as much as he could
from his resources. He nourished the hungry,
and he supplied clothes to the naked, and he
showed concern for the burial of the dead and
of the slain.

And then, when king Sennacherib had

returned from Judea, fleeing the scourge
which God had caused all around him
because of his blasphemy, and, being angry,
he was slaughtering many from the sons of
Israel, Tobit buried their bodies. And when it
was reported to the king, he ordered him to be
slain, and he took away all his belongings. In
truth, Tobit, fleeing with nothing but his son

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and his wife, was able to remain hidden

because many loved him. In truth, after
forty-five days, the king was slain by his own
sons, and Tobit was able to return to his
house, and all his resources were restored to
him.

In truth, after this, when there was a feast day

of the Lord, and a good dinner had been
prepared in the house of Tobit, he said to his
son: "Go, and bring some others who fear
God from our tribe to feast with us."

And after he had gone, returning, he reported

to him that one of the sons of Israel, with his
throat cut, was lying in the street. And
immediately, he leapt from his place reclining
at table, left behind his dinner, and went forth
with fasting to the body. And taking it up, he
carried it in secret to his house, so that, after
the sun had set, he might bury him cautiously.
And after he had hidden the body, he chewed
his bread with mourning and fear,
remembering the word that the Lord spoke
through the prophet Amos:

"Your feast days shall be turned

into lamentation and mourning."

Truly, when the sun had set, he went out, and

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he buried him.

Yet all his neighbors argued with him, saying:

"Now, an order was given to execute you
because of this matter, and you barely
escaped a death sentence, and again you are
burying the dead?"

But Tobit, fearing God more than the king,

stole away the bodies of the slain and
concealed them in his house, and in the
middle of the night, he buried them. But it
happened one day, being tired from burying
the dead, he came into his house, and he
threw himself down next to the wall, and he
slept.

And, as he was sleeping, warm droppings

from a swallow’s nest fell upon his eyes, and
he was made blind. And so the Lord
permitted this trial to befall him, in order that
an example might be given to posterity of his
patience, which is even like that of holy Job.
For, even from his infancy, he had always
feared God and kept his commandments, so
he was not discouraged before God because
of the scourge of blindness that had befallen
him. But he remained immoveable in the fear
of God, giving thanks to God all the days of
his life. For just as kings have mocked blessed

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Job, so also his relatives and acquaintances

ridiculed his life, saying: "Where is your hope,
on behalf of which you gave alms and buried
the dead?"

In truth, Tobit corrected them, saying: "Do

not speak in this way, for we are the sons of
the holy ones, and we look forward to that life
which God will give to those who never
change in their faith before him." In truth, his
wife Anna went out to weaving work daily,
and she brought back the provisions that she
was able to obtain by the labor of her hands.
Whereupon it happened that, having received
a young goat, she brought it home. When her
husband heard the sound of its bleating, he
said, "Look, so that it might not be stolen,
return it to its owners, for it is not lawful for
us either to eat, or to touch, anything stolen."

At this, his wife, being angry, answered,

"Clearly, your hope has become vanity, and
the manner of your almsgiving has become
apparent." And with these and other similar
such words, she reproached him.

Then Tobit sighed, and he began to pray with

tears, saying,

"O Lord, you are just and all your

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judgments are just, and all your

ways are mercy, and truth, and
judgment. And now, O Lord,
remember me, and do not take
vengeance for my sins, and do
not call to mind my offenses, nor
those of my parents. For we have
not obeyed your precepts, and so
we have been handed over to
plundering and to captivity, and
to death, and to mockery, and as
a disgrace before all the nations,
among which you have dispersed
us. And now, O Lord, great are
your judgments. For we have not
acted according to your precepts,
and we have not walked
sincerely before you. And now,
O Lord, do with me according to
your will, and order my spirit to
be received in peace. For it is
more expedient for me to die,
than to live."

And so, on the same day, it happened that

Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, in Rages, a city
of the Medes, also heard a reproach from one
of her father’s servant maids. For she had
been given to seven husbands, and a demon
named Asmodeus had killed them, as soon as

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they had approached her. Therefore, when

she corrected the maid for her fault, she
answered her, saying, "May we never see son
or daughter from you upon the earth, you
murderess of your husbands.

Would you also kill me, just as you have

already killed seven husbands?" At these
words, she proceeded to an upper room of her
house. And for three days and three nights,
she did not eat or drink. But, continuing in
prayer with tears, she beseeched God, so that
he would liberate her from this reproach.

And it happened on the third day, while she

was completing her prayer, blessing the Lord,
that she said:

"Blessed is your name, O God of

our fathers, who, though you had
been angry, will show mercy.
And in time of tribulation, you
dismiss the sins of those who call
upon you. To you, O Lord, I turn
my face; to you, I direct my eyes.
I beg you, O Lord, that you may
absolve me from the chains of
this reproach, or at least take me
away from the earth. You know,
O Lord, that I have never

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coveted a husband, and I have

preserved my soul clean from all
impure desire. I have never
mingled myself with those who
play. And I have not presented
myself as a participant with those
who walk with levity. But I
consented to accept a husband, in
your fear, not in my lust. And,
either I was unworthy of them, or
they perhaps were not worthy of
me. For perhaps you have
preserved me for another
husband. For your counsel is not
within the ability of man. But all
who worship you are certain of
this: that one’s life, if it should be
tested, shall be crowned, and if it
should be in tribulation, shall be
delivered, and if it should be
corrected, shall be permitted to
approach your mercy. For you
are not delighted with our
perdition. For, after a storm, you
create tranquility, and after tears
and weeping, you pour out
exultation. May your name, O
God of Israel, be blessed
forever."

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At that time, the prayers of them both were

heard in the sight of the glory of the most high
God. And the holy Angel of the Lord,
Raphael, was sent to care for both of them,
whose prayers were recited at the same time
in the sight of the Lord.

Therefore, when Tobit considered that his

prayer was heard, so that he might be able to
die, he called his son Tobias to him. And he
said to him: "My son, hear the words of my
mouth, and set them, like a foundation, in
your heart.

When God will receive my soul, bury my

body. And you shall honor your mother, all
the days of her life. For you are obliged to be
mindful of what great perils she suffered
because of you in her womb. But when she
too will have completed the time of her life,
bury her near me.

Yet, for all the days of your life, have God in

your mind. And be careful that you never
consent to sin, nor overlook the precepts of
the Lord our God. Give alms from your
substance, and do not turn away your face
from any pauper. For so it shall be that
neither will the face of the Lord be turned
away from you. In whatever way that you are

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able, so shall you be merciful. If you have

much, distribute abundantly. If you have
little, nevertheless strive to bestow a little
freely. For you store up for yourself a good
reward for the day of necessity. For
almsgiving liberates from every sin and from
death, and it will not suffer the soul to go into
darkness. Almsgiving will be a great act of
faith before the most high God, for all those
who practice it.

Take care to keep yourself, my son, from all

fornication, and, except for your wife, never
permit yourself to know such an offense.

Never permit arrogance to rule in your mind

or in your words. For in it, all perdition had its
beginning.

And whoever has done any kind of work for

you, immediately pay him his wages, and do
not let the wages of your hired hand remain
with you at all.

Whatever you would hate to have done to

you by another, see that you never do so to
another. Eat your bread with the hungry and
the needy, and cover the naked with your
own garments.

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Set out your bread and your wine at the burial

of a just man, and do not eat and drink from it
with sinners. Always seek the counsel of a
wise man. Bless God at all times. And petition
him that he direct your ways and that all your
counsels may remain in him.

And now, I reveal to you, my son, that I lent

ten talents of silver, while you were still a
young child, to Gabael, in Rages, a city of the
Medes, and I have his written agreement with
me. And so, inquire how you may travel to
him and receive from him the aforementioned
weight of silver, and return to him the written
agreement. Do not be afraid, my son. We do
indeed lead a poor life, but we will have many
good things: if we fear God, and withdraw
from all sin, and do what is good."

Then Tobias responded to his father, and he

said: "I will do everything just as you have
instructed me, father. But I do not know how
to obtain this money. He does not know me,
and I do not know him. What proof shall I
give to him? And I do not know any part of
the way, which leads to that place."

Then his father answered him, and he said:

"Indeed, I have a written agreement about
that in my possession, which, when you show

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it to him, he will immediately repay it. But go

out now, and inquire after some faithful man,
who would go with you to keep you safe in
return for his wages, so that you may receive
it while I am still alive."

Then Tobias, departing, found a splendid

young man, standing girded and seemingly
ready for travel. And not knowing that he was
an Angel of God, he greeted him, and he said,
"Where are you from, good young man?"

And so he answered, "From the sons of

Israel."

And Tobias said to him, "Do you know the

way that leads to the region of the Medes?"

And he answered: "I know it. And I have

frequently walked through all its paths, and I
stayed with Gabael, our brother, who lives in

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Rages, a city of the Medes, which is situated

at the mount of Ecbatana."

Tobias said to him, "I implore you, wait here

for me, until I tell these same things to my
father." Then Tobias, entering, revealed all
these things to his father. Upon which, his
father, in admiration, asked that he would
enter to him.

And so, entering, he greeted him, and he said,

"May gladness be always with you."

And Tobit said, "What kind of gladness will

be for me, since I sit in darkness and do not
see the light of heaven?"

And the young man said to him, "Be steadfast

in soul. Your cure from God is near."

And so Tobit said to him, "Are you able to

lead my son to Gabael in Rages, a city of the
Medes? And when you return, I will pay you
your wages."

And the Angel said to him, "I will lead him,

and I will bring him back to you."

And Tobit responded to him, "I ask you to tell

me: which family or which tribe are you

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from?"

Raphael the Angel said, "Do you seek the

family of the one you hire, or else the hired
hand himself, to go with your son? But, lest
perhaps I cause you to worry: I am Azariah,
the son of Hananiah the great."

Tobit responded, "You are from a great

family. But I ask you, do not be angry that I
wanted to know your family."

But the Angel said to him, "I will lead your

son safely, and I will bring him back safely to
you."

So Tobit, answering, said, "May you walk

well, and may God be with you on your
journey, and may his Angel accompany you."
Then, when all things were ready which were
to be carried on their journey, Tobias said
farewell to his father, and to his mother, and
the two of them walked together.

When they had set out, his mother began to

weep, and to say: "You have taken the staff of
our old age, and you have sent him away from
us. I wish that the money, for which you sent
him, had never been. For our poverty has
been sufficient for us, so that we might count

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it as riches that we saw our son."

Tobit said to her: "Do not weep. Our son will

arrive safely, and he will return safely to us,
and your eyes shall see him. For I believe that
the good Angel of God accompanies him and
that he orders all things well which occur
around him, such that he will be returned to
us with gladness." At these words, his mother
ceased weeping, and she was silent.

And so Tobias continued on, and the dog was

following him, and he stayed at the first
stopping point, near the river Tigris. And he
went out to wash his feet, and behold, an
immense fish came out to devour him. And
Tobias, being frightened of it, cried out with a
loud voice, saying, "Sir, it is attacking me!"

And the Angel said to him, "Catch it by the

gills, and draw it to you." And when he had

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done so, he pulled it onto dry land, and it

began to thrash before his feet. Then the
Angel said to him: "Disembowel this fish, and
put aside his heart, and his gall, and his liver
for yourself. For these things are necessary as
useful medicines." And when he had done so,
he roasted its flesh, and they took it with them
on the way. The rest they salted, so that it
might be sufficient for them, until they would
arrive at Rages, a city of the Medes.

Then Tobias questioned the Angel, and he

said to him, "I implore you, brother Azariah,
to tell me what remedies these things hold,
which you have told me to retain from the
fish?"

The Angel, answering, said to him: "If you put

a little piece of its heart on burning coals, its
smoke will drive away all kind of demons,
whether from a man or from a woman, so that
they will no longer approach them. And the
gall is useful for anointing the eyes, in which
there may be a white speck, and they will be
cured."

Tobias said to him, "Where do you prefer that

we stay?"

The Angel, responding, said: "Here is one

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named Raguel, a man closely related to you

from your tribe, and he has a daughter named
Sarah, but he has no other male or female,
except her. All his livelihood is dependent
upon you, and you ought to take her to
yourself in marriage. Therefore, ask for her
from her father, and he will give her to you as
wife."

Tobias responded, and he said: "I hear that

she has been given to seven husbands, and
they passed away. But I have even heard this:
that a demon killed them. Therefore, I am
afraid, lest this may happen to me also. And
since I am the only child of my parents, I
might send their old age with sorrow to the
grave."

The Angel Raphael said to him: "Listen to me,

and I will reveal to you who they are, over
whom the demon can prevail. For example,
those who receive marriage in such manner as
to exclude God from themselves and from
their mind, and in such a manner as to empty
themselves to their lust, like the horse and
mule, which have no understanding, over
them the demon has power. But you, when
you will have accepted her, enter the
bedroom and for three days keep yourself
continent from her, and empty yourself to

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nothing other than prayers with her.

Moreover, on that night, burn the liver of the
fish like incense, and the demon will be put to
flight. In truth, on the second night, you will
become ready to receive a physical union like
that of the holy Patriarchs. And then, on the
third night, you will obtain a blessing, so that
healthy children may be procreated from you
both. And so, the third night having been
accomplished, you will receive the virgin with
the fear of the Lord, led more by love of
children than by physical desire, so that, as
the offspring of Abraham, you will then
obtain a blessing in children."

And so they went to Raguel, and Raguel

received them with gladness. And Raguel,
gazing upon Tobias, said to Anna his wife,
"How much like my cousin is this young
man!" And when he had spoken this, he said,
"Which of our brethren are you from, young
men?"

But they said, "We are from the tribe of

Naphtali, from the captivity of Nineveh."

Raguel said to them, "Do you know my

brother Tobit?"

They said to him, "We know him." And since

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he was saying many good things about him,

the Angel said to Raguel, "The Tobit about
whom you inquire is the father of this young
man."

Raguel threw himself towards him and kissed

him with tears and weeping upon his neck,
saying, "May a blessing be upon you, my son,
because you are the son of a good and most
noble man." And his wife Anna, and their
daughter Sarah, were weeping. And so, after
they had spoken, Raguel instructed a sheep to
be killed, and a feast to be prepared.

When he exhorted them to recline for dinner,

Tobias said, "Here, today, I will not eat or
drink, unless you first confirm my petition,
and promise to give Sarah your daughter to
me."

When Raguel heard this word, he became

afraid, knowing what had befallen those
seven men, who had approached her. And he
began to fear, lest it might happen to him also
in the same way. And, since he wavered and
gave no further response to the petition, the
Angel said to him: "Do not be afraid to give
her to this one, because this one fears God.
He is obliged to be joined to your daughter.
Because of this, no other one could have her."

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Then Raguel said: "I do not doubt that God

has admitted my prayers and tears before his
sight. And I believe, therefore, that he has
caused you to come to me, so that this one
might be joined in marriage to one of her own
kindred, according to the law of Moses. And
now, do not continue to doubt that I will give
her to you." And taking the right hand of his
daughter, he gave it into the right hand of
Tobias, saying, "May the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob
be with you. And may he join you together in
marriage and fulfill his blessing in you." And
taking paper, they made a written record of
the marriage. And after this, they feasted,
blessing God.

Raguel called his wife Anna to him, and he

instructed her to prepare another bedroom.
And she brought her daughter Sarah into it,
and she was weeping. And she said to her,
"Be steadfast in spirit, my daughter. May the
Lord of heaven give you gladness in place of
the grief that you have had to endure."

In truth, after they had dined, they introduced

the young man to her. And so, Tobias,
remembering the word of the Angel, took part
of the liver from his bag, and he placed it over

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the live coals. Then the Angel Raphael caught

the demon, and bound him in the desert of
upper Egypt.

Then Tobias exhorted the virgin, and he said

to her: "Sarah, get up and let us pray to God
this day, and tomorrow, and the following
day. For, during these three nights, we are
being joined to God. And then, when the third
night has passed, we ourselves will be joined
together. For certainly, we are the children of
the saints, and we must not be joined together
in such a manner as the heathens, who are
ignorant of God."

So, rising up together, they both prayed

earnestly, at the same time, that health might
be given to them. And Tobias said: "Lord, the
God of our fathers, may the heavens and the
earth bless you, and the sea, and the
fountains, and the rivers, and all your
creatures that are in them. You formed Adam
from the mud of the earth, and you gave Eve
to him as a helper. And now, O Lord, you
know that I take my sister in conjugal union,
not by reason of worldly pleasure, but solely
for the love of posterity, in which your name
may be blessed forever and ever."

Sarah likewise said, "Be merciful to us, O

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Lord, be merciful to us. And let us both grow

old together in health."

And it happened, about the time of the

rooster’s crowing, that Raguel ordered his
servants to be summoned, and they went out
with him together to dig a grave. For he said,
"Lest perhaps, in the same way, it may have
happened to him, as it did also to the other
seven men who approached her." And when
they had prepared the pit, Raguel returned to
his wife, and he said to her, "Send one of your
maids, and let her see if he is dead, so that I
may bury him before the dawn of day."

So, she sent one of her maidservants, who

entered the bedroom and discovered them
safe and unharmed, sleeping both together.
And returning, she reported the good news.
And they blessed the Lord: Raguel,
especially, and his wife Anna. And they said:

"We bless you, Lord God of

Israel, because it has not
happened in the way that we
thought it might. For you have
acted in your mercy toward us,
and you have excluded from us
the enemy who pursued us.
Moreover, you have had

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compassion on two only children.

Make them, O Lord, able to bless
you more fully and to offer you a
sacrifice of your praise and of
their health, so that all peoples
everywhere may know that you
alone are God in all the earth."

And immediately Raguel instructed his

servants to refill the pit, which they had
made, before daylight. And then he told his
wife to make ready a feast, and to prepare all
the provisions that are necessary for those
who undertake a journey. Likewise, he
caused two fat cows and four rams to be
killed, and a banquet to be prepared for all his
neighbors and every one of his friends. And
Raguel pleaded with Tobias to delay with him
for two weeks. Moreover, of all the things
that Raguel possessed, he gave one half part
to Tobias, and he made a writing, so that the
half that remained should also pass into the
ownership of Tobias, after their deaths.

Then Tobias called the Angel to him, whom

he indeed considered to be a man, and he said
to him: "Brother Azariah, I implore you to
listen to my words: If I should give myself to
be your servant, I would not be equally
worthy of your providence. Even so, I beg

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you to take with you beasts or even servants,

and to go to Gabael in Rages, the city of the
Medes, and restore to him his handwritten
note, and receive from him the money, and
petition him to come to my wedding
celebration. For you know that my father
numbers the days. And if I delay one day
more, his soul will be afflicted. And surely
you see how Raguel has obtained my oath, an
oath that I am not able to spurn."

Then Raphael borrowed four of the servants

of Raguel, and two camels, and he traveled to
Rages, the city of the Medes. And upon
finding Gabael, he gave him his handwritten
note, and he received from him all the money.
And he revealed to him, concerning Tobias
the son of Tobit, all that had been done. And
he made him come with him to the wedding
celebration. And when he had entered into
the house of Raguel, he discovered Tobias
reclining at table. And leaping up, they kissed
each other. And Gabael wept, and he blessed
God. And he said:

"May the God of Israel bless you,

for you are the son of a man most
noble and just, fearing God and
performing almsgiving. And may
a blessing be spoken over your

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wife and over your parents. And

may you see your sons, and the
sons of your sons, even to the
third and fourth generation. And
may your offspring be blessed by
the God of Israel, who reigns
forever and ever."

And when all had said, "Amen," they

approached the feast. But they also
celebrated the marriage feast with the fear of
the Lord.

In truth, when Tobias was delayed because of

the marriage celebration, his father Tobit was
worried, saying: "Why do you think my son is
delayed, or why has he been detained there?
Do you think that Gabael has died, and that
no one will repay him the money?" And so he
began to be exceedingly sad, both he and his
wife Anna with him. And they both began to
weep together, because their son did not at
least return to them on the appointed day.

But his mother wept inconsolable tears, and

also said: "Woe, woe to me, O my son. Why
did we send you to journey far away, you: the
light of our eyes, the staff of our old age, the
solace of our life, the hope of our posterity?
Having all things together as one in you, we

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ought not to have dismissed you from us."

Tobit was saying to her: "Be calm, and do not

be troubled. Our son is safe. That man, with
whom we sent him, is faithful enough."

Yet she was by no means able to be consoled.

But, leaping up every day, she looked all
round, and traveled around all the ways, by
which there seemed any hope that he might
return, so that she might possibly see him
coming from afar.

In truth, Raguel said to his son-in-law,

"Remain here, and I will send a message of
your health to your father Tobit."

Tobias said to him, "I know that my father

and my mother have now counted the days,
and their spirit must be tortured within them."

And when Raguel had repeatedly petitioned

Tobias, and he was by no means willing to
listen to him, he delivered Sarah to him, and
half of all his substance: with men and women
servants, with sheep, camels, and cows, and
with much money. And he dismissed him
away, in safety and gladness, from him,
saying: "May the holy Angel of the Lord be
with your journey, and may he lead you

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through unharmed, and may you discover that

all is right concerning your parents, and may
my eyes see your sons before I die." And the
parents, taking hold of their daughter, kissed
her and let her go: admonishing her to honor
her father-in-law, to love her husband, to
guide the family, to govern the household,
and to behave irreproachably herself.

As they were returning, they came through to

Haran, which is in the middle of the journey,
opposite Nineveh, on the eleventh day. The
Angel said: "Brother Tobias, you know how
you left behind your father. And so, if it
pleases you, let us go on ahead, and let the
family follow after us with a slower step,
together with your bride, and with the
animals." It pleased him to go on in this way.
Raphael said to Tobias, "Take with you from
the gall of the fish, for it will be necessary."
And so, Tobias took from its gall, and he went
ahead.

Anna sat beside the way every day, on the top

of a hill, from where she would be able to see
for a long distance. While she was watching
for his arrival from that place, she looked far
off, and soon she realized that her son was
approaching. Running, she reported it to her
husband, saying: "Behold, your son arrives."

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Raphael said to Tobias: "As soon as you enter

into your house, immediately adore the Lord
your God. Giving thanks to him, approach
your father, and kiss him. Immediately anoint
his eyes from this gall of the fish, which you
carry with you. For you should know that his
eyes will soon be opened, and your father will
see the light of heaven, and he will rejoice at
the sight of you."

Then the dog, which had been with them in

the way, ran ahead, and, arriving like a
messenger, he showed his joy by fawning and
wagging his tail. Rising up, his blind father
began to run, stumbling with his feet. Giving
his hand to a servant, he ran on to meet his
son. Receiving him, he kissed him, as did his
wife, and they both began to weep for joy.
When they had adored God and had given
thanks, they sat down together.

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Then Tobias, taking from the gall of the fish,

anointed his father’s eyes. And about half an
hour passed, and then a white film began to
come out of his eyes, like the membrane of an
egg. So, taking hold of it, Tobias pulled it
away from his eyes, and immediately he
received his sight. And they glorified God:
Tobit especially, and his wife, and all those
who knew him. And Tobit said,

"I bless you, O Lord God of

Israel, because you have
chastised me, and you have
saved me, and behold, I see my
son Tobias."

And then, after seven days, Sarah, the wife of

his son, and all the family arrived safely,
along with the sheep, and the camels, and
much money from his wife, but also with that
money which he had received from Gabael.
And he explained to his parents all the
benefits from God, which he had produced all
around him, by means of the man who had led
him. And then Ahikar and Nadab arrived, the
maternal first cousins of Tobias, rejoicing for
Tobias, and congratulating with him for all the
good things that God had revealed all around
him. And for seven days they feasted, and all
were rejoicing with great joy.

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Then Tobit called his son to him, and he said

to him, "What are we able to give to this holy
man, who accompanied you?"

Tobias, answering, said to his father: "Father,

what wages shall we give him? And what
could be worthy of his benefits? He led me
and he brought me back safely. He received
the money from Gabael. He caused me to
have my wife. And he confined the demon
away from her. He caused joy to her parents.
Myself, he rescued from being devoured by
the fish. As for you, he also caused you to see
the light of heaven. And so, we have been
filled with all good things through him. What
could we possibly give to him that would be
worthy of these things? But I implore you, my
father, to ask him if he would perhaps deign
to take for himself half of all the things that
have been brought."

And calling him, the father especially, and the

son, they took him aside. And they began to
petition him, so that he would deign to accept
ownership of one half part of all things that
they had brought. Then he said to them
privately: "Bless the God of heaven, and
confess to him in the sight of all who live, for
he has acted in his mercy toward you. For it is

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good to conceal the secret of a king, just as it

is also honorable to reveal and to confess the
works of God. Prayer with fasting is good,
and almsgiving is better than hiding away gold
in storage. For almsgiving delivers from death,
and the same is what purges sins and makes
one able to find mercy and everlasting life.
But those who commit sin and iniquity are
enemies to their own soul. Therefore, I reveal
the truth to you, and I will not hide the
explanation from you. When you prayed with
tears, and buried the dead, and left behind
your dinner, and hid the dead by day in your
house, and buried them by night: I offered
your prayer to the Lord. And because you
were acceptable to God, it was necessary for
you to be tested by trials. And now, the Lord
has sent me to cure you, and to free Sarah,
your son’s wife, from the demon. For I am the
Angel Raphael, one of seven, who stand
before the Lord."

And when they had heard these things, they

were troubled, and being seized with fear,
they fell upon the ground on their face. And
the Angel said to them: "Peace be to you.
Fear not. For when I was with you, I was
there by the will of God. Bless him, and sing
to him. Indeed, I seemed to eat and drink with
you, but I make use of an invisible food and

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drink, which cannot be seen by men.

Therefore, it is time that I return to him who
sent me. But as for you, bless God, and
describe all his wonders." And when he had
said these things, he was taken from their
sight, and they were not able to see him any
longer.

Then, lying prostrate for three hours upon

their face, they blessed God. And rising up,
they described all his wonders. And so, the
elder Tobit, opening his mouth, blessed the
Lord, and he said:

"O Lord, you are great in eternity

and your kingdom is with all
ages. For you scourge, and you
save. You lead down to the
grave, and you bring up again.
And there is no one who can
escape from your hand. Confess

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to the Lord, O sons of Israel, and

praise him in the sight of the
nations. For, indeed, he has
dispersed you among the
Gentiles, who are ignorant of
him, that you may proclaim his
wonders, and that you may cause
them to know that there is no
other almighty God, except him.
He has chastised us because of
our iniquities, and he will save us
because of his mercy. Therefore,
look upon what he has done for
us, and, with fear and trembling,
confess to him. And extol the
King of all ages with your works.
But as for me, I will confess him
in the land of my captivity. For
he has revealed his majesty
within a sinful nation. And so, be
converted, you sinners, and do
justice in the presence of God,
believing that he will act in his
mercy toward you. But I and my
soul will rejoice in him. Bless the
Lord, all you his elect. Keep days
of rejoicing, and confess to him.
O Jerusalem, the city of God, the
Lord has chastised you for the
works of your hands. Confess to

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the Lord with your good things,

and bless the God of all ages, so
that he may rebuild his
tabernacle in you, and he may
recall all the captives to you, and
you may be glad in all ages and
forever. You will shine with a
splendid light, and all the ends of
the earth will adore by you.
Nations from far away will come
to you, bringing gifts. And in you,
they shall adore the Lord, and
they will hold your land in
sanctification. For they will
invoke the Great Name in you.
Those who despise you will be
cursed, and all those who
blaspheme by you will be
condemned, and those who build
you up will be blessed. But you
will rejoice in your sons, because
they will all be blessed, and they
will be gathered together for the
Lord. Blessed are all those who
love you and who rejoice in your
peace. Bless the Lord, O my soul,
for the Lord our God has freed
Jerusalem, his city, from every
one of her tribulations. Happy
will I be, if any of my offspring

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will be left to see the brightness

of Jerusalem. The gates of
Jerusalem will be built from
sapphire and emerald, and all its
walls will be surrounded with
precious stones. All its streets
will be paved with stones, white
and clean. And 'Alleluia' will be
sung throughout its
neighborhoods. Blessed be the
Lord, who has exalted it, and
may he reign over it, forever and
ever. Amen."

And the sermon of Tobit was completed.

After Tobit received his sight, he lived

forty-two years, and he saw the sons of his
grandchildren. And so, having completed one
hundred and two years, he was buried
honorably at Nineveh. For he was fifty-six
years old, when he lost the light of his eyes,
and he was sixty years old, when he truly
received it again. And, in truth, the remainder
of his life was in gladness. And so, with the
good accomplishment of the fear of God, he
departed in peace.

But, in the hour of his death, he called to

himself his son Tobias, along with his sons,

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the seven youths who were his grandsons, and

he said to them: "Nineveh will pass away
soon. For the word of the Lord goes forward,
and our brothers, who have been dispersed
away from the land of Israel, shall return to it.
Thus its deserted land will be entirely filled
again. And the house of God, which was
burned like incense within it, will be rebuilt
again. And all those who fear God will return
there. And the Gentiles will relinquish their
idols, and they will enter into Jerusalem, and
they will dwell in it. And all the kings of the
earth will rejoice in it, adoring the King of
Israel.

"Therefore, my sons, listen to your father.

Serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the
things that please him. And command your
sons, so that they may accomplish justice and
almsgiving, and so that they may be mindful
of God and may bless him at all times, in truth
and with all their strength. And now, sons,
listen to me, and do not remain here. But, on
whatever day you will bury your mother near
me in one sepulcher, from that time, direct
your steps to leave this place. For I see that its
iniquity will bring about its end."

After the death of his mother, Tobias

withdrew from Nineveh, with his wife, and

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sons, and sons of sons, and he was returned to

his father-in-law. He found them unharmed in
a good old age. He took care of them, and he
closed their eyes. All the inheritance of the
house of Raguel passed to him. He saw the
sons of his sons to the fifth generation.
Having completed ninety-nine years in the
fear of the Lord, with joy, they buried him.
But all his family and all his lineage continued
with a good life and in holy conversation, so
that they were acceptable both to God and to
men, as well as to everyone who dwelt in the
land.

Catholic Encyclopedia:
Book of Tobias
A canonical book of the Old Testament. The
story naturally divides itself into two parts:

(1) the fidelity of Tobias the elder and of Sara

to the Lord;

(a) the fidelity of Tobias shown by his acts of

mercy to fellow captives and especially to the
dead, acts that resulted in his blindness, the
taunts of his wife, and the recourse of Tobias
to God in prayer.

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The Book of Tobit

(b) The fidelity of Sara, daughter of Raguel

and Edna. The very day that Tobias in Ninive
was taunted by his wife and turned to God,
Sara in Ecbatana was taunted by her maid as
the murderess of seven husbands, and turned
to God in prayer. The prayers of both were
heard.

(2) The fidelity of the Lord to Tobias and to

Sara through the ministrations of the angel
Raphael.

(a) Raphael cares for the young Tobias on his

journey to Gabael in Rages of Media to obtain
the ten talents of silver left in bond by his
father. The young man set out, after long
instruction by his father; Raphael joins him as
guide; Tobias while bathing in the Tigris is
attacked by a large fish, catches it, and, at the
advice of Raphael, keeps its heart, liver, and
gall; they pass through Ecbatana, stop at
Raguel's; Tobias asks Sara for wife and
receives her; by continence and exorcism and
the odor of the burning liver of the fish and
the aid of Raphael, he conquers the devil who
had slain the seven previous husbands of
Sara; Raphael gets the money of Gabael in
Rages, and brings him to Ecbatana to the
marriage celebration of young Tobias.

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(b) Raphael cures the blindness of the elder

Tobias, on the return of his son, and manifests
the truth that he is an angel. Conclusion: the
hymn of thanksgiving of Tobias the elder, and
the subsequent history of both father and son.

Purpose

To show that God is faithful to those that are

faithful to Him is evidently the chief purpose
of the book, Neubauer makes out the burial of
the dead to be the chief lesson; but the lesson
of almsgiving is more prominent. Ewald sets
fidelity to the Mosaic code as the main drift
of the author, who writes for Jews of the
Dispersion; but the book is meant for all Jews,
and clearly inculcates for them many
secondary lessons and one that is fundamental
to the rest - God is true to those who are true
to Him.

Canonicity

(1) In Judaism

The Book of Tobias is deuterocanonical, i.e.

contained not in the Canon of Palestine but in
that of Alexandria. That the Jews of the
Dispersion accepted the book as canonical
Scripture is clear from its place in the

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Septuagint. That the Palestinian Jews

reverenced Tobias as a sacred book may be
argued form the existence of the Aramaic
translation used by Saint Jerome and that
published by Neubauer, as also from the four
extant Hebrew translators. Then, most of
these Semitic version were found as
Midrashim, or hagganda, of the Pentateuch.

(2) Among Christians

Despite the rejection of Tobias from the

Protestant Canon, its place in the Christian
Canon of Holy Writ is undoubted. The
Catholic Church has ever esteemed it as
inspired. Saint Ambrose wrote De Tobia
against usury, and introduced it by referring
to the Biblical work of that name as "a
prophetic book", "Scripture". In the entire
Western Church, however, the canonicity of
Tobias is clearest from its presence in the Old
Latin Version, the authentic text of Scripture
for the Latin Church from about A.D. 150
until Saint Jerome's Vulgate replaced it. The
canonical use of Tobias in that part of the
Byzantine Church whose language was Syriac
is seen in the writings of Saint Ephraem
(c.362) and of Saint Archelaus (c.278). The
earliest canonical lists all contain the Book of
Tobias; they are those of the Council of Hippo

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(393), the councils of Carthage (397 and

419), Saint Innocent I (405), Saint Augustine
(397). Moreover, the great fourth- and fifth-
century manuscripts of the Septuagint are
proof that not only the Jews but the Christians
used Tobias as canonical. For the Catholic the
question of the canonicity of Tobias was
infallibly settled by the decisions of the
Councils of Trent and of the Vatican I.

Against the canonicity of Tobias are urged

several rather trivial objections which would
at first sight seem to impugn the inspiration of
the narrative.

(a) Raphael told an untruth when he said he

was "Azarias the son of the great Ananias".
There is no untruth in this. The angel was in
appearance just what he said he was. Besides,
he may have meant by azaryah, "the healer of
Jah"; and by ananyah, "the goodness of Jah".
In this event he only told the young Tobias
that he was God's helper and the offspring of
the great goodness of God; in this there would
be no falsehood.

(b) A second objection is that the angelology

of Tobias is taken over from that of the
Avesta either directly by Iranian influence or
indirectly by the inroad of Syriac or Grecian

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The Book of Tobit

folk-lore. For Raphael says: "I am the angel

Raphael, one of the seven who stand before
the Lord". These seven are the Amesha
Spentas of Zoroastrianism. The answer is that
the reading seven is doubtful; it is in Aleph,
AB, Old Latin, and Vulgate; it is wanting in
the Greek cursive text, Syriac, and HM. Still,
admitting the reading of the Vulgate, the
Amesha Spentas have infiltrated into Avestic
religion from the seven Angels of Hebraistic
Revelation and not vice versa. Moreover,
there are not seven Amesha Spentas in the
angelology of the Avesta, but only six. They
are subordinated to Ahura Mazda, the first
principle of good. True, he is, at times,
grouped with the six lower spirits as seven
Amesha Spentas; but in this grouping we have
not by any means seven angels standing
before the Deity.

Historical Worth

(1) To Protestants

The destructive criticism which, among

Protestants, has striven to do away with the
canonical books of the Old Testament have
quite naturally had no respect for those books
the critics call apocryphal. The Book of
Tobias is to them no more than are the

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The Book of Tobit

Testament of Job, the Book of Jubilees, and

the story of Ahikhar. From the standpoint of
historical criticism it is to be grouped with
these three apocryphal. Simrock reduces the
story to the folk-lore theme of the gratitude of
the departed spirit; the yarn is spun out of this
slim thread of fancy that the souls of the
dead, whose remains Tobias buried, did not
forget his benevolence. Erbt finds traces of
Iranian legend in the name of the demon
Asmodeus which is the Persian Aeshma
daeva; as also in the dog - "with the Persians
a certain power over evil spirits was assigned
to the dog." And again: "the Jewish nation
takes up a foreign legend, goes on repeating it
until it has got it into fixed oral form, in order
next to pass it on to some story-writer who is
able to shape it into an edifying household
tale, capable of ministering comfort to many
succeeding generations." Moulton considers
the book to be Median folk-lore, in which the
Semitic and Iranian elements meet.

(2) To Catholics

Until recently there never was question

among Catholics in regard to the historicity of
Tobias. It was among the historical books of
the Old Testament, the Fathers had always
referred to both elder and younger Tobias and

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The Book of Tobit

to the other personages of the narratives as to

facts and not to fancies. The stories of
almsgiving, burial of the dead, angelophany,
exorcism, marriage of Sara with Tobias the
younger, cure of the elder Tobias - all these
incidents were taken for granted as
fact-narrative; nor was there ever any
question of likening them to the tales of "The
Arabian Nights" and the "Fables of AEsop".
Jahn gives the stock objections to the
historicity of Tobias, and suggests that either
the entire composition is a parable to teach
that the prayers of the upright are heard or at
most only the main outline is fact-narrative.
His book was put on the Index on 26 August
1822. Anton Scholz and Movers in hold that
Tobias is a poetic fiction. Cosquin tries to
show that the sacred writer of Tobias had
before his eyes a form of the Ahikhar story
and worked it over rather freely as a vehicle
to carry the inspired thought of the moral he
wished to convey to his readers. Barry says:
"Its relation to other stories, such as The
Grateful Dead and the tale of Ahichar, has
been used in illustration of the romantic
nature ascribed to it by modern readers; so,
too, the symbolical names of its personages,
and the borrowings, as they say, from Persian
mythology of Asmodeus, etc." Gigot gives at
length the arguments in favour of the

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The Book of Tobit

non-historical character of the book and

attempts no refutation of the same.

With these and a few other exceptions,

Catholic exegetes are unanimous in clearly
defending the historicity of Tobias. This
almost unanimity among Catholic exegetes is
quite in keeping with the decision of the
Biblical Commission (23 June 1905). By this
Decree Catholics are forbidden to hold that a
book of the Holy Writ, which has generally
been looked upon as historical, is either
entirely or in part not history properly so
called, unless it be proven by solid arguments
that the sacred writer did not with to write
history; and the solidity of the arguments
against the historicity of an historical book of
the Bible we are not to admit either readily or
rashly. Now the arguments against the
historical worth of Tobias are not at all solid;
they are mere conjectures, which it would be
most rash to admit. We shall examine some of
these conjectures.

(a) The Ahikhar story is not in the Vulgate at

all. As it is in AB, Aleph, and the Old Latin,
Saint Jerome undoubtedly knew it. Why did
he follow the Aramaic text to the exclusion of
this episode? He may have looked upon it as
an interpolation, which was not written by the

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inspired author. Even though it were not an

interpolation, the Ahikhar episode of Tobias
has not been proven to be a legend drawn
from a non-canonical source.

(b) The angelic apparition and all incidents

connected therewith are no more difficult to
explain than the angelophanies of Genesis
18:19, and Acts, 12:6.

(c) The demonology is not unlike to that of

the New Testament. The name "Asmodeus"
need not be of Iranian origin; but may just as
readily be explained as Semitic. The Aramaic
word ashmeday is cognate with the Hebrew
hashmed, "destruction". And even though it
be a mutilated form of some Iranian ancestor
of the Persian Aeshma daeva, what more
natural than a Median name for a demon
whose obsession was accomplished upon
Median soil? The slaying of the seven
husbands was allowed by God in punishment
of their lust; it is the youth Tobias, not the
sacred writer, that suggests (according to AB,
Aleph, and Old Latin) the demon's lust as the
motive of his kiling all rivals. The binding of
the devil in the desert of Upper Egypt, the
farthest end of the then known world, has the
same figurative meaning as the binding of
Satan for a thousand years.

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(d) The unlikelihood of the many

coincidences in the Book of Tobias is mere
conjecture. Divine Providence may have
brought about these siimilarities of incident,
with a view to the use of them in an inspired
book.

(e) Certain historical difficulties are due to the

very imperfect condition in whch the text has
reached us.

(i) It was Theglathphalasar III who led

Nephthali (2 Kings 15:29) into captivity (734
B.C.), and not, as Tobias says, Salmanasar.
Yet this reading of the Vulgate, Old Latin, and
Aramaic is to be corrected by the name
Enemesar of AB and Aleph. The latter
reading would be equivalent to the Hebrew
transliteration of the Assyrian kenum sar. As
the appellative sar "king", may precede or
follow a personal name, kenum sar is sar
kenum, that is Gargon (sarru-kenu II, B.C.
722). It can readily be that, twelve years after
Theglath-phalasar III began the deportation of
Israel out of Samaria, Sardon's scouts
completed the work and routed some of the
tribe of Nephthali from their fastnesses.

(ii) A like solution is to be given to the

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difficulty that Sennacherib is said to have

been the son of Salmanasar, whereas he was
the son of the usurper Sargon. The Vulgate
reading here, as in i, 2, should be that of AB
and Aleph, to wit, Enemesar; and this stands
for Sargon.

(iii) In B, xiv, 15, Ninive is said to have been

captured by Ahasuerus (Asoueros) and
Nabuchodonosor. This is a mistake of the
scribe. Aleph reads that Achiacharos took
Ninive and adds that "he praised God for all
He had done against the children of Ninive
and Assyria". The word for Assyria is
Athoureias, Hebrew asshur, Aramaic ahur:
This Greek word mislead the scribe to write
Lsyeros for the name of the king,
Achiacharos, i.e. the Median King Cyaxares.
According to Berossus, Cyaxares was, in his
campaign against Ninive, allied to the
Babylonian King Nabopalassar, the father of
Nabuchodonosor; the scribe of V has written
the name for the son for that of the father, as
Nabopalassar was unknown to him.

(iv) Rages is a Seleucid town and hence an

anachronism. Not at all; it is an ancient
Median town, which the Seleucids restored.

Origin

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The Book of Tobit

It is likely that the elder Tobias wrote at least

that part of the original work in which he uses
the first person singular in all texts except the
Vulgate and Aramaic. As the entire narrative
is historical, this part is probably
autobiographical. After revealing his angelic
nature, Raphael bade both father and son to
tell all the wonders that God had done them
and to write in a book all the incidents of his
stay with them. If we accept the story as
fact-narrative, we naturally conclude that it
was written originally during the Babylonian
Exile, in the early portion of the seventh
century B.C.; and that all save the last
chapter was the work of the elder and
younger Tobias. Almost all Protestant scholars
consider the book post-Exilic. Ewald assigns
it to 350 B.C.; Hgen, the bulk to 280 B.C.;
Gratz, to A.D. 130; Kohut, to A.D. 226.

About This Book

The text for the Book of Tobit was provided
by The Sacred Bible, Catholic Public
Domain Version by Ronald L Conte Jr. The
Catholic Encyclopedia article was by Walter
Drum, 1911; it was slightly endited, and the
original article is available at

50 Saints.SQPN.com
The Book of Tobit

www.newadvent.org. The images, in order,

are

detail from Tobias and the Angel with

Saint Leonard and Donor, Andrea del
Sarto, 1512, Kunsthistorisches
Museum, Vienna, Austria; this image is
also used on the cover
detail from The Departure of Tobias,
by Gianantonio Guardi, c.1750
detail from The Angel and Tobias with
the Fish, by Pieter Pietersz Lastman,
c.1625
detail from Tobias Healing the
Blindness of His Father by Gioachino
Assereto
detail from The Angel Appears to
Tobias, by Gianantonio Guardi, c.1750

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