Book of Tobit
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The Book of Tobit (Book of Tobias in the Vulgate; from the Greek: τωβιθ, and Hebrew: טובי Tobih "my good", also called the Book of Tobias from the Hebrew טוביה Tobiah "Yahweh is my good") is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent (1546). It is listed as a book of the Apocrypha in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.[1] Tobit is regarded by Protestants as apocryphal. It has never been included within the Tanakh as canonical by ancient Judaism. However, it is found in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), and Aramaic and Hebrew fragments of the book were discovered in Cave IV at Qumran in 1952. These fragments are generally in agreement with the Greek text, which exists in three different recensions.
Contents |
Narrative
_-_Tobias_Saying_Good-Bye_to_his_Father_(1860).png)
This book tells the story of a righteous Israelite of the Tribe of Naphtali named Tobit living in Nineveh after the deportation of the northern tribes of Israel to Assyria in 721 BC under Sargon II. (The first two and a half chapters are written in the first person.) He was particularly noted for his diligence in attempting to provide proper burials for fallen Israelites who had been slain by Sennacherib, for which the king seized all his property and exiled him. After Sennacherib's death, he was allowed to return to Nineveh, but again buried a dead man who had been murdered on the street. That night, he slept in the open and was blinded by bird droppings that fell in his eyes. This put a strain on his marriage, and ultimately, he prayed for death.
Meanwhile, in faraway Media, a young woman named Sarah prays for death in despair. She has lost seven husbands to the demon of lust -- Asmodeus who abducts and kills every man she marries on their wedding night before the marriage can be consummated. God sends the angel Raphael, disguised as a human, to heal Tobit and to free Sarah from the demon.
The main narrative is dedicated to Tobit's son, Tobiah or Tobiyah (Greek: Τωβίας/ Tobias), who is sent by his father to collect a sum of money that the latter had deposited some time previously in the far off land of Media. Raphael represents himself as Tobit's kinsman Azariah, and offers to aid and protect Tobias on his journey. Under the guidance of Raphael, Tobias makes the journey to Media, accompanied by his dog.
Raphael, Tobias, and dog
 Catching the fish together - by Jan van Scorel. |
 Catching the (big) fish together - by Pieter Lastman. |
,_L'arcangelo_e_Tobia.jpg) Catching the fish together - anonymous Italian artist. |
 The fish is caught - by Corrado Giaquinto. |
 Having caught the (little) fish, continuing their journey - by Andrea del Verrocchio. |
 Having caught the fish, continuing their journey - by Antonio Pollaiuolo. |
 Having caught the fish, continuing their journey - by Raffaello Motta. |
 Dragging the (big) fish along - by anonymous painter after Adam Elsheimer. |
 Removing heart, liver and gall bladder from the fish in Vilar de Frades, Barcelos, Portugal |
Along the way, he is attacked by a giant (or little) fish, whose heart, liver and gall bladder are removed to make medicines.
Upon arriving in Media, Raphael tells Tobias of the beautiful Sarah, whom Tobias has the right to marry, because he is her cousin and closest relative. He instructs the young man to burn the fish's liver and heart to drive away the demon when he attacks on the wedding night.
 The marriage contract is signed - by Jan Steen. |
 Tobias and Sarah pray while the Angel Raphael drives away the demon - by Nikolaus Knüpfer. |
 Same scene several years later by Knupfer's pupil Jan Steen. Here Raphael binds the demon while the young couple pray. |
The two are married, and the fumes of the burning organs drive the demon away to Upper Egypt, while Raphael follows him and binds him. Meanwhile, Sarah's father has been digging a grave to secretly bury Tobias (who he assumes will be dead). Surprised to find his son-in-law alive and well, he orders a double-length wedding feast and has the grave secretly filled. Since he cannot leave because of the feast, Tobias sends Raphael to recover his father's money.
After the feast, Tobias and Sarah return to Nineveh. There, Raphael tells the youth to use the fish's gall to cure his father's blindness. Raphael then reveals his true identity and returns to heaven. Tobit sings a hymn of praise.
 The healing of Tobit - by Bernardo Strozzi. |
 Raphael's work is done and he flies up to heaven - by Rembrandt. |
He tells his son to leave Nineveh before God destroys it according to prophecy. After the prayer, Tobit dies at an advanced age.[2] After burying his father, Tobias returns to Media with his family.
Significance
The book of Tobit is placed in the Vulgate among the historical books of the Old Testament, but most scholars regard it more as a religious novel with certain historical elements. Many of the historical details in the book contradict what is known about the history of the period from extra-Biblical sources but Catholic Bible scholars have provided a variety of ways for explaining these apparent discrepancies.
The book is also closely related to Jewish wisdom literature; nowhere is this more clear than in Tobit's instructions to Tobias before his departure for Media in chapter 4. The value of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is particularly praised in this instruction; the Catholic Church often uses readings from this section in its liturgy. Because of the book's praise for the purity of marriage, it is often read during Catholic weddings.
Doctrinally, the book is cited for its teaching on the intercession of angels, filial piety, and reverence for the dead.
The Sadducees' challenge to Jesus of the example of the woman that had seven husbands serially (e.g., Mark 12:20-22) may have been an allusion to this book’s story, with Tobit’s righteous son Tobias as Sarah’s ultimate husband. Note that Sarah's childlessness is allusive to that of her namesake Sarah, the wife of Abraham.
Date of composition
It is generally believed that the book was written in the 2nd century BC, on the basis of the scrupulous attention to ritual details and the stress laid upon giving alms. However, neither the date nor location of composition is certain. The setting of the story is the 8th century BC, and uncritical readers have often assumed that it was written at that time.
The book was probably originally written in Aramaic. It appears that Jerome's version for the Vulgate was made from an Aramaic text available to him. Four fragmentary texts in Aramaic and one in Hebrew were found at Qumran.[3]
The surviving Greek translations are found in two versions. The shorter form, called Greek I by Robert Hanhart in his edition of the Septuagint, is found in Codex Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Venetus, and most cursive manuscripts. The Greek II version, which is 1700 words longer, is found in Codex Sinaiticus and closely aligns with the Hebrew and Aramaic fragments found at Qumran. Apparently the Old Latin (La) manuscripts are also translated from the longer Greek II version. Most English translations since 1966 have relied on the Greek II version.[3]
Errors and solutions
The Book of Tobit has often been treated as an historical fiction, more or less as Judith. This is due to some incoherences which can be found, but these claims can easily be solved.
- The direction of Tobias the Younger and Raphael from Media to Ecbatana has often been seen as contradicting some codices of this Book as for the position of the Euphrates, as if the two characters were proceeding in the opposite direction. Anyway, some ancient texts of Tobit give Hebraized names Midian (originally the name of the land east of the Gulf of Aqabah ) for Media, and Batanea (originally the name of land in the Golan Heights) for Ecbatana. One such text is the Heb. Londinii (or HL) version. See Marshall, op. cit., 786; a text found by Moses Gaster in the British Museum, Add. 11,639. A description and translation of the MS, which belongs to the C13th AD, is given by Gaster in PSBA, vol.xviii., 208ff., 259ff., and vol.xx., 27ff. Also, some other manuscripts entirely omit this geographical error.
- Tobias the Elder is said to have been blinded in the beginnings of Asarhaddon's reign (681 - 669 BCE) when he was 62, and died about 112 years old (Tobit 14:1). That seems to contradict some manuscripts of Tobit where it is implied that Tobit lived in Jeroboam's time, in the 10th century BCE. Nevertheless, that Jeroboam may be Jeroboam II (782 - 753 BCE) who was also an idol worshipper as his predecessor.
- The introduction to the book says that Sennacherib was the son of Salmanassar. It is well known that Shalmaneser V was dethroned by an impostor, Sargon II, who usurped his reign; this Sargon was the real father of Sennacherib. A solution comes from many other manuscripts of Tobit (AB and Aleph) who affirm that Sennacherib's father was a certain Enemesar, which is the Greek transcription for kenum-sar, an alternative reading for sarru-kinu (Sargon).
- It is stated, specifically by Protestant critics, that Raphael is a sort of magician, and thus a figure contrary to the teachings of the Bible on sorcery. This is a reference to the episode when Raphael wants Tobias the Younger to use a fish to heal his father's blindness. This criticism is easily solved since similar episodes occur in the Bible: for example, Jesus didn't need to use mud to heal blindness, nevertheless he did this at least once (John 9:1-7).
See also
- Mary Untier of Knots (painting with Tobias and the Angel)
- Tobias and the Angel (Verrocchio)
Notes
- ↑ Article VI at episcopalian.org
- ↑ Variously given as 127 years old in Greek I, 117 years old in Greek II and the Vetus Latina, and 102 years old in most manuscripts of the Vulgate, 112 years in others
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A.A. Di Lella, New English Translation of the Septuagint.
References
- Complete text of the Book of Tobit, as published in the 1611 King James version *
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) entry
- The Book of Tobit Full text from http://St-Takla.org (also available in Arabic)
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Tobit; gives an overview of the manuscript tradition
- World Wide Study Bible: Tobit
External links
Media related to Book of Tobit at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Nehemiah |
R.Catholic & Orthodox Books of the Bible See Deuterocanon |
Succeeded by Judith |
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