Tb 7: Courage

Tobit (7)

Tobiah Marries Sarah

  • Tobiah and Raphael arrive in Ecbatana (the location of Sarah’s family).
  • At the House of Raguel
    • Tobiah and Raphael arrive in Ecbatana.
    • They are greeted by Sarah’s parents — Raguel and Edna
      • Raguel is modeled after Abraham (Bergant 1992, p. 838)
      • Raguel and Edna recognize Tobiah as related to Tobit based on Tobiah’s appearance (i.e. he looked similar to Tobit)
      • Raguel, Edna, and Sarah all wept for Tobit after hearing that Tobit had lost his eyesight.
  • Marriage of Tobiah and Sarah
    • Tobiah told Azariah to ask Raguel to let Sarah marry Tobiah.
      • Raguel overheard Tobiah asking Azariah about marrying Sarah.
      • Raguel agreed to allow Sarah to marry Tobiah:
        • Because Tobiah is Raguel’s closest relative.
        • And per the law of Moses of marriage within an ancestral tribe
    • A marriage contract was made giving Sarah to Tobiah.
      • The wedding itself follows the pattern of a marriage contract found among the fifth century B.C.E. papyri discovered at Elephantine in Egypt. The marriage contract of Mibtahiah reads: “She is my wife and I am her husband from this day forever” (Bergant 1992, p. 838)
    • Edna prepared the bedroom for Tobiah and Sarah.
      • Edna said the following to Sarah: “May the Lord of heaven grant you joy in place of your grief. Courage, my daughter.” (Tb 7:17)
        • Again, like in Tb 5, the word ‘Courage’ is used… as mentioned in the note in Tb 5 ‘Courage’ is usually mentioned in a healing. I assume the words are used here because Sarah is about to be cured of her affliction.
    • Per the Collegeville Bible Commentary, this scene fits the common pattern for betrothals in the Old Testament:
      • The father commands his son to take a journey to find a bride among his own kindred.
      • The travelers are given a meal but refuse to eat until the betrothal is arranged.
      • The host yields, recognizing that the marriage has been decided by the Lord.
    • By using the common pattern of the betrothal scenes the author is linking the marriage of Tobit and Sarah to the patriarchal marriages, a connection already made by Tobit in Tb 4:12 (Bergant 1992, p. 838)

  • Additional Comments:
    • Throughout the book of Tobit and the Bible, ‘Courage’ seems to be an important element to being healed by God. I would imagine in our own lives it is important for us to have courage as well when asking God to be healed or saved.

Tb 6: Listen!

Tobit (6)

Tobiah Embarks on His Journey

  • Tobiah and Raphael embark on their journey to Gabael.
  • Journey to Rages
    • On the first stop near the Tigris River, Tobiah went to wash his feet in the river and was nearly eaten by a fish.
      • Per the Collegeville Bible Commentary there is quite a bit of imagery in this scene (Bergant 1992, p. 837):
        • Fish – a common element in romantic quests in folklore.
        • Water – a source of both life and death (another common biblical image).
          • It is a source of death when the fish attempts to swallow Tobiah
          • It is a source of life because of the healing properties of the gall, heart, and liver.
        • Night and Day is used throughout the whole book of Tobit:
          • The book of Tobit starts in the Day (light and life) for both Tobit and Sarah.
          • The book then moves to Night (darkness) with Tobit’s blindness and Sarah’s affliction.
          • The book then returns to Day when Tobit’s sight is returned and the transformation of Sarah’s wedding night into joy.
    • The angel told him to grab the fish and:
      • Throw away the entrails
      • Save the gall, heart, and liver because they “…make useful medicines.” (Tb 6:5)
    • Tobiah ate part of the fish, and then salted and saved the rest of the fish.
  • Raphael’s Instructions
    • Tobiah asks Raphael more about the value of the gall, heart, and liver from the fish:
      • The heart and liver – when burned, the smoke will surround a person afflicted by a demon or evil spirit and the affliction will leave the person. (obviously referring to Sarah’s issue and foreshadowing how her affliction will be cured)
      • The gall – if rubbed in the eyes of someone with cataracts the sight of the person will be restored. (obviously referring to Tobit’s cataracts and how he will be cured.)
    • They arrive in Media
      • Raphael tells Tobiah to marry Sarah because Sarah is also in his ‘tribe’ and Nm 36:6-8 prescribes marriage within a tribe.
      • Tobiah expresses to Raphael his concerns about marrying Sarah because of the death of her 7 previous husbands.
      • Raphael tells Tobiah how to rid Sarah of her ‘affliction’ by using the heart and liver when in the bridal chamber, and then later praying before having intercourse. (prayer is needed to drive out the demon)
    • The chapter ends by noting that Tobiah fell in love with Sarah after Raphael tells him that Sarah is of Tobiah’s family lineage.

  • Additional Comments:
    • The theme of this chapter appears to be: ‘Listen’. In the case of Tobiah — he should listen to the angel regarding the fish and regarding Sarah. Furthermore, the angel also mentions that Tobiah should listen to his father regarding marrying someone from their tribe or lineage.
    • In our lives we should follow the same example — we should listen to God when he speaks to us, and we should also listen to our parents.

Tb 5: Raphael

Tobit (5)

Raphael Appears to Tobit

  • Raphael makes his first appearance to Tobit.
  • The Angel Raphael
    • Tobit sends his son on his way to retrieve the money that Tobit left with Gabel in Media.
    • Tobiah has two obstacles:
      • OBSTACLE #1: A sign to give Gabael so that Gabael will give him the money (since Gabael only knows Tobit and not Tobiah)
      • OBSTACLE #2: Tobiah does not know the way to Media.
    • SOLUTION TO OBSTACLE #1:
      • When Tobit gave Gabael the money he also exchanged signatures written on a document written in duplicate, and Tobit had the other copy for Tobiah to present to Gabael.
    • SOLUTION TO OBSTACLE #2:
      • Tobiah looked for someone to travel with and guide him to Media and found the Angel Raphael.
      • Raphael tells Tobiah that he knows the way to Media; Tobiah returns to his father to ask permission to have Raphael guide Tobiah to Media.
        • The Angel Raphael was first introduced in Chapter 3 when God decided to send the Angel Raphael to heal both Tobit and Sarah. In this chapter, Tobit finally meets Raphael for the first time.
      • Tobiah, Tobit, and Tobit’s wife have no idea that they are in the presence of the Angel Raphael. Tobit asks Raphael to identify his family and tribe. Raphael tells Tobit that he is ‘Azariah, son of Hananiah, the elder (one of Tobit’s kinsmen). Of course, as noted in the previous chapter about the importance of associating with fellow kinsmen, Tobit is pleased with Raphael because he is supposedly a kinsman.
        • ‘Azariah’ means ‘Yahweh helps.’
        • ‘Raphael’ means ‘God heals’
        • ‘Hananiah’ means ‘Yahweh is merciful’
      • Tobit asks Raphael to guide his son to Media to get the money that Tobit left with Gabael. Tobit promises to pay Raphael for his services.
      • Raphael agrees to guide Tobiah to Media. He tells Tobit, “I will go with him; have no fear. In good health we shall leave you, and in good health we shall return to you, for the way is safe.” (Tb 5:16)
        • [Raphael] surrounds his assurance of healing with the words that appear in all the healings: ‘Take courage‘. (Bergant 1992, p.836)
        • Tobit ignores the promise of healing (even though as the readers we know that Raphael’s assurance is true). (Bergant 1992, p.836)
      • Tobit’s wife is afraid that harm will come to Tobiah and that she will never see Tobiah again. Tobit reassures her that everything will be okay; he tells his wife, “Our son will leave in good health. Your own eyes will see the day when he returns to you safe and sound.” (Tb 5:21)
      • Additionally, Tobit tells his wife, “For a good angel will go with him, his journey will be successful, and he will return unharmed.” (Tb 5:22). After telling his wife this she stopped weeping.

  • Additional Comments:
    • It seems like the theme of this chapter is the recurring theme of having ‘faith’. In this case, Tobit has faith in the Angel Raphael (not knowing he is an Angel) that Raphael will safely guide his son Tobiah to Media and back home. To have faith that his son would be safe, by default Tobit would also have had to have faith in God; that God would keep his son safe.
    • And as the Collegeville Bible Commentary mentions, part of having faith is having ‘courage’ to believe in God, to trust in God, and to do as God says.

Tb 4: Farewell

Tobit (4)

Tobit’s Farewell

  • Tobit, still blind, gives a series of instructions to his son, Tobiah.

III: Tobiah’s Journey and Marriage to Sarah

  • A Father’s Instruction
    • Tobit gives his son, Tobiah, the following instructions; per the Bible footnote, they are a series or collection of maxims which parallel those in the wisdom literature (CCD, 1970):
      • #1: Duties Toward Parents
        • Give Tobit a decent burial.
        • Bury Tobit’s wife in the same grave as Tobit.
        • Honor Your Mother
      • #2: Perseverance in Virtue and Avoidance of Evil
        • Tobit tells his son to: “…keep the Lord in mind, suppress every desire to sin or break his commandments.” (Tb 4:5)
          • Old Testament man believed that virtue guaranteed earthly prosperity, and sin earthly disaster. (CCD, 1970)
      • #3: Necessity and Value of Almsgiving
        • Tobit tells Tobiah, “Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, and God’s face will not be turned away from you.” (Tb 4:7)
        • He tells Tobiah to give alms in proportion to what he owns.
        • Tobit also states that “Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps one from going into the dark abode.” (Tb 4:10)
          • He basically tells Tobiah that Almsgiving will be a “…worthy worship, to God” (Bergant 1992, p. 835)
        • In Tb 4:16-17, Tobit basically states the corporal works of mercy.
          • Jesus also addresses almsgiving (and treatment of the poor) quite frequently in the New Testament:
            • He addresses the poor with the corporal works of mercy (i.e. feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead) in Matthew 25:34-46. Like Tobit, Jesus states that those who help the poor will go off to “…eternal life” (or as Tobit says, “…frees one from death”), and those that do not help the poor will go off to “…eternal punishment” (or as Tobit says, “…the dark abode”) (Mt 25:34-46).
            • Also, in Luke 11:41, Jesus mentions the following about almsgiving, “…give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.” (Lk 11:41)
            • The Catholic Catechism states regarding almsgiving, “…giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God…” (Catholic Catechism, p.588:2447)
      • #4: Marriage to a Kinsman
        • I.e. marry someone from the same tribe who is “…of the lineage of your forefathers.” (Tb 4:12).
        • Not marrying someone from his own people will lead to “…ruin and disorder.” (Tb 4:13)
        • FLASHBACK: As seen in Nehemiah 13, and in Ezra 9, ‘Mixed Marriages’ were frowned upon.
      • #5: Prompt Payment of Wages
        • Pay someone who works for you immediately; I assume he is basically saying not to withhold wages from someone who did work for you.
      • #6: The Golden Rule
        • Tobit states the golden rule, “Do to no one what you yourself dislike” (Tb 4:15)
      • #7: Temperance
        • Tells his son not to abuse alcohol; i.e. not to drink to the point of getting drunk.
      • #8: Docility
        • i.e. “Seek counsel from every wise man…” (Tb 4:18)
      • #9: Prayer
        • He tells his son, “..at all times bless the Lord God, and ask him to make all your paths straight and to grant success to all your endeavors and plans.” (Tb 4:19)
        • This basically sums up what we should pray for in our own prayers.
        • Or as the Bible footnote puts it, “Prayer is the foundation of a moral life.” (CCD, 1970)
          • Without prayer, without the constant communication with God how are we to be moral? God should always be foremost in our minds.
        • With respect to God’s response to prayer, Tobit tells his son that “if the Lord chooses, he raises a man up; but if he should decide otherwise, he casts him down to the deepest recesses of the nether world.” (Tb 4:19)
          • In other words: “Whatever happens comes from God.“(Bergant 1992, p. 836)
        • Tobit tells his son always to obey the commandments, and “…never let them be erased from your heart.” (Tb 4:19)
    • The chapter then concludes with Tobit telling his son about the money that Tobit has in Media. He tells his son, “You will be a rich man
      if you fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is right before the Lord your God.” (Tb 4:21)

  • Additional Comments:
    • This chapter can best be summed up with the last sentence of the chapter: “You will be a rich man
      if you fear God, avoid all sin, and do what is right before the Lord your God.” (Tb 4:21)
      • Not only is this a good summation of the entire chapter, but it is also a good summation of how we should live our lives.
      • Although, in the context of the story, ‘rich’ refers to material wealth, I would have to believe that living our lives in this manner may not necessarily make us ‘rich in wealth’, but it will most certainly and more importantly make us rich morally and spiritually.
    • This chapter was also interesting because it clearly shows the interconnectedness of the entire Bible. The themes mentioned throughout this chapter are mentioned throughout the Old Testament and throughout the New Testament as well.
    • Per the Collegeville Bible Commentary, this chapter belongs to the genre of the ‘farewell discourse’. The formula for a farewell discourse is the following:
      • The speaker announces his departure
      • The speaker recalls the past, either of the people or himself
      • The speaker exhorts the hearers to keep God’s commandments
      • The speaker exhorts the hearers to unity of spirit
      • The speaker predicts the future of his children
      • The speaker wishes peace and joy to his children
      • The speaker promises his children that God will be with them.
    • The farewell in this case is twofold:
      • Tobit has prayed for death and therefore expects it.
      • Tobit sends his son Tobiah to Media to retrieve the money that Tobit left in Media with Gabael. (Bergant 1992, p.836)

Tb 3: Prayer

Tobit (3)

Tobit’s Prayer for Death

  • Tobit, blinded by bird droppings, prays for death.
  • Tobit’s Prayer for Death
    • Tobit prays to God for death, not because of his sins, but because of his misery of being subjected to insults from his wife.

II: Sarah’s Plight

  • Sarah Falsely Accused
    • And now the book of Tobit moves on to the other main character of the book — Sarah.
    • Simultaneity is a key technique in this chapter; “On the same day” that Tobit quarrels with Anna and prays for death, Raguel’s daughter Sarah is taunted by one of her father’s maids and also turns to prayer.” (Bergant 1992, pp. 834-835)
    • Sarah had seven husbands and each of them died due to strangulation BEFORE they could have intercourse with Sarah.
    • Sarah’s maid insults Sarah by accusing her of strangling all seven of her husbands. The maid basically tells Sarah to join her husbands and die as well.
    • The Demon, Asmodeus, is the real murderer of the husbands.
      • Asmodeus means “demon of wrath” in Persian.
      • In Aramaic it means “the Destroyer”
    • Sarah went to her room and almost killed herself, but thought of her father and decided not to kill herself. (Perhaps a comment by the author about how suicide is a selfish act?)
    • Instead of suicide, Sarah decided to pray to God to let her die for the same reason as Tobit — so she would no longer have to hear insults (from her maid).
  • Sarah’s Prayer for Death
    • Like Tobit, Sarah asks for death; unlike Tobit, she also tells God that if it pleases him not to kill her, then at least look favorably on her and not allow her to hear any more insults. (Instead of killing herself she leaves it up to God to decide whether she lives or dies).
    • Sarah illustrates the proper way to pray — she spreads out her hands and turns to face Jerusalem. (Bergant 1992, p. 835)
  • An Answer to Prayer
    • Hearing both Tobit’s and Sarah’s prayers, God sends Raphael to heal Tobit and to marry Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah, and to drive the demon Asmodeus from Sarah.
    • Again another example of the technique of Simultaneity — Raphael is sent to answer both Tobit’s and Sarah’s prayers. (Bergant 1992, p. 835)
    • The reader knows that both will be healed; but the characters must continue in the darkness of faith. (Bergant 1992, p. 835)
    • The end of the chapter leaves the reader with the following questions:
      • 1: How will Tobit be healed?
      • 2: How will Sarah be delivered from the demon?
      • 3: How will the lives of these two families continue to be linked?
  • Additional Comments:
    • It seems that the one common theme between Tobit and Sarah is that when confronted with dire circumstances, they both turn to God in prayer. Now both pray to die, but nevertheless, they both pray to God for help. It just so happens that at the end of the chapter, God has other plans than death for both Tobit and Sarah. It appears that God will instead heal Tobit and rid Sarah of the Demon.
    • As throughout the other books of the Bible up to this point, praying to God in the time of need is a common theme. It never hurts to be reminded that God is always there to help us; we just have to ask for his help. As Jesus states in Mt 7:

      “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

      For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt 7:7-8)

Tb 2: Blind

Tobit (2)

Tobit Becomes Blind

  • At the end of Chapter 1 of the Book of Tobit, Tobit was allowed to return to Nineveh because his nephew had a position of power under King Esarhaddon.
  • Courage in Burying the Dead (Continued…)
    • Tobit and his family returned to Nineveh.
    • On the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (called by its Greek name Pentecost because it was celebrated 50 days after the Passover) a fine meal was prepared for Tobit.
    • Before Tobit eats he asks his son Tobiah to go find a poor man to invite to eat with Tobit… the man must be a poor man, who is a sincere worshipper of God, and who is exiled in Nineveh.
      • This is included in the story to illustrate the importance of Almsgiving and Charity to the poor; two important virtues taught by the book of Tobit.
    • Tobiah returned and told his father that he found one of their people murdered (by strangulation) in the marketplace.
      • As Tobit did in the previous chapter, he went out to get the body in order to bury the dead. He put the body in one of his rooms in his home in order to bury the body at sunset.
      • Before he ate he washed himself – again this is included to show that Tobit abided by the Law of Moses; he must wash after touching a dead body because of ritual defilement from touching a corpse.
    • At sunset, Tobiah buried the body.
      • People mocked Tobit because the last time he buried bodies he was exiled from Nineveh under threat of death from the prior king. They wondered if he learned his lesson from the last time he buried the dead.
  • Tobit’s Blindness
    • After burying the dead body, Tobit fell asleep next to a wall.
      • He didn’t cover his face because of the heat.
      • He didn’t know there would be birds perched on the wall above where he slept.
      • Birds were perched above him, went to the bathroom, and the droppings from the birds went into Tobit’s eyes and he got cataracts.
        • His reward for righteousness seems to be suffering rather than blessing. (Bergant 1992, p. 834)
        • He tried going to many doctors, but the salves applied to his eyes by the doctors only made his cataracts worse.
        • Eventually Tobit became blind.
        • For four years he was blind.
    • Anna, Tobit’s wife, goes to work.
      • Because Tobit was blind, Anna became the ‘breadwinner’ of the family.
      • She made money by weaving cloth… “…the kind of work women do.” (Tb 2:11)
      • One of her customers paid her money and gave her a goat.
        • Tobit thought the goat may have been stolen and ordered Anna to return the goat.
        • Anna refused.
        • Anna then ‘taunts’ Tobit by saying, “Where are your charitable deeds now? Where are your virtuous acts? See! Your true character is finally showing itself!” (Tb 2:14)
        • This incident between Tobit and Anna illustrates the tension in the household. (Bergant 1992, p. 834)
  • Additional Comments:
    • The author in this chapter of the book of Tobit, appears to be illustrating the fact that during tough times it is easy for one to lose faith and think that any ‘charitable deeds’ or ‘virtuous acts’ performed in one’s lifetime were all for naught. It is during these tough times that we must remain steadfast in faith and not lose faith, and to know that God will lead us through the tough times as long as we have faith.

Tb 1: Tobit

Tobit (1)

Tobit

  • And so starts the beginning of a new book. Nehemiah marked the end of the Historical Books; Tobit begins the Biblical Novellas.
  • For details behind the Book of Tobit, see the Introduction/Background of the Book of Tobit.
  • Tobit
    • Tobit – derived from Tobi, which is an abbreviated form of Tobiyah or of Tobiyabu which means “Yahweh is good.”
    • Tobit is the son of Tobiel (meaning “God is good”). Tobiel is the son of Hananiel (meaning “God is merciful”)
    • During the reign of Shalmaneser (king of Assyria), Tobit was taken captive from Thisbe.
    • This is a common Introduction to an historical work. But this cannot be considered an historical work. (Bergant 1992, p. 832)

I: Tobit’s Ordeals

  • His Virtue
    • Per Collegeville Bible Commentary, three main events are set in motion in the next two sections of this chapter:
      • 1: Tobit walks in the way of truth and righteousness
      • 2: Tobit marries Anna
      • 3: Tobit deposits money in Media
    • This section is told by Tobit, in the first person.
    • He was part of the tribe of Naphtali.
    • The Tribe of Naphtali was one of the tribes that separated from Judah and the House of David.
    • He mentions that the people in his town would go to offer sacrifice on the mountains of Galilee and to the false gods created by Jeroboam, king of Israel.
      • He points out that he did not go to worship the false gods, but instead he was faithful and traveled to Jerusalem to make his offerings in the House of the Lord.
      • He also mentions that he continued to pay tithes to the House of the Lord — to the priests of Aaron, the Levites, to the orphans and widows, to converts living with the Israelites.
    • Family Summary:
      • His Wife: Anna (a woman of his own lineage; another example of Tobit’s fidelity to Jewish Law.)
      • His Son: Tobiah
    • After being deported to Nineveh, he refrained from eating the ‘food of heathens’. His relatives on the other hand ate the ‘food of heathens’.
    • He credits God for granting him favor and status with Shalmaneser.
      • Under Shalmaneser, Tobit would go to Media to buy goods for Shalmaneser.
      • Tobit would deposit money in Media — “pouches containing a great sum of money” (about 10,000 dollars)
      • After Shalmaneser died, the roads to Media became dangerous and Tobit could no longer travel to Media.
  • Courage in Burying the Dead
    • Chapter 1 portrays Tobit’s life as an example of truth, righteousness, and almsgiving or charitable works. (Bergant 1992, p. 834)
    • Tobit performed many charitable works for his kinsmen and his people:
      • He gave bread to the hungry
      • He clothed the naked
      • He buried the dead
        • He risked his life to bury the dead.
        • A citizen of Nineveh informed King Sennacherib that Tobit was the one burying the dead and the king wanted to put Tobit to death.
        • Tobit left Nineveh and went into hiding.
        • After Tobit left, his property was confiscated and he was left nothing except for his wife and son.
    • King Sennacherib was killed by his two sons.
    • Sennacherib’s son, Esarhaddon, succeeded Sennacherib as king, and placed Tobit’s nephew, Ahiqar, in charge of all of the accounts of the kingdom.
      • In effect Ahiqar took control over the entire administration.
      • Ahiqar interceded for Tobit and Tobit was allowed to return to Nineveh.
    • Bible Footnote about ‘Ahiqar’:
      • A hero of ancient folklore, known for his outstanding wisdom.
      • The author makes Tobit the uncle of the famous Ahiqar in order to enhance Tobit’s own prestige.
  • Additional Comments:
    • Interesting start to the story of Tobit. In this chapter, the author clearly is trying to illustrate the rewards of living a pious life, and remaining faithful to God — God will not abandon a person when times become tough, as long as one keeps the faith like Tobit.