TOBIT, BOOK OF, one of the deutero-canonical books, detailing the wonderful dealings of God with a pious man of this name.
1. Title of the Book.—The book is called—i. Tospir, from the words with which it begins, and which are an abbreviation of the super scription (Tobit t, 2). ii. Liber Tobio, or simply Tcoplr, Tobias, because Tobit is the princi pal character in it. iii. Tobit et Tobias, because Tobias the son plays an equally important part in the narrative with Tobit the father ; and iv. Liber ittrizzsgue Tobice, because the Vulgate and the Hebrew Version, edited by Paul Fagius, de sominate both the father and the son Tobias= 2. Design aszd contents of the Book.—The design of this book is to show that God in his mysterious providence permits sore calamities to befall the most pious and God-fearing in tbe very act of, and apparently for, obeying his commandments, but that he at the same time exercises a special care over them in the midst of their sufferings, vouch safes unto them a happy issue out of all their trials, and holds them up to the world at large as patterns of patience under tribulations, as such who have been deemed worthy of being tried and purified, and who have demonstrated that the effectual and fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' The method adopted by the writer for working out this design will be seen from the following brief analysis of the contents of the book.
Tobit, a pious Jew of the tribe of Naphtali, was carried away with his wife Anna by Shalmaneser into captivity to Assyria, where he continued re ligiously to observe the law, though all his brethren departed from it (i. 1-12). Through the special favour of God he was made officer at court, and in this position he not only saved ten talents of silver, which he deposited with his countryman Gabael of Rages, in Media, but aided his poor brethren with money, and secretly performed the last rites to those of his co-religionists whom the king had put to death. For these acts of humanity he had to flee from Nineveh with his wife and his son Tobias, and his property was confiscated, but was allowed to return after the accession of Esar haddon, through the intercession of his nephew Achiacharus (13-22), when he continued to walk in the ways of the Lord in spite of the taunts of his neighbours, who reminded him of the sufferings which his pious conduct had already drawn upon him (ii. 1-8). In the very act of thus fulfilling the law which necessitated his sleeping by the wall of his courtyard, sparrows muted warm dung into his eyes,' which blinded him, and he became de pendent upon the earnings of his wife, who, like the wife of suffering Job, taunted him with the miserable issue of his pious deeds (9-14). Deeply grieved at it, he prayed to God to relieve him from his sufferings by death (iii. 1-6).
It so happened that on the self-same day his pious kinswoman Sara, the only daughter of Raguel in Ec batane, also prayed for death as a release from her sufferings, because she was falsely accused of having strangled her seven husbands, whom the evil spirit Asmodeus [AsmonEus] successively killed in the night of their marriage (7-15). God graciously heard their prayer and sent his angel Raphael to deliver the two sufferers from their sorrow (16, 17). Tobit, however, prepared himself for death as he had prayed, and before quitting this life he wished his son to obtain the ten talents of silver which he had deposited with Gabael. After charging hint with the care of his mother, admonishing hini sacredly to observe the commandments of the Lord (iv. 1-21), and giving him the order for the money, the angel Raphael, in the guise of a kinsman, Azarias, offered to accompany Tobias on his jour ney to Media just as they were in quest of a guide (v. 1-22). On their way, whilst sojourning at the river Tigris, Tobias, according to the com mand of his angel guide, caught a fish which had leaped out of the water, took out its heart, liver, and gall, wherewith he was told evil spirits could be controlled and blindness cured (vi. 1-8) ; the angel having told him that he would marry Sara and expel the demon (9-17). When they arrived at Ecbatane they were lodged in the house of Ra guel, and Sara was given in marriage to Tobias, who, according to the instructions of Raphael, smoked the heart and liver of the fish and thereby drove Asmodeus to the utmost parts of Egypt,' where the angel bound him ' (vii. 1–viii. 3), which called forth two beautiful prayers from To bias and Raguel (4-17), and after which the wed ding feast was kept (18-21). After Raphael had recovered the money from Gabael (ix. 1-6), and Raguel had given them half his goods as well as his parental blessing (x. I-12), Tobias, accompanied by his wife, the angel, and the dog, returned home to Nineveh (xi. 1-4). Tobit, on hearing of the approach of his son, went out to meet him, and was at once cured of his blindness by the application of the fish's gall to his eyes (5-19). When they offered handsomely to remunerate the guide, he ad monished them to pray and give alms, told them that he was Raphael, and was sent to them in answer to prayer, and disappeared (xii. 1-22). Whereupon Tobit expresses his gratitude in a beautiful psalm. (xiii. 1-18), lived for many years in the fear of the Lord (xiv. r, 2), admonished his son before his death to go to Media, as Nineveh is to be overthrown according to the prophecy of Jonas the prophet, and to live in the fear and obedi ence of the Lord (3-11), which Tobias strictly obeyed after the death of Tobit, and he actually heard of the destruction of Nineveh (12-r 5 ).