|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Towering Figures of the Old Testament |
|
Tobit
and
His Wisdom
|
Keeping the
Law of Moses
Tobit, from the
tribe of Naphtali, is captured during the
reign of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria. Tobit
is a righteous and truthful man. He is
deported with his kinsmen to Nineveh, in
Assyria.
Tobit was raised with strict adherence to the
Law of Moses and he refuse to eat the food of
heathens even during his imprisonment.
Because of his wholehearted service to the
LORD, He grants him favor with Shalmaneser, so
that he becomes the purchasing agent for all
his needs. All this time Tobit does many works
of charity for his kinsmen and his people,
feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. If
he sees one of his people who had died and
thrown outside the walls of Nineveh, Tobit
would bury him.
Tobit travels to Media to buy goods for the
king, every now and then until the king’s
death. In these trips, Tobit deposits several
pouches containing a great sum of money with
his kinsman Gabael, son of Gabri, who lived at
Rages, in Media.
Going Into
Hiding
But when
Shalmaneser dies and his son Sennacherib
succeeds him as king, the roads to Media
become unsafe, so he could no longer go there.
During Sennacherib reign, Tobit buries in
secret those Israelites whom Sennacherib slew.
However, the king learns of what Tobit has
been doing so the king sends out word to
arrest him and to put him to death. Tobit then
goes into hiding.
Afterward, the king confiscates all of Tobit’s
property leaving him with nothing, except for
his wife Anna and his son Tobiah.
Less than forty days later, however, the king
is assassinated by two of his sons. His son
Esarhaddon succeeds him as king. the new king
places Ahiqar, Tobit’s brother Anael's son, in
charge of all the accounts of the kingdom,
taking control over the entire administration,
being the chief cupbearer, keeper of the seal,
administrator, and treasurer.
Ahigar
Intercedes for Tobit
Then Ahiqar
successfully intercedes on Tobit’s behalf so
he returns to Nineveh with his wife Anna and
son Tobiah.
On the festival of Pentecost, the feast of
Weeks, a fine dinner is prepared for Tobit and
he gets ready to eat. At the table he tells
his son, Tobiah to look for a poor man from
among his kinsmen in Nineveh. He tells his son
to bring that man so he can join them at his
table to eat.
Thus Tobit waits for his son to come back from
his mission. Tobiah then returns to report to
Tobit that one of his kinsmen had been slain
and his body was left at the market place.
Tobit rushes to the market place, leaving his
dinner untouched. He then carries the dead man
from the street and put him in one of the
rooms, so that he might bury him after sunset.
Then he returns to his own quarters, washes
himself and eats his dinner in sorrow. Then at
sunset Tobit goes out to dig a grave, and
buries the slain man.
When his neighbors see him, they mock him for
not learning his lessons, for this same action
led to him to be hunted down for execution.
Tobit Becomes
Blind
At that same
night Tobit bathes, and goes to sleep next to
the wall of his courtyard. Because of the heat
he leaves his face uncovered. Without his
knowing birds perch on the wall above him, and
their warm droppings fall into his eyes
causing cataracts. He goes to see some doctors
for the cure, but the more they anoint his eyes
with various salves, the worse the cataracts
become, until he could see no more.
For four years Tobit is deprived of eyesight,
and all his kinsmen are grieved at his
condition. Ahiqar, however, takes care of him
for two years, until he leaves for Elymais.
|
|
|
|
Tobit's Wife
Anna |
|
At this time
Tobit’s wife Anna works for hire at weaving
cloth. She gets paid for the goods that she
finishes. Late in winter she finishes the
cloth and sends it back to the owners. They
pay her the full salary, and also give her a
young goat for the table.
On entering his house the goat begins to bleat. Tobit calls to
his wife and says that if the
goat was stolen to give it back to the owners.
But his wife tells him that the goat was given
to her as a bonus over and above her wages.
However, Tobit does not believe her and
angrily demands to give the goat back to the
owner. Anna rebukes Tobit for not believing
her.
Grief-stricken Tobit groans and weeps aloud.
Then with sobs Tobit begins to pray to the
LORD, to let him die instead of enduring so
much misery in life, and to hear these
insults. |
 |
|
|
|
|
The Sorrows
of Sarah
On the same day,
at Ecbatana in Media, Raguel's daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse, from one of her
father's maids. For she has been married to
seven husbands, but the wicked demon Asmodeus
kills them off before they could have
intercourse with her, as it is prescribed for
wives. So the maid accuses Sarah of strangling
her husbands.
That day Sarah is deeply grieved in spirit and
goes in tears to an upstairs room in her
father's house with the intention of hanging
herself. But she reconsiders, saying to
herself that then people will level insults
against her father. She prays instead to the
LORD to take her life so she may never hear
these insults.
At that very
time, the prayers of these two suppliants are
heard in the glorious presence of Almighty
God. The LORD later sends Rafael to eventually
heal them both.
That same day
Tobit remembers the money he had deposited
with Gabael at Rages in Media.
|
|
|
|
The Wisdom of
Tobit |
|
Having asked the
LORD to let him die, he calls his son Tobiah
to counsel him as follows: |
|
|
|
Duties toward
parents |
|
Give your
father a decent burial when he dies.
Honor your mother, and to not abandon her as
long as she lives.
Do whatever pleases her, and not grieve her
spirit in any way.
|
|
Perseverance
in virtue and avoidance of evil |
|
Always keep
the Lord in mind, and suppress every desire
to sin or to break his commandments.
Do good works all the days of your life, and
not tread the paths of wrongdoing.
|
|
Necessity and
value of almsgiving and charity |
|
Be
steadfast in your service and your good
works will bring success, not only to you,
but also to all those who live uprightly.
Give alms from your possessions.
Do not turn your face away from any of the
poor, and God's face will not be turned away
from you.
Give alms in proportion to what you own.
If you have great wealth, give alms out of
your abundance; if you have but little,
distribute even some of that. But do not
hesitate to give alms.
You will be storing up a goodly treasure for
yourself against the day of adversity.
Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps
one from going into the dark abode.
Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of
the Most High for all who give them.
Give to the hungry some of your bread, and
to the naked some of your clothing.
Whatever you have left over, give away as
alms; and do not begrudge the alms you give.
Be lavish with your bread and wine at the
burial of the virtuous, but do not share
them with sinners.
|
|
Marriage to a
kinsman |
|
Be on guard
against every form of immorality.
Marry a woman of the lineage of your
forefathers and not to marry a stranger who
is not of your father's tribe.
Keep in mind Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, their fathers from of old, who all
took wives from among their own kinsmen and
were blessed in their children. Remember
that their posterity shall inherit the land.
Love your kinsmen. Be not so proud-hearted
toward them for in such arrogance there is
ruin and great disorder.
|
|
The Value of
Industry |
|
In
worthlessness there is decay and dire
poverty, for worthlessness is the mother of
famine.
|
|
Fairness to
those who work for you |
|
Do not to
keep overnight the wages of any man who
works for you, but pay him immediately,
because if he behaves as God's servant, he
will receive his reward.
|
|
The Golden
Rule |
|
If you thus
behave as God's servant, you will receive
your reward.
Keep a close watch on yourself in everything
you do, and discipline yourself in all your
conduct.
Do not do to one what you yourself dislike.
|
|
Temperance |
|
Do not
drink wine till you become drunk, or let
drunkenness accompany you on your way.
|
|
Docility |
|
Always seek
counsel from every wise man, and to not
think lightly of any advice that can be
useful.
|
|
The value of
prayer |
|
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.
No pagan nation possesses good counsel, but
the Lord himself gives all good things.
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.
Keep in mind these commandments, and never
let them be erased from your heart.
|
| |
 |
Then finally
Tobit tells Tobiah that he has deposited a
great sum of money with Gabri's son Gabael at
Rages in Media. And he tells Tobiah not to be
discouraged due of their poverty because he
will be a rich man if he fears God, avoid all
sin, and do what is right before the Lord his
God.
Then Tobiah tells his father Tobit and he will
everything that he has commanded him. He also
asks Tobit how he can obtain the money from
Gabael since he does not know Tobiah and
Tobiah does not know him. |
|
|
Tobit answers Tobiah and he and Gabael
exchanged signatures on a document written in
duplicate, which he divided it into two parts,
and each of them kept one. Gabael’s copy Tobit
put with the money. He then tells Tobiah to
find himself a trustworthy man who will make
the journey with him. |
|
|
|
Tobiah Meets
Archangel Rafael |
|
So Tobiah
goes to look for someone acquainted with
the roads who would travel with him to
Media. As soon as he goes out, he finds
the angel Raphael standing before him,
though he does not know that he is an
angel of God.
Then Tobiah asks the man who he is. The
man answers that he is an Israelite, one
of his kinsmen who has come to work.
Tobiah asks the man if he knows the way to
Media.
The man replies that he does and that he
has been there many times, thus he knows
the place well and he knows all the
routes. The man says further that he has
often traveled to Media, where he used to
stay with their kinsman Gabael, who lives
at Rages in Media. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tobiah then goes
to tell his father of the man who will make
the journey with him. Tobiah tells Tobit that
the man he has met is one of their own
Israelite kinsmen. Tobit asks to meet the man
so he can find out more about him and whether
he can be trusted.
When Raphael enters the house, Tobit greets
him first and Raphael gives him hearty
greetings. But Tobit replies that there is not
much joy left for him, for he is blind and
must remain in darkness. Raphael tells Tobit
to take courage for God has healing in store
for him.
Tobit then asks Rafael if he can go with his
son Tobiah who wants to go to Media, and show
him the way. Raphael tells him that he will go
with Tobiah for he knows all the routes.
Rafael tells him that his name is Azariah, son
of Hananiah the elder, one of his own kinsmen. |
|
|
|
|
The
Journey to Media |
 |
Rafael
assures Tobit that in good health they
shall leave him, and in good health they
shall return to him, for the way is safe.
Tobiah and Rafael then set out for their
journey.
But his mother begins to weep and
reproaches Tobit for sending Tobiah away.
But Tobit reassures her that their son
will be back in good health.
Tobiah
and Rafael walk until nightfall and the
made camp beside the Tigris River. When
Tobiah goes to the river to wash his feet
a large fish suddenly leaps out of the
water and tries to swallow his foot. He
shouts in alarm. But the angel tells him
to hold on to the fish and not to let it
get away. So boy seizes the fish and hauls
it up on the shore.
The angel
then tells him to cut the fish open, take
out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep
them with him, but to throw away the
entrails. Rafael tells him that its gall,
heart, and liver make useful medicines. |
|
| |
So Tobiah cuts
the fish open and puts aside the gall, heart,
and liver. Then he broils and eats part of the
fish, while the rest he salts and keeps for
the journey.
When they are near Media, Tobiah asks Rafael
what the medicinal values are for the fish's
heart, liver, and gall. Rafael tell him that
if you burn the fish’s heart and liver so that
the smoke surrounds a man or a woman who is
afflicted by a demon or evil spirit, the
affliction will leave him completely, and no
demons will ever return to him again. As for
the gall, if he rubs it on the eyes of a man
who has cataracts, blowing into his eyes right
on the cataracts, his sight will be restored.
Tobit Meets Sarah
When they enter Media and
getting close to Ecbatana Raphael tells Tobiah
that they must stay the night with Raguel, who is a
relative of his. He has a daughter, an only
child, named
Sarah. Rafael tells Tobiah
that since he is Sarah's closest relative, he
before all other men has the right to marry
her, according to there custom. Also, her father's estate will
be rightfully
his to inherit. He tells Tobiah that the girl
is sensible, courageous, and very beautiful;
and her father loves her dearly.
Rafael continues that he will ask the
girl's father to let them have her as his
bride. When they return from Rages, they will
hold the wedding feast for her.
Tobiah objects,
however, that he heard that this woman has
already been married seven times, and that her
husbands died in their bridal chambers, on the
very night they approached her. He also tells
Rafael that it is said that it was a demon who
killed them and that he is afraid he might die
as well.
But Rafael
reminds Tobiah of his father's order to marry
a woman from their own family. Then Rafael
reassures Tobiah and not to give another
thought to this demon. He tells Tobiah that
when he goes into the bridal chamber, to take
the fish's liver and heart, and place them on
the embers for the incense. He continues that
as soon as the demon smells the odor they give
off, he will flee and never again show himself
near her.
When Tobiah
hears Raphael say that she is his kinswoman,
of his own family's lineage, he falls deeply in
love with her, and his heart becomes set on
her.
When they arrive at Ecbatana they are lead
straight to the home of their kinsman, Raguel.
Raguel finds out with great joy that Tobiah is
the son of Tobit, but becomes saddened when he
finds out that Tobit has lost his eyesight.
Afterwards,
Raguel slaughters a ram from the flock and
gives them a cordial reception. When they got
ready to eat, Tobiah tells Rafael to ask
Raguel to let him marry Sarah. Raguel,
however, overhears Tobiah, so he reassures
Tobiah that he cannot give Sarah for marriage
to anyone but Tobiah. However, Raguel explains
that Sarah had been married to seven men
before and they all died the very night they
are to consummate their marriage. But Raguel
eventually gives Sarah as Tobiah's wife.
Then Raguel
calls his daughter Sarah, and gives her to
Tobiah. He tells Tobiah to take Sarah
according to the decree written in the Book of
Moses she as his wife. He then calls her
mother and tells her to bring a scroll, then
they draw up a marriage contract according to
the decree of the Mosaic law and they affix
their seals.
Afterwards they begin to eat and drink. Later
Raguel calls his wife Edna to prepare the
other bedroom and bring the girl there. Then
Sarah goes inside.
|
| |
| |
|
When they finish
eating and drinking, the girl's parents
lead Tobiah into the bedroom. At this
point Tobiah, mindful of Raphael's
instructions, takes the fish's liver and
heart from the bag which he had with him,
and places them on the embers for the
incense.
As Rafael said the demon is repelled by
the odor of the fish and flees into Upper
Egypt. Raphael pursues him there and binds
him hand and foot. Then Raphael returns
immediately.
When Tobiah and Sarah are alone, as Rafael
instructed, Tobiah rises from bed with his
wife to get up. He tells Sarah
|
 |
|
that they are to
pray and beg the Lord to have mercy on
them and to grant them deliverance. So
Sarah gets up, and they pray and beg
deliverance. |
|
|
| |
|
 |
After prayer
they go to bed for the night. Meanwhile,
Raguel gets up and orders his servants to
start digging a grave so that if necessary
they may bury him without anyone's knowing
about it. Afterwards his wife sends a
servant to Tobiah’s room to see if he is
dead.
The maid lights a lamp, goes into Tobiah’s
room and finds them sound asleep together.
The maid then goes back to Raguel and
tells him that there is nothing wrong, and
Tobiah is alive.
Then Raguel praises the God of heaven.
|
|
Afterwards, he
orders his servants to fill in the grave
before dawn. He tells his wife to prepare
for a great feast!
Then he tells Tobiah that half of what he
owns is his when he returns to his father
and the other half he will have when he
and his wife die.
At Raguel's urging,
Tobiah makes an oath not to leave Raguel's
house for fourteen days, and feast and
celebrate during that time.
Because of his oath not to leave the house
of Raguel for fourteen days, Tobiah calls
Raphael and tells him to continue to
Rages. There, Tobiah tells Rafael to go to
Gabael’s house and present to him his
father's bond. Tobiah continues that after
Gabael gives him his father’s money, for
Rafael to invite Gabael to Tobiah’s
wedding celebration.
So Raphael, together with the four
servants and two camels, travel to Rages
in Media. When they get to Gabael's house,
Raphael gives Gabael Tobit’s bond and
tells him about Tobit's son Tobiah, and
that he had married and has invited him to
the wedding celebration. Gabael promptly
checks over the sealed moneybags, and they
place them on the camels.
They leave early in the following morning
and travel to the wedding celebration.
When they enter Raguel's house, Gabael
recognizes Tobiah as he is the very image
of his cousin Tobit. He greets and blesses
Tobiah profusely as a noble and good child
of a good, upright and charitable man.
Meanwhile, day by day, Tobit keeps track
of the time Tobiah was away. When Tobiah
does not arrive at the time Tobit expected
him back from his journey he becomes very
worried, but yet he reassures his wife
lovingly that Tobiah is safe and will be
back soon. He reassures her that there
must have been a delay in their journey.
Nevertheless, Tobit and his wife become
very worried at Tobiah’s delay in
returning.
Now at the end of the fourteen-day wedding
celebration, which Raguel had sworn to
hold for his daughter, Tobiah goes to him
and and asks to let him go because he
knows that his father and mother must now
be worried sick about him.
Raguel, however, tells Tobiah to stay and
he will send messengers to his father to
give him the news about him. But Tobiah
insists that he must go back to his
father. Finally, Raguel relents and hands
over to Tobiah Sarah his wife, together
with half of all his property.
Then Raguel blesses Tobiah for his
posterity, and advices Sarah to honor
Tobiah’s parents. Finally, Tobiah and
Sarah are on their way back to Nineveh. |
|
|
|
|
When they
are on their return journey, just before
Nineveh, Raphael tells Tobiah that they
two must hurry on ahead of his wife to
prepare the house while the rest of the
party are still on the way.
So they both go on ahead and Raphael
reminds Tobiah to have the gall of the
fish in his hand.
Meanwhile, Anna sits watching the road by
which her son was to come, and she sees
him coming. She exclaims to Tobit that
Tobiah is arriving with the man who went
with him.
Raphael tells Tobiah before he reaches his
father for Tobiah to smear the fish gall
on his father’s eyes. This medicine will
make the |
 |
|
| |
cataracts shrink
and peel off from his eyes; then his father
will again be able to see.
Then Anna
runs up to her son, throws her arms around
him, and greets him sobbing. Tobit gets up and
stumbles out through the courtyard gate.
Tobiah goes up to him with the fish gall in
his hand, and holding him firmly, blows into
his eyes. Next he smears the medicine on his
eyes, and beginning at the corners of Tobit's
eyes, Tobiah peel off the cataracts with his
hands. When Tobit sees his son, he throws his
arms around him and weeps.
Tobit exclaims in joys of being able to see
him and then blesses the LORD and praises him.
Then Tobiah tells his father that his journey
had been a success; that he had brought back
the money; and that he had married Raguel's
daughter Sarah, who will arrive shortly, for
she is approaching the gate of Nineveh.
Rejoicing and praising God, Tobit goes out to
the gate of Nineveh to meet his
daughter-in-law. When the people of Nineveh
sees him walking along briskly, with no one
leading him by the hand, they are amazed.
Before them all Tobit proclaims how God had
mercifully restored sight to his eyes. When
Tobit reaches Sarah, the wife of his son
Tobiah, he greets her, and welcomes her as his
daughter, with great joy. Tobit then blesses
God for bringing her to them and he blesses
her father and her mother.
That day there is joy for all the Jews who
live in Nineveh. Then they celebrate Tobiah's
wedding feast for seven happy days, and he
receives many gifts.
When the wedding celebration comes to an end,
Tobit calls his son Tobiah and tells Tobiah to
see to it that he gives what is due to the man
who made the journey with him and to give him
a bonus too.
Tobiah asks his father how much to give
Rafael, suggesting that it will not hurt him
at all to give him half of all the wealth he
brought back with him. Tobiah continues that
he led him back safe and sound; he cured his
wife, Sarah; he brought the money back with
him; and he cured him.
Tobit then tells Tobiah that it is only fair
that he should receive half of all that he
brought back. So Tobiah calls Raphael and
tells him to take as his wages half of all
that he brought back.
|
|
|
|
The Words of
an Archangel |
| |
Raphael calls
the two men aside privately.
Rafael tells
them to thank God and give him the praise and
the glory; |
| |
|
|
|
 |
That before
all the living, acknowledge the many good
things he has done for them, by blessing
and extolling his name in song, and before
all men, honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him;
To declare and make known the works of
God, and to do good, and evil will not
find its way to them;
That prayer and fasting are good, but
better than either is almsgiving
accompanied by righteousness;
That a little with righteousness is better
than abundance with wickedness;
That it is better to give alms than to
store up gold, for almsgiving saves one
from death and expiates every sin;
That those
who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full
life; but those habitually guilty of sin
are their own worst enemies. |
|
|
|
| |
The
Revelation of Rafael
Then Rafael says that he will now tell them
the whole truth and he will conceal nothing at
all from them.
Then Rafael says that when Tobit and Sarah
prayed, it was he who presented and read the
record of your prayer before the Glory of the
Lord; and he did the same thing when Tobit
used to bury the dead.
Rafael says that when Tobit did not hesitate
to get up and leave his dinner in order to go
and bury the dead, it was he who was sent to
put him to the test. At the same time,
however, God commissioned him to heal him and
him daughter-in-law, Sarah.
Then he reveals that he is Raphael, one of the
seven angels who enter and serve before the
Glory of the Lord.
I have already said to you, 'A king's secret
it is prudent to keep, but the works of God
are to be made known with due honor.'
|
|
|
|
Stricken
with fear, the two men fall to the ground.
But Raphael says to them not to fear for
they are safe, and for them to thank God
now and forever.
Rafael also says that when he came to him
it was not out of any favor on his part,
but because it was God's will. He tells
him to continue to thank him every day and
praise him with song.
So Rafael tells them to get up from the
ground and praise God. He tells them that
he is about to ascend to him who sent him.
He tells them to write down all these
things that have happened to them.
When Raphael ascends they rise to their
feet and could no longer see him. They
keep thanking God and singing his praises;
and they continue to acknowledge these
marvelous deeds which he had done when the
angel of God appeared to them.
|
 |
Then Tobit
composes a joyful prayer of praise and
exultation of the LORD.
Just before Tobit dies, he calls his son
Tobiah and Tobiah's seven sons, and commands
him to take his children and flee into Media,
for he believes God's word which was spoken by
Nahum against Nineveh. To0bit tells Tobiah
that whatever was said by Israel's prophets,
whom God commissioned, shall occur. He
continues that not one of all the oracles
shall remain unfulfilled, but everything shall
take place in the time appointed for it.
Tobit dies peacefully at the age of a hundred
and twelve, and receives an honorable burial
in Nineveh.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
|
|
|
|
 |
The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
|
|
|
Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
| |
|
|
| |
 |
Samson and Delilah and Other Old Testament
Stories (Discovering the Bible) | | | | |