Changes

The divisions of the Book of Tobit are:

The divisions of the Book of Tobit are:

<br/>Tobit’s Ordeals (1:3–3:6)

<br/>Tobit's Ordeals (1:3–3:6)

<br/>Sarah’s Plight (3:7–17)

<br/>Sarah's Plight (3:7–17)

<br/>Preparation for the Journey (4:1–6:1)

<br/>Preparation for the Journey (4:1–6:1)

<br/>Tobiah’s Journey to Media (6:2–18)

<br/>Tobiah's Journey to Media (6:2–18)

<br/>Marriage and Healing of Sarah (7:1–9:6)

<br/>Marriage and Healing of Sarah (7:1–9:6)

<br/>Tobiah’s Return Journey to Nineveh and the Healing of Tobit (10:1–11:18)

<br/>Tobiah's Return Journey to Nineveh and the Healing of Tobit (10:1–11:18)

<br/>Raphael Reveals His Identity (12:1–22)

<br/>Raphael Reveals His Identity (12:1–22)

<br/>Tobit’s Song of Praise (13:1–18)

<br/>Tobit's Song of Praise (13:1–18)

<br/>Epilogue (14:1–15)

<br/>Epilogue (14:1–15)

====Chapter summaries====

====Chapter summaries====

Tobit’s Ordeals (1:3–3:6)

Tobit's Ordeals (1:3–3:6)

<br/>

<br/>

Chap. 1

Chap. 1

<br/>1 Tobit leaves his meal to bury the dead, 10 and becomes blind. 11 His wife takes in work to get her living. 14 Her husband and she fall out about a goat-kid she received.

<br/>1 Tobit leaves his meal to bury the dead, 10 and becomes blind. 11 His wife takes in work to get her living. 14 Her husband and she fall out about a goat-kid she received.

Sarah’s Plight (3:7–17)

Sarah's Plight (3:7–17)

<br/>

<br/>

Chap. 3

Chap. 3

<br/>4 Young Tobias seeks a guide into Media. 6 The Angel will go with him, 12 and says he is his kinsman. 16 Tobias and the Angel depart together. 17 But his mother is grieved for her son's departing.

<br/>4 Young Tobias seeks a guide into Media. 6 The Angel will go with him, 12 and says he is his kinsman. 16 Tobias and the Angel depart together. 17 But his mother is grieved for her son's departing.

Tobiah’s Journey to Media (6:2–18)

Tobiah's Journey to Media (6:2–18)

<br/>

<br/>

Chap. 6

Chap. 6

<br/>1 Tobias sends the Angel to Gabael for the money. 6 The Angel brings it, and Gabael, to the wedding.

<br/>1 Tobias sends the Angel to Gabael for the money. 6 The Angel brings it, and Gabael, to the wedding.

Tobiah’s Return Journey to Nineveh and the Healing of Tobit (10:1–11:18)

Tobiah's Return Journey to Nineveh and the Healing of Tobit (10:1–11:18)

<br/>

<br/>

Chap. 10

Chap. 10

<br/>5 Tobit offers half to the Angel for his effort; 6 But he calls them both aside, and exhorts them, 15 and tells them that he was an Angel, 21 and was seen no more.

<br/>5 Tobit offers half to the Angel for his effort; 6 But he calls them both aside, and exhorts them, 15 and tells them that he was an Angel, 21 and was seen no more.

Tobit’s Song of Praise (13:1–18)

Tobit's Song of Praise (13:1–18)

<br/>

<br/>

Chap. 13

Chap. 13

The story of the book is as follows:  

The story of the book is as follows:  

Tobit, a pious man of the tribe of Naphtali from the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who remained faithful to Jerusalem when his tribe fell away to Jeroboam's cult of the bull, was carried away captive, and deported to Nineveh in 722/721 B.C. in the time of Enemessar (Shalmaneser), King of Assyria. There, together with his wife, Anna, and his son Tobias, and keeping himself pure from the food of the Gentiles, he gave alms to the needy, and buried the outcast bodies of the slain. A devout and wealthy Israelite living among the captives, he was in favor with the king, and so prosperous that he was able to deposit ten talents of silver in trust with a friend, Gabael, in Media. With the accession of Sennacherib (the successor of Enemessar) the situation changed, and he suffered severe reverses. Accused of burying the dead slain by the king (who desired their corpses to rot), he had to flee, and his property was confiscated; but when Sarchedonus (Esarhaddon) came to the throne Tobit was allowed to return to Nineveh at the intercession of his nephew Achiacharus (Aḥiḳar), the king's chancellor. Here he continued his works of mercy; but, accidentally losing his eyesight, and finally blinded, he fell into great poverty, so that in his dire distress because of his misfortunes he prayed that he might die, and  begged the Lord to let him die. In Media, at this same time, on that same day a similar prayer was offered by a young woman, Sarah, the daughter of Raguel of Ecbatana (in Media). She also prayed for death, in despair because she had been married to seven husbands, and had lost seven husbands, who had each in turn been killed, slain on his wedding night by the jealous demon Asmodeus. God heard the prayers of Tobit and Sarah and sent the angel Raphael in human form to aid them both. The same day, Tobit, remembering his deposit of money in Media, determined to send his son for it. Recalling to Tobiah the large sum he had formerly deposited in far-off Media with Gabael, he sends his son there to bring back the money. In obedience to the counsel of his father, Tobiah departed to seek a companion and guide and immediately encountered a young man (who turned out to be the angel Raphael). Raphael gave his name as Azarias ("help of God") the son of the great Ananias ("the grace of God"). Being found acceptable for him, Tobit blessed them and prayed that an angel of God accompany them. Raphael made the trip to Media with Tobiah, and the two proceeded on their journey. At the Tigris River, when Tobiah was attacked by a large fish as he bathed in the river, Raphael ordered him to seize it and to remove its gall, heart, and liver because they make useful medicines. Tobiah caught the fish and was instructed by his companion to preserve its heart, liver, and gall. Conducted to Raguel's house, at Raphael’s urging he asked Sarah's hand in marriage. Later, the contract was made, Tobiah married Sarah according to the law of Moses, and he used the fish’s heart and liver as instructed by burning a part of the heart and liver of the fish on the coals in the bridal chamber to drive away the demon Asmodeus. The demon fled, and Raphael pursued and bound him in Upper Egypt, and returned. The next morning the couple was found alive. Sarah's parents deeded over to Tobit half of their own possessions and property and upon their death the other half to Sarah and Tobiah, and they celebrated with a feast for two weeks. Tobiah sent Raphael (Azarias) to Gabael for the money, and he returned. Returning to Nineveh with Raphael, and with Sarah his wife, and his father’s money, Tobiah restored Tobit's eyesight by smearing his eyes with the fish's gall: he rubbed the fish’s gall into his father's eyes and cured him. Finally, after declining their offer of half the wealth they had obtained as a reward for his help, Raphael revealed his true identity and returned to heaven. Tobit then uttered his beautiful hymn of praise. Before dying, Tobit told his son to leave Nineveh because God will destroy that wicked city. After Tobiah buried his father and mother, he and his family departed for Media, where he later learned that the destruction of Nineveh had taken place. Father, mother, and son reached a good old age (Tobias living to rejoice over the destruction of Nineveh), and died in peace.

Tobit, a pious man of the tribe of Naphtali from the Northern Kingdom of Israel, who remained faithful to Jerusalem when his tribe fell away to Jeroboam's cult of the bull, was carried away captive, and deported to Nineveh in 722/721 B.C. in the time of Enemessar (Shalmaneser), King of Assyria. There, together with his wife, Anna, and his son Tobias, and keeping himself pure from the food of the Gentiles, he gave alms to the needy, and buried the outcast bodies of the slain. A devout and wealthy Israelite living among the captives, he was in favor with the king, and so prosperous that he was able to deposit ten talents of silver in trust with a friend, Gabael, in Media. With the accession of Sennacherib (the successor of Enemessar) the situation changed, and he suffered severe reverses. Accused of burying the dead slain by the king (who desired their corpses to rot), he had to flee, and his property was confiscated; but when Sarchedonus (Esarhaddon) came to the throne Tobit was allowed to return to Nineveh at the intercession of his nephew Achiacharus (Aḥiḳar), the king's chancellor. Here he continued his works of mercy; but, accidentally losing his eyesight, and finally blinded, he fell into great poverty, so that in his dire distress because of his misfortunes he prayed that he might die, and  begged the Lord to let him die. In Media, at this same time, on that same day a similar prayer was offered by a young woman, Sarah, the daughter of Raguel of Ecbatana (in Media). She also prayed for death, in despair because she had been married to seven husbands, and had lost seven husbands, who had each in turn been killed, slain on his wedding night by the jealous demon Asmodeus. God heard the prayers of Tobit and Sarah and sent the angel Raphael in human form to aid them both. The same day, Tobit, remembering his deposit of money in Media, determined to send his son for it. Recalling to Tobiah the large sum he had formerly deposited in far-off Media with Gabael, he sends his son there to bring back the money. In obedience to the counsel of his father, Tobiah departed to seek a companion and guide and immediately encountered a young man (who turned out to be the angel Raphael). Raphael gave his name as Azarias ("help of God") the son of the great Ananias ("the grace of God"). Being found acceptable for him, Tobit blessed them and prayed that an angel of God accompany them. Raphael made the trip to Media with Tobiah, and the two proceeded on their journey. At the Tigris River, when Tobiah was attacked by a large fish as he bathed in the river, Raphael ordered him to seize it and to remove its gall, heart, and liver because they make useful medicines. Tobiah caught the fish and was instructed by his companion to preserve its heart, liver, and gall. Conducted to Raguel's house, at Raphael's urging he asked Sarah's hand in marriage. Later, the contract was made, Tobiah married Sarah according to the law of Moses, and he used the fish's heart and liver as instructed by burning a part of the heart and liver of the fish on the coals in the bridal chamber to drive away the demon Asmodeus. The demon fled, and Raphael pursued and bound him in Upper Egypt, and returned. The next morning the couple was found alive. Sarah's parents deeded over to Tobit half of their own possessions and property and upon their death the other half to Sarah and Tobiah, and they celebrated with a feast for two weeks. Tobiah sent Raphael (Azarias) to Gabael for the money, and he returned. Returning to Nineveh with Raphael, and with Sarah his wife, and his father's money, Tobiah restored Tobit's eyesight by smearing his eyes with the fish's gall: he rubbed the fish's gall into his father's eyes and cured him. Finally, after declining their offer of half the wealth they had obtained as a reward for his help, Raphael revealed his true identity and returned to heaven. Tobit then uttered his beautiful hymn of praise. Before dying, Tobit told his son to leave Nineveh because God will destroy that wicked city. After Tobiah buried his father and mother, he and his family departed for Media, where he later learned that the destruction of Nineveh had taken place. Father, mother, and son reached a good old age (Tobias living to rejoice over the destruction of Nineveh), and died in peace.

This brief outline does not do justice to the artistic construction of the story, or to the fine touches in its descriptions of family life, social customs, and individual experiences.

This brief outline does not do justice to the artistic construction of the story, or to the fine touches in its descriptions of family life, social customs, and individual experiences.

==Tobit and marriage==

==Tobit and marriage==

Integral to the story of Tobit is the marriage of Tobiah and Sarah, accomplished through divine intervention. The author devotes a large portion of his story to how the two become married, which reveals much about the marital customs and values of third-century Diaspora Judaism that would otherwise remain unknown. Tobiah and Sarah marry in a ''wedding ceremony'' (7,11-12), Raguel draws up a ''marriage contract'' for them (7,13), and the importance of [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/endogamy ''endogamy''] is repeatedly stressed throughout the book (1,8; 4,12-13; 6,11-12; 7,10-13). Most intriguing, however, is the doctrine of the possibility of a "match made in heaven", the idea that God has determined from time immemorial that two people would marry each other. This is the case with Sarah, and Tobiah is told twice that their marriage has been determined by God (6:18; 7:11). Nowhere else in biblical literature is God’s primary role in marriage so clearly and explicitly stated. Jesus himself said, "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9.

Integral to the story of Tobit is the marriage of Tobiah and Sarah, accomplished through divine intervention. The author devotes a large portion of his story to how the two become married, which reveals much about the marital customs and values of third-century Diaspora Judaism that would otherwise remain unknown. Tobiah and Sarah marry in a ''wedding ceremony'' (7,11-12), Raguel draws up a ''marriage contract'' for them (7,13), and the importance of [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/endogamy ''endogamy''] is repeatedly stressed throughout the book (1,8; 4,12-13; 6,11-12; 7,10-13). Most intriguing, however, is the doctrine of the possibility of a "match made in heaven", the idea that God has determined from time immemorial that two people would marry each other. This is the case with Sarah, and Tobiah is told twice that their marriage has been determined by God (6:18; 7:11). Nowhere else in biblical literature is God's primary role in marriage so clearly and explicitly stated. Jesus himself said, "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:9.

A reading from Tobit can be incorporated into wedding ceremonies. The [[Episcopal]] Church [[Book of Common Prayer]] allows a reading of these verses from Tobit as part of the marriage service (8:5-8):

A reading from Tobit can be incorporated into wedding ceremonies. The [[Episcopal]] Church [[Book of Common Prayer]] allows a reading of these verses from Tobit as part of the marriage service (8:5-8):

The original form of the book may have told simply how a pious man, doing his duty, came safe out of trouble. Many literary critics see the author of the Book of Tobit as having borrowed elements of the popular folk story of the '''grateful dead''', but not all agree. The Grateful Dead  (or grateful ghost) is a folktale found in many cultures throughout the world. The most common form of the story involves a traveler who encounters a corpse of someone who never received a proper burial, often because of an unpaid debt.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037771/grateful-dead#23476.hook Encyclopædia Britannica: Grateful dead.]</ref> The traveler then either pays off the dead person's debt or pays for burial. The traveler is later rewarded or is saved from death by a person or animal who is actually the soul of the dead person. The "grateful dead" story is Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 505.<ref>[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0505.html D.L. Ashliman. The Grateful Dead: folktales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 505.]</ref> The episode of Sarah and Asmodeus appears to many to be a separate story, here skilfully combined with the tale of the grateful dead. In contrast to the pagan folklore which literary critics suggest as a source utilized by the biblical author, the Book of Tobit is not presented as a "ghost" story, but introduces the archangel Raphael as the spirit sent by God as helper and prophet. According to literary criticism, the advisory discourses in chapter 4 (which is greatly abbreviated in the Sinaitic text) and in chapter 12 read as insertions of an editor, not as part of the original text, but this is not as readily apparent to all readers as some have chosen to believe. For the ethical tone see especially 4:15, 16, and for the religious ideas, 12:8. The wisdom expressed in the book is comparable to Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Daniel, and Ecclesiastes.

The original form of the book may have told simply how a pious man, doing his duty, came safe out of trouble. Many literary critics see the author of the Book of Tobit as having borrowed elements of the popular folk story of the '''grateful dead''', but not all agree. The Grateful Dead  (or grateful ghost) is a folktale found in many cultures throughout the world. The most common form of the story involves a traveler who encounters a corpse of someone who never received a proper burial, often because of an unpaid debt.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9037771/grateful-dead#23476.hook Encyclopædia Britannica: Grateful dead.]</ref> The traveler then either pays off the dead person's debt or pays for burial. The traveler is later rewarded or is saved from death by a person or animal who is actually the soul of the dead person. The "grateful dead" story is Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 505.<ref>[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0505.html D.L. Ashliman. The Grateful Dead: folktales of Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 505.]</ref> The episode of Sarah and Asmodeus appears to many to be a separate story, here skilfully combined with the tale of the grateful dead. In contrast to the pagan folklore which literary critics suggest as a source utilized by the biblical author, the Book of Tobit is not presented as a "ghost" story, but introduces the archangel Raphael as the spirit sent by God as helper and prophet. According to literary criticism, the advisory discourses in chapter 4 (which is greatly abbreviated in the Sinaitic text) and in chapter 12 read as insertions of an editor, not as part of the original text, but this is not as readily apparent to all readers as some have chosen to believe. For the ethical tone see especially 4:15, 16, and for the religious ideas, 12:8. The wisdom expressed in the book is comparable to Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Daniel, and Ecclesiastes.

Most likely written in Aramaic,<ref>Several portions of the Old Testament books apparently were originally written in Aramaic, not Hebrew: Genesis, Ezra, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others. See [http://www.studylight.org/language-studies/aramaic-thoughts/index.cgi?a=189 Aramaic Thoughts: Aramaic and the Old Testament]</ref> the original of the book was lost for centuries. Fragments of four Aramaic texts and of one Hebrew text were discovered in Qumran Cave 4 in 1952 and have only recently been published. As with all ancient texts discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew was in consonantal form only. These Semitic forms of the book substantially agree with the long Greek recension of Tobit found in Codex Sinaiticus, recovered only in 1844 from St. Catherine’s Monastery (Mount Sinai), and in manuscripts 319 and 910. Two other Greek forms of Tobit have long been known: the short recension, found mainly in manuscripts Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Venetus, and numerous cursive manuscripts; and an intermediate Greek recension, in manuscripts 44, 106, 107. The Book of Tobit has been known also from two Latin versions: the long recension in the Vetus Latina, closely related to the long Greek recension and sometimes even closer to the Aramaic and Hebrew texts than the Greek; and the short recension in the Vulgate, related to the short Greek recension. The present English translation in modern Bibles has been based mainly on Sinaiticus, which is the most complete form of the long Greek recension, despite two [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/lacuna lacunae] (4:7–19b and 13:6i–10b) and some missing phrases, which make succeeding verses difficult to understand, making it necessary to supplement Sinaiticus from the Vetus Latina or from the short Greek recension. Occasionally, phrases or words have been drawn from the Aramaic or Hebrew texts, when they are significantly different. Forms of the Book of Tobit are also extant in ancient Arabic, Armenian, Coptic (Sahidic), Ethiopic, and Syriac, but these are almost all secondarily derived from the short Greek recension, and as such do not adequately represent the original text. The recent discovery of five scrolls of Tobit (4QTob) in both Hebrew and Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Cave IV of Qumran has given the book renewed attention.

Most likely written in Aramaic,<ref>Several portions of the Old Testament books apparently were originally written in Aramaic, not Hebrew: Genesis, Ezra, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others. See [http://www.studylight.org/language-studies/aramaic-thoughts/index.cgi?a=189 Aramaic Thoughts: Aramaic and the Old Testament]</ref> the original of the book was lost for centuries. Fragments of four Aramaic texts and of one Hebrew text were discovered in Qumran Cave 4 in 1952 and have only recently been published. As with all ancient texts discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Hebrew was in consonantal form only. These Semitic forms of the book substantially agree with the long Greek recension of Tobit found in Codex Sinaiticus, recovered only in 1844 from St. Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai), and in manuscripts 319 and 910. Two other Greek forms of Tobit have long been known: the short recension, found mainly in manuscripts Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Venetus, and numerous cursive manuscripts; and an intermediate Greek recension, in manuscripts 44, 106, 107. The Book of Tobit has been known also from two Latin versions: the long recension in the Vetus Latina, closely related to the long Greek recension and sometimes even closer to the Aramaic and Hebrew texts than the Greek; and the short recension in the Vulgate, related to the short Greek recension. The present English translation in modern Bibles has been based mainly on Sinaiticus, which is the most complete form of the long Greek recension, despite two [http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/lacuna lacunae] (4:7–19b and 13:6i–10b) and some missing phrases, which make succeeding verses difficult to understand, making it necessary to supplement Sinaiticus from the Vetus Latina or from the short Greek recension. Occasionally, phrases or words have been drawn from the Aramaic or Hebrew texts, when they are significantly different. Forms of the Book of Tobit are also extant in ancient Arabic, Armenian, Coptic (Sahidic), Ethiopic, and Syriac, but these are almost all secondarily derived from the short Greek recension, and as such do not adequately represent the original text. The recent discovery of five scrolls of Tobit (4QTob) in both Hebrew and Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Cave IV of Qumran has given the book renewed attention.

===Time and Place===

===Time and Place===

The picture of religious life given in Tobit (especially the devotion to ritual details) indicates a date post-Ezra for the book. The special significance attached to almsgiving (4:10; 12:8, 9) is identical with the idea in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 3:30 (compare also Proverbs 10:2), and the injunction in 4:17, "''Pour out thy bread on the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked''", is given repeated import in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 12:4-5. The prediction in 14:5, "''the house of God will be rebuilt there with a glorious building for all generations forever''", implies a period after the building of the Second Temple, and, apparently, just before the commencement of Herod's Temple. The prominence given to the duty of burying the outcast slain (the survival of a very ancient conception) seems to point to a time when the Jews were slaughtered by foreign enemies, for example, by Antiochus or Hadrian. The necessity of marrying within the kin, endogamy, was recognized during a very long period in Jewish history and does not define the date precisely. Polycarp's saying "Almsgiving delivers from death," ("Ad Phil. 10", ''To the Philippians'' 10), does not prove that he was acquainted with Tobit, since this may have been his reading or understanding of Proverbs 10:2 . There is no Messianic hope expressed in the book. The more probable view is that it was composed between 200 and 50 B.C. If the original language was Hebrew, the place was Palestine; if it was Greek, it was Egypt; but this point, too, must be left undecided.

The picture of religious life given in Tobit (especially the devotion to ritual details) indicates a date post-Ezra for the book. The special significance attached to almsgiving (4:10; 12:8, 9) is identical with the idea in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 3:30 (compare also Proverbs 10:2), and the injunction in 4:17, "''Pour out thy bread on the burial of the just, but give nothing to the wicked''", is given repeated import in Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 12:4-5. The prediction in 14:5, "''the house of God will be rebuilt there with a glorious building for all generations forever''", implies a period after the building of the Second Temple, and, apparently, just before the commencement of Herod's Temple. The prominence given to the duty of burying the outcast slain (the survival of a very ancient conception) seems to point to a time when the Jews were slaughtered by foreign enemies, for example, by Antiochus or Hadrian. The necessity of marrying within the kin, endogamy, was recognized during a very long period in Jewish history and does not define the date precisely. Polycarp's saying "Almsgiving delivers from death," ("Ad Phil. 10", ''To the Philippians'' 10), does not prove that he was acquainted with Tobit, since this may have been his reading or understanding of Proverbs 10:2 . There is no Messianic hope expressed in the book. The more probable view is that it was composed between 200 and 50 B.C. If the original language was Hebrew, the place was Palestine; if it was Greek, it was Egypt; but this point, too, must be left undecided.

Most scholars agree that Tobit was written some time around the year 200 B.C. For example, J.A. Fitzmyer,<ref>J.A. Fitzmyer, Tobit. ''Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature'', Berlin-New York 2003, 51</ref> G. Toloni.<ref>G. Toloni, ''L’originale del libro di Tobia''. ''Studio filologico-linguistico'', Madrid 2004, 153-157.</ref> Fitzmyer uses the five Qumran fragments of Tobit (4QTob 196-200, also numbered 4QTob a-e) to determine the ''terminus ad quem'' (the final limiting point in time) for the book, which he sets at the first century B.C. The ''terminus a quo'' (the first point in time) for the book would be the fourth century B.C., due to the book’s reference to the prophets as canonical (Tobit 14:4), the use of the phrase "book of Moses" or "law of Moses" in Tobit 6:13; 7:11-13 (echoing the late post-exilic passages of 2 Chronicles 23:18; 25:4; 30:16), and the lack of a reference to the Antiochan persecution and Maccabean revolt.<ref>"lack of reference to the Antiochan persecution and Maccabean revolt."<br/>—An 8th century setting in the Book of Tobit would normally preclude any anachronistic literary reference by the writer to events of the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.. For example, ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', a novel by General Lew Wallace, published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880, is set in A.D. 1st century Palestine, but was written towards the end of the 19th-century by a retired Civil War general, and he makes no reference to the oppression of the Jews in Palestine by the Turkish Ottoman Empire preceding the controversial land purchases there in the beginning of 1880 (see [http://wordfromjerusalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/the-case-for-israel-appendix2.pdf Land Ownership in Palestine, 1880-1948 by Moshe Aumann] ). It is absurd and naive to expect the author and/or editor(s) of the Book of Tobit, a story set in the 8th century B.C., to mention the oppression by Antiochus and the Maccabean revolt, regardless of when it was written.</ref> On the other hand, C. Moore <ref>C. Moore ''Tobit: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary'', Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, Vol. 40A, Garden City 1996, 40-41.</ref> claims that many of these reasons constitute nothing more than an argument from silence. But Moore also admits that the most likely dating for the book is somewhere between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C.<ref>ARTICOLI RB 2-2009_129-244_I bozza.qxd 25-08-2009 10:09 Pagina 129.</ref>   

Most scholars agree that Tobit was written some time around the year 200 B.C. For example, J.A. Fitzmyer,<ref>J.A. Fitzmyer, Tobit. ''Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature'', Berlin-New York 2003, 51</ref> G. Toloni.<ref>G. Toloni, ''L’originale del libro di Tobia''. ''Studio filologico-linguistico'', Madrid 2004, 153-157.</ref> Fitzmyer uses the five Qumran fragments of Tobit (4QTob 196–200, also numbered 4QTob a-e) to determine the ''terminus ad quem'' (the final limiting point in time) for the book, which he sets at the first century B.C. The ''terminus a quo'' (the first point in time) for the book would be the fourth century B.C., due to the book's reference to the prophets as canonical (Tobit 14:4), the use of the phrase "book of Moses" or "law of Moses" in Tobit 6:13; 7:11-13 (echoing the late post-exilic passages of 2 Chronicles 23:18; 25:4; 30:16), and the lack of a reference to the Antiochan persecution and Maccabean revolt.<ref>"lack of reference to the Antiochan persecution and Maccabean revolt."<br/>—An 8th century setting in the Book of Tobit would normally preclude any anachronistic literary reference by the writer to events of the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C.. For example, ''Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', a novel by General Lew Wallace, published by Harper & Brothers on November 12, 1880, is set in A.D. 1st century Palestine, but was written towards the end of the 19th-century by a retired Civil War general, and he makes no reference to the oppression of the Jews in Palestine by the Turkish Ottoman Empire preceding the controversial land purchases there in the beginning of 1880 (see [http://wordfromjerusalem.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/the-case-for-israel-appendix2.pdf Land Ownership in Palestine, 1880-1948 by Moshe Aumann] ). It is absurd and naive to expect the author and/or editor(s) of the Book of Tobit, a story set in the 8th century B.C., to mention the oppression by Antiochus and the Maccabean revolt, regardless of when it was written.</ref> On the other hand, C. Moore <ref>C. Moore ''Tobit: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary'', Anchor Yale Bible Commentary, Vol. 40A, Garden City 1996, 40-41.</ref> claims that many of these reasons constitute nothing more than an argument from silence. But Moore also admits that the most likely dating for the book is somewhere between the 4th and 2nd centuries B.C.<ref>ARTICOLI RB 2-2009_129-244_I bozza.qxd 25-08-2009 10:09 Pagina 129.</ref>   

==The message==

==The message==

==Martin Luther's judgment of the Book of Tobit==

==Martin Luther's judgment of the Book of Tobit==

"I take the book of Tobit to be a comedy concerning women, an example for house government."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUAuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Martin+Luther+on+the+Book+of+Tobit&source=bl&ots=o2f-ODSQ5i&sig=5akAGrPB7QUCRHbiEqqWxg5Egek&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hqmUVLrgM8_4yQS19IGgAw&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Martin%20Luther%20on%20the%20Book%20of%20Tobit&f=false Martin Luther's Table Talk (1599). page 11] </ref>

"I take the book of Tobit to be a comedy concerning women, an example for house government."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUAuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Martin+Luther+on+the+Book+of+Tobit&source=bl&ots=o2f-ODSQ5i&sig=5akAGrPB7QUCRHbiEqqWxg5Egek&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hqmUVLrgM8_4yQS19IGgAw&ved=0CFYQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=Martin%20Luther%20on%20the%20Book%20of%20Tobit&f=false Martin Luther's Table Talk (1599). page 11]</ref>

==References==

==References==