Re-reading one of my favorite stories: The book of Tobit 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.) Tobit was originally raised by his paternal grandmother Deborah and remained loyal to the worship of God at the temple in Jerusalem, instead of joining in the cult of the golden calves set at Dan by Jeroboam, king of Northern Israel. In exile 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 Sennacheribs death, he was allowed to return to Nineveh, but buried a 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. That put a strain on his marriage, and ultimately, he prayed for death. Meanwhile, in faraway Media, a young woman named Sarah had prayed for death in despair. She had lost seven husbands to the demon of lust, Asmodeus, the worst of demons, who abducted and killed every man she married, on their wedding night before the marriage could be consummated. God sent the angel Raphael, disguised as a human, to heal Tobit and to free Sarah from the demon. The main narrative is dedicated to Tobits son, Tobiah or Tobiyah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), who was 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 represented himself as Tobits kinsman Azariah, and offered to aid and protect Tobias on his journey. Under the guidance of Raphael, Tobias made the journey to Media, accompanied by his dog, and over the objection of Tobits wife Hannah, who was already discouraged by Tobits nagging. Along the way, while washing his feet in the river Tigris, he was attacked by a fish which tried to swallow his foot. By order of the angel he captured it. The heart, liver and gall bladder were removed to make medicines, by order of Raphael. Upon arriving in Media, Raphael told Tobias of the beautiful Sarah, whom Tobias had the right to marry, because he was her cousin and closest relative. He instructed the young man to burn the fishs liver and heart to drive away the demon when he attacks on the wedding night. The two were married, and the fumes of the burning organs drove the demon away to Upper Egypt, while Raphael followed him and bound him. Meanwhile, Sarahs father had been digging a grave to secretly bury Tobias (who he assumed would be dead). Surprised to find his son-in-law alive and well, he ordered a double-length wedding feast and had the grave secretly filled. Since he could not leave because of the feast, Tobias sent Raphael to recover his fathers money. After the feast, Tobias and Sarah returned to Nineveh. There, Raphael told the youth to use the fishs gall to cure his fathers blindness. Raphael then revealed his true identity and returned to heaven and Tobit sang a hymn of praise. Tobit told his son to leave Nineveh before God destroys it according to prophecy (cf. the Book of Jonah). After the prayer, Tobit died at an advanced age.[6] After burying his father and mother, Tobias returned to Media with his family.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 19:43:45 +0000
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