Tobit 5

Then Tobias answered his father, "Father, I will do everything you have told me to do.

1Tobias then answered and said, Father, I will do all things which thou hast commanded me:

NoteTobit is the father, Tobias the son. The two names are forms of the same Hebrew name, Tobiah, meaning "the Lord is good," which is why they look so alike on the page.

2But how can I collect the money, since I do not know him?"

2But how can I receive the money, seeing I know him not?

NoteThe money is a deposit. Years earlier Tobit had left ten talents of silver in trust with a kinsman named Gabael, in Media, far to the east (1:14), and he has just told Tobias about it. Tobias has never met the man and has no way to identify himself to him.

3Then his father gave him the written note and said to him, "Look for a man who can travel with you while I am still alive, and I will pay him wages. Then go and collect the money."

3Then he gave him the handwriting, and said unto him, Seek thee a man which may go with thee, whiles I yet live, and I will give him wages: and go and receive the money.

Note"The handwriting" is the King James word for a handwritten document, here the signed bond or receipt recording the deposit. Producing the document was how a claim on money left in trust was proved; in 9:5 the silver is handed over against it.

4So he went out to look for a man, and he found Raphael, who was an angel.

4Therefore when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel.

NoteRaphael is a Hebrew name meaning "God heals." In Jewish writing of this period he is one of a small group of angels who have names; he identifies himself in 12:15. The narrator tells the reader who this traveler is long before anyone in the story finds out.

5But he did not know this. He said to him, "Can you travel with me to Rages? And do you know those places well?"

5But he knew not; and he said unto him, Canst thou go with me to Rages? and knowest thou those places well?

NoteRages was a city in Media, in what is now northern Iran near Tehran. From Nineveh the journey ran many hundreds of miles east and would take weeks on foot.

6The angel said to him, "I will go with you. I know the way well, for I have stayed with our brother Gabael."

6To whom the angel said, I will go with thee, and I know the way well: for I have lodged with our brother Gabael.

Note"Brother" here does not mean a sibling. Among Israelites living as deportees it meant a member of the same people, and often of the same extended family. The word carries that sense throughout this chapter, and "our brother Gabael" means a kinsman of the same stock.

7Then Tobias said to him, "Wait for me while I tell my father."

7Then Tobias said unto him, Tarry for me, till I tell my father.

8He said to him, "Go, and do not delay." So Tobias went in and said to his father, "Look, I have found someone who will go with me." His father said, "Call him in to me, so I can learn what tribe he is from, and whether he is a man to be trusted on the road with you."

8Then he said unto him, Go and tarry not. So he went in and said to his father, Behold, I have found one which will go with me. Then he said, Call him unto me, that I may know of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee.

NoteThe twelve tribes were the descent groups traced from the sons of Jacob; Tobit belongs to Naphtali (1:1). Asking a stranger's tribe and family was the ordinary way an exile checked who someone was: it established whether he shared the same law and loyalties, and whether his people were known to yours.

9So he called him, and he came in, and they greeted each other.

9So he called him, and he came in, and they saluted one another.

NoteIn 1611 English "saluted" simply meant greeted, with the usual embrace and words of blessing. It has nothing to do with a military salute.

10Then Tobit said to him, "Brother, tell me what tribe and what family you belong to."

10Then Tobit said unto him, Brother, shew me of what tribe and family thou art.

11He answered him, "Are you looking for a tribe and a family, or for a hired man to travel with your son?" Then Tobit said to him, "Brother, I want to know your relatives and your name."

11To whom he said, Dost thou seek for a tribe or family, or an hired man to go with thy son? Then Tobit said unto him, I would know, brother, thy kindred and name.

12Then he said, "I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, and I am one of your relatives."

12Then he said, I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, and of thy brethren.

NoteAzarias is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Azariah, "the Lord has helped"; Ananias is Hananiah, "the Lord has been gracious." The angel supplies a plausible name and pedigree rather than his own.

13Then Tobit said, "You are welcome, brother. Do not be angry with me now for asking about your tribe and your family. You are my brother, and you come from an honest and good line. I knew Ananias and Jonathas, the sons of the great Samaias, when we went together to Jerusalem to worship. We offered the firstborn and the tenth part of the crops there. They were not led astray into the error of our people. My brother, you come from good stock.

13Then Tobit said, Thou art welcome, brother; be not now angry with me, because I have enquired to know thy tribe and thy family; for thou art my brother, of an honest and good stock: for I know Ananias and Jonathas, sons of that great Samaias, as we went together to Jerusalem to worship, and offered the firstborn, and the tenths of the fruits; and they were not seduced with the error of our brethren: my brother, thou art of a good stock.

NoteSeveral things are packed in here. The names are Greek forms of Hebrew ones: Samaias is Shemaiah, Jonathas is Jonathan. "The firstborn, and the tenths of the fruits" are the dues the law required of an Israelite: the first male born to the flocks and herds, and a tenth part of each harvest, carried to the temple at Jerusalem. "They were not seduced with the error of our brethren" points back to 1:4-5, where the northern tribes are said to have sacrificed at the calf shrine in Dan instead of going up to Jerusalem; Tobit is saying this family kept to the Jerusalem worship as his own did. "Stock" means ancestry or family line.

14But tell me, what wages shall I give you? Would you take a drachma a day, along with whatever you need, the same as my own son gets?

14But tell me, what wages shall I give thee? wilt thou a drachm a day, and things necessary, as to mine own son?

NoteA drachma was a Greek silver coin, roughly a day's pay for an ordinary laborer, so the offer is standard wages. "Things necessary" means food, clothing and travel costs on top of the wage, at the same rate as a son of the household would have them.

15And more than that, if you come back safe, I will add something to your pay."

15Yea, moreover, if ye return safe, I will add something to thy wages.

16So the two of them were satisfied. Then Tobit said to Tobias, "Get ready for the trip, and may God give you a good journey." When his son had everything ready for the trip, his father said, "Go with this man. May God, who lives in heaven, make your journey go well, and may the angel of God travel with you." So the two of them set out, and the young man's dog went with them.

16So they were well pleased. Then said he to Tobias, Prepare thyself for the journey, and God send you a good journey. And when his son had prepared all things for the journey, his father said, Go thou with this man, and God, which dwelleth in heaven, prosper your journey, and the angel of God keep you company. So they went forth both, and the young man’s dog with them.

NoteThe dog is an odd detail by the standards of Israelite writing, where dogs are usually scavengers and the word is an insult. Here the animal simply travels with them as a companion, a touch that fits the Greek-speaking world this book was written in, and it turns up again on the road home in 11:4.

17But Anna his mother wept, and said to Tobit, "Why have you sent our son away? Is he not the staff in our hand, going in and out in front of us?

17But Anna his mother wept, and said to Tobit, Why hast thou sent away our son? is he not the staff of our hand, in going in and out before us?

Note"The staff of our hand" is an idiom: the walking stick an old or infirm person leans on. "Going in and out before us" is a Hebrew way of describing the whole round of daily activity, all a person's comings and goings. Tobit is blind (2:10), so his wife's image is also literal: their son is the one who walks ahead and guides them.

18Do not be greedy to pile money on money. Let it count as garbage next to our child.

18Be not greedy to add money to money: but let it be as refuse in respect of our child.

Note"Refuse" here is the noun, not the verb: rubbish, sweepings, what is thrown out. Anna is saying the money is trash by comparison with their son.

19What the Lord has given us to live on is enough for us."

19For that which the Lord hath given us to live with doth suffice us.

20Then Tobit said to her, "Do not worry, my sister. He will come back safe, and your own eyes will see him.

20Then said Tobit to her, Take no care, my sister; he shall return in safety, and thine eyes shall see him.

NoteHusbands address their wives as "sister" in this book and in other Jewish writing of the period. It is a term of affection between spouses, and it also fits Tobit's situation, since he married a woman of his own kindred (1:9).

21For the good angel will travel with him. His journey will go well, and he will come back safe."

21For the good angel will keep him company, and his journey shall be prosperous, and he shall return safe.

22Then she stopped weeping.

22Then she made an end of weeping.