Tobit 6

As they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they stayed the night there.

1And as they went on their journey, they came in the evening to the river Tigris, and they lodged there.

NoteThe Tigris is the great river of Assyria. Tobias has set out from Nineveh, near modern Mosul in northern Iraq, and is traveling east toward Media, in what is now northwestern Iran. The journey is long enough that the pair lodge at stopping places along the way.

2When the young man went down to wash himself, a fish jumped out of the river and would have swallowed him.

2And when the young man went down to wash himself, a fish leaped out of the river, and would have devoured him.

NoteGreek copies of Tobit differ here. Some say the fish tried to swallow the young man; others, including the longest and oldest Greek manuscript, say it tried to swallow his foot, which is why some modern Bibles read differently.

3Then the angel said to him, "Grab the fish." So the young man took hold of the fish and dragged it up onto the land.

3Then the angel said unto him, Take the fish. And the young man laid hold of the fish, and drew it to land.

4The angel said to him, "Cut the fish open, and take out the heart, the liver, and the gall, and keep them safe with you."

4To whom the angel said, Open the fish, and take the heart and the liver and the gall, and put them up safely.

NoteThe gall is bile, the bitter greenish fluid the liver produces and the gallbladder stores. Fish gall, liver and heart were standard ingredients in ancient medicine, and a traveler would carry them dried.

5So the young man did what the angel told him. They roasted the fish and ate it. Then the two of them went on their way until they came near Ecbatane.

5So the young man did as the angel commanded him; and when they had roasted the fish, they did eat it: then they both went on their way, till they drew near to Ecbatane.

NoteEcbatane, usually spelled Ecbatana, was the capital of Media, on the site of modern Hamadan in Iran. It was a well known royal city, the summer residence of the Persian kings.

6Then the young man said to the angel, "Brother Azarias, what are the heart, the liver, and the gall of the fish good for?"

6Then the young man said to the angel, Brother Azarias, to what use is the heart and the liver and the gal of the fish?

NoteThe angel is traveling under a human name. In chapter 5 he introduced himself to Tobit as Azarias son of Ananias, a kinsman, and Tobias does not know he is speaking to Raphael. Azarias, the Greek form of Azariah, means "the Lord has helped," and Raphael means "God heals." "Brother" here is how relatives and fellow Israelites addressed each other, not a claim to be a literal brother.

7He said to him, "As for the heart and the liver: if a demon or an evil spirit is troubling anyone, we must burn them to make smoke in front of that man or woman, and the person will not be troubled anymore.

7And he said unto him, Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed.

NoteWhere the King James says "a devil," the Greek word is daimonion, a demon, one spirit among many, not the Devil. Burning substances to produce a smoke that drives off a spirit was a recognized procedure in ancient Near Eastern and Greek medicine, which did not separate healing from dealing with spirits.

8As for the gall, it is good for rubbing on a man who has whiteness in his eyes, and he will be healed."

8As for the gall, it is good to anoint a man that hath whiteness in his eyes, and he shall be healed.

Note"Whiteness in his eyes" means a white film or clouding over the eye, what would now be called a cataract or a corneal scar. Ancient medical writers, Greek and Mesopotamian alike, prescribed fish gall smeared on the eye for exactly this condition. The detail sets up what happens to Tobit's own eyes later in the book.

9And when they had come near to Rages,

9And when they were come near to Rages,

NoteRages, or Rhagae, was a city in Media near modern Tehran, about two hundred miles from Ecbatana. The Greek copies of Tobit disagree about the order of the towns here, so the travelers' route is confusing in this version: they have just neared Ecbatana, and now near Rages, and the angel speaks of returning from Rages later.

10the angel said to the young man, "Brother, today we will stay with Raguel, who is your relative. He has one daughter and no other child, and her name is Sara. I will speak up for her, so that she may be given to you as your wife.

10The angel said to the young man, Brother, to day we shall lodge with Raguel, who is thy cousin; he also hath one only daughter, named Sara; I will speak for her, that she may be given thee for a wife.

Note"Cousin" in 1611 English meant a relative of any kind, not specifically a first cousin. Raguel is a kinsman of Tobit's family. Sara is the woman introduced in chapter 3, whose prayer of despair was heard at the very same hour as Tobit's.

11For the right concerning her belongs to you, since you alone are of her family.

11For to thee doth the right of her appertain, seeing thou only art of her kindred.

NoteThis is a claim in inheritance law. Under the rules in Numbers 27 and Numbers 36, a man who dies leaving daughters and no sons passes his property to the daughters, and such a daughter must marry within her father's own clan so that the land does not pass to another tribe. Sara is an only child, so whoever marries her takes the estate, and the nearest male relative has the first claim on her.

12The young woman is beautiful and wise. So listen to me now, and I will speak to her father. When we come back from Rages, we will hold the wedding. I know that Raguel cannot marry her to another man under the law of Moses; if he did, he would deserve to die, because the right to the inheritance belongs to you rather than to anyone else."

12And the maid is fair and wise: now therefore hear me, and I will speak to her father; and when we return from Rages we will celebrate the marriage: for I know that Raguel cannot marry her to another according to the law of Moses, but he shall be guilty of death, because the right of inheritance doth rather appertain to thee than to any other.

Note"Guilty of death" in older English means liable to the death penalty, not guilty of having killed someone. The law of Moses means the body of law in the first five books of the Bible. No text there actually sets a death penalty for marrying such an heiress outside the family, so the book is stating the custom in its strongest possible form.

13Then the young man answered the angel, "Brother Azarias, I have heard that this young woman has been given to seven men, and that they all died in the marriage room.

13Then the young man answered the angel, I have heard, brother Azarias that this maid hath been given to seven men, who all died in the marriage chamber.

NoteThis refers back to chapter 3, where Sara had been given to seven husbands in turn and the demon Asmodeus killed each one before the marriage could be consummated. The "marriage chamber" is the room prepared for the bride and groom on the wedding night; a Jewish wedding ended with the couple being brought into it.

14And now I am my father's only son. I am afraid that if I go in to her, I will die like the men before me. An evil spirit loves her, and it does not hurt anyone except those who come to her. So I am afraid that I will die, and that my father's life and my mother's life will go down to the grave in sorrow because of me. They have no other son to bury them."

14And now I am the only son of my father, and I am afraid, lest if I go in unto her, I die, as the other before: for a wicked spirit loveth her, which hurteth no body, but those which come unto her; wherefore I also fear lest I die, and bring my father’s and my mother’s life because of me to the grave with sorrow: for they have no other son to bury them.

Note"Go in unto her" is a Hebrew idiom for sexual intercourse, and it is what killed the seven men before him. Tobias's second fear is equally concrete: a son was expected to bury his parents and see to the mourning rites, and Tobit has spent the whole book risking his life to bury the dead. If the only son dies first, his parents go to the grave unburied.

15Then the angel said to him, "Do you not remember the instructions your father gave you, that you should marry a wife from your own family? So listen to me, my brother. She will be given to you as your wife. Do not give any thought to the evil spirit, for this very night she will be given to you in marriage.

15Then the angel said unto him, Dost thou not remember the precepts which thy father gave thee, that thou shouldest marry a wife of thine own kindred? wherefore hear me, O my brother; for she shall be given thee to wife; and make thou no reckoning of the evil spirit; for this same night shall she be given thee in marriage.

NoteIn chapter 4 Tobit gave his son a set of parting instructions, among them the charge to take a wife from his own family and not from outside it. Marrying within the kin group is a running concern of the book, which is set among exiles trying to keep an identity in a foreign country.

16And when you come into the marriage room, take the ashes of incense, lay some of the heart and liver of the fish on them, and make smoke with it.

16And when thou shalt come into the marriage chamber, thou shalt take the ashes of perfume, and shalt lay upon them some of the heart and liver of the fish, and shalt make a smoke with it:

Note"Perfume" here means incense, a substance burned to give off scented smoke, not a liquid scent. The ashes of perfume are the hot embers left in the censer after incense has been burned; laying the fish organs on them makes them smolder and smoke.

17The demon will smell it and run away, and it will never come back again. But when you go to her, the two of you get up and pray to God, who is merciful. He will take pity on you and save you. Do not be afraid, for she was set apart for you from the beginning. You will keep her safe, and she will go with you. And I think that she will bear you children." Now when Tobias had heard these things, he loved her, and his heart was firmly joined to her.

17And the devil shall smell it, and flee away, and never come again any more: but when thou shalt come to her, rise up both of you, and pray to God which is merciful, who will have pity on you, and save you: fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee. Moreover I suppose that she shall bear thee children. Now when Tobias had heard these things, he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her.

Note"She is appointed unto thee from the beginning" uses the language of betrothal: she was marked out as yours in advance. "Thou shalt preserve her" means you will save or rescue her, not merely keep her. The King James "his heart was effectually joined to her" renders a Greek phrase meaning his very self clung to her, the same wording used in Genesis for a man joining to his wife.