AnagignoskomenaHistory

Tobit

14Chapters

244Verses

0Notes

0Reflections

Book Introduction

Tobit is a family story told with warmth and wit: a devout exile blinded in Nineveh, a young woman tormented by a demon in faraway Media, and a journey that God quietly weaves together through the angel Raphael traveling in disguise. Along the way the book teaches almsgiving, prayer, honoring parents, and trust in God's hidden providence, ending in healing and a hymn of praise. Catholic and Orthodox Christians receive Tobit as deuterocanonical Scripture, while Protestants class it among the Apocrypha—valued for instruction though outside the Hebrew canon. Its blend of adventure and piety made it beloved across centuries.

Author

Unknown; an anonymous Jewish storyteller of the diaspora

Date

Likely 3rd–2nd century BC

Audience

Diaspora Jews seeking to live faithfully among the nations

Purpose

To encourage faithfulness, almsgiving, and trust in God's hidden providence among Jews living far from Jerusalem.

Key Themes

God's hidden providenceAlmsgiving and mercyPrayer in afflictionAngelic guidanceFamily fidelity and marriage

Book Outline

1–3Tobit's exile and blindness; Sarah's torment; parallel prayers

4–6Tobit's counsel; Tobias journeys with Raphael and catches the fish

7–9Marriage to Sarah; the demon routed; the wedding feast

10–12The return home; Tobit healed; Raphael reveals himself

13–14Tobit's hymn of praise and final testament

Key Verses

Tobit 4:15The negative golden rule: what you hate, do to no one.Tobit 8:5–7Tobias and Sarah's wedding-night prayer, long used in marriage liturgies.Tobit 12:8Prayer with fasting, almsgiving, and righteousness commended together.Tobit 12:15Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand before the Lord.Tobit 13:2God afflicts and shows mercy; he leads down to Hades and brings up.

ALL CHAPTERS14 chapters