Texts in Conversation
Proverbs 3 presents divine discipline similar to a father's discipline that leads to wisdom. Tobit 13 echoes this idea by describing their present affliction and exile as God’s discipline.
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Proverbs 3:12
Hebrew Bible
10 then your barns will be filled completely, and your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My child, do not despise discipline from the Lord, and do not loathe his rebuke. 12 For the Lord disciplines those he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights. 13 Blessed is the one who has found wisdom and the one who obtains understanding. 14 For her benefit is more profitable than silver, and her gain is better than gold.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Tobit 13:5
Deuterocanon
2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades in the lowest regions of the earth, and he brings up from the great abyss, and there is nothing that can escape his hand. 3 Acknowledge him before the nations, O children of Israel; for he has scattered you among them. 4 He has shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him in the presence of every living being, because he is our Lord and he is our God; he is our Father and he is God forever. 5 He will afflict you for your iniquities, but he will again show mercy on all of you. He will gather you from all the nations among whom you have been scattered.
Date: 225-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Tobit narrative employs certain strategies that respond to the limitations of the principle of retribution. First, God still rewards the good deeds of the righteous, although they may be tested for a time and thus experience a time of tears (compare Tobit 12:14). Like a disciplining father, God mastigoi/ or reproves the wise (compare Proverbs 3:11-12; Judith 8:27). In fact, with the use of the same word to describe his sightlessness and his people’s landlessness, Tobit believes that his blindness and the exilic condition of his people are God’s scourging, or God’s discipline that can lead to wisdom. In the end, after passing through the valley of distress, rewards await the righteous. Tobit’s story believes in the possibility that God defers the reward until an opportune time in accordance with his own hidden providential purposes. Perhaps, such testing is an apt and God-willed opportunity to manifest the mysterious wisdom of God to others ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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