Texts in Conversation
Tobit quotes Ecclesiastes 8, showing how it depends on the Greek Septuagint translation of the text. This was a well-known saying that is also quoted in Isaiah and also referenced in the New Testament.
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LXX Ecclesiastes 8:15
Septuagint
13 And there is nothing good for the ungodly, and he will not prolong his days in shadow who is not fearful before God’s face. 14 There is a futility that has been done on the earth, that there are righteous people that it happens upon them as the action of the wicked; and there are the ungodly that it happens to them as the action of the righteous. I said that even also this is futility. 15 And I praised, together, merriment, as there is nothing good for humanity under the sun except to eat and drink and make merry; and it shall be there with him in his labor of the days of his life, for as many as God gave him under the sun. The One Fate of the Righteous and the Wicked 16 Among which things I gave my heart to know wisdom and to see the distraction that has been done on the earth, for also in the day and the night there is no one who sees sleep for his eyes;
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Tobit 7:10
Deuterocanon
8 His wife Edna also wept for him, and their daughter Sarah likewise wept. 9 Then Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock and received them very warmly. When they had bathed and washed themselves and had reclined to dine, Tobias said to Raphael, "Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to give me my kinswoman Sarah." 10 But Raguel overheard it and said to the lad, "Eat and drink, and be merry tonight. For no one except you, brother, has the right to marry my daughter Sarah. Likewise I am not at liberty to give her to any other man than yourself, because you are my nearest relative. But let me explain to you the true situation more fully, my child.
Date: 225-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... the average person’s assumption was that if anyone grew richer there was less overall for everyone else. Some might have still seen this as a sign of God’s blessing but, as with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in a milieu with 70-80 percent of people just eking out a marginal existence, the rich man in this parable would have been expected to share generously from his surplus. As Bock phrases it, “Jesus’ story is intriguing in that this man’s additional wealth fell into his lap, he came by his wealth honestly because God’s provision and kindness blessed him and yet such blessing still can present a problem of stewardship.” The language of “eat, drink and be merry” (for tomorrow you may die) in Luke 12:19 would have been heard in the Greco-Roman world as a jab, whether or not justified, at Epicureanism. Key Jewish uses of this proverb appear in Ecclesiastes 8:15, Isaiah 22:13 and Tobit 7:10; see also 1 Corinthians 15:32. This rich man will not merely die tomorrow, but this very night! ..."
* 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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