Texts in Conversation
Tobit 13 echoes Deuteronomy 6 by urging the people to turn to God with all their heart and soul, echoing the Shema. This connection places Tobit’s message of national restoration in continuity with the covenant loyalty found in the Hebrew Bible.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 6:5
Hebrew Bible
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. 6 These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, 7 and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Tobit 13:6
Deuterocanon
5 He will chastise you for your iniquities, And will show mercy to you all. 6 When you turn to him out of all the nations Wherever you shall be scattered, With your whole heart and with your whole soul, to do truth before him, Then he will turn to you, and will no longer hide his face from you. And now see what he has done with you, And give him thanks with your whole mouth, And bless the Lord of righteousness, And exalt the everlasting King. I, in the land of my captivity, give him thanks, And show his strength and majesty to nations of sinners.) Turn, you sinners, and do righteousness before him. Who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you?
Date: 225–175 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Notes and References
"... Toward the end of the book, after Tobit’s blindness is healed, he recites a hymn of praise to God, directing his fellow Israelites: “[T]urn to him [God] with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will no longer hide his face from you” (Tobit 13:6; emphasis added). Here, Tobit’s use of the Shema reflects the author’s belief that the traumatic circumstances of the Exile were a direct result of failure to honor the covenant on a national level. Repentance, a renewed pledge of allegiance to the divine king, and obedience to his commands, will usher in a new age of divine favor and restore the nation to the Land ..."
Lori Ann Robinson Baron, The Shema in John’s Gospel Against its Backgrounds in Second Temple Judaism (Duke University, 2015), 94.
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,