Texts in Conversation
In Luke, Simeon embraces the child Jesus, declares that he has now seen what was promised, and is ready for death. This follows a pattern in Tobit, where Anna embraces her returned son, expresses contentment after seeing him, and is now ready to die.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Tobit 11:9
Deuterocanon
7 And Raphael said to Tobias before he drew near to his father, I know that his eyes will be opened; 8 stuff the gall of the fish into his eyes and the medicament will draw up and scale off the white films from his eyes, and your father will see again and behold the light. 9 And she ran, and fell upon the neck of her son, and said to him, I have seen you, my child; hereafter I can die. And she wept. 10 And Tobit rose and stumbled with his feet and went forth toward the door of the porch. 11 And Tobias went towards him with the gall of the fish in his hand; and he blew into his eyes, and took hold of him and said, Courage, father! 12 And Tobias threw the medicament upon him, and gave it him; 13 and he peeled off the white films with both his hands from the corners of his eyes.
Date: 225–175 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Luke 2:27
New Testament
27 So Simeon, directed by the Spirit, came into the temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary according to the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and blessed God, saying, 29 “Now, according to your word, Sovereign Lord, permit your servant to depart in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: 32 a light, for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 So the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him.
Date: 75–85 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Law briefly noted the similarity between Luke 2:29 and Tobit 11:9. The analogies, however, extend to Luke 2:28–30. In this scope, there are three features shared by the scenes where Simeon remarks at the dedication of Jesus and Anna exclaims at the homecoming of her son, Tobias. Both begin with a physical embrace, mention seeing the revealed or returned figure, and feature a statement that the adult is now comforted to accept even death ... This instance involves narrative–thematic similarities, not tight terminological parallels. Nonetheless, the growing cluster of shared items between sources originating in Aramaic and the early chapters of Luke suggests it deserves reconsideration. These last two examples, then, also underscore the importance of rethinking Tobit not only as received in the Deuterocanon but now as conceived within an Aramaic scribal culture of the Second Temple period ..."
Andrew B. Perrin, “Greek Gospels and Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls: Compositional, Conceptual, and Cultural Intersections,” 6.1 (2020): 440–456.
* 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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