Go to Related Reading
About this book

Tobit

About this book

Raphael Reveals His Identity

Chapter 12

1 And when the wedding feast was ended Tobit called his son Tobias, and said to him, Child, see that you give the wages to the man which went with you, so that you give him more for his wages. 2 And he said to him, Father, How much shall I give him as his wages? It is no harm to me to give him the half of the possessions which he has brought with me. 3 He has led me in safety, and he cured my wife, and brought the money with me, and cured you; how much shall I give him further as wages? 4 And Tobit said to him, It is due to him, child, to take the half of all which you had when you came. 5 And he called him and said, Take the half of all that you had when you came for your wages, and go in peace. 6 Then he called them both privately, and said to them,⁠ Bless God, and give him thanks in the sight of all that live, for the good things which he has done to you, to bless and praise his name. The words of God show forth to all men with honour and do not be slack to give him thanks. 7 It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but to confess and reveal the works of God.⁠ And confess them with honour.⁠ Do the good, and evil shall not find you. 8 Better is prayer with truth, and alms with righteousness than riches with unrighteousness;⁠ it is better to give alms than to lay up gold:⁠ 9 almsgiving does deliver from death, and it purges away all sin.⁠ They that do alms shall be fed with life;⁠ 10 they that commit sin and unrighteousness are enemies to their own life. 11 I will show you all the truth and will keep close nothing from you. Already I have shown you and have said, It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but the works of God to reveal gloriously.⁠ 12 And now, when you did pray and Sarah, I did bring the memorial of your prayer before the glory of the Lord:⁠ and when you did bury the dead, likewise.⁠ 13 And when you did not delay to rise up, and leave your dinner, but did go and cover the dead, 14 then I was sent to you to try you; and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord.⁠ 16 And they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces; and they were afraid.⁠ 17 And he said to them, Do not be afraid, peace be to you; bless God to all eternity. 18 I when I was with you, was not with you of any favour of mine, but by the will of God; bless him day by day, praise him. 19 And you behold me that I have eaten nothing, but a vision has appeared to you.⁠ 20 And now bless the Lord on the earth and give God thanks: Behold I ascend to him that sent me: write down all these things which have happened to you.⁠ And he ascended. 21 And they rose up and could no longer see him. 22 And they blessed and praised God and they gave him thanks for these his great works, how the angel of God had appeared to them.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 9:3 and Tobit 12:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

Share:

Summary

1 Enoch and Tobit follow Jewish traditions not in the Hebrew Bible of angels mediating between humans and God. In 1 Enoch, the angels intercede for martyrs by bringing their case to God, and in Tobit, Raphael delivers Tobit and Sarah's prayers to heaven.

Passages

1 Enoch 9:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 Then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed on the earth, and all the lawlessness being committed on the earth. 2 They said to one another: 'The earth, left without inhabitants, cries out, and the voice of their crying reaches the gates of heaven.' 3 'And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men plead, saying, "Present our case before the Most High."' 4 They said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Your glory stands through all generations, and Your name is holy and glorious and blessed through all ages!
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Tobit 12:12

Deuterocanon
12 And now, when you did pray and Sarah, I did bring the memorial of your prayer before the glory of the Lord: and when you did bury the dead, likewise. 13 And when you did not delay to rise up, and leave your dinner, but did go and cover the dead, 14 then I was sent to you to try you; and at the same time God did send me also to heal Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels, which stand and enter before the glory of the Lord.
225–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tobit

References

"... In almost all the strata of 1 Enoch, angels play a crucial role as intercessors for humanity. Essential in all cases is a judgment context and a concern that the righteous get their due (which is often not the case at the present time) ... The closest parallel to the Enochic texts occurs in Tobit 3:16–17 and 12:12–15. As in Job, at stake is the innocence of the suffering righteous—Tobit and Sarah. Raphael is one of seven holy angels, who present a “reminder” of the prayers of the “holy ones” in the presence of the glory of the Great One and Holy One. As such an intercessor and as the divinely sent healer who will adjudicate the situation, Raphael corresponds to the angelic intercessors and agents of judgment described in 1 Enoch 9–10 ..."
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 208–209.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Your feedback

1 Enoch 9:3 and Tobit 12:12

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library