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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 Tobit 12:15 and Luke 1:19

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

In Luke, the angel says he stands in God’s presence, mirroring Tobit, where the angel Raphael says the same. The idea of elite angels with special access to God reflects later Jewish tradition, not found in the Hebrew Bible.

Passages

Tobit 12:15

Deuterocanon
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.
225–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tobit

Luke 1:19

New Testament
18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is old as well.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold61 because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will be silent, unable to speak, until the day these things take place.”
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... Scholars have long noted that parallels between Tobit and New Testament texts are particularly prominent in the realm of angelology. Raphael (Tobit 12:15) refers to himself as one of the seven angels (GI refers to “holy angels”) who stand in attendance in the presence of the Lord or Holy One. This notion of angels standing in the presence of God is found elsewhere (Testament of Levi 3:4-8; Luke 1:19; and Revelation 4:5; 8:2), sometimes with the precise phrase “angels of the presence” (Jubilees 2:2, 18; 1QH 14:13; 1Q28b 4:25-26). The tradition of an especially distinguished order of seven angels is not found in the Old Testament but does appear in John’s Apocalypse (Revelation 8:2; compare 1:4; 4:5) and other Jewish literature of this period (Testament of Levi 3:5; 1 Enoch 71:8-9) ..."
Vincent Skemp, “Avenues of Intertextuality between Tobit and the New Testament,” in Intertextual Studies in Ben Sira and Tobit: Essays in Honor of Alexander A. Di Lella, ed. Jeremy Corley and Vincent Skemp, CBQMS 38 (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2005), 43–70.

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

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Tobit 12:15 and Luke 1:19

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