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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 12:9 and Cyprian, Treatises 8:5

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

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Summary

Tobit teaches that giving to the poor saves from death and removes sin, presenting charity as a notable virtue. The Christian theologian Cyprian quotes Tobit authoritatively with other scriptures to support his teaching about charity and good works.

Passages

Tobit 12:9

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

Cyprian, Treatises 8:5

Early Christian
5 Remedies for propitiating God have been given in the words of God himself; the divine teachings have taught what sinners ought to do: that satisfaction is made to God by righteous works, that sins are purged by the merits of mercy. And in Solomon we read: “Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it will pray for you against all evil.” And again: “He who stops his ears so as not to hear the weak will himself call on God, and there will be no one to hear him.” For he cannot deserve God's mercy who has not himself been merciful, nor will he obtain anything from the divine goodness by his prayers who has not been humane toward the prayer of the poor. The Holy Spirit likewise declares and proves this in the Psalms, saying: “Blessed is he who considers the needy and poor; in the evil day the Lord will deliver him.” Mindful of these precepts, when King Nebuchadnezzar was troubled and terrified by an ominous dream, Daniel gave a remedy for turning away evils by obtaining divine help, saying: “Therefore, king, let my counsel please you, and redeem your sins by almsgiving and your iniquities by mercy to the poor, and God will be patient with your sins.” And the king, not obeying him, suffered the adverse and hostile things he had seen, which he could have escaped and avoided had he redeemed his sins by almsgiving. The angel Raphael too bears like witness, and exhorts that almsgiving be done willingly and generously, saying: “Prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving, for almsgiving delivers from death and itself purges sins.” He shows that our prayers and fasts are of less power unless they are aided by almsgiving; that petitions alone avail little to obtain what they ask, unless they are made full by the addition of deeds and works. The angel reveals and makes plain and confirms that by almsgiving our petitions are made effective, by almsgiving life is redeemed from dangers, by almsgiving souls are freed from death.
245–260 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Cyprian, Treatises

References

"... Cyprian of Carthage’s (bishop of Carthage 248/49–258 CE) use of Tobit is even broader; Gamberoni speaks of more than a dozen quotations in Cyprian’s oeuvre. Cyprian uses the book, alongside other scriptural passages as a scriptural fundus of arguments regarding the “benefits of good works and mercy.” Cyprian thus treats Tobit clearly as scripture. He even introduces it as scriptura divina in his treatise on the Lord’s prayer. Tobit, however, is not just a source for general aspects of Christian piety: Tobit 4:11 and its claim for mercy becomes an important argument in the discussion regarding the treatment of the so-called lapsi, that is Christians who negated their belief during the persecution under Emperor Decius (249–251 CE). Cyprian is also the first author who is interested in the figure of Tobit as an example of the righteous sufferer and patience ..."
Tobias Nicklas, The Apocrypha in the History of Early Christianity (Oxford University Press, 2021), 55–57.

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 12:9 and Cyprian, Treatises 8:5

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