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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 Luke 11:41

Deuterocanon · New Testament

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Summary

In Tobit, giving to the poor is said to save from death and remove sin. In Luke, Jesus uses similar language, where generosity is connected with the language of purity. The similarity suggests they share a common Jewish tradition.

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

Luke 11:41

New Testament
39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside as well? 41 But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and every herb, yet you neglect justice and love for God! But you should have done these things without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!
75–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Luke

References

"... Among early Christian proponents of atoning almsgiving, Luke 11:41, along with 1 Peter 4:8, is one of the most oft-cited texts among the writings that came to be called the “New Testament” in support of the notion that the practice of ἐλεημοσύνη can cleanse sin. In Jesus’ conversation with an unnamed Pharisee at a meal hosted by that Pharisee, Jesus responds to his host’s astonishment that he does not wash before the meal English translations of Luke 11:41, perhaps reflecting a concern lest the text be read to suggest that almsgiving itself purifies, have often struggled over the phrase τὰ ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην, generally preferring to view the construction as a double accusative of object-complement so that Jesus enjoins giving as alms the things inside (e.g., ESV: “But give as alms those things that are within”) or giving alms in expression of what is truly within those commissioned to give (e.g., CEB: “Therefore, give to those in need from the core of who you are and you will be clean all over”). Yet careful attention to the narrative context suggests that translations like the ESV (“give as alms those things that are within”) make little sense, since Jesus has just said in verse 39 that the inside of the Pharisees is full of greed and wickedness (τὸ δὲ ἔσωθεν ὑμῶν γέμει ἁρπαγῆς καὶ πονηρίας). How can greed and wickedness be given as alms? ..."
David J. Downs, Alms: Charity, Reward, and Atonement in Early Christianity (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), 125–129.

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 Luke 11:41

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