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 Proverbs 11:4 and Tobit 12:9

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

Share:

Summary

Proverbs 11 teaches that wealth is useless during judgment, but that righteousness delivers from death. Tobit echoes this by declaring that giving to the poor saves from death and removes sin, identifying righteousness with giving to the poor.

Passages

Proverbs 11:4

Hebrew Bible
1 The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but an accurate weight is his delight. 2 After pride came, disgrace followed; but wisdom came with humility. 3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. 4 Wealth does not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. 5 The righteousness of the blameless will make their way smooth, but the wicked will fall through their own wickedness.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

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

References

"... Righteousness in 4Q420-21 may allude to charitable works. 4Q424 3 7-10 gives advice regarding kindness towards the poor: 'a man of generosity performs charity for the poor' (1.9). It is used several times as a term for almsgiving in Ben Sira. Sirach 3:30-4:6 is on this topic and reads in part: 'As water quenches flaming fire, so alms atone for sins. The kindness a person has done crosses his path as he goes' (4QTobit also appears to use the word as a term for almsgiving. It is a prominent theme in this work (1:3; 4:7-11; 12:8-9). Compassion for the downtrodden is a prominent theme in traditional wisdom (e.g., Proverbs 14:31; 21:13; 22:7). This topic is highlighted also in the covenantal tradition and elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. Almsgiving is not explicit in 4QWays of Righteousness, but there is nothing in the text that is incompatible with this theme. That 4Q420-21 recommends almsgiving remains a reasonable possibility ..."
Matthew J. Goff, Discerning Wisdom: The Sapiential Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 164–165.

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

Your feedback

Proverbs 11:4 and Tobit 12:9

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library