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Tobit

About this book

Tobias Arrives and Marries Sarah

Chapter 7

1 And when he came into Ecbatana, he says to him, Brother Azarias, lead me straight to Raguel our brother. And he led him to the house of Raguel, and they found him sitting by the door of the court; and they saluted him first, and he said to them, Much cheer to you, brothers, and you are well come in safety. And he brought them into his house. 2 And he said to Edna his wife, How like is this young man to Tobias my kinsman! 3 And Edna asked them and said to them, Where are you from, brothers? And they said to her, We are of the sons of Naphtali, which are captives in Nineveh. 4 And she said to them, Know you Tobit our kinsman? And they said to her, We know him. And she said to them, Is he in good health? 5 And they said to her, He is in good health and alive. And Tobias said, He is my father. 6 And Raguel sprang up, and kissed him, and wept; 7 and he spoke and said to him, Blessing be to you lad, who art the son of a noble and good father. Oh, dire calamity, that a man, righteous and almsdoing, should have become blind! And he fell on the neck of Tobias his kinsman and wept, 8 and Edna his wife wept for him, and Sarah their daughter also wept. 9 And he killed a ram of the flock and received them gladly. And when they had bathed, and washed their hands and laid them down to dine, Tobias said to Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak to Raguel that he give me Sarah my sister. 10 And Raguel heard the word and said to the young man, Eat and drink, and make merry this night:⁠ for there is no man to whom it belongs to take Sarah my daughter except you, brother; and likewise, further, I have not power to give her to another man than you, because you are my nearest kin. Yes, truly, I will show you the truth, lad. 11 I have given her to seven men of our kindred and all died in the night when they came in to her.⁠ And now, child, eat and drink, and the Lord will deal mercifully with you. And Tobias said, I will taste nothing here nor will I drink until you settle my affairs. And Raguel said to him, I do so; she is given to you according to the decree of the - book of Moses, and from heaven it has been decreed that she is given to you; take your sister. From henceforth you are her brother, and she is your sister; she has been given to you, from to-day even for ever. And the Lord of heaven give success to you, child, this night, even to do mercy and peace towards you. 12 And Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him and he took her by the hand, and gave her to him, and said, Take her according to the law and according to the decree which is written in the book of Moses to give her to you to wife. Have her and lead her away to your father in peace; and the God of heaven prosper you with peace. 13 And he called her mother, and told her to bring a book, and he wrote an instrument of co-habitation, even that he gave her to him to wife according to the decree of the law of Moses. 14 Then they began to eat and to drink. 15 And Raguel called Edna, his wife, and said to her, Sister, prepare the other chamber, and bring her in there. 16 And she went and spread the bed in the chamber as he told her and brought her there; and she wept for her and wiped away her tears, and said to her, Be of good comfort, daughter: the Lord of heaven give you joy for your sorrow: be of good comfort, daughter. And she went forth.

Texts in conversation

Compare Tobit 7:10 and LXX Ecclesiastes 8:15

Deuterocanon · Septuagint

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Summary

The book of Tobit quotes Ecclesiastes 8, showing its dependence specifically on the Greek Septuagint translation. The saying was well known, quoted also in Isaiah and later in the New Testament.

Passages

Tobit 7:10

Deuterocanon
8 and Edna his wife wept for him, and Sarah their daughter also wept. 9 And he killed a ram of the flock and received them gladly. And when they had bathed, and washed their hands and laid them down to dine, Tobias said to Raphael, Brother Azarias, speak to Raguel that he give me Sarah my sister. 10 And Raguel heard the word and said to the young man, Eat and drink, and make merry this night: for there is no man to whom it belongs to take Sarah my daughter except you, brother; and likewise, further, I have not power to give her to another man than you, because you are my nearest kin. Yes, truly, I will show you the truth, lad.
225–175 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Tobit

LXX Ecclesiastes 8:15

Septuagint
13 but it shall not be well with the ungodly, and he shall not prolong his days, which are as a shadow; since he does not fear before God. 14 There is a vanity which is done upon the earth; that there are righteous persons to whom it happens according to the doing of the ungodly; and there are ungodly men, to whom it happens according to the doing of the just: I said, This is also vanity. 15 Then I praised mirth, because there is no good for a man under the sun, but to eat, and drink, and be merry: and this shall attend him in his labor all the days of his life, which God has given him under the sun. 16 Then I set my heart to know wisdom, and to perceive the trouble that was done upon the earth: for there is that neither by day nor night sees sleep with his eyes.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Ecclesiastes

References

"... the average person’s assumption was that if anyone grew richer there was less overall for everyone else. Some might have still seen this as a sign of God’s blessing but, as with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in a milieu with 70-80 percent of people just eking out a marginal existence, the rich man in this parable would have been expected to share generously from his surplus. As Bock phrases it, “Jesus’ story is intriguing in that this man’s additional wealth fell into his lap, he came by his wealth honestly because God’s provision and kindness blessed him and yet such blessing still can present a problem of stewardship.” The language of “eat, drink and be merry” (for tomorrow you may die) in Luke 12:19 would have been heard in the Greco-Roman world as a jab, whether or not justified, at Epicureanism. Key Jewish uses of this proverb appear in Ecclesiastes 8:15, Isaiah 22:13 and Tobit 7:10; see also 1 Corinthians 15:32. This rich man will not merely die tomorrow, but this very night! ..."
Craig L. Blomberg, Interpreting the Parables, 2nd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2012), 330.

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 7:10 and LXX Ecclesiastes 8:15

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