Texts in Conversation
Acts describes Cornelius as devout, generous, and God-fearing, which follows a pattern found in Tobit. That book portrays Tobit as giving to the poor, praying, and remembering God, the same traits used to characterize Cornelius.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Tobit 14:2
Deuterocanon
1 And the words of Tobit’s thanksgiving were ended, 2 and he died in peace being a hundred and twelve years old, and was buried magnificently in Nineveh. And he was sixty-two years old when he became maimed in his eyes; and after he recovered his sight he lived in prosperity and gave alms, and he still continued to bless God, and to give thanks for the greatness of God. 3 And when he was dying he called Tobias his son, and charged him, saying, Child take your children;
Acts 10:2
New Testament
1 Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. 3 About three o’clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” 4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God.
Search:
Notes and References
"... Cornelius is a Roman centurion and is thus a Gentile. Luke’s portrayal of him, however, is positive, introducing him as a devout man who fears God ... He prays constantly and is engaged in almsgiving to the Jewish people. Such commendable behavior earns Cornelius the description of “righteous” and “God-fearing” ... The Book of Tobit describes the main character in comparable terms (Tobit 1:1, 12). In addition to the virtues of righteousness and charity that define the persona of Tobit, his remembrance of God in exile and his exhortation to remember God and to fear the Lord (4:21) portrays him as God-fearing. God also responds to Tobit’s prayer as a sign of divine pleasure (3:16). Clearly, the fear of God circumscribes the character of both Tobit and Cornelius (Tobit 14:2; 4:21; Acts 10:2) ..."
Macatangay, Francis M.
"The Book of Tobit in the Story of Cornelius in Acts 10" in Corley, Jeremy, and Geoffrey David Miller (eds.) Intertextual Explorations in Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature
(pp. 230-231) de Gruyter, 2019
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,