posting through the deuterocanonicals: tobit 1

Let us begin this journey with the book of Tobit, because that’s what the deuterocanon starts with in my NRSV.  Quotations in these posts, however, will be adapted from the KJV, to avoid copyright restrictions.  Feel free to use the text if you find it in any way useful.  Let us begin:

1  The book of the words of Tobit ben Tobiel ben Ananiel ben Aduel ben Gabael, of the descendents of Asael, of the tribe of Naphtali;  2  who in the time of Enemessar king of the Assyrians was led into captivity from Thisbe, which is at the right hand of the city called Naphtali in Galilee above Asher.

This first bit is written either by a later compiler/editor of the book, or the fellow called Tobit is writing about himself in the third person as a sort of title.  Now we begin with Tobit’s own direct speech:

3  I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life in the ways of truth and justice, and I have done many charitable deeds for my brethren and my nation, who came with me to Nineveh, into the land of the Assyrians.

So Tobit is set in the Northern Captivity.  Much like another work of the captivity–Ezra/Nehemiah–it features first person “memoir style” writing which is not typical of most biblical books.  And now the book turns to before the captivity,

4 And when I was in my own country, in the land of Israel when I was just a young man, all the tribe of my father Naphtali fell away from the Temple of Jerusaem, which was chosen from all the tribes of Israel as the place for all the tribes to sacrifice, where the dwelling-place of the Most High was consecrated and built for all ages.  5  Now all the tribes which revolted together, including the house of my father Naphtali, sacrificed to the heifer Ba’al.

And so a common biblical theme is repeated:  the people of Israel fall away from the worship of Yahweh their ancestral God, and turn to one of the local gods of the neighboring peoples, often Ba’al (“Lord,” “Master”), a fertility God who ruled the local pantheon.  But our hero, like Daniel and the three Hebrew children who refused pagan foreign worship when everyone else had strayed, remains faithful to the rituals and monotheism of traditional Yahwism:

6  But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as was commanded to all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, taking with me the offering of the firstfruits and the tithe of increase, along with the first of the shorn wool.  I gave these gifts at the alter to the priests, the sons of Aaron.  7  The first tithe of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who served in Jerusalem;  another tithe I sold away and spent it every year at Jerusalem;  8  and the third I gave to those to whom it was fitting, as Deborah my father’s mother had commanded me, because I was left an orphan by my father.  9 Furthermore, when I had come of age as a man, I married Anna of my own kin, and by her I begat Tobiyah.

And so we see what looks like a very biblical-style portrayal–a man who holds on to the practices of Jerusalemite Yahwism at a time when everyone else is turning away.  He is a charitable giver who gives his traditional gifts to the traditional priesthood in the Temple–no funny stuff, no improvising his own religion–and he himself is an orphan raised by a devout Israelite woman, a prime example of the fruits of traditional religious charity.  And now he’s married to an Israelite woman (“of my own kin”, not a shiksah), and continuing the Tob (“good”) line:  Tobiel, Tobit, and finally Tobiyah–whose name is a nod to the Yahwist tradition, with its meaning being “Yah is good.”  The name Tobiyah also illustrates the common tradition of paponymy, naming a child after Grandpa.  Grandpa Tobiel’s name means “God is good,” so it is synonymous, but not identical, with Tobiyah.  Anyhoo, let’s continue with verse 10, where Tobit’s happy life is torn apart, just like many other exiles in the Bible.

10  And when we were carried off to Nineveh, all my brethren and those who were of my kin ate of the bread of the Gentiles.  11  But I kept myself from from eating [it],  12  because I remembered God with all my heart.

And so as Tobit is carried away the social deterioration of Yahwist practices continued, as the exiles began to eat not according to Jewish dietary traditions (now known as Kosher), but rather according to the Gentile traditions of neighboring peoples.  But Tobit, rather like Daniel, maintained his Jewish religious food customs.  And we soon see, he became a bit of a favorite among the high Gentile leadership of the conquering power, just like Daniel was.

13  And the Most High gave me grace and favor before Enemessar, so that I became his purchasing agent.  14  And I went into Media, and left ten talents [~700 pounds, ~$200,000 at today's prices] of silver in trust with Gaba’el the brother of Gabriyah, at Rages, a city of Media.  15  Now when Enemessar wasdead, Sennacherib his son reigned in his place.  There was trouble in his realm, so I could not go into Media.  16  And in the time of Enemessar I gave many charitable gifts to my brethren.  I gave my bread to the hungry,  17  and my clothes to the naked, and if I saw anyone from my nation dead or thrown around the walls of Nineveh, I buried him.  18 And if the king Sennacherib had killed anyone, when he came and then swiftly left Judea, I buried them privately, for in his wrath he killed many, but the bodies were not found when they were searched for by the king.  19  And when one of the Ninevites went and complained about me to the king about how I buried them and kept myself hidden, I realized that I was being sought to be put to death, and so I was afraid and hid myself.

So just as “another Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph,” so also another king (Sennacherib) arises who knew not Tobit as Assyria’s Enemessar had.  Things appear to be headed downhill for this Jew, who just like Daniel was completely cooperative with and favored by the Empire, except in regards to his religious obligations.  We see, then, that both Daniel and Tobit revolve around the issue of how the Jews in captivity were to cope with being in the dispersion while at the same time staying true to their Jewish roots.  As we can see, though, the Jews did manage to pull of this transition more or less succesfully.  I mean, we’ve all heard about Jews, but have any of us heard about Edomites or Ammonites or Assyrians or Babylonians lately?  Nope.  And it’s because of the solution that was worked out by Judaism during the course of the captivities:  an ethic that emphasized cooperation with existing regimes in all but vital religious matters.  It allowed Jews to stay generally agreeable to the authorities while still maintaining their religious identity.  Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubbabel, Daniel, Jeremiah, and Tobit are all major figures for understanding how this settlement was worked.

This tradition of cooperation and obedience coupled with separate religious identity has, incidentally, managed to carry over into the Christian tradition, for which the general guideline is cooperation with whoever the authorities that be, except in cases in which our Christian morality requires disobedience.  So far, Tobit looks like it is quite securely a part of the biblical tradition (notice that I didn’t say of the Bible), and its guidance is sound.  Of course, another element is appearing, an element that repeatedly shows up in cases where there’s a conflict between one’s duty to God and the ungodly commands of an impious government–persecution.

20  Then all my goods were taken away by force.  Nothing was left for me, except for my wife Anna and my son Tobiyah.

So our hero Tobit is stripped of all but his family.  Nevertheless, events (the implication is intervention by the hand of God), lead toward his return to good standing with the government.

21 And it was not even twenty-five days later when two of [Sennacherib's] sons killed him, and they fled into the mountains of Ararat.  And his son Sarchedonus ruled in his place.  Over all his father’s business, and over all his affairs, he appointed Achiacharus the son of my brother Ana’el.  22  And Achiacharus intreated for me, so I returned to Nineveh.  Now, Achiacharus was the cupbearer, and keeper of the [king's] signet [ring], and manager, and overseer of accounts.  Sarchedonus appointed him to work with him personally, and he was my brother’s son.

So here we have it.  A good Jew keeps himself faithful to Judaism even in the face of a deteriorated religious and national situation.  He is a good and generous man.  His nation is invaded, and he is carried off into captivity, where he is in favor with the Gentile leadership.  Nevertheless, he maintains his Judaism, including inconvenient regulations.  Another Emperor, not so sympathetic, arises.  He desecrates Jewish corpses and leaves them unburied, but Tobit, and great risk to himself, buries them.  He becomes an outlaw and loses almost everything.  But in his hour of need, God is working behind the scenes.  Tobit is suddenly returned to his rightful place.

This chapter could almost stand by itself as a complete work, a commemoration of God’s hand even in captivity.  I can’t even think of where this is going to go next.  We’ll look at chapter 2 a little later.

Related Posts:

• deuterocanonical friday: judith 4
• Deuterocanonical Friday: Judith 3
• Deuterocanonical Friday
• gary north’s 75 bible questions
• posting through the deuterocanonicals: tobit 12