We find the deuterocanonical books where we left them last, waiting for someone to look at them. While both Protestants and Catholics love disagreeing over their authenticity, N. T. Wright reminds us in his delightful Surprised by Hope that very few have any idea what’s in them anyhow. I aim to do my little bit to change the latter. We left off after doing a chapter-by-chapter reading/naive Protestant commentary through Tobit, so let’s start the next deuterocanonical book. But first a thought to hold in your head: I’ve heard Protestants say Catholics added the books to prove Catholic doctrines, and I’ve heard Catholics say Protestants took away the books to avoid having to admit the truth of Catholicism. So far as I can remember, the book of Tobit had no pro-Catholic ideas that Protestants could object to, so at least for Tobit neither of the above accusations is true. With no further ado, Judith 1:

1 In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned in Ninevah, the great city, in the days of Arphaxad who reigned over the Medes in Ecbatane 2 and who built walls around Ecbatane out of stones hewn three cubits wide and six cubits long, and made the height of the wall seventy cubits and its width fifty cubits, 3 and set the towers of its gates so that they were raised to a height of seventy cubits and a width of forty cubits, for the going forth of his mighty armies and for the setting in array of his foot soldiers, 5 in those days king Nebuchadnezzar made war with Arphaxad on the great plain, which is the plain on the borders of Ragau.

Nebuchadnezzar, as just about everyone knows, reigned in Babylon, not Ninevah. He destroyed Ninevah. The only Median king whose name even remotely sounds like Arphaxad (Hebrew Arpakhshad) was Cyaraxes (Old Persian Uvakhshatra), who was an ally of Nebuchadnezzar’s family, and helped Nebuchadnezzar’s family conquer the Assyrian Empire and destroy Nineveh. It looks like, in Judith, we’re dealing with a fictional account.

6 And all who lived in the hill country came to him there, and all who lived by the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes, and on the plain of Aryok king of the Elymeans, and very many nations of the sons of Chelod assembled themselves for battle. 7 Then Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians sent to all who lived in Persia, and to all who lived westward, and to those who lived in Cilicia and Damascus and Libanus and Antilibanus, and to all who lived upon the sea coast, 8 and to those among the nations who were from Carmel and Galaad and the higher Galilee and the great plain of Esdrelom, 9 and to all who were in Samaria and its cities, and beyond the Jordan to Jerusalem and Bethany and Chelus and Kadesh, and the river of Egypt, and Taphnes and Ramesse, and all the land of Gesem, 10 and even to beyond Tanis and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt all the way to the borders of Ethiopia.

The individual names here aren’t important. The important point to take away is that what’s being set up here, or at least what Nebuchandnezzar is seekign to set up, is a massive showdown, a war so significant that Ethiopia to Babylon — all the political powers relevant to ancient Israel — are involved.

11 But the inhabitants of the land made light of the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, nor did they go into the battle with him, because they were not afraid of him. Yes, they considered him to be only one man, and they sent his ambassadors away from them with nothing to show except disgrace. 12 Therefore Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with all this country, and he swore by his throne and kingdom that he would surely be avenged on all the coasts of Cilicia and Damascus and Syria, and that he would slay with the sword all the inhabitants of the land of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and all Judea, and all who were in Egypt, up to the very borders of the two seas.

So Nebuchadnezzar’s authority is slighted, and now he wants revenge. His revenge plan is to annihilate the Jews (Judeans) and all of their neighbors, the Cilicians to the far north, the Damascenes and Syrians to the north, the Moabites to the east, the Ammonites to the southeast, and the Egyptians to the south. The author appears is from a Judean (southern Israelite kingdom) perspective (northern Israel is not even mentioned at this point), and interestingly sees Judea as very small and insignificant. In contrast with Nebuchadnezzar, the gate of whose city gets a nice paragraph, and whose would-be military allies get a very large paragraph, Judea is only mentioned as a side issue after the primary conflict between Assyria and Babylon, and even then it is placed sixth in a list of seven nations. The stage is set for a David vs. Goliath conflict.

13 Then he marched in battle array with his power against king Arphaxad in the seventeenth year, and he prevailed in his battle, for he overthrew all the power of Arphaxad and all his horsemen and all his chariots, 14 and became lord of his cities. And he came to Ecbatane and took the towers and pillaged its streets and turned its beauty into shame. 15 He also overpowered Arphaxad at the mountains of Ragau and struck him through with his darts, and destroyed him utterly on that day. 16 So he returned afterward to Nineveh, both he and all his company of diverse nations, who were a very great multitude of men of war, and there he took his ease and banqueted, both he and his army, for one hundred twenty days.

Nebuchadnezzar strength is now established. He starts out as Emperor, his power is questioned, and he responds by utterly crushing the Median Empire and then goes off and parties for one hundred twenty days. What is left undone is the vengeance he promised Judea and her neighbors. We’ll have to wait till next Friday to see what he does next. Or I’ll invent deuterocanonical Tuesday or something.

1 So Tobit finished praising God.

2 He was fifty-eight years old when he lost his sight, which was restored to him after eight years.  He gave alms, he increased in the fear of the Lord God, and he praised him.  3 And when he was very old, he called his son, and his son’s sons, and said to him, “My son, take your children.  For behold, I am old and ready to leave this life behind.  4 Go into Media, my son, for I surely believe the things Jonah the prophet said about Nineveh, that it will be overthrown, and that for a while peace will be in Media instead, and that our brothers will lie scattered on the earth from that good land, and Jerusalem will be desolate, and the house of God there will be burned and be desolate for a while.

“But I believe that God will again have mercy on them, and bring them back into the Land, where they will build a temple, but not like the first, until the time of that age is fulfilled.  Afterward they will return from all places of their captivity and build up Jerusalem gloriously, and the house of God will be built in it forever, gloriously built, as the prophets have spoken of it.

6 “And all the nations will turn and fear the Lord God truly, and they will bury their idols.

7 “So all nations will praise the Lord, and his people will confess God, and the Lord will exalt his people, and all who love the Lord God in truth and justice will rejoice, showing mercy to our brothers.

8 “Now, my son, leave Nineveh, because the things which Jonah the prophet spoke of will certainly happen.  9 But as for you, keep the law and the commandments, and show yourself merciful and just, so that it may go well for you.

Lest anyone think Judaism was an uncaring ritualistic religion till Jesus came along and made religion compassionate, think again.  This book, produced by Jews perhaps a hundred or two hundred years before Christ, is filled with concern not only for Jews, but also for Gentiles, as in verse 6.  Similarly, mercy is given strong emphasis, just as in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.  Yes, Christ did come to restore Man’s relationship to God, but he was definitely working within an already existing tradition when he taught mercy.

10 “Bury me decently, and your mother with me, but do not stay any longer at Nineveh.  Remember, my son, how Aman handled Achiacharus who brought him up, how he brought out of light into darkness, and how he repaid him;  yet Achiacharus was saved, but the other had his reward, for he went down into darkness.  Manasseh gave alms, and escaped the snares of death which they had set for him, but Aman fell into the snare and perished.

Yikes!  What a verse!  Let’s take this bit by bit.  First, there’s the bit about burial, which is a topic we’ve dealt with several times.  If I understand correctly, this is about the time the concept of resurrection was becoming fashionable, and burial therefore became important.  The same sort of thing happened a couple of millenia earlier in ancient Egypt, though needless to say the Egyptians went to much greater lengths with their burials.

The second bit, about Aman and Achiacharus, I do not understand at all.  A little digging about seems to indicate that Aman is Haman, from the book of Esther.  But what transpired between Aman and Achiacharus, I do not know.  Manasseh is perhaps the biblical king of Manasseh, in which case I think the detail about his giving alms is something Tobit adds to the biblical narrative of his restoration, while Haman, being one who tried to exterminate the Jews, is condemned as the polar opposite of a generous philanthropist.

11 “Therefore now, my son, consider what alms do, and how righteousness delivers.”  When he had said these things, he gave up the ghost in the bed, being one hundred and fifty-eight years old.

[Tobiyah] buried [his father] honorably, 12 and when Anna his mother was dead, he buried her with his father.  But Tobiyah left with his wife and children for Ecbatane, to Raguel his father-in-law. 13 There he became old with honor, and buried his father- and mother-in-law honorably, and he inherited their property, and his father Tobit’s.

14 And he died at Ecbatane in Media, being one hundred twenty-seven years old.

15 But before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, which was taken by Nebuchadnezzar and Assuerus.  And before his death he rejoiced over Nineveh.

Thus ends the book of Tobit, with a note of Schadenfreude.  Would any book of the real Bible end with spite for the Ninevites, whom God had such mercy on?  Before you say that Schadenfreude is not biblical, go read this.

1 Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said, “Blessed be God, who lives forever, and blessed be his kingdom.  2 For he scourged, and has mercy;  he leads down to Hades, and brings back up again;  nor are there any who can avoid his hand.

Where I read “Hades,” the KJV has “hell.”   I changed it because the underlying Greek term is Hades, not Gehenna (for which see here), and the context clearly indicates that the place or state to which God is bringing down and then bringing back is not what is traditionally known as “hell,” that is, a place of permanent torturous punishment.  Let those who are fond of translating Hades/Sheol as “hell” remember this use of the word.

3 Confess [God] before the Gentiles, O children of Israel, for he has scattered us among them.

So Tobit sees the diaspora as a part of God’s purpose for witnessing to the Gentiles.  Interesting.

4 Declare there his greatness and extol him before all who live, for he is our Lord, and he is God our Father forever.  5 And he will scourge us for our iniquities, and will again have mercy, and will gather us out of all the nations among whom he has scattered us.  6 If you turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and deal uprightly before him, then he will turn to you, and will not hide his face from you.  Therefore see what he will do with you, and confess him with your whole mouth, and praise the Lord of Might, and extol the Everlasting King.  In the land of my captivity I praise him, and declare his might and majesty to a sinful nation.  O sinners, turn and do justice before him:  who can tell if he will accept you and have mercy on you?

It appears, again, that Tobit is calling upon the Gentiles to repent and turn to God.

7 I will extol my God, and my soul will praise the King of Heaven, and will rejoice in his greatness.  8 Let all men speak, and let all praise him for his righteousness.  9 O Jerusalem, Holy City, he will scourge you for what your children have done, and will again have mercy on the sons of those who are righteous.

Here the KJV has “sons of the righteous.”  I wasn’t entirely certain whether to interpret this as “sons of the righteous ones” or “sons of the righteous one.”  The Greek makes it clear that “righteous” is plural.

10 Give praise to the Lord, for he is good.  And praise the Everlasting King, so that his tabernacle may be rebuilt within you [O Jerusalem] with joy.  And let him make joyful there within you those who are captives, and love within you forever those who are miserable.  11 Many nations will come from afar to the name of the Lord God with gifts in their hands, gifts to the King of Heaven.  All generations will praise you [O Jerusalem] with great joy.

Rather like the millennial view of God ruling the world and worshipped by both Jews and Gentiles from Jerusalem, Tobit pictures an eventual salvation for the Gentiles.  From a Christian perspective, he is looking ahead toward the eventual proclamation of the gospel throughout the world.

12 Cursed are all those who hate you, [O Jerusalem,] and blessed will be those who love you forever.  13 Rejoice and be glad for the children of those who are righteous, for they will be gathered together and bless the Lord of those who are righteous.  14 O blessed are those who love you, for they will rejoice in your peace.  Blessed are those who have been sorrowful for all your scourges.  For they will rejoice in you, when they have seen all your glory, and will be glad forever.  15 Let my soul bless the great king, 16 for Jerusalem will be built up with sapphires and emeralds, and precious stone;  your walls and towers and battlements with pure gold.  17 And the streets of Jerusalem will be paved with beryl and carbuncle and the stones of Ophir.

Rather like the Apocalypse’s picture of New Jerusalem, no?

18 And all her streets will say, “Alleluia;”  and they will praise him, saying, “Blessed be God, who has extolled it forever.”

Amen.

1 Then Tobit called his son Tobiyah, and said to him, “My son, make sure this man who went with you has received his wages, and give him extra.”

2  And Tobiyah said to him, “Father, it would do me no harm to give him half of what I have brought.  3 For he has brought me back to you in safety, and cured my wife, and brought me the money, and also healed.”

4  Then the old man said, “It is due him.”

5  So he called the angel, and said to him, “Take half of all that you have brought and go away in safety.”

6 Then he took them both apart, and said to them, “Bless God, praise him, and magnify him, and praise him for the things which he has done for you in the sight of all who live.  It is good to praise God and exalt his name, and honorably to show forth the works of God;  therefore do not be slack to praise him.  7 It is good to keep close the secret of a king, but it is honorable to reveal the works of God.  Do what is good, and no evil will touch you.  8 Prayer is good with fasting and charitable giving and righteousness.  A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness.  It is better to give charitable gifts than to store up gold, 9 for charitable gifts deliver from death, and will purge away all sin.

Perhaps in Tobit 12:9 we can find a contributing factor to the medieval concept of paying in cash for one’s sins.  Or maybe I’m just reading too much in.

Those who practice charitable giving and righteousness will be filled with life, 10 but those who sin are enemies to their own life.

Those who sin are enemies to their own life.  That’s one of the great concepts of the Judaeo-Christian tradition–the idea that sin harms us not because God is just ticked off at disobedience, but because sin is inherently harmful in and of itself.  It points to a less arbitrary vision of God than the angry father many see.

11  Surely I will keep nothing secret from you.  For I said that it was good to keep the secret of a king, but that it was honorable to reveal the works of God.  12 Now then, when you prayed with Sarah your daughter-in-law, I brought the memory of your prayers before the Holy One, and when you buried the dead I was with you also.  13 And when you did not delay to rise up and leave your dinner to go and cover the dead, your good deed was not hidden from me, but I was with you.  14 And now God has sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law.  15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.

As far as I can remember, our Protestant Bibles never explicitly outline a group of seven angels which go in and out of God’s presence.  But perhaps a whiff of the idea is found in Revelation 1:4 — “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia.  Grace to you, and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.”

16  Then they were both troubled, and fell on their faces, for they were afraid.

This fear response seems to be the typical response to seeing an angel.  And what do angels always say?

17  But he said to him, “Do not be afraid, for it will go well with you, therefore praise God.  18 For it was not of any favor of mine, but by the will of our God I came, therefore praise him forever.

And here we come to an interesting problem.  Angels, in the Bible, are spirit-beings which don’t eat or drink (Genesis 18, Judges 6, cf. also Luke 24:39-43).  But Raphael had to eat to maintain his deep cover!  How to solve this theological problem?  The author of Tobit presents a solution, and also explains how the book of Tobit came to be.

19 All these days I appeared to you, I neither ate nor drank, but you saw a vision.  20 Now therefore give God thanks, for I am go up to the one who sent me, but you are to write all these things that have occurred in a book.  21 And when they arose, they did not see him again.  22 Then they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and how the angel of the Lord had appeared to them.

Again, the book looks like it’s over.  But we’ll look at chapter 13 next.

1 After these things Tobiah went on his way, praising God that he had given him a prosperous journey.  He blessed Raguel and Edna his wife, and went on his way until they approached Nineveh.  2 Then Raphael said to Tobiah, “You know, brother, how you left your father.  3  Let us hurry on ahead of your wife to prepare the house.  4 And take in your hand the gall of the fish.

Remember that Tobiah’s father, Tobit, is blind, and that the gall of this particular fish is supposed to heal the eyes of Tobit.  Admittedly this is a weird concept, and some Protestants have gone so far as to call it witchcraft, and use this incident to condemn the Roman Catholics as heretics.  The reasoning they use is that by giving the fish-gall power that ought to belong only to God, the story of Tobit shows its pagan influences.  Though I certainly don’t hold Tobit to be inspired, and I can’t even rule out the possibility of some pagan influence, it would seem to me that it’s unfair to call this an example of witchcraft.  For the Bible uses physical things for strange purposes in a number of places.  Before we try to pick at the Catholic speck of fish-gall, let us remember the plank in our own eye.  Consider the way in which mere contact with the bones of Elisha raised a dead man (2 Kings 13:21).  Remember that a stick cast into a running stream caused metal to float (2 Kings 6).  Recall that Jesus used a mixture of spittle and mud for healing (John 9).  If we do not believe the deuterocanonical books to be inspired and infallible, let us say so.  Let’s even argue about it if we must.  But let’s not use unfair reasoning to advance our case, lest we become followers of Jack Chick instead of Jesus Christ.

So they went their way, and the dog went after them.

I wish we knew more about this dog.  Perhaps he’s the only dog in all the canonicals and deuterocanonical books to be portrayed in a positive light.

Now Anna sat looking around toward the road for her son.  6 And when she spotted him coming, she said to his father, “Look–your son’s coming, and the man who went with him!”

7 Then Raphael said, “I know, Tobiah, that your father will open his eyes.  8 Therefore anoint his eyes with the gall, and when he feels the sting he will rub them, and the whiteness will fall away, and he will see.”

9 Then Anna ran out and fell upon her son’s neck, and said to him, “Now that I have seen you, my son, from now on I may die in peace.”  And they both wept.

10 Tobit also went out toward the door, and stumbled, but his son ran to him, 11 and took hold of his father, and sprinkled the call on his father’s eyes, saying, “Have good hope, my father.”

12 And when his eyes began to smart, he rubbed them, 13 and the whiteness peeled away from the corners of his eyes, and when he saw his son, he fell upon his neck.  14 And he wept, and said, “Blessed are you, O God, and blessed is your name forever, and blessed are all your holy angels.  15 For you have scourged, and have taken pity on me, for behold, I see my son Tobiah.  And his son went in rejoicing, and told his father the great things that had happened to him in Media.  16 Then Tobit went out to meet his daughter-in-law at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God.  Those who saw him marvelled, because he had received his sight.  17 But Tobiah gave thanks before them, because God had mercy on him.  And when [Tobit] came near to Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, “You are welcome, daughter.  May God be blessed, who has brought you to us, and blessed be your father and your mother.  And all his brethren at Nineveh were filled with joy.  18 And Achiacharus came, as did and Nasbas his brother’s son.  19 And Tobiah’s wedding was kept seven days with great joy.

So we’ve had a beginning, a set of problems (specifically the demon Asmodeus, the poverty, and the blindness), and now all is solved and happy.  The book could just end here.  But it doesn’t.  There’s a few more chapters.  But Joel warned me not to skip them, so I shall post on them starting Monday.  Have a great afternoon (or whatever time of day or night you might happen to read this).

1 Now his father Tobit counted the days, and when the days the journey was to take were up, and they had not returned, 2 Tobit said, “Have they been detained?  Or is Gaba’el dead, and is there no man to give him [Tobiah] the money [which I had previously deposited with him]?”  3 So he was quite upset.

Tobit’s a concerned father, worried about his son away so long.  But his wife quickly jumps to a horrible conclusion:

5 Then his wife said to him, “My song has been so long in coming–he is dead!”  And she began to mourn for him, and said, 5 “Nothing matters any more to me, my son, since I have lost you, the light of my eyes!”

Seeing his wife’s rash presumption that Tobit is dead, Tobit makes his own presumption to calm her down.

6 Tobit said to her, “Settle down and do not be anxious.  He is safe.”  7 But she said, “Be quiet and don’t lie to me–my son is dead!”  And every day she went to the place where they had left, and she did not eat meat during the daytime, and mourned all night for her son Tobiah, until the fourteen days of the wedding were up, which Raguel had sworn he should spend there.

Then Tobiah said to Raguel, “Let me go.  I do not want my mother and father to wait for me any longer.

8  But his father-in-law said to him, “Stay with me a while longer, then I will send you to your father, and they will tell him how you are.”

9 But Tobiah said to Raguel, “No, let me go to my father.”

10  Then Raguel arose, and gave him Sarah his wife, and half his goods, and servants, and cattle, and money.  10  And he blessed them and sent them away, saying, “May the God of Heaven give you a prosperous journey, my children.”

Remember that bit about how Tobiah called his wife “sister” in 8:4?  Well, here’s another passage where family relations are used rather loosely.

And [Raguel] said to his daughter, “Honor your father- and mother-in-law, who are now your parents, so that I may hear good things about you.”  And he kissed her.

And Edna spoke to Tobiah, “May the Lord of Heaven restore you, my dear brother, and may he grant that I may see your children with my daughter Sarah before I die, that I may rejoice in the presence of the Lord.  See, I commit my daughter to you with a special trust–you are not to treat her evilly.”

And so marriage contract, for that’s what a marriage is–a contract, is completed.

1 Then Tobiyah called Rapha’el, and said to him, 2 “Brother Azariah, take with you a servant and two camels, and go to Rages of Media to Gaba’el, and bring me the money, and bring him to the wedding.

(Gaba’el is the guy whom Tobiyah was sent to collect money from earlier in the book.)

3 For Raguel has sworn that I shall not leave.  4 But my father is counting the days, and if I tarry long he will be very sorry.  5 So Rapha’el went out, and lodged with Gaba’el, and gave him the handwritten letter.  Gaba’el brought out bags which were sealed up, and gave them to Rapha’el.  6 And early in the morning they went out together, and came to the wedding, and Tobiyah blessed his wife.

And, as Donald Duck was wont to say, that’s all, folks.  Short chapter.  Tobit’s not gonna leave his own wedding (a multi-day affair), so he sends his angel buddy to go collect the money from Gaba’el and bring him to the wedding as well.  And they arrive at the wedding and Tobiyah blesses his new spouse.  All is well.

I expect to cover chapter 10 tomorrow.