“Tobias is the parable of judaism faithful in exile: the righteous person that does not lose hope, even though the world has lost the light.” — James A. Fitzmyer, S. J., exegete biblical.

“The book of Tobit teaches that faith is not an idea, but a gesture: bury the dead, feed the poor, and trust that God will provide.” — Roland de Vaux, O. P.

Full study: Book of Tobit (Tobit)

1) What it is and why it matters

Tobias (or Tobit) is a story of wisdom‐devotional of the judaism of the Second Temple: “a tale doctrinal” with the structure of a short novel, designed to teach piety practice (almsgiving, prayer, faithfulness, and burial of the dead) through a frame closed and memorable characters (Tobit, his son, Tobias, Sarah, and the angel Raphael). In the Bibles catholic and orthodox is deuterocanónico; in protestantism is read in the Apocryphal. The Council of Trent confirmed explicitly in the canon of Latin (session IV, 1546).

2) Author, date, language, and transmission of textual

• Composition: ca. s. III–II. C. (much later in the narrative context assyrian s. VIII. C.). Most studies placed their original aramaic (possibly with versions in Hebrew early).
• Dead Sea scrolls: in Qumran were found four fragments in aramaic (4Q196–199), and one in Hebrew (4Q200), to confirm your circulation jewish pre-christian and its closeness to the Greek text to “long”.
• Versions of Greek: there are two main recensions: GI (shorter: codices Vatican and Alexandrian) and GII (longest: Codex Sinaiticus; the basis of many modern translations). There is also a GIII partial. The current consensus favors GII as the closest to the original semitic.
• Vulgate: Jerome translated from a copy aramaic other than the Greek; his version latino-medieval spread of the form “Tobias/Tobias”.

3) Location canonical and reception confessional

• Catholic and Orthodox: book of the bible, read liturgically; the NAB/USCCB includes introduction and text.
• Protestant: located in the Apocryphal; useful for history and theology, but not normative.

4) detailed Synopsis (chapters 1-14)

1-2. In Nineveh, the fair Tobit practice mercy (alms, burial of fellow countrymen). Blinded by an accident (manure, poultry) and falls into poverty. Sara in Ecbatana suffers because the demon Asmodeo kills her suitors on the wedding night. Both pray to God for death or distress.
3-6. God sends the angel Raphael (disguised as Azariah) to guide the child, Tobiasto charge a deposit at Ragués (Middle). In the Tigris catch a fish whose viscera (liver, heart, gall) will be remedies against the devil and the blindness of the father. Raphael instructs Tobias to marry Sara.
7-9. Marriage of Tobias and Sara as to the law; prayer conjugal; burning of the liver/heart of the fish and flight of Asmodeo. Money management with Gabael.
10-12. Return to Nineveh; healing of Tobit with the gall of the fish. Rafael reveals his identity: “one of the seven angels who present the prayers” and exhorts us to praise and alms.
13-14. Hymn thanksgiving and vision Jerusalem restored; holy death of Tobit and Sarah; exhortation end to leave Nineveh before their ruin.

5) Characters, symbols, and motifs

• Tobit/Tobias: model of piety lay in diaspora (of alms, burial of the dead, fidelity to the Torah).
• Sara: figure of the suffering righteous; his prayer parallel to that of Tobit articulates the theme of the providence.
• Rafael: angel therapeutic and guide; his revelation (12:15) founds the angelology of “the seven”.
• Asmodeo: name associated with the Persian aeshma daēva; displays the movement of motifs of Persian/iranian people. (Introductions modern point to it.)
• The fish and their viscera: “natural” remedies set by God; they symbolize cooperation between practical wisdom and grace.

6) Theology and ethics of the book

• Providence and retribution: God hears prayers and acts for mediations (los angeles, remedies).
• Alms and social justice: “the alms pound of death” (core doctrinal repeated at 4 and 12).
• Prayer and fasting: disciplines of the righteous in exile.
• Marriage and sexuality: prayer bridal (8) presents the union as a vocation, not just a desire; inbreeding recommended as a safeguard identity (4:12), reflecting the debates of the period.
• Angels and mediation: active presence of Rafael legitimizes the heavenly intercession of the piety postexílica.

7) a literary Genre and sources

The play reads better as novel teaching with elements of wisdom, folklore and story travel. Shows affinities with the tradition of Ajíqar (wise courtier assyrian), and combines maximum moral adventures (travel, debt, demon, healing). Studies philological and versions aramaic/Hebrew hold your substrate semitic in spite of its wide transmission Greek.

8) Geography and historicity

The action takes place between Nineveh, Ecbatana and Ragués in the Average Persian, under assyrian kings (Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, Asaradón). The framework is plausible, but the book presents inaccuracies geographical-chronological (distances and topography, chronology of kings), consistent with their character uplifting more than chronic.

9) Text: key variables and critical use

• GI vs GII: GII (Sinaiticus) is ~A 1,700 words longwith readings that often coincide with Qumran; GI is a abbreviation or different version. For critical editions of modern (e.g., NETS), GII is usually a base.
• Implication: dating doctrinal (e.g., 12:9 “almsgiving saves from death”) and details narrative can vary slightly for review; it's specify edition when to cite.

10) Structure and passages essential

• 1-2: piety in the diaspora and blindness of Tobit.
• 3: prayers parallel of Tobit and Sarah.
• 4: testament ethics of Tobit your child (charity, justice, prudence).
• 6-8: instructions Rafael; wedding and prayer conjugal.
• 11: healing of Tobit.
• 12: revelation of the angel; theology of the alms and the praise.
• 13: hymn Jerusalem (eco liturgical later).
• 14: closing historical‐prophetic (output of Nineveh).

11) Influence of liturgical and cultural

• Latin liturgy: the Song of Tobit 13 went to breviarios medieval (mozarab/gothic) and repertoires devotionals.
• Art: classic theme in european painting (Rembrandt, The archangel Raphael leaving the family of Tobias, 1637; Louvre; multiple prints derived).
• Music: Haydn, Il ritorno di Tobia (1775), oratory of large format through several revisions and extensive historical reception.

12) reading Keys (academic)

1. Social ethics in a minority: alms, the burial of the dead, and distributive justice as a public identity of the exiled.
2. Mediation angelica and providence: God acts without showiness, through guidance, practical advice and natural medicine.
3. Family and alliance: the marriage prayer (cap 8) as a microcosm of the faithfulness of the people.
4. Text and criticism: distinguish reviews (GI/GII) and sources semitic (Qumran) to cite; caution when used as historical source strict by its anachronisms.

13) Bibliography minimum, and reliable resources

• Reference comment: J. A. Fitzmyer, Tobit (Anchor Yale Bible / CEJL). Technical introduction, exhaustive (language, texts, theology).
• Critical edition of the Greek: NETS (translation of the LXX; it explains GI/GII and text-based).
• Text and notes pastoral: USCCB/NAB (useful for dating and biblical passages).
• Manuscripts DSS: Leon Levy DSS Digital Library (images and chips 4Q196–200).
• Canonicidad: Council of Trent, session IV (explicit list with “Tobias”).

14) In a line (thesis reading)

Tobias it teaches that the piety concrete —almsgiving, prayer, faithfulness, family, and care of the dead— holds the identity the people in exile, and that the providence it operates in the everyday through mediation (los angeles, remedies, wise decisions), not only by miracles.

15) Appendix: questions for research or script

• What are the differences narratives/doctrinal appear to compare GI vs GII at 4:7-11 and 12:8-10 (alms)?
• How he talks the prayer bridal of Tob 8 texts with marriage later (e.g., christians)?
• What we say fragments of Qumran on the form semitic prior history of transmission?

Notes on accuracy

• Dates and original language: current consensus (aramaic s. III–II. C.), based on DSS and philology.
• Canonicidad: view Trento; status confessional compared in reference inputs.
• Textual variants: NETS and studies Brill on GI/GII.