Chapter Ten

1–7. The grief of Tobit and his wife over Tobias. 8–14. Raguel and Edna, at Tobias’ urgent request, release him with his wife and send them off with blessings and good wishes.

Tobit 10:1. Tobit, his father, counted every day. And when the days of the journey were fulfilled, and he did not come, Tobit 10:2. Tobit said: Perhaps they have been delayed? Or has Gabael died, and there is no one to give them the money? Tobit 10:3. And he was very sorrowful. Tobit 10:4. His wife said to him: Our son has perished, for he does not return. And she began to weep over him and said: Tobit 10:5. Nothing occupies me, my son, because I have let you go, the light of my eyes! Tobit 10:6. Tobit said to her: Be quiet, do not worry, he is well. Tobit 10:7. But she said to him: Say nothing, do not deceive me; my child is lost. And she went out every day to the road by which they had departed; she ate no bread by day and did not cease weeping for her son Tobias throughout the night, until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were fulfilled, which Raguel had sworn he should spend there. Then Tobias said to Raguel: Release me, for my father and my mother do not hope to see me again. 1–7. In verse 2, according to the accepted Greek text, there stands an inappropriate word κατάσχονται, Slavonic: “are shamed”; here is an obvious error, which can easily be corrected from other texts: in the Sinaiticus Codex of the LXX stands κατεσξέθη, in Vet. Lat. and Vulgate: detentus est, detained; that is, according to Tobit’s supposition, his son could have been detained by some difficulties in receiving the money from Gabael. Similarly, in verse 5, in the accepted Greek text there stands a completely inappropriate expression: ού μέλει μοί, Slavonic: “I have no care.” The correct reading is again in the Sinaiticus Codex: ουαί μοι, and in Vet. Lat.: vale mini, or in the Vulg.: Heu heu me.

Tobit 10:8. His father-in-law said to him: Stay with me; I will send to your father and they will inform him about you. Tobit 10:9. But Tobias said: No, release me to go to my father. Tobit 10:10. And Raguel rose and gave him Sarah, his wife, and half of all his possessions, servants, cattle, and silver, Tobit 10:11. And blessing them, he released them and said: Children! May the God of Heaven prosper you before I die. Tobit 10:12. Then he said to his daughter: Honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law; now they are your parents; I desire to hear a good report of you. And he kissed her. And Edna said to Tobias: Beloved brother, may the God of Heaven raise you up and grant me to see children from Sarah, my daughter, that I may rejoice before the Lord. And behold, I entrust my daughter to you; do not grieve her. Tobit 10:13. After this, Tobias departed, blessing God that He had prospered his way, and he blessed Raguel and Edna, his wife. And he continued on his journey, and they drew near to Nineveh. 8–13. In the accepted Greek text, as in the Slavonic-Russian translation, in verse 11 there is an omission of words found in other Greek manuscripts: καί ίδοιμι υμώνπαιδία – “may I see your children,” – with the result that a strange thought appears as if Raguel asked God to prosper the blessed only until his death. On the whole, the blessing given by Raguel and Edna to their daughter Sarah and son-in-law Tobias (verses 11–13) presents the finest example of parental blessing to newlyweds in the Old Testament. Not without reason is the marriage of Tobias considered and still is considered among the Jews a perfect model of a holy and pious marriage, therefore to imitate in the arrangement of marriage the wedding celebration of Tobias is considered a rule among the Jews. The lofty biblical view of marriage as a divinely ordained monogamous union of man and woman (Gen 2-3 chapter) in the book of Tobit is carried through and realized in the actual life of the righteous Tobit and Tobias. Our Telegram channel