Tobit 1
1
1I am Tobit and this is the story of my life. My father was Tobiel, my grandfather was Ananiel, and my great-grandfather was Aduel. Aduel's father was Gabael; his grandfather was Raphael; and his great-grandfather was Raguel, who belonged to the clan of Asiel, a part of the tribe of Naphtali. 2#2 Kgs 17.3; 18.9During the time that Shalmaneser was emperor of Assyria, I was taken captive in my home town of Thisbe, located in northern Galilee, south of Kadesh in Naphtali, north-west of Hazor, and north of Phogor.
Tobit's Early Life
3All my life I have been honest and have tried to do what was right. I have often given money to help needy relatives and fellow-Jews who were deported with me to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.
4When I was young, I lived in northern Israel. All the tribes in Israel were supposed to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem. It was the one city that God had chosen from among all the Israelite cities as the place where his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home. But my entire tribe of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David. 5#1 Kgs 12.28–29Like everyone else in this tribe, my own family used to go to the city of Dan in the mountains of northern Galilee to offer sacrifices to the gold bull-calf which King Jeroboam of Israel had set up there.
Tobit's Faithfulness to His Religion
6 #
Deut 16.16
I was the only one in my family who regularly went to Jerusalem to celebrate the religious festivals, as the Law of Moses commands everyone to do. I would hurry off to Jerusalem with the first part of my harvest, the firstborn of my animals, a tenth of my cattle, and the freshly clipped wool from my sheep. Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple, and give these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 7I would give a tenth of my grain, wine, olive-oil, pomegranates, figs and other fruits to the Levites who served God in Jerusalem. Every year, except the seventh year when the land was at rest,#1.7 the land was at rest: See Lev 25.1–7. I would sell a second tenth of my possessions and spend the money in Jerusalem on the festival meal.
8But every third year, I would give a third tithe#1.8 a third tithe; some manuscripts have the money. to widows and orphans and to foreigners living among my people, and we would eat the festival meal together. I did this in keeping with the Law of Moses, which Deborah, the mother of my grandfather Ananiel, had taught me to obey. (I had been left an orphan when my father died.)
Tobit's Faithfulness in Exile
9When I grew up, I married Anna, a member of my own tribe. We had a son and named him Tobias. 10Later, I was taken captive and deported to Assyria, and that is how I came to live in Nineveh.
While we lived in Nineveh, all my relatives and fellow-Jews used to eat the same kind of food as the other people who lived there, 11but I refused to do so. 12Since I took seriously the commands of the Most High God, 13he made Emperor Shalmaneser respect me, and I was placed in charge of purchasing all the emperor's supplies.
14Before the emperor died, I made regular visits to the land of Media to buy things for him there. Once, when I was in the city of Rages in Media, I left some bags of money there with Gabael, Gabrias' brother, and asked him to keep them for me. There were more than 300 kilogrammes of silver coins in those bags. 15When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor. It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I could no longer go there.
Tobit Buries the Dead
16While Shalmaneser was still emperor, I took good care of my fellow-Jews whenever they were in need. 17#Job 31.16–20If they were hungry, I shared my food with them; if they needed clothes, I gave them some of my own. Whenever I saw that the dead body of one of my people had been thrown outside the city wall, I gave it a decent burial.
18One day Sennacherib cursed God, the King of Heaven; God punished him, and Sennacherib had to retreat from Judah. On his way back to Media he was so furious that he killed many Israelites. But I secretly removed the bodies and buried them; and when Sennacherib later searched for the bodies, he could not find them.
19Then someone from Nineveh told the emperor that I was the one who had been burying his victims. As soon as I realized that the emperor knew all about me and that my life was in danger, I became frightened. So I ran away and hid. 20Everything I owned was seized and put in the royal treasury. My wife Anna and my son Tobias were all I had left.
Tobit's Nephew Rescues Him
21About six weeks later, two of Sennacherib's sons assassinated him and then escaped to the mountains of Ararat. Another son, Esarhaddon, became emperor and put Ahikar, my brother Anael's son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. 22This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor, and I was allowed to return to Nineveh.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Tobit 1
1
Tobit Obeyed God in Israel
1My name is Tobit, and this book tells my story. I belong to the Asiel clan of the tribe of Naphtali, and my ancestors include my father Tobiel, my grandfather Hananiel, and then Aduel, Gabael, and Raphael. 2-3#2 K 17.3; 18.9. My hometown is Thisbe in Galilee. Thisbe is south of the town of Kedesh in Naphtali, and it is northwest of Hazor and north of Phogor. But when Shalmaneser#1.2,3 Shalmaneser: Shalmaneser V, ruled 727–722 b.c. was king of Assyria, I was one of many Jews who were captured by the Assyrian army and taken to Nineveh in Assyria.
All my life, I have been honest and done what is right. And even after we were brought here to Nineveh, I still gave help to my relatives and other Jews, whenever they were in need.
4When I was a young man in Israel, my tribe had already rejected the descendants of David#1.4 David: Ruled about 1010–970 b.c. as their kings. In fact, the people of Naphtali never went to Jerusalem to worship, even though that is where God's sacred temple had been built. The temple will be God's home forever, and so God said the tribes of Israel must go there to offer sacrifices to him. 5#1 K 12.26-33. But my relatives and everyone else in my tribe went to the town of Dan and offered sacrifices to the idol that King Jeroboam#1.5 King Jeroboam: Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom, ruled 931–910 b.c. had made in the shape of a calf. They also worshiped on hilltops all over Galilee.
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Dt 16.16. I was the only one who went to Jerusalem for the festivals, just as God's unchanging command says to do. I would hurry to Jerusalem with my sacrifices and offerings, whether they were the first part of the harvest, the first-born of a sheep, the tenth of my livestock,#1.6 livestock: Or “newborn livestock.” or the first wool from my sheep. 7#Dt 14.22-27. I would always take these offerings to the temple and give them to the priests at the altar. And I would always bring to Jerusalem the tenth of my grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates,#1.7 pomegranates: A reddish fruit with a hard rind. figs, and other kinds of fruit, and I would give this tenth to the Levites who served in the temple. Also, for six years out of seven,#1.7 six years out of seven: The seventh year, the Israelites were not supposed to plant or harvest crops, but were supposed to let the land rest (see Leviticus 25.1-7). I would sell a second tenth of my harvest and take the money to Jerusalem and spend it there on a celebration.
8When I was young, my father died and left me as an orphan. So it was my grandmother#1.8 grandmother: One possible meaning for the difficult Greek text. Deborah who told me to be careful and obey what the Law of Moses commanded about taking care of orphans and widows and of those who had come from other countries to become part of Israel. That's why every third year, I would set aside a third tenth#1.8 a third tenth: Some Greek manuscripts and one ancient translation; other Greek manuscripts have “the second tenth.” of my harvest and use part of it to hold a festival for them. Then I would give them the rest.
9When I was old enough, I married a woman from my own tribe,#1.9 a woman from my own tribe: Other Greek manuscripts and some ancient translations have “Anna, a woman from my own tribe” (see also 1.20). and we had a son. I named him Tobias.
Tobit Obeys God in Assyria
10Later, after we were led away to Assyria as prisoners, we went to live in the city of Nineveh.#1.10 Nineveh: The capital city of Assyria. All my brothers and other relatives ate the same food as everyone else in Assyria. 11But I decided to eat only what was allowed by the Law of Moses. 12Obeying God was the most important thing in my life. 13That's why God Most High made King Shalmaneser so pleased with me. Shalmaneser even put me in charge of buying all the supplies for his palace, 14and I held that position for the rest of his life. I used to travel to Media#1.14 Media: A mountainous country east of Assyria and north of Persia, in what is today northwest Iran. on business trips, and on one of those trips, I put 120,000 of my own silver coins#1.14 120,000 … silver coins: The Greek text gives the total weight of the coins as 340 kilograms, which would be 120,000 of the silver coins mentioned in 5.15. in bags, then left them for safekeeping with Gabael the brother of Gabri. 15Later, after Shalmaneser died and his son Sennacherib#1.15 Sennacherib: Ruled Assyria 705–681 b.c. Sennacherib's father was Sargon II (ruled 722–705 b.c.), who may have been the brother of Shalmaneser; but a previous king could be called the “father” of the current king. took his place as king, Media was no longer a safe place to travel. And so, I never went back for my silver coins.
16While Shalmaneser was king, I often helped my relatives and other Jews when they were in need. 17#Job 31.16-20. I gave them food when they were hungry and clothes when they had none. And whenever I saw the dead body of an Israelite tossed outside Nineveh's city wall,#1.17 the dead body … city wall: Probably Israelites who had been put to death by the king. I always buried the body. 18King Sennacherib had invaded Judah and insulted God, the King of Heaven. So God punished him and his army, forcing him to run for his life. Sennacherib was angry, and he killed many Israelites when he got back to Assyria. But I secretly took the bodies away and buried them, and when Sennacherib looked for them, they were gone.
19Someone in Nineveh went to the king and told him that I had secretly buried the bodies. And when I found out that the king knew what I had done and wanted me hunted down and killed, I was afraid and ran away. 20Then the king seized everything I owned—all I had left were my wife Anna and my son Tobias.
21About 40 days later, Sennacherib was murdered by two of his sons. They ran away to the Ararat mountains, and Sennacherib's other son Esarhaddon#1.21 Esarhaddon: Ruled Assyria 681–669 b.c. became king. Esarhaddon appointed Ahikar, the son of my brother Hanael, to be in charge of both the royal accounting department and the treasury.#1.21 and the treasury: Or “and so he had a lot of authority in every area of the king's government.” 22My nephew Ahikar had been in charge of the accounting department and the treasury under Sennacherib, and he had also been responsible for Sennacherib's official ring#1.22 Sennacherib's official ring: The king would use this ring to put his special mark on documents to make them official. and his wine. Ahikar talked Esarhaddon into letting me come back to Nineveh.
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