The ministry of His heralds in the future will bear great fruit:

Many nations will come from afar to the Name of the Lord God with gifts in hand, with gifts to the Heavenly King. (13,11)

Thus, in Book II. Tobit's ideal of a righteous life according to the Law of God is combined with prophetic foresight and faith in the conversion of other nations.

5. Book. Esther (Hebrew Esther) is preserved in the Hebrew and Greek texts, the former being very different from the latter. In addition, in the ancient copies, the Greek additions are arranged in different ways.

The book owes its origin to the holiday of Purim (Fate), which is also called the day of Mordecai (2 Macc 15:36). It is possible that this holiday was established in the days of the Captivity in contrast to the pagan festival of the god Marduk.

Since the Greek text was known in Egypt as early as 114 B.C., the book could not have been written earlier. Esther was probably written during the period of the struggle against pagan tyranny (the first half of the second century B.C.; see §27), but the tradition on which it is based is much older.

The book tells how the Judean Esther, having become the wife of the Iranian king Artaxerxes (Hebrew Ahasuerus, Persian Xerxes), saved her people living in the diaspora from destruction. The intrigues of Haman, the king's temporary, were directed against all the Jews. He obtained a royal decree on their extermination. Exposed by the queen, Haman was executed. And the Jews, since the royal decrees were not revoked in Iran, were allowed to offer armed resistance to their opponents.

The historical references of the book are replete with inaccuracies. For example, it is known that Xerxes' wife was not Vashti (1:11) or Esther, but Amestris (Herodotus, VII, 6). But, like Kn. Tobit, Esther is not a strict historical narrative. It is written as a testimony to the providential deeds of God, who protects the Old Testament Church in the midst of trials. Esther's analogy can be found in the story of Joseph, told in Book II. Being.

Review Questions

1. Which of the Fathers of the Church is the first to refer to the Book of Kings. Tobit?

2. What was the original language of the book?

3. To which literary genre does it belong?

4. When do modern biblical scholars think the book could have been written?

5. Why are the names of angels not mentioned in the pre-exilic writings?