16. And the prayer of both was heard before the glory of the great God, and Raphael was sent to heal them both: 17. To take off the eyesore from Tobit and Sarah the daughter of Raguel, to give to Tobiah the son of Tobit to wife, binding Asmodeus, the evil spirit; for Tobias is destined to inherit her. "And at the same time Tobit, on his return, went into his house, and Sarah the daughter of Raguel came down from her upper room.

16–17. The prayer of both sufferers, Tobit and Sarah, was heard. In the accepted Greek text LXX and Slav. in v. 16 it is erroneously read ενώπιον τής δόξης τού μεγάλου Ραφαήλ καί απεστάλη — "And the Lord heard the prayer of both, before the glory of the great Raphael, and was sent..." But in the code 64, 243, 248, in the Complex. and Aldus. ed., as well as in the Sinai List, after μεγάλου there is Θεού, and the conjunction και comes before Ραφαήλ or before απεστάλη. Russian. The translation correctly conveys the idea of the original text. The name of the angel Raphael, as one of the highest seven angels who stand before God (Tob XII:15), is found only in the book of Tobit and later in the so-called Book of Enoch (ch. IX:1; X:4; XX:3; XL:9) (see Das Buch Henoch, ubers und erklart von A. Dillmann and the Book of Enoch: A Historical-Critical Study, Russian Translation and Explanation of the Apocryphal Book of Enoch). (Kazan, 1886). Prof. Archpriest. A. V. Smirnova). Pre-exilic biblical writing does not know the names of angels. Only in the book of the prophet Daniel (chapters VIII, IX, X, XII) are two names of angels mentioned for the first time – Gabriel and Michael. Just as these two names, being proper names, have, however, in their meaning, a common meaning, expressing different aspects of the relationship of angels to God, the world and people (see A. Glagolev, Old Testament Biblical Teaching on Angels, pp. 361-377), so the name Raphael, derived from Heb. "rapha," to heal, to heal, and "el," God, indicates the mission for which Raphael was sent by God to earth (III:17; XII:14), namely, for the healing (ίασασθαι) (v. 17), or the deliverance of Tobit from blindness, and Sarah from the mental ailments or sufferings which the demon had inflicted upon her. And in the Book of Enoch (chapter XL:9) Raphael is credited with healing, as having been appointed over all diseases and wounds of the sons of men. But in the book. Enoch's idea of the angel Raphael is mixed with the later angelological views of Judaism, while in the book of Tobit the pure biblical teaching about angels is preserved, with the addition of some details concerning their external appearance on earth (Chapter V:4 ff.) and the position of Raphael in the heavenly hierarchy (XII:15). Cm. by A. Glagolev. Old Testament Biblical Teaching on Angels, pp. 407-410, and Prof. Drozdov, pp. 368-381.

Chapter IV

1–21. Being in distress and awaiting death, Tobit recalls the money given to Gibael for safekeeping (I:14), informs Tobias about it, and at the same time teaches him a number of moral instructions about reverence for his mother (vv. 3-4), about the fear of God and godliness (5-6), about charity and alms (7-11), about purity and chastity (12-13), about justice and honesty, benevolence and generosity (14-17), modesty, prudence, devotion to the will of God (18-19). 1. On that day Tobit remembered the silver which he had given to Gabael in the Ragas of the Medes, 2. And he said to himself, I asked for death; why then shall I not call my son Tobias to tell him these things before I die?

1–2. Instead of money, the book of Tobit speaks everywhere of silver, αργύριον (IV:1; V:2–3, 18; IX:2; X:2, 11; XII:3), as in cuneiform documents, money is often called silver: this is explained by the absence of minted coins in Assyro-Babylonia before the Persian rule; instead of coins, pieces or ingots of metal were used, the relative value of which was determined by weight; For this reason, in Assyro-Babylonian business documents, the expression "weighed" so much money is often encountered, just as in the case of the ancient Hebrews, among whom the minting of coins appeared only after the Babylonian captivity, the term "to weigh, weigh, weigh" was usually attached to money (ingots or plates) (Hebrew schaqal (jackal), Genesis XXIII:16; Isaiah XLVI:6; Jeremiah XXII:10.

The 10 talents of silver placed by Tobit at Gibael (v. 14, chapter I) represented a considerable weight of more than 25 poods, so Gabael, returning the bags of silver to Tobit (IX:2, 5), laid them on two camels, and the value of this silver extended, in our money, to more than 23,000 rubles (see Prof. Drozdov, pp. 490-491).

3. And having called him, he said, "My son! when I die, bury me and do not leave your mother; honor her all the days of your life, do what is pleasing to her, and do not grieve her. 4. Remember, my son, that she had many sorrows because of you even during pregnancy. When she dies, bury her beside me in the same coffin. 5. Always remember, my son, the Lord our God, and do not desire to sin or transgress His commandments. All the days of thy life thou shalt do righteousness, and walk not in the ways of iniquity. 6. For if you do what is right, you will succeed in your deeds, as all those who do righteousness. 7. Give alms from your possessions, and let not your eyes spare when you give alms. Do not turn away your face from any beggar, then the face of God will not turn away from you. 8. When you have much, give alms out of it, and when you have little, do not be afraid to give alms, and little by little; 9. You will store up for yourself a rich treasure for the day of need, 10. For alms deliver from death and do not allow to descend into darkness. 11. Alms are a rich gift for all who do it before the Almighty. 12. Beware, my son, of every kind of debauchery. Thou shalt take for thyself a wife of the tribe of thy fathers, but thou shalt not take a foreign wife, who is not of thy father's tribe, for we are the sons of the prophets. From ancient times our fathers are Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Remember, my son, that they all took wives from among their brethren, and were blessed in their children, and their descendants shall inherit the earth. 13. Therefore, my son, love your brethren, and do not exalt thy heart before thy brethren, or before the sons and daughters of thy people, lest thou take a wife from them, for from pride perdition and great disorder, and from lewdness impoverishment and ruin; lewdness is the mother of hunger. 14. Do not let the wages of the hired man who will work for you spend the night with you, but give it immediately, and you will be rewarded if you serve God. Be careful, my son, in all your actions, and be prudent in all your conduct. 15. What you yourself hate, do not do to anyone. Thou shalt not drink wine to the point of drunkenness, and let not drunkenness walk with thee in thy way. 16. Give to him who hungers for your bread, and to the naked from your garments; From everything in which you have an abundance, do alms, and let not your eyes be spared when you give alms. 17. Distribute your bread at the tomb of the righteous, but do not give it to sinners. 18. Ask every prudent person for advice, and do not neglect useful advice. 19. Bless the Lord God at all times and ask Him that your ways may be right, and that all your deeds and intentions may prosper, for no nation has power over the success of undertakings, but the Lord Himself sends down all good things and despises whom He wills according to His will. Remember, my son, my commandments, and let them not be blotted out of your heart!

3–19. Tobit's instructions to his son, vv. 3-19, have the character of a general biblical moral teaching; many parallels from other biblical books can be pointed out to individual precepts, but there are also individual and historical features that do not allow us to see (with Fritzsche and others) in these precepts a tendentious selection of moral teachings, freely composed in imitation of other biblical books.

Thus, Tobit's admonition to his son about reverence for his mother (vv. 3-4) is based on the whole Old Testament view of honoring parents, first of all in the law of Moses (Exodus XX:12; Deuteronomy V:16), then in the teaching books (Sir III:1-16; VII:29) and other parts of the Holy Scriptures. Hagiographa; in the same way, Tobit's desire to be buried with his wife was characteristic of the patriarchs of the Jewish people (Gen. XXV:10; XLIX:29) and other biblical persons and quite naturally follows from the true biblical idea of the marital union as an indissoluble union (Genesis II:24; 1 Corinthians VI:16). But at the same time, this exhortation characterizes precisely the marital union of Tobit and Hannah from the point of view of the moral strength of their marriage, despite the wife's reproaches to her husband (II:14). The instruction on the constant fear of God and the keeping of God's commandments (vv. 5-6), which expresses the essence of godliness according to the Old Testament teaching (Deuteronomy VI:2; Ecclesiastes XII:13), is quite appropriate in the address of the God-fearing Tobit to his son, who is entering life. Instruction on alms (vv. 7-11) [8], with a very understandable similarity with the teaching on this subject in other Holy Books of the Old and New Testaments (see, e.g., Proverbs III:9; Sir IV:8; XIV:13; XXlX:15; XXXV:9; Luke XIV:13 and others) had a special significance and application in the captivity, where there were so many needy Jews (see I:16 ff.). The idea of the sinful significance of almsgiving, which is also found in the book of Daniel (Dan IV:24; cf. Sir XXIX:15; Luke XI:41), is expressed here especially strongly: "Alms deliver from death, and do not suffer to descend into darkness" (v. 10): it evidently speaks of the posthumous reward beyond the grave, and in view of the latter, the great importance of alms in the matter of delivering man from "the second death" (Rev. XX:4) and "utter darkness" (Matthew VIII:12; XXV:30), and not from the death of the first and the grave, which are inevitable even for the righteous. The commandment of chastity (12a) as a conjugal virtue is connected with Tobit's advice to his son to take a wife from among his people and tribe, and the purity of Tobit's family and his fellow-countrymen is indicated: "We are the sons of the prophets" and the patriarchs, who in marriages equally guarded the purity of their family (12b, cf. Gen. xxiv:3 ff.), and this instruction is raised to a general rule — not to despise one's own tribe, not to exalt oneself before the sons and daughters of one's own people (v. 13), a rule which was no doubt of great practical importance, on account of the age-old tendency of the Jews to marry women of foreign tribes without their own tribe; this rightly indicates pride, from which is destruction. The instruction on justice in the treatment of the hireling (14a) is given twice in the Mosaic law (Lev XIX:13; Deuteronomy XXIV:14), and in the Assyrian captivity, where the poor Jews undoubtedly earned their living by the labor of day laborers, there was a special need for strict observance of this rule (cf. James V:4). The rule, "what you yourself hate, do not do to anyone" (v. 15a) is expressed by the Lord the Savior in a positive form: "In all things, whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you also to them" (Matthew VII:12; Luke VI:31), according to the word of the Lord, "this is the law and the prophets." The prohibition of drunkenness (v. 15b) may have referred to the prevalence of this vice in Assyria (Nahum I:10). Further, when repeating the instruction about giving alms to the needy (v. 16), a special instruction is given: "Distribute your bread at the grave of the righteous, but do not give it to sinners" (v. 17): this refers to the common custom of the biblical Jews to bring the bread of sorrow and the cup of consolation to those who mourn for the dead, to give alms to the poor for the dead, and to offer prayers and propitiatory sacrifices for them (2 Samuel III:35; XII:17; Jeremiah IX:16; XVI:7; Ezekiel XXIV:17; Hose IX:4; Sir VII:36; 2 James XII:42–45); and at the same time it is forbidden for the Jews to participate in the funeral rites of the Assyrians, who, as can be seen from some of the inscriptions of Asurbanipal, were in the habit of bringing food and drink to the shadows of the dead. (See Prof. Drozdov, pp. 61-65 and 468). This exhortation may have been of a wider scope, containing the advice not to give alms to the Gentiles at all, an exhortation which is quite understandable in the mouth of an Old Testament man (cf. Matthew V:43), and moreover during the difficult time of captivity, when the Jews suffered great bitterness from the Gentile Assyrians and, naturally, had the same feeling for them themselves (cf. Psalm CXXXVI).

20. Now I will reveal to you that I gave ten talents of silver for the preservation of Gibael the son of Gabriel in the Ragae of the Medes. 21. Do not be afraid, my son, that we have become poor: you have much, if you fear the Lord and shun all sin and do what is right in His sight.

Chapter V

1–17. Departure of Tobias to the Ragas of the Medes, accompanied by the Angel Raphael, who appeared in the guise of the young man Azariah. 18–22. Hannah's sorrow for separation from her son and her consolation by Tobit. 1. And Tobias answered and said to him, "My father, I will do all that you have commanded me; 2. But how can I get silver without knowing that person? 3. Then his father gave him a receipt and said, "Find yourself a man to accompany you; I will give him wages while he is still alive, and go and get the money.

1–3. In the accepted Greek text, as well as in the Slavic-Russian. translations, vv. 2-3 is shortened to darkness: thus the time when Tobit left the money with Gibael is omitted (I:14; IV:20), namely, twenty years ago (code Sinaisk. Vet. Latin.); in the same way, it is not clear from the accepted text what kind of receipt and for what purpose Tobit gave to his son: in it the one that is in Sinai is omitted. code. and Vet. Latina reports that, in addition to the receipt written by Gibael and which was in the possession of Tobit, there was another receipt written by Tobit and "put with money from Obael (χειρόγραφον αυτού έδωκεν μοι καί χειρόγραφον έδωκα αύτφ, καί διείλον εις δύο. καί ελάβομεν εκάτερος έν, καί έθηκα μετά τού αργυρίου v. 3 according to Sinaisk. list LXX). This version is justified by historical data. In Assyro-Babylonia, as can be seen from the many extant so-called contract tables or private documents of a legal and business nature, the custom of protecting the right of ownership by written documents was very widespread, and these documents were drawn up with such care that they can cause surprise even on the part of modern lawyers. In particular, when giving money to someone for safekeeping, in addition to the person who accepted the money for safekeeping, there was also a receipt from the owner of the money, which was usually put together with the money. Thus, the report of the book of Tobit (according to the code Syn. and Vet. Lat) on two bank receipts is quite consistent with the customs of Assyro-Babylonia, to which the captive Israelites had to be more or less applied. And the account of the book of Tobit, that Tobit sent his son Tobias to Media only in the reign of Asargaddon to receive the money left by Gabael 20 years earlier, is also confirmed historically by the lack of safe routes and peaceful relations with Media during the turbulent reign of Sennacherib (cf. I:15), as well as in the first years of the reign of Asargaddon, which were engaged in a number of wars to quell the rebellions. But even in the time of peace that followed, a distant journey, as in ancient times, could not be undertaken without a companion, for whom Tobit is therefore concerned, v. 3, etc.

4. And he went to look for a man and met Raphael. It was an Angel, but he didn't know 5. And he said to him, "Can you go with me to the Ragas of the Medes, and do you know these places?" 6. The angel answered, "I can go with you, and I know the way; I have already stayed with Gabael our brother. 7. And Tobias said to him, "Wait for me, and I will tell my father." 8. He said, "Go, but don't delay." 9. When he came, he said to his father, "Behold, I have found a companion." The father said, "Invite him to me; I will find out what tribe he is from, and whether he is a reliable companion to you. 10. And he called him, and he went in, and they saluted one another. 11. Tobit asked, "Tell me, brother, of what tribe and of what family are you?" 12. He answered, "Are you looking for a tribe and a generation, or a hired man to go with your son?" And Tobit said to him, "Brother, I want to know your family and your name." 13. He said, "I am Azariah, of the family of Ananias the Great, of your brothers." 14. Then Tobit said to him, "Brother, go safely, and don't be angry with me because I asked about your tribe and your family." You happen to be my brother, from an honest and good family. I knew Ananias and Jonathan, the sons of Shemei the Great; we went together to Jerusalem to worship, with the firstborn and tithes of earthly products, for we were not carried away by the error of our brethren: "You, brother, are of a good root!" 15. But tell me, what wages shall I have to give you? I will give thee a drachma for the day, and all that is necessary for thee, and for my son; 16. And I will add more to you on top of this wages, if you return safely. 17. And so agreed. Then he said to Tobias, "Be ready for the journey, and depart safely." And his son prepared what was necessary for the journey. And the father said to him, "Go with this man; but God who dwells in heaven will make your way prosperous, and may his angel accompany you. And they both went, and the young man's dog with them. 18. His mother Hannah wept and said to Tobit, "Why did you let our son go? Was he not the support of our hands when he went in and out before us?