2. And the travelers came to the Tigris River in the evening and stopped there for the night. 3. The young man went to wash, but a fish appeared from the river and wanted to devour the young man. 4. Then the angel said to him, "Take this fish." And the young man grabbed the fish and pulled it to the ground. 5. And the angel said to him, "Cut the fish, take the heart, the liver, and the gall, and save them." 6. The young man did as the angel told him; and the fish was baked and eaten; and they went on and came to Ecbatana. 7. And the young man said to the angel, "Brother Azariah, what is the use of this liver and heart and gall from the fish? 8. He answered, "If anyone is tormented by a demon or an evil spirit, he must smoke with his heart and liver before such a man or woman, and he will be tormented no more; 9. And anoint a person who has an eyesore with gall, and he will be healed.

3–9. By the predatory fish which rushed at Tobias as he approached the river (v. 2), some mean the fish known to the Arabs as sabots, or alsabut, and others associate it with the pike: in favor of the latter may be adduced the peculiar prevalence of this fish among the Jews, as satisfying the requirements of a clean fish according to the law of Moses, Lev. XI:9-12. Concerning the healing value of the entrails of the fish, the heart, the liver, and the bile, as the angel speaks of (v. 9), it may be said that their usefulness from the point of view of organotherapy is quite permissible; the main thing is that the healing of the sick is made dependent on prayer (vv. 16-17) (see A. Glagolev, op. cit., p. 694, Prof. Drozdov, pp. 352-360).

10. And when they were approaching Raga,

10–18. In the speech of the Angel, which advises his Tobias to marry Sarah, as being of the same family as him (vv. 12-13, 16), there is not only a relation to the corresponding instruction of Tobit to his son (Tob IV:12-13), but also to the view of the law of Moses, according to which the daughters, the heirs of the father's inheritance, in the absence of sons, were to marry in no other way, as within "the tribe of his father's tribe" (Num. XXXVI:7; XXVII:5–11; Tolkov. Jbeil. I).

Tobias' words about Sarah, v. 15 (Greek, v. 14) "A demon loves her, who harms no one but those who approach her", δαιμόνιον φιλεί αυτήν, ό ούκ αδικεί ούδένα, πλην τών προσαγογόντων αυτή, are usually understood by interpreters in the sense of indicating that Asmodeus was inflamed with impure love for Sarah (or even had carnal intercourse with her) and, as if out of a feeling of jealousy and revenge, killed her husbands before, than they were with her as with his wife (III:8).

Against this understanding of v. 15 may be the fact that the words δαιμόνιον φιλεί αυτήν are not found in Sinaisk. LXX, in the Vulgate, Chald, and Nebr. M., as well as the fact that under Article 8 of the Sn. 18 the demon tormented Sarah (he did not love her), and by III:14 Sarah remained chaste and a virgin. Independently of this, however, it must be admitted that the idea that demons or angels could have carnal intercourse with women undoubtedly existed among the Jews as a popular belief, as the history of the interpretation of Genesis VI:2, 4 shows (see A. Glagolev, Old Testament Teaching on Angels, pp. 201-205), and therefore Tobias, an unenlightened man, could have said, especially as a rumor or conjecture, the superstitious opinion about Asmodeus' carnal passion for Sarah (cf. Prof. Drozdov, pp. 386-389).

In fact, Asmodeus's effect on Sarah was expressed in Sarah's extremely tormented, depressed state, similar to that which the evil spirit brought to Saul (1 Samuel XVI:14–15; XVIII:10–11; XIX:9-10), which induced her to beat the maids (III:9) and even led her to the decision to take her own life (III:10; cf. Commentary, Vol. II).

11. The angel said to the young man, "Brother, now we will spend the night with Raguel, your relative, who has a daughter named Sarah. 12. I will speak of her so that they may give her to you as a wife, for her inheritance is destined for you, since you are one of her kind; And the girl is beautiful and smart. 13. So listen to me; I will speak to her father, and when we return from Rag, we will be married. I know Raguel: he will not give her to a stranger, contrary to the law of Moses; otherwise he will be guilty of death, since the inheritance should be received by you, and not by someone else. 14. Then the young man said to the angel, "Brother Azariah, I have heard that this maiden was given to seven men, but they all perished in the bridal chamber; 15. And I am alone with my father, and I am afraid that when I come to her, I may die like the former; she is loved by a demon who harms no one except those who approach her. Wherefore I fear lest I should die, and bring the lives of my father and my mother to their graves in sorrow for me; and they have no other son to bury them. 16. The angel said to him, "Have you forgotten the words that your father commanded you, that you should take a wife from your family?" Listen to me, brother: she should be your wife, and do not worry about the demon; That same night they will give her to you in marriage. 17. Only when you enter the marriage room, take an incense burner, put the hearts and livers of the fish into it, and smoke it; 18. And the demon will smell and depart, and will never return. When you need to approach it, both stand up, call on the merciful God, and He will save and have mercy on you. Don't be afraid; for she is ordained for you from eternity, and you will save her, and she will go with you, and I know that you will have children by her. And when Tobias heard this, he fell in love with her, and his soul cleaved to her. And they came to Ecbatana.

17–18. The counsel of Raphael to Tobias, given here, was afterwards carried out by the latter exactly, Tob VIII:2-3.

Chapter VII

1–9. The arrival of Tobias and Raphael in Ecbatana, a family meeting with Raguel. 10–14. Tobias's proposal to marry Sarah, Raguel's consent, a warning regarding the death of Sarah's former suitors, and hope for God's mercy. 15–17. Preparation of the marriage room. 1. And they came to Raguel's house. Sarah met and greeted them, and they hers, and led them into the house. 2. And Raguel said to Edna his wife, "How much this young man resembles Tobit my brother's son! 3. And Raguel asked them, "Where are you from, brethren?" And they answered him, We are of the sons of Naphtali, who were taken captive to Nineveh. 4. And he asked them, "Do you know our brother Tobit?" They answered: we know. Then he asked: is he healthy? They answered: I am alive and well. 5. And Tobias said, "This is my father." 6. And Raguel rushed to him and kissed him and wept. 7. And he blessed him and said, "You are the son of an honest and good man." But when he heard that Tobit had lost his sight, he was grieved and wept; 8. And Edna his wife and Sarah his daughter wept. And they were received very cordially 9. And they slaughtered a ram, and offered abundant food. And Tobias said to Raphael, Brother Azariah, speak of what thou hast spoken on the way; Let this matter be arranged!

1–9. The name of Raguel's wife (v. 2&c.) in the Vulgate reads Hannah, not Edna. In general, the whole story of the book of Tobit about the meeting of Tobias with the family of Raguel and the subsequent marriage of Tobias with Sarah closely resembles an event in patriarchal history, namely, the arrival in Mesopotamia of Abraham's slave Eliezer, and then of Jacob in Mesopotamia and their meeting with the family of Laban (Genesis XXII and XXIX chapters). This resemblance in places is carried to the level of literal coincidence (cf. e.g., v. II, v. 10 of Vulg. Tobias dixit: hic ego hodie non manducabo, nec bibam, nisi prius petitionem meam confirmes... — and Gen XXIV:33). Such similarity of everyday scenes in such remote periods of biblical history is satisfactorily explained by the remarkable stability and immobility of everyday forms of life in the ancient and even modern East.

10. And he gave this speech to Raguel, and Raguel said to Tobias, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for you must take my daughter." However, I will tell you the truth: 11. I gave my daughter to seven men, and when they came to her, they died that same night. But now be cheerful! And Tobias said, I will eat nothing here until you come to an agreement and make an agreement with me. Raguel said, Take her now by right; you are her brother, and she is yours. May the merciful God arrange you in the best possible way! 12. And he called Sarah his daughter, and taking her hand, he gave her to Tobiah to wife, and said, "Behold, according to the law of Moses, take her and bring her to your father." And blessed them. 13. And he called Edna his wife, and taking the scroll, he wrote a contract and sealed it. 14. And they began to eat. 15. And Raguel called his wife Edna and said to her, "Sister, prepare another bedchamber and bring it in." 16. And she did as he said; And she brought her there, and wept, and received her daughter's tears in return, and said to her, 17. Calm down, daughter; The Lord of heaven and earth will give you joy instead of your sorrow. Calm down, my daughter!

10–17. Similar features of stability and similarity with hoary biblical antiquity are presented, in particular, by the ceremonial side of Tobias's marriage. These include: the consent of the bride's parents or guardians to her marriage (vv. 10-12, cf. Gen. XXIV:50-51; XXIX:19, 27) and the pronouncement of their blessing (vv. 12-13, cf. Gen. XXIV:60), the bringing of the newlyweds to the bridal bedroom on the wedding evening (v. 17, cf. Gen. XXIX:28), the wedding feast with the guests for several days (VIII:19; IX:1, cf. Gen XXIX:22; Judges XIV:10, 12), the assignment of half of the estate by the father-in-law to the son-in-law as a dowry for his daughter (VIII:21; X:11; cf. Joshua XV:13; 1 Kings IX:16) and the transfer of the inheritance rights to the rest of the property on the death of the father-in-law and mother-in-law (VIII:21; XIV:13; Ch. Num XXXVI:8-9). But at the same time, Tobias's marriage is not limited to a verbal contract or condition (cf. Gen XXXIV:12-17), but is accompanied, according to the Assyrian-Babylonian custom, by the drawing up of a written document, συγγραφή, Vulg. conscriptio conjngii, v. 14. This document served to determine the conditions for the joint life of the spouses and their property relations, in particular, the size of the bride's dowry and the rights of her and her husband to inheritance. This document was written by Raguel on papyrus (Βιβλίον, charta), with a seal attached to it (εσφραγίσατο, v. 14). It has an obvious resemblance to this kind of marriage document later, in the first century B.C. X. — under Rabbi Simon ben Shetach, the custom of a marriage contract — "ketuba" that appeared among the Jews, which is a kind of debt obligation and is aimed at providing material support for the wife by the husband (see the tractate of the Mishnah — "Ketubot" according to the translation of N. Pereferkovich, "Talmud"... vol. Ill, book. 5, pp. 110–176). But it is clear that it would be completely arbitrary, in view of this custom, to assign the very origin of the book of Tobit to the first century B.C. X., as Graetz does (Prof. Drozdov, p. 537, cf. 509-510).