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).

In all his actions, Raguel shows traits of true patriarchal nobility and deep piety, such as tender affability and hospitality towards his kinsman Tobias (v. 6). the desire to fulfill the law faithfully (vv. 10, 12), openness and directness of speech to the future son-in-law (v. 11), and finally, a firm hope in God's mercy (vv. 11-17).

Chapter VIII

1–8. The exorcism of the demon (Asmodeus) and the mutual prayer of the newlyweds – Tobias and Sarah. 9–14. Raguel prepares a grave for his son-in-law. 15–21. Raguel's thanks be to the Lord for the salvation of the newlyweds and their two-week wedding celebration. 1. When supper was finished, Tobias was brought to her. 2. And as he was walking, he remembered the words of Raphael, and took the incense burner, and put the heart and the liver of the fish, and smoked. 3. The demon, sensing this smell, fled to the upper countries of Egypt, and the angel bound him.

1–3. Sarah's deliverance from the evil spirit cannot, of course, be attributed to the physical properties of the heart and liver of the fish, or to the incense itself, or to the smell emanating from the burning of these parts: these kinds of material remedies could not have had a direct effect on the disembodied spirit, Asmodeus. The meaning of this testimony, vv. 1-3, about Sarah's deliverance from Asmodeus is simply that this deliverance was miraculous and mediated by some material means. In this respect, this miracle does not contradict the character of other biblical miracles, which are usually associated with external actions and with material means (see, e.g., Num. XXI:8-9; see Commentary Bibl. Vol. I. or 2 Kings II:19, 22 and Commentary Bibl. Vol. II).

In the same way, the idea, v. 3, of Asmodeus' removal to Upper Egypt, i.e., to the wilderness, and of his being bound by an angel (Raphael), may be brought into harmony with Biblical angelology and demonology, since the wilderness was in the Jewish mind the abode of evil spirits (Lev XVI; XVII:7; XIII:21; XXXIV:18; cf. Matthew XII:43), as well as the concept of "binding," i.e., depriving the possibility of action, is repeatedly used by sacred writers in relation to evil spirits (Matthew XII:29; 2 Peter II:4; Jude 6), and in the Apocalypse the binding of Satan for 1000 years is assimilated to the Angel who has the key to the abyss (Rev. XX:1-3, cf. XII:9) (see A. Glagolev, p. Dilapidated farm. Bibl., Teaching on Angels, pp. 591, 695).

4. When they were alone in the room, Tobias got up from his bed and said, "Get up, sister, and let us pray that the Lord will have mercy on us." 5. And Tobias began to say, "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers, and blessed is your holy and glorious name forever! May the heavens and all Thy creatures bless Thee! 6. You created Adam and gave him Eve as a helper, and his wife as a support. From them came the human race. Thou hast said, It is not good for the man to be alone, let us make a helper like unto him. 7. And now, O Lord, I take this sister of mine, not for the gratification of lust, but truly as a wife: be pleased to have mercy on me, and let me grow old with her! 8. And she said to him, "Amen."

4–8. The incense of the heart and liver of the fish (v. 2) was only a symbol of Tobias's subsequent prayer with Sarah (cf. Psalm CXL:2; Rev. VIII:4). This prayer is remarkable as one of the few examples of Old Testament prayer preserved in the Bible, and is sealed with a pure biblical spirit, containing: a) a theocratic confession of faith in God (v. 5; cf. Exodus III:14-15), b) the biblical teaching about the creation of man and about the origin of the entire human race (v. 6a, cf. Genesis I-II), and c) the biblical teaching about the essence and tasks of true marriage (v. 6b-7, Ch. Genesis II:23–24).