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).

9. And both slept peacefully that night. And Raguel arose, and went and dug a grave; 10. Saying, "Is not this one also dead?" 11. And Raguel came to his house 12. And he said to Edna his wife, "Send one of the maidservants to see if he is alive; if not, we will bury him, and no one will know. 13. The maidservant opened the door and came in and saw that they were both asleep. 14. And when she went out, she announced to them that he was alive.

9–14. In the actions and orders of Raguel in relation to both his former sons-in-law and Tobias, some scholars (e.g., Zechler) saw signs of unnatural composure, strange inconsistency, etc. But this objection clearly suffers from subjectivism and has no support in the text of the book itself.

15. And Raguel blessed God, saying, "Blessed are you, O God, with every pure and holy blessing!" May Thy saints, and all Thy creatures, and all Thy angels, and all Thy elect, bless Thee forever.

15. In contrast to the accepted Greek text, in which the doxology is attributed to Raguel alone, in other Greek codices it is attributed to Raguel together with Sarah.

16. Blessed are you, for you have made me glad, and it has not happened to me as I thought it was, but you have done to us according to your great mercy! 17. Blessed are you for having mercy on the two only-begotten! Complete mercy, O Lord, upon them: grant them to end their lives in health, with joy and mercy! 18. And he commanded his servants to bury the grave. 19. And he made a wedding feast for them for fourteen days. 20. And Raguel said to him with an oath before the days of the wedding feast were fulfilled, "Do not depart until these fourteen days of the wedding feast are completed;

19–20. 14 days or two weeks of the wedding celebration is twice as long as the usual duration of this celebration in the ancient and modern East (Genesis XXIX:27-28; Judges XIV:17; in present-day Syria, according to Wetzstein, the wedding celebration also lasts 7 days: the "royal week" of the newlyweds).

21. And then, having taken half of your possessions, go safely to your father, and you will receive the rest when I and my wife die.