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Apocrypha #4
The Book of Tobit: Old Testament Scripture
Biblical Studies This course is an introduction to the literature of the Bible. The Bible conveys the Word of God in many literary historical narrative, poetry, prophetic exhortation, wisdom sayings, and novellas (edifying stories). We will be reading three novellas’s as written in the bible (Good News Translation). We will explore its literary genres, forms, and motifs, many of which are important to English and American literature--for example, origin stories and hero stories.
72 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2015
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86 people want to read
About the author
American Bible Society
1,094 books10 followersThe American Bible Society (ABS) is an interconfessional, non-denominational, nonprofit organization, founded on May 11, 1816 in New York City, which publishes, distributes and translates the Bible and provides study aids and other tools to help people engage with the Bible. It is probably best known for its Good News Translation of the Bible, with its contemporary vernacular. They also publish the Contemporary English Version.
ABS's headquarters relocated from New York City to Philadelphia in August 2015.
ABS's headquarters relocated from New York City to Philadelphia in August 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 8, 2021
This was very good. I am going to give it at least one reread before I give it a full review.
Read
June 15, 2021Arrived in Minnesota a few days ago and picked up my cousins old New American Bible (think NIV but add the books of Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch aaaand some good ol Catholic commentaries). The homily on Sunday mentioned Tobit, so I decided to do a lil study on the apocrypha and read through as many of these books as I can while the Catholic canon is super accessible. I would highly recommend this article by David Briones on Desiring God as a companion to any ecclesiastical text or reading from the apocrypha : https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/...
I think this observation sums it up nicely:
“Jesus and the New Testament authors never directly quote the Apocrypha. Neither do they introduce it with labels that would suggest inspiration, such as “as it is written” or “as the Scripture says.” Many echoes and allusions have been detected in the New Testament, but no direct quotes or obvious paraphrases appear in the New Testament.”
With that in mind, “The apocrypha provides us with rich historical information that illuminates our understanding of the New Testament.”
Tobit was the kind of story that, as I was reading, I could just imagine families telling as they sit around a fire 2000+ years ago in the middle east. I was surprised at the role of the angel Raphael, a certain fish, and almsgiving in the legend. An interesting and thought-provoking read - would love to discuss further!
I think this observation sums it up nicely:
“Jesus and the New Testament authors never directly quote the Apocrypha. Neither do they introduce it with labels that would suggest inspiration, such as “as it is written” or “as the Scripture says.” Many echoes and allusions have been detected in the New Testament, but no direct quotes or obvious paraphrases appear in the New Testament.”
With that in mind, “The apocrypha provides us with rich historical information that illuminates our understanding of the New Testament.”
Tobit was the kind of story that, as I was reading, I could just imagine families telling as they sit around a fire 2000+ years ago in the middle east. I was surprised at the role of the angel Raphael, a certain fish, and almsgiving in the legend. An interesting and thought-provoking read - would love to discuss further!
March 4, 2025
Well…this was a change.
Initially I was unable to concentrate or figure out what was going on so I opened this book another day and wow.
From the wise advice Tobit gives his son, the way Tobit lives his life in obedience to God, Tobias’s obedience to his father, the respectful treatment of women and how men should behave towards their mothers and wives- and the first clear reading of the archangel Raphael! That was so cool to me. Wow. Raphael is such a king.
How good God is! He makes a solution to any problem.
The book goes through a journey of obedience, faith and discovery, with emotions ranging from grief to joy being conveyed in a relatable and understandable way to the readers.
Initially I was unable to concentrate or figure out what was going on so I opened this book another day and wow.
From the wise advice Tobit gives his son, the way Tobit lives his life in obedience to God, Tobias’s obedience to his father, the respectful treatment of women and how men should behave towards their mothers and wives- and the first clear reading of the archangel Raphael! That was so cool to me. Wow. Raphael is such a king.
How good God is! He makes a solution to any problem.
The book goes through a journey of obedience, faith and discovery, with emotions ranging from grief to joy being conveyed in a relatable and understandable way to the readers.
September 4, 2023
After ~35 years of being a Bible reader I finally come to those books not included in protestant Bibles. Tobit is my first. What a beautiful short story, which is clearly a prefiguring of Christ defeating satan and taking the church as his bride. This should be regular reading, if not in church then privately.
May 10, 2022
A book of the Apocrypha. I read the Edgar J. Goodspeed translation. His translation is easy to read but I fear that one which suggests the KJV diction would be more enticing to me.
The book follows a man by the name of Tobit and his family. The bulk of the plot is either about Tobit's morality or his son's adventure (Raphael disguises himself, helps Tobias find a woman named Sarah, castes off a demon named Asmodeus from her, etc.).
The primary function of the story is to preach Tobit's form of Jewish law. Immorality to him includes: drunkenness, marrying outside of the tribe (Naphtali), practicing charity according to your means, giving to the poor food and clothing, and not giving to sinners. There is an overarching presence of God in the story, with both good and bad being attributed to him, and these terms 'good' and 'bad' taking on a new meaning: the chastisement and mercy of God. This reframing of causality is the main means by which the story shows it's point: that to do good will bring good, and to do bad will bring bad; being a follower of God, although not a walk in the park, must ultimately end in happiness.
Sarah as a character is interesting. She is given a monologue near the beginning of the work, in which she laments that, although her actions have been faultless, all of her seven husbands have died. She is aware that this will cut of her father's lineage (she is an only child), and this troubles her. She wishes for death because of her tragedies. Tobit makes a similar complaint, and both are granted by God. Her position in society is one of a lesser thing. Looking at how she is treated, we see that her father is her owner, and, when she is given to Tobias, her husband is her owner. Her duties as a wife is to be a supplicant to her new parents, whereas Tobias' duty to her is not to harm her feelings. She is very much emphasized as the helper to the man, not an equal. Sarah is, in this sense, an object, even as she is given humanized through her lamentations. I think this portrayal, although not the best, is at least capable of making Sarah a woman of integrity, and in that sense she pairs with Tobit and Tobias, who are both pious and ever-caring about their duties to others.
Mr. Goodspeed, my translator, suggests that this work shows elements of the literary Hellenistic. That, for example, the tension which the narrative displays is part of this tradition. He also suggests that the narrative has a deeply contagious piety. It is humane and intimate. It is individualized. I think I can agree somewhat with this.
The book follows a man by the name of Tobit and his family. The bulk of the plot is either about Tobit's morality or his son's adventure (Raphael disguises himself, helps Tobias find a woman named Sarah, castes off a demon named Asmodeus from her, etc.).
The primary function of the story is to preach Tobit's form of Jewish law. Immorality to him includes: drunkenness, marrying outside of the tribe (Naphtali), practicing charity according to your means, giving to the poor food and clothing, and not giving to sinners. There is an overarching presence of God in the story, with both good and bad being attributed to him, and these terms 'good' and 'bad' taking on a new meaning: the chastisement and mercy of God. This reframing of causality is the main means by which the story shows it's point: that to do good will bring good, and to do bad will bring bad; being a follower of God, although not a walk in the park, must ultimately end in happiness.
Sarah as a character is interesting. She is given a monologue near the beginning of the work, in which she laments that, although her actions have been faultless, all of her seven husbands have died. She is aware that this will cut of her father's lineage (she is an only child), and this troubles her. She wishes for death because of her tragedies. Tobit makes a similar complaint, and both are granted by God. Her position in society is one of a lesser thing. Looking at how she is treated, we see that her father is her owner, and, when she is given to Tobias, her husband is her owner. Her duties as a wife is to be a supplicant to her new parents, whereas Tobias' duty to her is not to harm her feelings. She is very much emphasized as the helper to the man, not an equal. Sarah is, in this sense, an object, even as she is given humanized through her lamentations. I think this portrayal, although not the best, is at least capable of making Sarah a woman of integrity, and in that sense she pairs with Tobit and Tobias, who are both pious and ever-caring about their duties to others.
Mr. Goodspeed, my translator, suggests that this work shows elements of the literary Hellenistic. That, for example, the tension which the narrative displays is part of this tradition. He also suggests that the narrative has a deeply contagious piety. It is humane and intimate. It is individualized. I think I can agree somewhat with this.
November 12, 2022
The reason this book was banned from the Bible:
"I am Raphael, one of the seven Holy Angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the Holy One."
It's a smoking gun proving that the archangels are the planets and moon while the "Holy One" (God) is the Sun, aka "The King of Heaven".
An approximate correspondence:
Mercury=Gabriel
Venus=Lucifer and Azrael (Venus is only seen in the morning and evening and was considered two separate planets)
Mars=Michael
Jupiter=Raphael
Saturn=Satan
The Moon=Selapheil or Sealtiel
"I am Raphael, one of the seven Holy Angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the Holy One."
It's a smoking gun proving that the archangels are the planets and moon while the "Holy One" (God) is the Sun, aka "The King of Heaven".
An approximate correspondence:
Mercury=Gabriel
Venus=Lucifer and Azrael (Venus is only seen in the morning and evening and was considered two separate planets)
Mars=Michael
Jupiter=Raphael
Saturn=Satan
The Moon=Selapheil or Sealtiel
February 27, 2025
Lessons learned from The Book of Tobit
-God has a plan for everyone
-Trust God
-God has a bigger plan for you than what you expect
-He has a better plan for you
-Good book for widows
Reading the Catholic books for the first time (these books are not in the Jewish Tanakh or Protestant Bible)
-these stories are included in the Bible’s of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox (both Greek and Slavic) & Oriental Orthadox
the Catholic books:
Tobit
Judith
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach (Ecclesiastes)
Baruch
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
-God has a plan for everyone
-Trust God
-God has a bigger plan for you than what you expect
-He has a better plan for you
-Good book for widows
Reading the Catholic books for the first time (these books are not in the Jewish Tanakh or Protestant Bible)
-these stories are included in the Bible’s of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox (both Greek and Slavic) & Oriental Orthadox
the Catholic books:
Tobit
Judith
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach (Ecclesiastes)
Baruch
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
September 11, 2023
My only outstanding observation of this Apocryphal book is that there is an angel who apparently tells a lie to discuise itself and does some weird things with a fish's entrails. So.... in history I'm not sure exactly why it was removed or not considered inspired but I am betting it has something to do with those difficult passages.
October 9, 2025
Excluded from the protestand OT because it was not in the Torah, but it is still a book full of wisdom. Also full of adventure and good morals. We don't meet to many angels in teh Bible, in this book we meet Raphael. Fascinating story all around.
January 28, 2026
Trying to explore texts outside of the typically accepted biblical canon. From my understanding this text is accepted as scripture by the Catholic Church, but not by many others. Excited to explore the others!
December 9, 2021
Great Bible story with excellent life advice, beautiful example of prayer in marriage, lovely song of God's praise from Tobit, and featuring help from archangel Raphael.
November 10, 2023
Interesting
Read
March 20, 2024Some very strange stuff in this one
April 9, 2025
I actually thought this was quite interesting lol
June 22, 2025
This was definitely an interesting read as far as apocryphal books go. Read it with commentary and notes which added a lot of good context and made it a-lot more enjoyable.
December 22, 2025
Hilarious, kids.
January 21, 2025
The part where Raphael, the angel, had him burn the good parts of the fish to banish the demon made me think of 2 Cor 2:15-16 "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?"
Also St. Bede's forward to Tobit was excellent and good for understanding the whole Bible "...anyone who knows how to interpret it historically (and allegorically as well) can see that its inner meaning excels the mere letter as much as the fruit excels the leaves. For if it is understood in the spiritual sense, it is found to contain within it the greatest mysteries of Christ and the church."
Also St. Bede's forward to Tobit was excellent and good for understanding the whole Bible "...anyone who knows how to interpret it historically (and allegorically as well) can see that its inner meaning excels the mere letter as much as the fruit excels the leaves. For if it is understood in the spiritual sense, it is found to contain within it the greatest mysteries of Christ and the church."
February 9, 2025
"(...) he leads down to Hades in the lowest regions of the earth,
and he brings up from the great abyss (...)" 13:2
and he brings up from the great abyss (...)" 13:2
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews