The Book of Tobit (Tobias)

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- Chapter 7 -

They are kindly entertained by Raguel. Tobias demands Sara to wife.

And so they went to Raguel, and Raguel received them with gladness.

And Raguel, gazing upon Tobias, said to Anna his wife, “How much like my cousin is this young man!”

And when he had spoken this, he said, “Which of our brethren are you from, young men?”(a)

But they said, “We are from the tribe of Naphtali, from the captivity of Nineveh.”

And Raguel said to them, “Do you know my brother Tobit?” They said to him, “We know him.”

And since he was saying many good things about him, the Angel said to Raguel, “The Tobit about whom you inquire is the father of this young man.”

And Raguel threw himself towards him and kissed him with tears and weeping upon his neck, saying, “May a blessing be upon you, my son, because you are the son of a good and most noble man.”

And his wife Anna, and their daughter Sarah, were weeping.

And so, after they had spoken, Raguel instructed a sheep to be killed, and a feast to be prepared. And when he exhorted them to recline for dinner,

Tobias said, “Here, today, I will not eat or drink, unless you first confirm my petition, and promise to give Sarah your daughter to me.”

When Raguel heard this word, he became afraid, knowing what had befallen those seven men, who had approached her. And he began to fear, lest it might happen to him also in the same way. And, since he wavered and gave no further response to the petition,

the Angel said to him: “Do not be afraid to give her to this one, because this one fears God. He is obliged to be joined to your daughter. Because of this, no other one could have her.”(b)

Then Raguel said: “I do not doubt that God has admitted my prayers and tears before his sight.

And I believe, therefore, that he has caused you to come to me, so that this one might be joined in marriage to one of her own kindred, according to the law of Moses. And now, do not continue to doubt that I will give her to you.”

And taking the right hand of his daughter, he gave it into the right hand of Tobias, saying, “May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you. And may he join you together in marriage and fulfill his blessing in you.”

And taking paper, they made a written record of the marriage.

And after this, they feasted, blessing God.

And Raguel called his wife Anna to him, and he instructed her to prepare another bedroom.

And she brought her daughter Sarah into it, and she was weeping.

And she said to her, “Be steadfast in spirit, my daughter. May the Lord of heaven give you gladness in place of the grief that you have had to endure.”

Footnotes

(a)7:3 In formal English, we should say, “From which of our brethren are you, young men?” But this text is dialogue and people don’t really talk that way in English. So the preposition ‘from’ is left dangling: “Which of our brethren are you from, young men?” The same thing can be said for the common expression ‘Where are you from?’(Conte)

(b)7:12 Tobias was obliged to marry Sarah by Jewish law and custom, since he was the closest living, non-married, male relative (not of her immediate family) of marrying age to Sarah. Compare the similar situation in the Book of Ruth.(Conte)

They are kindly entertained by Raguel. Tobias demands Sara to wife.

They came to Ecbatana, and arrived at the house of Raguel. But Sarah met them; and she greeted them, and they her. Then she brought them into the house.

Raguel said to Edna his wife, “This young man really resembles Tobit my cousin!”

And Raguel asked them, “Where are you two from, kindred?” They said to him, “We are of the sons of Naphtali, who are captives in Nineveh.”

He said to them, “Do you know Tobit our brother?” They said, “We know him.” Then he said to them, “Is he in good health?”

They said, “He is both alive, and in good health.” Tobias said, “He is my father.”

And Raguel sprang up, and kissed him, wept,

blessed him, and said to him, “You are the son of an honest and good man.” When he had heard that Tobit had lost his sight, he was grieved, and wept;

and Edna his wife and Sarah his daughter wept. They received them gladly; and they killed a ram of the flock, and served them meat. But Tobias said to Raphael, “Brother Azarias, speak of those things of which you talked about in the way, and let the matter be finished.”

So he communicated the thing to Raguel. Raguel said to Tobias, “Eat, drink, and make merry:

for it belongs to you to take my child. However I will tell you the truth.

I have given my child to seven men of our relatives, and whenever they came in to her, they died in the night. But for the present be merry.” And Tobias said, “I will taste nothing here, until you all make a covenant and enter into that covenant with me.”

Raguel said, “Take her to yourself from now on according to custom. You are her relative, and she is yours. The merciful God will give all good success to you.”

And he called his daughter Sarah, and took her by the hand, and gave her to be wife of Tobias, and said, “Behold, take her to yourself after the law of Moses, and lead her away to your father.” And he blessed them.

He called Edna his wife, then took a book, wrote a contract, and sealed it.

Then they began to eat.

And Raguel called his wife Edna, and said to her, “Sister, prepare the other chamber, and bring her in there.” She did as he asked her, and brought her in there. She wept, and she received the tears of her daughter, and said to her, “Be comforted, my child. May the Lord of heaven and earth give you favor(a) for this your sorrow. Be comforted, my daughter.”

Footnotes

(a)7:18 Many ancient authorities read joy.