Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:tobit Chapter 13 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of tobit, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
Tobit 13
New Revised Standard Version
1Then Tobit said: "Blessed be God who lives forever, because his kingdom lasts throughout all ages.
2For he afflicts, and he shows mercy; he leads down to Hades in the lowest regions of the earth, and he brings up from the great abyss, and there is nothing that can escape his hand.
3Acknowledge him before the nations, O children of Israel; for he has scattered you among them. He has shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him in the presence of every living being, because he is our Lord and he is our God; he is our Father and he is God forever.
5He will afflict you for your iniquities, but he will again show mercy on all of you. He will gather you from all the nations among whom you have been scattered.
6If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul, to do what is true before him, then he will turn to you and will no longer hide his face from you. So now see what he has done for you; acknowledge him at the top of your voice. Bless the Lord of righteousness, and exalt the King of the ages. In the land of my exile I acknowledge him, and show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners: 'Turn back, you sinners, and do what is right before him; perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy.'
7As for me, I exalt my God, and my soul rejoices in the King of heaven.
8Let all people speak of his majesty, and acknowledge him in Jerusalem.
9O Jerusalem, the holy city, he afflicted you for the deeds of your hands, but will again have mercy on the children of the righteous.
10Acknowledge the Lord, for he is good, and bless the King of the ages, so that his tent may be rebuilt in you in joy. May he cheer all those within you who are captives, and love all those within you who are distressed, to all generations forever.
11A bright light will shine to all the ends of the earth; many nations will come to you from far away, the inhabitants of the remotest parts of the earth to your holy name, bearing gifts in their hands for the King of heaven. Generation after generation will give joyful praise in you; the name of the chosen city will endure forever.
12Cursed are all who speak a harsh word against you; cursed are all who conquer you and pull down your walls, all who overthrow your towers and set your homes on fire. But blessed forever will be all who revere you.
13Go, then, and rejoice over the children of the righteous, for they will be gathered together and will praise the Lord of the ages.
14Happy are those who love you, and happy are those who rejoice in your prosperity. Happy also are all people who grieve with you because of your afflictions; for they will rejoice with you and witness all your glory forever.
15My soul blesses the Lord, the great King!
16For Jerusalem will be built as his house for all ages. How happy I will be if a remnant of my descendants should survive to see your glory and acknowledge the King of heaven. The gates of Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald, and all your walls with precious stones. The towers of Jerusalem will be built with gold, and their battlements with pure gold. The streets of Jerusalem will be paved with ruby and with stones of Ophir.
17The gates of Jerusalem will sing hymns of joy, and all her houses will cry, 'Hallelujah! Blessed be the God of Israel!' and the blessed will bless the holy name forever and ever."
1So ended Tobit's words of praise.
2Tobit died in peace when he was one hundred twelve years old, and was buried with great honor in Nineveh. He was sixty-two years old when he lost his eyesight, and after regaining it he lived in prosperity, giving alms and continually blessing God and acknowledging God's majesty.
3When he was about to die, he called his son Tobias and the seven sons of Tobias and gave this command: "My son, take your children
4and hurry off to Media, for I believe the word of God that Nahum spoke about Nineveh, that all these things will take place and overtake Assyria and Nineveh. Indeed, everything that was spoken by the prophets of Israel, whom God sent, will occur. None of all their words will fail, but all will come true at their appointed times. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria and Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has said will be fulfilled and will come true; not a single word of the prophecies will fail. All of our kindred, inhabitants of the land of Israel, will be scattered and taken as captives from the good land; and the whole land of Israel will be desolate, even Samaria and Jerusalem will be desolate. And the temple of God in it will be burned to the ground, and it will be desolate for a while.
5"But God will again have mercy on them, and God will bring them back into the land of Israel; and they will rebuild the temple of God, but not like the first one until the period when the times of fulfillment shall come. After this they all will return from their exile and will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor; and in it the temple of God will be rebuilt, just as the prophets of Israel have said concerning it.
6Then the nations in the whole world will all be converted and worship God in truth. They will all abandon their idols, which deceitfully have led them into their error;
7and in righteousness they will praise the eternal God. All the Israelites who are saved in those days and are truly mindful of God will be gathered together; they will go to Jerusalem and live in safety forever in the land of Abraham, and it will be given over to them. Those who sincerely love God will rejoice, but those who commit sin and injustice will vanish from all the earth. 8,9 So now, my children, I command you, serve God faithfully and do what is pleasing in his sight. Your children are also to be commanded to do what is right and to give alms, and to be mindful of God and to bless his name at all times with sincerity and with all their strength. So now, my son, leave Nineveh; do not remain here.
10On whatever day you bury your mother beside me, do not stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that there is much wickedness within it, and that much deceit is practiced within it, while the people are without shame. See, my son, what Nadab did to Ahikar who had reared him. Was he not, while still alive, brought down into the earth? For God repaid him to his face for this shameful treatment. Ahikar came out into the light, but Nadab went into the eternal darkness, because he tried to kill Ahikar. Because he gave alms, Ahikar escaped the fatal trap that Nadab had set for him, but Nadab fell into it himself, and was destroyed.
11So now, my children, see what almsgiving accomplishes, and what injustice does — it brings death! But now my breath fails me." Then they laid him on his bed, and he died; and he received an honorable funeral.
12When Tobias's mother died, he buried her beside his father. Then he and his wife and children returned to Media and settled in Ecbatana with Raguel his father-in-law.
13He treated his parents-in-law with great respect in their old age, and buried them in Ecbatana of Media. He inherited both the property of Raguel and that of his father Tobit.
14He died highly respected at the age of one hundred seventeen years.
15Before he died he heard of the destruction of Nineveh, and he saw its prisoners being led into Media, those whom King Cyaxares of Media had taken captive. Tobias praised God for all he had done to the people of Nineveh and Assyria; before he died he rejoiced over Nineveh, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen. JUDITH
44JUDITH Introduction Judith, perhaps more than any other biblical book, consistently reverses the reader's expectations. The potent Assyrian army, able to defeat mighty nations both east and west, is routed by the tiny town of Bethulia. Judith, a Jewish widow, so beguiles Holofernes, the invincible head of the Assyrian army, and all his servants and soldiers that she is able to assassinate him in the middle of his camp and sneak away without being caught. The book's characters and scenes resonate with irony, humor, wordplay, suspense, and the unexpected. The story's characters are vividly drawn and take on lives of their own. Judith is an especially compelling figure. She is morally ambiguous: Although pious, faithful, and religiously observant, she lies, seduces, and murders. She is introduced as a traditionally ideal Jewish woman in many aspects: beautiful, well-connected, devoted to God and her late husband; yet it is she, and not the male rulers of Bethulia, who acts to save the town and rallies the people to her cause. She has often been viewed as a model for human liberation, and her courage and complexity have fascinated artists, writers, and composers for centuries. The book of Judith is a well-crafted work of fiction, an example of the ancient Jewish novel in the Greco-Roman period. Its tone is exaggerated throughout; it contains historical inaccuracies so great that they strike a reader as absurd; and many of the geographical sites, including the principal scene of the action (the town of Bethulia), are unknown. Religion is a primary concern of the book. The plot's central conflict revolves around the question of whether true power lies with Israel's God or with the military might of a foreign ruler. The work provides evidence of traditional religious practices, including prayer, fasting, and observation of dietary laws. JUDITH
45The unity of plot and detail suggests that the book of Judith is almost certainly the work of a single anonymous author. Because the story reflects Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenistic persons and practices, it is difficult to know when the book was originally composed. Most scholars agree that it was written at some point during the Hasmonean dynasty (165-37 BCE). As
1Clement mentions Judith in the first century CE, it is clear that the book was completed and well known by this time. The geographical setting of the story in Palestine, along with its emphasis upon worship in Jerusalem, may suggest that it was composed by a Palestinian Jew. The figure of Judith and her mode of operation have been variously compared to the biblical characters of Jael and Deborah (Judg 4.4-5.31), Moses, Esther, Abraham, Delilah (Judg 16), and Woman Wisdom (Prov 8). Yet she also may have been fashioned after the real-life persons Judas Maccabeus (hence her name "Judith") or the popular queen Salome Alexandra. It is probably best to view Judith as a fabricated character, a composite of the traits and activities of many other figures from the Bible and from history. Although the character after whom the book is named does not appear until ch 8, the first seven chapters establish the narrative themes that frame the entire story: fear, deceit, hearing, blessing, and the proper recipient of worship. Contrasts such as weakness and strength, innocence and guilt, courage and timidity, and godliness and ungodliness should be noted. False appearances and misunderstandings occur regularly; for instance, the Assyrian army only seems strong. Judith's lies are often interpreted as wisdom, and the success of her mission is achieved by means of cosmetic adornment. The book is divided into two main parts, each with a chiastic structure and thematic repetition. The first part (1.1-7.32), which narrates the Assyrian campaign and revenge against western nations, begins with Nebuchadnezzar's campaign against Arphaxad (1.1-16), his commissioning Holofernes's campaign, the people of other nations surrender (2.14-3.10), and consequently Israel is afraid and Joakim prepares for war (4.1-15). After advising Holofernes, Achior is expelled (5.1-6.11). Then the pattern reverses itself: Achior is received into JUDITH
46Bethulia and advises the Israelites (6.12-21); when Holofernes prepares for war, Israel is afraid (7.1-5); and in the campaign against Bethulia, the people wish to surrender (7.6-32). In the second part Judith accomplishes her victory over the Assyrians (8.1-16.25). Judith is introduced (8.1-8) and plans to save Israel (8.9-10.8). Judith and her servant leave Bethulia (10.9-10), and Judith's stratagem succeeds: She overcomes Holofernes (10.11-13.10a). Then the pattern in part two reverses itself: Judith and her servant return to Bethulia (13.10b-11), Judith plans to destroy Israel's enemy (13.12-16.20), and the narrative concludes with a summary of Judith's remaining life (16.21-25).