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THE BOOK OF TOBIAS Or Tobit* - From The Douay-Rheims Bible - Latin Vulgate

Chapter 6

INTRODUCTION.

This Book takes its name from the holy man Tobias, whose wonderful virtues are herein recorded. It contains most excellent documents of great piety, extraordinary patience, and of perfect resignation to the will of God. His humble prayer was heard, and the angel Raphael was sent to relieve him: he is thankful, and praises the Lord, calling on the children of Israel to do the same. Having lived to the age of one hundred and two years, he exhorts his son and grandsons to piety, foretells the destruction of Ninive, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem: he dies happily. Ch. --- The Jews themselves have a great regard for the book of Tobias; (Grot. Sixtus Senens. viii.) which Origen (ad Afric.) says they "read in Hebrew," meaning probably the Chaldee, (C.) out of which language S. Jerom translated it, preferring to displease the Pharisaical Jews, rather than not to satisfy the desires of the holy bishops Chromatius and Heliodorus. Ep. t. iii. W. --- The Greek version seems to have been taken from another copy, or it has been executed with greater liberty by the Hellenist Jews, between the times of the Sept. and of Theodotion. C. --- Huet and Prideaux esteem it more original; and Houbigant has translated it in his Bible, as the Council of Trent only spoke of the Latin editions then extant; and S. Jerom followed in his version the Hebrew one of a Jew, as he did not understand the Chaldee. H. --- The Syriac and the modern Hebrew edition of Fagius, agree mostly with the Greek, as that of Munster and another Heb. copy of Huet, and the Arabic version, both unpublished, are more conformable to the Vulgate. The most ancient Latin version used before S. Jerom, was taken from the Greek; and the Fathers who lived in those ages, speak of it when they call the book of Tobias canonical. S. Aug. leaves it, however, to adopt S. Jerom's version, in his Mirrour. The copies of all these versions vary greatly, (C.) though the substance of the history is still the same; and in all we discover the virtues of a good parent, of a dutiful son, and virtuous husband, beautifully described. H. --- "The servant of God, holy Tobias, is given to us after the law for an example, that we might know how to practise what we read; and that if temptations assail us, we may not depart from the fear of God, nor expect help from any other." S. Aug. q. 119. ex utroque Test. --- The four first chapters exhibit the holy life of old Tobias, and the eight following, the journey and affairs of his son, directed by Raphael. In the two last chapters they praise God, and the elder Tobias foretells the better state of the commonwealth. W. --- It is probable that both left records, from which this work has been compiled, with a few additional observations. It was written during (C.) or after the captivity of Babylon. E. --- The Jews had then little communication with each other, in different kingdoms. Tobias was not allowed to go into Media, under Sennacherib; and it is probable that the captives at Babylon would be under similar restrictions; so that we do not need to wonder that they were unacquainted with this history of a private family, the records of which seem to have been kept at Ecbatana. The original Chaldee is entirely lost, so that it is impossible to ascertain whether the Greek or the Vulg. be more conformable to it. The chronology of the latter seems however more accurate, as the elder Tobias foretold the destruction of Ninive, twenty-three years before the event, which his son just beheld verified, dying in the 18th year of king Josias. The accounts which appear to sectaries to be fabulous, may easily be explained. Houbigant. --- Josephus and Philo omit this history. C.

* One of the seven Deutero-Canonical books, missing from most non-Catholic Bibles.

The additional Notes in this Edition of the New Testament will be marked with the letter A. Such as are taken from various Interpreters and Commentators, will be marked as in the Old Testament. B. Bristow, C. Calmet, Ch. Challoner, D. Du Hamel, E. Estius, J. Jansenius, M. Menochius, Po. Polus, P. Pastorini, T. Tirinus, V. Bible de Vence, W. Worthington, Wi. Witham. — The names of other authors, who may be occasionally consulted, will be given at full length.

Verses are in English and Latin. HAYDOCK CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY

This Catholic commentary on the Old Testament, following the Douay-Rheims Bible text, was originally compiled by Catholic priest and biblical scholar Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849). This transcription is based on Haydock's notes as they appear in the 1859 edition of Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary printed by Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, New York.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Changes made to the original text for this transcription include the following:

Greek letters. The original text sometimes includes Greek expressions spelled out in Greek letters. In this transcription, those expressions have been transliterated from Greek letters to English letters, put in italics, and underlined. The following substitution scheme has been used: A for Alpha; B for Beta; G for Gamma; D for Delta; E for Epsilon; Z for Zeta; E for Eta; Th for Theta; I for Iota; K for Kappa; L for Lamda; M for Mu; N for Nu; X for Xi; O for Omicron; P for Pi; R for Rho; S for Sigma; T for Tau; U for Upsilon; Ph for Phi; Ch for Chi; Ps for Psi; O for Omega. For example, where the name, Jesus, is spelled out in the original text in Greek letters, Iota-eta-sigma-omicron-upsilon-sigma, it is transliterated in this transcription as, Iesous. Greek diacritical marks have not been represented in this transcription.

Footnotes. The original text indicates footnotes with special characters, including the astrisk (*) and printers' marks, such as the dagger mark, the double dagger mark, the section mark, the parallels mark, and the paragraph mark. In this transcription all these special characters have been replaced by numbers in square brackets, such as [1], [2], [3], etc.

Accent marks. The original text contains some English letters represented with accent marks. In this transcription, those letters have been rendered in this transcription without their accent marks.

Other special characters.

Solid horizontal lines of various lengths that appear in the original text have been represented as a series of consecutive hyphens of approximately the same length, such as ---.

Ligatures, single characters containing two letters united, in the original text in some Latin expressions have been represented in this transcription as separate letters. The ligature formed by uniting A and E is represented as Ae, that of a and e as ae, that of O and E as Oe, and that of o and e as oe.

Monetary sums in the original text represented with a preceding British pound sterling symbol (a stylized L, transected by a short horizontal line) are represented in this transcription with a following pound symbol, l.

The half symbol (1/2) and three-quarters symbol (3/4) in the original text have been represented in this transcription with their decimal equivalent, (.5) and (.75) respectively.

Unreadable text. Places where the transcriber's copy of the original text is unreadable have been indicated in this transcription by an empty set of square brackets, [].

Chapter 6

By the angel's advice young Tobias taketh hold on a fish that assaulteth him. Reserveth the heart, the gall, and the liver for medicines. They lodge at the house of Raguel, whose daughter Sara, Tobias is to marry; she had before been married to seven husbands, who were all slain by a devil.

[1] And Tobias went forward, and the dog followed him, and he lodged the first night by the river of Tigris.

Profectus est autem Tobias, et canis secutus est eum, et mansit prima mansione juxta fluvium Tigris.

[2] And he went out to wash his feet, and behold a monstrous fish came up to devour him.

Et exivit ut lavaret pedes suos, et ecce piscis immanis exivit ad devorandum eum.

[3] And Tobias being afraid of him, cried out with a loud voice, saying: Sir, he cometh upon me.

Quem expavescens Tobias clamavit voce magna, dicens : Domine, invadit me.

[4] And the angel said to him: Take him by the gill, and draw him to thee. And when he had done so, he drew him out upon the land, and he began to pant before his feet.

Et dixit ei angelus : Apprehende branchiam ejus, et trahe eum ad te. Quod cum fecisset, attraxit eum in siccum, et palpitare coepit ante pedes ejus.

[5] Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of the fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee: for these are necessary for useful medicines.

Tunc dixit ei angelus : Exentera hunc piscem, et cor ejus, et fel, et jecur repone tibi : sunt enim haec necessaria ad medicamenta utiliter.

[6] And when he had done so, he roasted the flesh thereof, and they took it with them in the way: the rest they salted as much as might serve them, till they came to Rages the city of the Medes.

Quod cum fecisset, assavit carnes ejus, et secum tulerunt in via : cetera salierunt, quae sufficerent eis, quousque pervenirent in Rages civitatem Medorum.

[7] Then Tobias asked the angel, and said to him: I beseech thee, brother Azarias, tell me what remedies are these things good for, which thou hast bid me keep of the fish?

Tunc interrogavit Tobias angelum, et dixit ei : Obsecro te, Azaria frater, ut dicas mihi quod remedium habebunt ista, quae de pisce servare jussisti?

[8] And the angel, answering, said to him: If thou put a little piece of its heart upon coals, the smoke thereof driveth away all kind of devils, either from man or from woman, so that they come no more to them.

Et respondens angelus, dixit ei : Cordis ejus particulam si super carbones ponas, fumus ejus extricat omne genus daemoniorum sive a viro, sive a muliere, ita ut ultra non accedat ad eos.

[9] And the gall is good for anointing the eyes, in which there is a white speck, and they shall be cured.

Et fel valet ad ungendos oculos, in quibus fuerit albugo, et sanabuntur.

[10] And Tobias said to him: Where wilt thou that we lodge?

Et dixit ei Tobias : Ubi vis ut maneamus?

[11] And the angel answering, said: Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsman of thy tribe, and he hath a daughter named Sara, but he hath no son nor any other daughter beside her.

Respondensque angelus, ait : Est hic Raguel nomine, vir propinquus de tribu tua, et hic habet filiam nomine Saram, sed neque masculum, neque feminam ullam habet aliam praeter eam.

[12] All his substance is due to thee, and thou must take her to wife.

Tibi debetur omnis substantia ejus, et oportet eam te accipere conjugem.

[13] Ask her therefore of her father, and he will give her thee to wife.

Pete ergo eam a patre ejus, et dabit tibi eam in uxorem.

[14] Then Tobias answered, and said: I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all died: moreover I have heard, that a devil killed them.

Tunc respondit Tobias, et dixit : Audio quia tradita est septem viris, et mortui sunt : sed et hoc audivi, quia daemonium occidit illos.

[15] Now I am afraid, lest the same thing should happen to me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to hell.

Timeo ergo, ne forte et mihi haec eveniant : et cum sim unicus parentibus meis, deponam senectutem illorum cum tristitia ad inferos.

[16] Then the angel Raphael said to him: Hear me, and I will shew thee who they are, over whom the devil can prevail.

Tunc angelus Raphael dixit ei : Audi me, et ostendam tibi qui sunt, quibus praevalere potest daemonium.

[17] For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power.

Hi namque qui conjugium ita suscipiunt, ut Deum a se et a sua mente excludant, et suae libidini ita vacent, sicut equus et mulus, quibus non est intellectus : habet potestatem daemonium super eos.

[18] But thou when thou shalt take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers with her.

Tu autem cum acceperis eam, ingressus cubiculum, per tres dies continens esto ab ea, et nihil aliud nisi orationibus vacabis cum ea.

[19] And on that night lay the liver of the fish on the fire, and the devil shall be driven away.

Ipsa autem nocte, incenso jecore piscis, fugabitur daemonium.

[20] But the second night thou shalt be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs.

Secunda vero nocte in copulatione sanctorum patriarcharum admitteris.

[21] And the third night thou shalt obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you.

Tertia autem nocte, benedictionem consequeris, ut filii ex vobis procreentur incolumes.

[22] And when the third night is past, thou shalt take the virgin with the fear of the Lord, moved rather for love of children than for lust, that in the seed of Abraham thou mayst obtain a blessing in children.

Transacta autem tertia nocte, accipies virginem cum timore Domini, amore filiorum magis quam libidine ductus, ut in semine Abrahae benedictionem in filiis consequaris.

Commentary:

Ver. 1. Dog. Gr. and Heb. specify this circumstance, (C. v. 22.) but not here. Those who attack the authority of this book, infer that such a trifle would not be noticed by the Holy Spirit. C. xi. 9. Yet Homer mentions the fawning of the dog upon Ulysses, after he had been 20 years from home; and the gravest historians record instances of the fidelity of dogs. C. --- Night, or stage, mansione, (H.) at a caravansera, or house where travellers might stop all night, and sometimes, though seldom, might be supplied with necessaries. Herodotus (v. 52.) mentions several in the kingdom of Persia. C.

Ver. 2. Feet. Gr. "to bathe." --- Fish. The learned are of opinion that this was the fish which Pliny calls callyonymus, (l. xxii. ch. 7.) the gall of which is of sovereign virtue to remove white specks that grow over the eyes. Ch. --- Other fishes have the like virtue; and as the aforesaid has no scales, and is not above a foot long, it could not be lawfully eaten by the Israelites, nor could it suffice for ten days' provision, v. 6. Lev. xi. 10. Others, therefore, prefer (C.) the sea-calf, (Brado) the hippopotamus, (Grot.) the crocodile, (Carthus.) whale, (Theophylact.) sturgeon, or silurus. Bochart, Anim. iv. 15. --- But there are great difficulties with respect to all these; and Fran. George adopts the sentiment of the Rabbins in favour of the pike, which seems the least objectionable, as it has scales, gills, and cannot live long out of water, v. 4. It grows to a great size in the Tigris, and its gall is good for the eyes. C.

Ver. 3. And. This verse is not in Greek. Tobias and the fish were both in the water. C.

Ver. 4. Take him. "It," would be as proper. --- Gill. Gr. "Seize the fish, and the boy got the better of the fish, and threw it upon the land." H. --- Heb. also omits the gill and the panting, (C.) circumstances which would invalidate the opinions of many respecting the nature of this fish, v. ii. H.

Ver. 5. For thee. Gr. "carefully." H. --- The rest is omitted also in the Heb. of Fagius. C.

Ver. 6. Flesh. S. Paul uses the like expression, (1 Cor. xv.) as well as Pliny ix. 15. W. --- Took. Gr. and Fagius, (C.) "eat, and both went on till they came near to Ecbatana." H. --- From Ninive to Rages would be 10 or 12 days' journey. C.

Ver. 7. Tell. Gr. "What is the heart, the liver, and the gall of the fish for?" H.

Ver. 8. Its heart, &c. The liver, (v. 19.) God was pleased to give to these things a virtue against those proud spirits, to make them, who affected to be like the Most High, subject to such mean corporeal creatures, as instruments of his power. Ch. --- God sometimes makes use of things as remedies which have, naturally, a different effect; as when Christ put clay on the eyes of the blind man. Jo. ix. The things which the angel ordered were salutary, by God's appointment. W. --- They could not act directly upon a spirit: but they might upon the person troubled by one, as Saul was relieved by music. C. Diss. --- The smoke was a sign of the devil's expulsion, and of the efficacy of prayer; or rather, God subjected the proud spirits to such weak elements. Serar. q. 3. M. --- Gr. "and he said to him, respecting the heart and liver, if any demon or wicked spirit be troublesome, make these smoke before a man or a woman, and the person shall be troubled no longer.

Ver. 9. Gall. This is generally allowed by physicians to be most excellent, particularly that of the callyonymus, and of the hyena, (Vales. Phil. 42. Galen 10. M.) and silurus, &c. so that one objection of the adversaries of this book falls to the ground. Houbigant.

Ver. 10. And. Gr. "But as they approached to Rages, the angel said to the young man: Brother, to-day we shall lodge with Raguel, and he is thy relation, and he has an only daughter, by name Sara: I will propose that she may be given to thee for a wife, because the inheritance belongs to thee, and thou art the only one of her kindred. The girl is beautiful and prudent. Now, therefore, give ear to me, and I will speak to her father, and when we return from Rages, we will celebrate the nuptials. For I know Raguel, that he will not give her to another man, comformably to the law of Moses, or he will incur death; because thou art entitled to the to the inheritance before any other. Then," &c. v. 14. H. --- The law regulated the marriages of heiresses, (Num. xxxvi. 6.) though not under pain of death. C.

Ver. 14. Died. Gr. "were destroyed in the nuptial chamber, (numfh). And as I am my father’s only son, I fear lest, approaching to her, I should die like the former; because a demon is in love with her, which hurts no one but such as approach to her. Now, therefore, I fear lest I should die, and bring down the life of my father and mother upon me to their grave." H. --- If this text may be styled Scripture, it only records the opinion of Toby. (C.) or what he had "heard." H. --- Many grave authors have been of the same persuasion that devils could be enamoured with mortal beauties: (C.) talesque asseverant ut hoc negare impudentiæ esse videatur. S. Aug. de C. xv. 23. Delrio, Magic. 2. --- But this opinion is now almost entirely abandoned. Many who have testified such things, may have experienced only some diabolical illusions. The devil could not love the beauty, nor the virtue of Sara. But he was permitted by God to exercise his malice against those who would have gratified their impure desires. C. --- We may perhaps decide to peremptorily on the nature of devils with which we are little acquainted. As they are susceptible of pride, anger, &c. why may they not also give way to some subtle kind of mental impurity? Houbigant.

Ver. 15. To hell. That is, to place where the souls were kept below, before the coming of Christ; (Ch.) as the just had not yet access to heaven. See Gen. xxxvii. W. Gr. adds, "and they have no other son to bury them."

Ver. 16. Raphael. Gr. "said to him: Dost thou not remember that thy father ordered thee to take a wife of thy kindered? Now then hearken to me brother; for she shall be thy wife. Mind not the devil. For this night she shall be given in marriage to thee; and if thou enter the nuptial chamber, thou shalt take the ashes of incense, and shalt place thereon some of the heart and liver," &c. v. 19. H.

Ver. 17. Mule, which are very libidinous. Ps. xiii. --- Power. Yet he is not always permitted to kill them, as God often allows them time for repentance, or surrers them to draw down heavier judgments. M. --- "The devils can do no more than God secretly permits;" (S. Aug. de C. ii. 23.) and "God justly suffers the wicked to fall victims to their iniquitous appetites." S. Greg. mor. ii.

Ver. 18. Days. No morality could be more pure. The Christian Church has given similar counsels, in the Capitulars of France, and of Erard, archbishop of Tours, and in many rituals published in the 16th century. The council of Trent only advises people to approach to the sacraments of penance and the Holy Eucharist, three days at least before marriage. The Greeks, in their third council of Carthage, (c. 13) order the first night to be spent in continence.

Ver. 19. Lay. Gr. adds, "some of the heart...and make it smoke, and the devil shall smell, and flee away, and shall not return for ever." H. --- This is contrary to reason, say our adversaries. But though devils be incorporeal, may they not be affected by certain bodies, as our souls are when our limbs are hurt? The angel chose this sort of usual exorcism, that those who were present might be convinced of the devil’s departure. As the devils abuse the works of the creation, it was convenient that they should be punished by them; as they submit to magical operations, they must feel the power of such exorcisms (Houbigant) as are authorized by God and his Church. H.

Ver. 20. Society (copulatione.) He then obtained this blessing, though he knew not his wife till the fourth night. W. --- His marriage resembled that of the patriarchs. C. --- Gr. "But when thou shalt go to her, arise both, and cry to the merciful God, and he will save and have pity on you. Fear not, for she was prepared for thee from eternity; and thou shalt save her, and she shall go with thee; and I flatter myself that thou shalt have children of her. And as soon as Tobias heard this, he loved her, and his soul was much attached to her: and they arrived at Ecbatana." H. - Some may wonder that Tobias did not ask for the consent of his parents. But the angel reminded him of his father’s injunctions, (C.) and spoke in such a manner, that he was convinced his counsel was from God. H.

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