Tobias

Biblical Account

Tobias appears only in the Book of Tobit. The book is not found in Protestant Bibles such as the Korean Revised Version. It is included among the deuterocanonical books (books that the Catholic Church includes in the Old Testament but that are absent from the Hebrew Bible) in Catholic Bibles and in the Korean Common Translation. The name is commonly interpreted to mean "the LORD is good."

• Background (chapters 1–3): Tobit, of the tribe of Naphtali, lives as an exile in Nineveh in Assyria, where he buries his dead fellow Israelites and devotes himself to almsgiving. After he loses his sight, he prays that he might die. At the same time, in the land of Media, Sarah the daughter of Raguel prays after losing seven husbands on their wedding nights to the demon Asmodeus. God sends the angel Raphael to help them both.
• The Journey (chapters 4–6): Tobit sends his son Tobias to retrieve money he had left in trust and gives him moral instruction. Raphael introduces himself as a man named Azarias and serves as his guide. At the Tigris River they catch a large fish and keep its heart, liver, and gall.
• The Marriage (chapters 7–9): Tobias marries his kinswoman Sarah and drives away the demon by burning the heart and liver. The bride and groom pray together (Tobit 8).
• The Return (chapters 10–14): After returning home, Tobias applies the gall to his father's eyes, and Tobit regains his sight. Raphael reveals that he is "one of the seven holy angels" and departs (chapter 12). The book records that after his parents died, Tobias moved to his father-in-law's house and heard of the destruction of Nineveh.

Significance Within Scripture

The Book of Tobit is read as a story illustrating piety in exile, good works such as almsgiving and burial of the dead, and God's answer to prayer and His providence. The New Testament does not directly quote Tobias or the Book of Tobit. However, Tobit's instruction to his son, "Do that to no man which thou hatest" (Tobit 4), is sometimes compared with the Golden Rule, and the story of Sarah, who lost seven husbands, is sometimes compared with the question about the seven brothers that the Sadducees put to Jesus (Matthew 22).

Interpretation and Issues

• Canonicity: The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church accept the Book of Tobit as Scripture. Martin Luther grouped the Apocrypha separately as books "useful and good to read," and the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England hold that they are read for example of life but not used to establish doctrine. Reformed churches, including Presbyterians who follow the Westminster Confession of Faith, hold that the Apocrypha are not part of the canon and carry no greater authority than other human writings.
• Historicity: Fragments of Aramaic and Hebrew manuscripts of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, but its composition is generally dated to around the third to second century BC, and because it contains elements inconsistent with historical fact, many scholars regard it as a didactic tale.
• Angels: The name Raphael appears only in the Book of Tobit. The only angels named in the Protestant Bible are Gabriel and Michael.
• Possible Confusion: Tobiah the Ammonite, who opposed the rebuilding of the wall in the Book of Nehemiah, has a similar name but is a different person.

In the Korean Church

Because the book is not included in the Korean Revised Version, it is rarely addressed in Korean Protestant sermons or Sunday school, and Korean readers more often encounter it through the deuterocanonical edition of the Common Translation or the Catholic Bible. In the Catholic Church, the prayer of Tobias and Sarah (Tobit 8) is known as one of the passages that may be read at a Nuptial Mass.