Tobit

Life and Miracles of a Deportee

This is the story of Tobit, son of Tobiel, son of Ananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael, of the race of Asiel, from the tribe of Naphtali.

In the days of Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, Tobit was taken captive from Thisbe, which is south of Kedesh of Naphtali in Galilee, above Asher.

I, Tobit, have walked in the ways of truth and justice all my life; I have given many alms to my fellow countrymen and to those deported with me to Nineveh, a city in the land of the Assyrians.

When I was a young man in my country, the land of Israel, all the tribe of my father, Naphtali, broke away from the family of David in Jerusalem. This, however, was the city chosen among all the tribes of Israel to be the place of sacrifice for all the tribes, and where the temple, the house of God the Most High, had been built and consecrated for all generations to come.

All the tribes that had separated, including the tribe of Naphtali, my father, sacrificed to the calf Baal, which Jeroboam, king of Israel, had set up at Dan, in the hills of Galilee.

I, alone, often traveled to Jerusalem for the feasts, as commanded for all the people of Israel by an eternal decree. I carried the firstfruits and tithes of my harvest and the first shearing of my sheep.

I gave these offerings to the altar, to the priests, sons of Aaron; I also gave a tithe of the grain, wine, olives, pomegranates, figs, and other fruits to the Levites who served in Jerusalem. I sold the second tithe every six years and then used the money for distribution in Jerusalem.

I gave the third tithe to the orphans, widows, and pagan converts who had joined the Israelites. I gave it to them every three years, and we ate according to the rules laid out in the law of Moses and based on the recommendations made by Deborah, my father’s mother, because my father had left me an orphan.

When I reached manhood, I married Anna of our ancestors’ race, and she bore me a son, Tobiah.

When I was taken to the city of Nineveh as a prisoner, all my relatives and our family members ate the pagans’ food.

But I watched over myself so as not to eat it

because I remembered God with all my heart.

The Most High allowed Shalmaneser to respect me, and I became his buyer.

I used to go to Media to make purchases for him until he died; one day, I left a sack containing ten talents of silver on deposit with Gabael, brother of Gabrias, at Rages in Media.

When Shalmaneser died, his son Sennacherib became king in his place. During his reign, the highways of Media were in a state of rebellion, so I could no longer travel to Media.

In the days of Shalmaneser I, I gave many alms to my relatives.

I shared my bread with those who were hungry, my garments with those who were naked, and if I saw anyone from my tribe dead, whose body was thrown over the ramparts of Nineveh, I would bury him.

I secretly buried those whom King Sennacherib killed when returning from Judea, during the time when the king of Heaven punished him for the blasphemies he uttered. In his anger, he killed a significant number of Jews. The king searched for their bodies but could not find them.

One of the inhabitants of Nineveh told the king that I had buried them, so I went into hiding. Then I learned they were looking for me to put me to death. I was afraid and fled far away.

All my possessions were seized, and nothing was left to me except Anna, my wife, and Tobiah, my son.

But only forty days had passed when Sennacherib was killed by his two sons. They fled to Mount Ararat, and his son Esarhaddon became king in Sennacherib’s place. Esarhaddon appointed Ahiqar, the son of my brother Anael, to oversee the entire administration.

Ahiqar intervened on my behalf, and I returned to Nineveh. My nephew Ahiqar was the head of the cupbearers, keeper of the seals, administrator, and accountant. Esarhaddon made him second only to himself.