Tobit
Chapter 10
The Return Home
Each morning, Tobit counted how many days it would be before Tobiah would return from his journey. When the time was up and his son, Tobiah, and his companion, Raphael, had not yet returned,
he thought: “Maybe he has received a refusal, or perhaps Gabael is dead and there is no one to hand over the money.”
He became very sad.
Anna, his wife, said: “My son is dead, or he would not delay so long.” She began to lament over him, saying:
“Why did I let you go, light of my eyes!”
Tobit said to her: “Calm yourself, my sister. Do not worry. He is well.”
She replied: “Keep quiet, do not try to deceive me, my child is dead.” Every day, she went out along the road that her son had taken. By day, she took no food; by night, she never ceased crying, unable to sleep. When the fourteen days of festivities were over, during which Raguel had sworn that Tobiah should stay with him, Tobiah went to Raguel and said: “Let me return home because my parents will certainly be despairing that they will never see me again.”
Raguel replied: “Stay with me and I will send messengers to your father to give him news of you.”
Tobiah said: “No, let me go to them.”
Then Raguel handed over to him his wife Sarah and half of all his goods: servants, oxen, sheep, donkeys, camels, clothes, silver, and various other things. Raguel blessed them and allowed them to set out.
Bidding farewell to Tobiah, he said to him:“Goodbye, my son, safe journey! May the Lord of Heaven bless you and make you fruitful, and may I see your children before I die.”
To his daughter, Sarah, he said: “Honor your parents-in-law, since from now on they are your parents just as we are who gave you life. Go in peace, my daughter, and may we always hear good things of you.” He embraced her and let them depart. Edna, in her turn, said to Tobiah: “My dear son, may the Lord bring you back one day so that I may see your children and be happy before the Lord. I entrust my daughter to your care. Do not cause her any sadness.”
After that, Tobiah left Raguel’s house. He praised God who had brought his journey to such a happy conclusion, and he blessed Raguel and his wife, Edna.
Commentaries
The Return Home.
Here we see similarities with patriarchal stories, especially with Jacob’s return to Canaan: farewell to the father-in-law, journey with the wife, possessions, and meeting with angels. Jacob’s future as the father of tribes matches that of a family of exiles, and the angel acts as their protector at home. Still, the drama is missing, replaced by emotional goodbyes with tears. The technique of parallel montage comes back, but without double sentences. The young man, now experienced, takes the lead.