Editing Book of Tobit (section)

{{Short description|Deuterocanonical (apocryphal) book of Christian scripture}}
{{Tanakh OT |deutero}}
[[File:Recto of leaf from the Book of Tobit (12906401985).jpg|thumb|Leaf from a [[vellum]] manuscript of Tobit, {{Circa|1240}}]]
[[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 154.jpg|thumb|Rembrandt: ''[[Tobit Accusing Anna of Stealing the Kid]]'' (1626)]]
The '''Book of Tobit''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|oʊ|b|ɪ|t}}){{efn|From the {{langx|grc|Τωβίθ}} ''Tōbith'' or {{lang|el|Τωβίτ}} ''Tōbit'' ({{lang|grc|Τωβείθ}} and {{lang|el|Τωβείτ}} spellings are also attested) itself from {{langx|he|טובי}} ''Tovi'' "my good"; '''Book of Tobias''' in the [[Vulgate]] from the Greek {{lang|grc|Τωβίας}} ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew {{lang|he|טוביה}} ''Tovyah'' "[[Jah|Yah]] is good"}}{{efn|Also known as the '''Book of Tobias'''.}}, also known as the '''Book of Tobias''' is a [[deuterocanonical]] pre-Christian work from the 3rd or early 2nd century BC which describes how God tests the faithful, responds to prayers, and protects the pre-covenant community (i.e., the Hebrews of the province of [[Judea]]).{{sfn|Levine|2007|p=11}} It tells the story of two families of Judah, that of the blind Tobit in [[Nineveh]] and of the abandoned Sarah in [[Ecbatana]].{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2013|p=31}} Tobit's son Tobias is sent to retrieve ten silver [[Talent (measurement)|talents]] that Tobit once left in [[Ray, Iran|Rhages]], a town in [[Media (region)|Media]]. Guided and aided by the angel [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]] he arrives in Ecbatana, where he meets Sarah.{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2013|p=31}} A demon named [[Asmodeus]] kills anyone she intends to marry, but with the aid of Raphael the demon is exorcised and Tobias and Sarah marry.{{sfn|Levine|2007|p=11}} Tobias and Sarah then return to Nineveh, where Tobit is cured of his blindness.{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2013|p=31}}

The book is included as a [[deuterocanonical]] in the [[Catholic Bible|Catholic]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church#Bible|Eastern Orthodox]] canons and the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]. Protestant tradition places it in the [[Apocrypha]], with [[Anabaptist]]s, [[Lutheran]]s, [[Anglican]]s and [[Methodist]]s recognising it as useful for purposes of edification and liturgy, albeit [[Biblical canon|non-canonical]] in status.<ref name="GeislerMacKenzie1995"/><ref name="Wesley1825"/><ref name="DyckMartin1955">{{cite book |last1=Dyck |first1=Cornelius J. |last2=Martin |first2=Dennis D. |title=The Mennonite Encyclopedia: A-C |date=1955 |publisher=Mennonite Brethren Publishing House |isbn=978-0-8361-1119-4 |page=136 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Kirwan2015">{{cite book |last1=Kirwan |first1=Peter |title=Shakespeare and the Idea of Apocrypha: Negotiating the Boundaries of the Dramatic Canon |date=16 April 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-316-30053-4 |page=207 |language=English}}</ref>{{sfn|Levine|2007|p=11}} 

The vast majority of modern commentators recognize it as a work of fiction with some references to historical events.{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2003|p=31}}  The story is set in the 8th century BC, but the book itself is thought to date from between 225 and 175 BC.{{sfn|Fitzmyer|2003|p=51}} No scholarly consensus exists on the place of composition, but a [[Mesopotamia]]n origin seems logical given that the story takes place in [[Assyria]] and [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]] and it mentions the Persian demon "aeshma daeva", rendered "Asmodeus". However, the story contains significant errors in geographical detail (such as the distance from Ecbatana to Rhages and their topography), and arguments against and in favor of Judean or Egyptian composition also exist.{{sfn|Miller|2011|p=12-15}}