TOBIT CHAPTER 1 - 7

THE BOOK OF TOBIT

The book of Tobit is here translated from the Greek version with reference to the Revised Standard Version, the King James Version, and the Jerusalem Bible. It was likely written about five centuries before the common era. Its purpose is not to present historical or geographical facts, but to teach some lessons in story form. The story is set about a century before the time of its writing. The outstanding moral principle invoked is respect for the dead and the duty of providing proper if not grandiose funerals. Along with this, however, certain other principles are emphasized, those being especially prayer, fasting, and the giving of alms, along with respect for parents and love of kin. As such it is an important document affirming the early importance of those practices that form the central pillars of Islam. The oneness of God is clearly proclaimed and a highly developed doctrine of angels is in evidence. Furthermore, idolatry is strongly condemned. The story thus consistently affirms both the Decalogue and the central practices that support it.

As an expression of post-exilic literature, Tobit presents an interesting way of living faith under imperial conditions. The point is to establish civil disobedience in a focused area. The area of choice in the book of Tobit is burial. The stubborn civil disobedience insisting on providing proper burial even for strangers is the backdrop of the entire tale, whichout which it could not exist. At the same time it provides a fascinating contemplation on inventive ways of subverting government opposed to divine law.

TOBIT 1

1 The story of what Tobit did,
Son of Ananiel to bid,
Son of Aduel, who was son
Of Gabael, who’s of the run
Of descendants of Asiel
And the tribe of Naphtali fell,
2 Who in the days of Shalmaneser,
King of every Assyrian geezer,
Was taken in captivity
From Thisbe, which is on the lea
Southward of Kedesh Naphtali
Above Asher in Galilee.
3 I, Tobit, walked in ways of truth
And righteousness all of my youth
And all the days of my life, and
I did many good works to hand
My brothers and my countrymen
Departing with me once again
Into the country in the way
Of Assyrians, to Nineveh.
4 When I was in my own country,
In the land of Israel and free
As a young man, the whole tribe of
Naphtali my forefather’s love,
Left the house of Jerusalem.
This was the place by stratagem
Chosen from among all the tribes
Of Israel, where all the tribes
Might offer sacrifices and
Where the temple was made to stand
As house of the Most High to all
Generations ages to call.
5 All the tribes in apostasy
Offered offerings to the calf Baal,
And so the house of Naphtali
My ancestor to no avail.
6 But only I went for the feasts
Jerusalem kept by the priests
As ordained for all Israel
By permanent statute as well,
Taking the first fruits and above
That the tithes of my produce shove,
And the first shearings, I would give
These to the priests, Aaron’s sons live
At the altar. 7 Of all my lot
I gave a tithe to Levi’s plot
Who served Jerusalem and taught,
A second tithe I sold and got
From it the funds to go each year
Toward Jerusalem, appear.

A northern writing here is quite disposed
To support kingdom of the south that closed
The doors between the two. Such politics
Are often root of sectarian tricks.
So Tobit goes down to the holy town
To bring his offerings and to meet the frown
Of kinsmen in Samaria, and yet
The story turns upon the trails that get
To fall on Israel for the very thing
That Tobit is so careful to let sling.
Tobit will go into captivity
Despite his yearly march down to the see
Of royal city. My Beloved, I wait
To see Your justice riding in the gate.

8 The third tithe I would give to those
To whom it was my duty rose,
As Deborah my father’s mother
Had commanded me and my brother,
For I was left an orphan by
My father. 9 So now then when I
Became a man I married Anna,
A member of our family manor,
And by her I became the dad
Of Tobias to make hearts glad.
10 When I was taken captive to
Nineveh, all my brothers too
And relatives ate Gentile food,
11 But I kept myself clean and good,
12 Since I remembered Ælohim
With all my heart as it would seem.

The third tithe Tobit gave in share to each
In poverty and neediness to preach
Compassion on the poor. I praise the man
Who describes zakat as if by his plan.
The khums also he mentions for relieve
Of temple priest to lessen the man’s grief.
The part that’s left is used to make the trip
To house of God to open righteous lip.
Beloved, I am myself almost a case
Of charity where I live with the race
Of Gentiles who control the wealth and so
My alms are but a pitiable show.
And still I’ve fed both priest and pauper here,
And come once to Your temple to appear.

Despite the punishment that fell the lot
Of Tobit for the sin of others wrought,
He did not blame You, my Beloved, but got
On with the job of faithfulness to be
Pure in his acts and eating righteously.
I know a Christian bishop of the line
Of those who think they are among the fine
Who eats the unholy and flesh of swine,
And never once repented sat to dine.
But Tobit is a courtier to the king,
And yet he takes the time of day to sing
With a pure tongue untainted with the blood
Of sheep and goat, but poured it in the mud.
Beloved, I praise the faithful on the wing.

13 Then the Most High gave me good grace
And fortune before the king’s face,
Of Shalmaneser, and I came
To buy provisions for his claim.
14 I used to go to Media,
And at Rages in Media
I once left silver talents ten
In trust with Gabael, again
The brother of Gabrias then.
15 It happened Shalmaneser died,
Sennacherib his son in tide
Reigned in his stead, and under him
The highways were unsafe and grim,
So I could no more go into
Media to do business due.
16 In the days of Shalmaneser
I did acts of alms and to share
With my brothers. 17 I would give bread
To the hungry and to the fed
Naked my clothing, if I saw
Any of my folk in the raw,
Thrown out and dead behind the wall
Of Nineveh, I’d bury all.
18 And if Sennacherib the king
Put to death any who fleeing
Came from Judea, I would go
And bury them in secret show.
For in his wrath he killed a row.
When the king sought the bodies, they
Were not found, but buried away.
19 Then one man of Nineveh went
And told the king about my bent
That I was burying them all,
So I hid me behind the wall.
When I heard I was sought to kill,
In fear I left home for the drill.

The truth is service in the pay of kings
Or presidents or ruffians with wings
Is like to turn sour on a dime with stings.
The man raised to the heavens on a day
Is thrown out to the dogs as like to bay,
Another climbs the chair for a short stay.
The hope of wealth and fame leads men to flatter
The rich and powerful before they scatter,
And yet such hopes are like as not to shatter.
Who lives in satisfaction of the now
Is like to find when regimes take a bow,
Another king comes in to confiscate
All that was earned by children of the state.
It does not help to make a feud and row.

20 Then all my property was taken,
With nothing left to me forsaken
But my wife Anna and my son
Tobias. 21 But not in the run
More than fifty days before two
Of Sennacherib’s sons in view
Killed him, and they fled to the hills
Of Ararat for all their ills.
Then Esarhaddon, his son, reigned
Instead of him, and he retained
Ahikar, Anael the son of
My frère Anael, over above
Accounts of his kingdom and all
His business in both bin and stall.
22 Ahikar pled for me, and I
Returned to Nineveh thereby.
Now Ahikar was cupbearer,
Keeper of the signet, and fer
In charge of the accounts in sure,
For Esarhaddon set him up
Second to himself as a tup.
He was my nephew and a pup.

The way to get back home and wealth and tin
Is to have someone at the court who’s kin
To say a word in ear of president
Or prime minister for the missing rent.
Today the civilized in land and cars
Looks out to plant a colony on mars
In hope that what succeeds barely on earth
In terms of stable violence in berth
Will turn utopia when settled down
Upon the sod that’s red instead of brown.
But nephews in the engine room are sure
To give their uncles in disfavour lure
To keep each one submitted just in case
The charity of ministers retrace.

TOBIT 2

1 Now when I had come home again,
Got back my wife Anna again,
My son Tobias too, the feast
Of Pentecost, which is the feast
Of seven weeks in holiness,
A fine meal was prepared for me,
And I sat down to eat with glee.
2 When I saw how much food was there,
I told my son, “Go bring to share
Whatever poor man you may find
From our brothers who has a mind
To YHWH, and see, I’ll wait behind.”
3 But he returned and said “Dad, one
Of our nation’s strangled and done,
Thrown out upon the marketplace.”
4 So before I’d begun to eat,
I got up, took him in a space
Until the setting sun retreat.
5 Then I went back and washed one well
And ate my meal in a sad spell,
6 Minding Amos in prophecy
As he said “Then your feasts shall be
Turned into mourning, all your mirth
Changed into lamentation’s birth.”
7 So I shed tears, then at sundown
I went and dug a grave in brown
And buried him. 8 My neighbours mocked
Me, saying “This man just defrocked
Is not afraid to die for this,
Who fled away, and now amiss
He’s at burying dead unflocked.”

Like Tobit I do not treat the dear well
That come before my sight in graveyard plot.
I challenge the church wardens with a spell
By tending the neglected dead man’s lot.
I thus prevent the desecration of
Forgotten graves grown over with old weeds,
Disturb the rest of those with none to love
With blooms in summer, in fall dropping seeds.
And so I steal from church and state the fare
They might have got by digging up the tomb
And yet have nought in hand for my earned share
But consternation’s profit in their room.
Beloved, the marks of grief spoil not my joy
In outwitting priestcraft in its employ.

9 The same night then I came back from
The burying and slept when come
By the well of my courtyard as
I was polluted, my face has
Been there uncovered, 10 I did not
Know sparrows were in the wall’s slot,
And as my eyes were turned up there,
The warm droppings became my share,
And whiteness came into my eyes,
And I went to the healer’s plies,
But they helped not in any wise.
But Achaiacharus nourished me
Till I went to Elymais’ free.
11 Anna my wife took work to do.
12 And when she’d sent them to their crew,
They paid her wages and besides
Gave her also a kid for rides.
13 And when it bleated in my house,
I asked her, “Where did this young grouse
Come from? Let it not be a theft,
But send it back from where it left,
For it’s unlawful we should eat
Any portion of stolen meat.”

Though I am blinded in my sleep beside
The garden wall enclosing all my pride,
Despite the narrow punishment of fate,
Let not my righteousness depart the gate.
The greenly flowers about my holiness,
As my distinctive poverty in dress
Identifies my lowlier estate,
Not recognizing inner wealth of late.
My treasure is the glowing of Your song
That keeps my willing hand from doing wrong.
The property of herbs enthrals my soul,
And nettles contemplate my dinner’s toll.
Beloved, I need no kid’s flesh on my plate,
I eat and drink enough at dervish rate.

14 But she replied to me, “A gift
It was more than wages to lift.”
But I did not believe her word
Commanding her return the erred
To its owners. My mind was blurred.
So she told me, “Where are your alms?
Where are your godly works and psalms?
See, you and all your acts are known.”
So I saw my alms were a loan.

It’s human, I see in city and town
To receive cattle, goats and sheep with frown.
The human soul desires diviner dress,
To give and receive thanks in pettiness.
Only You, my Beloved, seem to take glee
Along with children and the suddenly
Enriched among wives have the heart to crave
Things You do not need from the hand of slave.
The reason for reversal of the slate
Of all reality in such a state
Of senseless quandary is simply that
All is reflection of You where You sat.
The mirror turns the image all around
And that is why we’re perfect though unsound.

TOBIT 3

1 I cried in sorrow, in my grief
Prayed saying 2 “O YHWH, You are chief
In justice, and all Your works and
All Your ways are mercy at hand
And truth, You’re a judge true and just
For ever. 3 Now mind me in dust,
And look at me, but do not come
To punish me for my sins’ sum
And ignorance, and those that stem
From my ancestors, those of them
Who have sinned before You in lust.
4 “For they did not obey Your laws,
That’s why You gave us up like straws,
And sent into captivity
To die a proverb and reproach
To all the lands among whom we
Are scattered abroad to encroach.
5 “By Your judgements many and true
Deal with me for my sins in view
And of my ancestors who’ve sinned,
Because Your laws we’ve thrown to wind
Nor acted in truth before You.
6 “So treat me as You think for best,
Commanding that my breath divest
Itself of body that for worth
I be dissolved and turn to earth,
For it is better I should die,
I would not live to hear with sigh
False accusations to my shame.
Therefore command that I may be
Delivered from my misery,
And go into eternal room,
Turn not Your face back from my doom.”

You may think, my Beloved, a silly thing
Inspires Tobit to such eloquent ring
Of prayer in exquisite words and in grief,
You may think that one stolen goat in brief
Is little matter to the universe
Where You sit ruling for better or worse.
But Tobit knew the power of women’s tongue
And what the neighbour’s like to spout from lung.
He could not face reality of theft
Piled on the insult of being bereft.
That’s why the grave seems now the better choice.
You’ve not experienced the bitter voice,
So do not smile so condescendingly
Upon the anguish of the man You see.

7 It happened on that very day
In Ecbatane, a town in sway
Of Media, that Sarah who
Was daughter of Raguel due,
Was also chided by the maids
Of her father in ambuscades,
8 Since she had married seven men
Asmodeus a demon then
Had killed before they lay with her.
And they told her, “Does not occur
To you that you’ve strangled and choked
Your husbands? You’re never invoked
By name of any man or fer.
9 “So why do you beat us for them?
Since they are dead, go after them,
We’ll never see your son or daughter
After you have made such a slaughter.”

Today, Beloved, no court would take excuse
The devil made me commit the abuse.
Pre-menstrual syndrome could be taken for
Circumstances mitigating the score.
There reigns in every town an explanation
For necessary evil in its ration.
But tolerance is high that stipulates
A wife is innocent who’s killed seven mates.
Beloved, You come to ravish me by day
And night desiring to have husband’s way,
The evil spirits of my heart and tongue
Repulse You to the ladder’s lowest rung.
Divine love suffocates behind the door
And yet returns again to ravish more.

10 When she heard these things she was sad,
Intending to kill herself bad.
But she said “I’m the only daughter
Of my father, from what he taught her,
If I do so, I’ll bring reproach
On him and his old age encroach
With sorrow to the grave approach.”
11 Then she prayed toward the window and
Turned toward Jerusalem to stand,
Said “Blessed be You, O YHWH my God,
And Your holy and glorious prod
In name is blessed and honoured aye.
12 “And now, O YHWH, I turn my eye
And face to You, 13 “and say ‘Take me
From off the earth, that I may be
No more reproached.’ 14 “You know, O YHWH,
I’m innocent in what I do,
15 “I’ve never soiled my name, nor name
Of my father in land of shame,
The only daughter of my dad,
He has no child as heir, how sad,
Nor near kinfolk nor son alive,
For whom to save myself to wive,
My seven husbands now lie dead,
And why should I live more to wed?
But if You will that I should die,
Command some honour be had by
Me and pity taken of me
To hear no more reproachfully.”
16 So both their prayers were heard before
The majesty of great God’s store.
17 And Raphael was sent to heal
The both of them for goodly weal,
Remove whiteness of Tobit’s eyes
And give Sarah bint Raguel wise
As wife to Tobias the son
Of Tobit and to bind when done
Asmodeus the demon bad,
Since she was Tobias’ who had
Right of inheritance to her.
The very hour it did occur
Tobit came home, Sarah daughter
Of Raguel came from her room sad.

Two prayers of desperation come to meet
Before Your majesty and there they greet.
Unknowing each the other two hearts beat
Without a sign yet dare to climb the seat
Of hope in desperation, the soul’s feat.
Reality is such a desolation
Despite the story’s reading consolation
To let the cat escape the hag and find
Solution is inherited and blind.
The plot’s incredible in any case:
Angel and fate and despair run the race
With righteousness, and each one keeps the pace.
Beloved, the strands of truth are taut and fine:
Water and vinegar mix with the wine.

TOBIT 4

1 On that Tobit minded the rent
That he’d entrusted once and sent
To Gabael in Rages town
Of Media, 2 he sat right down
Saying “I’ve asked for early death,
Why not summon for shibboleth
Tobias my son, signify
To him the thing before I die?”

There is a kind of inspiration that
Falls on the desperate like paw of cat,
Silently, without warning on the fear
And hopelessness that greets the glowing tear.
There is an inspiration from Your heart
That breaks in on the turmoil like a dart
To bring a ray of memory in trust
Of golden past shining upon the dust
Of present painful virtue. Lifting eye,
Though blind, the man awakens with a cry
To find the answer to the fervent prayer
Is spread out before longings everywhere.
Beloved, Tobit and I bask in the glare.

3 When he had called him, then he said
“My son, bury me when I’m dead.
Do not disdain your mother, yet
Honour her all your life to get
What delights her and brings no grief.
4 “Remember, my son, what a sheaf
Of dangers she went through for you
In her womb. When she’s dead, then do
Bury her in my own grave too.

Beloved, this glimmer shining from the page
Of dusty book forgotten for an age
Rejoices in my heart in heritage,
Remembrance of commandment and the stage
Of waiting in the mother’s womb for time
To burst forth in a flood of cheer and rhyme.
Beloved, some still disdain the crumpled book
For what criterion bare as they look,
But I see the bright letters tell Your name
To honour mother by commandments’ claim.
What hails the Decalogue and makes it light
Is inspiration and the gauge of right.
Beloved, Tobit speaks of the mother’s grace
And brings my soul to bow before Your face.

5”My son, remember YHWH our God
All your lifetime, do not let prod
Of your will tempt you then to sin,
Transgressing His commandments, in
All your life long do righteously
And do not do things wickedly.
6 “For if you act truly your works
Shall prosper after you where lurks
The sight of those who live godly.
7 “Give charity of what you own,
And when you give alms, let be known
No envy to your eye, nor turn
Away your face from those who earn
But pittance, and the face of God
Shall not be turned from where you plod.
8 “If you have much, give much in alms,
If you have little, have no qualms
To give accordingly in alms.
9 “So you’ll put in the bank in saving
A treasure for the day of craving.
10 “For charity saves both from death
And entrance into darkness breath.
11 “And alms are but a gift to those
Who give it before God who chose.

The law of alms is writ in clarity
As Tobit tells his son of charity.
It cleanses of past sins and sets one free
To stand before You in Your sought mercy.
Of those who have much You desire to see
Much given to the poor, of those with less
You’re satisfied the gift’s a slip and guess.
But each mite given with unselfish heart
Is treasure bank for rainy day apart.
Beloved, as human hopes surround their lives
With customs of religion that contrives
To raise more veils between the soul and truth,
I thank You that for charity and ruth
All faiths give room in temple, mosque and booth.

12 “Beware of whoredom too, my son,
But marry a descendant won
Of your fathers, and do not take
A strange woman not of the wake
Of father’s tribe, for we’re offspring
Of the prophets and such as sing
Of Noah, Abraham, Isaac
And Jacob. Therefore be not slack
To mind, my son, our fathers all
Married wives of their own kin’s call,
And were blessed in their offspring and
Their seed shall inherit the land.
13 “So now, my son, love brothers all,
Disdaining not in heart their call,
The sons and daughters of your folk
Not taking wife among their yoke:
In pride is ruin and much ill,
In lewdness fault, empty to fill,
And lewdness the source of the chill
Of famine, hunger and death still.
14 “The wages of a man you’ve hired
To work for you till he is tired
Pay him forthwith, and so shall God
Repay your service on the sod.
Proceed, my son, in all you do
With good behaviour, keep in view
Wise action in the impromptu.
15 “Do to no man except what you
Would have that man do unto you.
Do not drink wine to make you drunk,
Drunk on a journey you’ll be sunk.

It’s certain, my Beloved, when You sent out
Your own Messiah to go preach about
The things that You want humankind to do,
You gave him both the message and the shoe.
He found the message in Tobit’s fair speech
To his son, that’s why he was quick to preach
Do unto others as you would be told,
And do not leave the poor out in the cold.
But he forgot to quote Tobit on wine,
And that’s why You sent out Muhammad fine
To bring this message once again to light.
Too bad so many say his word’s not right.
Beloved, in boat or car let me be sober
And not fall down dead before the disrober.

16 “Give your bread to the hungry, and
Your clothing to whom naked stand,
And as you’re blessed with wealth give alms,
Don’t let your eye envy your palms.
17 “Spend on burying of the just,
But let the wicked lie in dust.
18 “Ask the advice of all who’re wise,
And useful counsel don’t despise.
19 “Bless YHWH your God in every time,
Ask Him to guide the way you climb,
So all your ways and means for good
Should succeed in the way they should,
For every nation’s policy
Has not its source in YHWH’s decree,
But He puts down the one He will,
And so, my son, bear in mind still
Commandments mine, and let them be
Not put out of your mind’s degree.
“And now I bear witness to you
That I gave in safe keeping to
Gabael ben Gabrias at
Rages in Media the fat
Of ten talents. 21 “So have no fear,
My son, that poverty appear,
For you have great wealth, if you fear
Ælohim and keep from sin’s weir,
And do what’s pleasing in His ear.”

Another thing Messiah failed to read
Perhaps because in his day fatal greed
Plucked at the heart of Sadducean seed,
Was that the righteous dead be buried well.
He had audacity to go and tell
A son to let the dead bury the dead.
Though I trow I understand what he said,
It was not wise to fly in face of Scripture,
See now how many merely give it lipture
Instead of the obedience of the just.
Beloved, although burial is in dust,
And money put into it surely must
Be money thrown away into the hole,
I humbly bury both body and soul.

TOBIT 5

1 Tobias answered saying “Dad,
I’ll do all that you told me glad.
2 “But how can I get hand on gold
From a man I’ve not known of old?”
3 Then he gave him the document
And said to him, “Find a man sent
To go with you, and I’ll give him
Pay while I live in gear and trim,
So set out now and get the gold.”

A document for money, see how old
The Jewish banking system has been told.
It did not start in Andalus for gold
That could not be borne off by bold.
The easy transfer of wealth came about
When refugees were scattered in the rout.
It’s pogroms create banks for weal and woe,
And wisely the down-trodden steal the show.
It happened in the days of Tobit’s past,
It happened when the Inquisition last
Put out the moneyed without property.
So documents strayed to replace money.
Beloved, see I am cast a refugee.
Give me the cunning of that progeny.

4 But when he went to find a man
He met Raphael as if by plan,
Who was an angel and not man.
5 But he did not know that, and so
He said to him, “Now could you go
With me to Rages? Do you know
Those regions well?” 6 The angel said
“I’ll go with you, be by me led,
I’ve found with brother Gabael bed.”
7 Tobias said to him, “Then wait
Till I tell my dad at the gate.”
8 He told him then, “Go, don’t be late.”
So he went in and told his dad,
“Behold, I have found me a lad
To go along.” But he replied,
“Bring him to me and I’ll confide
What tribe he is and if he be
A trusty man for company.”
9 So he called him and he came in,
And they greeted each other’s grin.
10 Tobit said to him, “Brother, tell
Me what tribe, clan of Israel
You are.” 11 He answered, “Do you seek
A tribe or family, or speak
Of a hired one to guide your son?”
Then Tobit said to him, “I aim
To know, brother, your kin and name.”
He said “I’m Azarias son
Of Ananias the great one
And from your brothers when all’s done.”

Because I trust no angels, they must lie,
Inventing genealogies too sly
To trip up on the knowledge I have best
Of whom and what and where I may invest.
If I find lies writ in the sacred word,
The explanation’s simple as a bird.
It’s men in fear and care require the name
Refusing to accept the divine flame.
And then it’s men who come after the claim
Demanding honesty after the fact
Who condemn You no matter how You act.
Historic criticism fits the bill:
The angel tells a lie because the pill
Is too bitter without the sugar fill.

13 Then Tobit said “Brother, welcome.
Do not be angry with me though
I ask to know your tribe and show.
For you’re my brother and from good
And honest clan as ever could.
I know both Ananias and
Jonathas sons of one to stand
The great Samaias since we went
Up to Jerusalem and meant
To worship and offer the firsts
And tenths of the produce that bursts,
And they were not deceived by what
Mistakes our brothers had been taught.
My brother, you’re of good kin wrought.
14 “But tell me what wages shall I
Give you? A drachm a day supply
Above the board and keep I give
Also to my son and to live?
15 “Above that if you come back safe
I’ll add to your wages a strafe.”

Is it sad or not, my Beloved, to see
Tobit is satisfied that they agree
On some obscure point of theology
Regarding firstfruits and the tithes to be
Brought to the fortress of the Holy See?
Who knows what bitter blow of sect arose
In ancient times to make men tear their clothes?
But that the man’s descended from the lot
Whose opinions conformed to Tobit’s thought
Sufficed to show him trustworthy to take
His son through dangers in the river’s wake.
The man’s prepared in ways an angel could
Not be, and yet reality for good
Was hidden from Tobit through his mistake.

16 So they were happy to agree.
Then he said to Tabias, “See,
Get ready for the trip, and God
Give you safe journey on the sod.”
And when his son had packed his things.
His father said “Go on your wings
With this man, and may God who dwells
In heaven give success in spells
To your trip, and His angel keep
You company waking, asleep.”
So they set out, both they and the
Young man’s dog running at the lee.
17 But Anna his mom wept to see
And said to Tobit, “Why’ve you sent
Away our son fool’s errand bent?
Do we not need him here to be
Our guide and comfort faithfully?”
18 “Don’t be so greedy to add wealth
To wealth, but think about the health
Of our son. 19 “For what God has set
For us to live’s enough to get.”
20 Then Tobit said to her, “Do not
Be worried, my sister, as taught
He will come back safely and you
Will have him once more in your view.
21 “For the good angel at his steps
Will make him fortunate in reps,
And he will come back safe and sound.”
And so she stopped her moping round.

The mother’s care’s consoled by compliment
That angels also on the road were sent,
And that faith in invisible sufficed
To dry her tears and shed her soul surpliced.
It’s strange the spirit grasps at vision’s sight
And prays for revelation of Your might,
But then trusts more the unseen on the way
Than angels visible by light of day.
What’s seen, though miracle, retains the weight
Of the disdainful and familiar state.
Invisible’s a thing of mystery
And keeps in awe all human history.
Behoved, my faith’s a faint and pallid shore
Dependent on the senses and no more.

TOBIT 6

1 As they travelled on they arrived
In the evening and less contrived
At River Tigris, and stayed there.
2 And when the young man laid him bare
To wash himself, a great fish leapt
Out of the river, would have swept
Him up to eat him for his share.
3 The angel told him, “Take the fish.”
And the young man grabbed by his wish
The beast and drew it to the land.
4 The angel gave again command,
“Cut the fish open, take the heart,
The liver, and the gall apart.”
5 The young man did by the command.
They roasted the fish on the sand
And ate it, then went on their way
Till they came near Ecbatane.

Fish stories are the plague of revelation,
Doubted in fact because of their sensation.
The truth is that the Tigris hides so few
Such monster fish today from boat and crew
As first attack Tobias, then he drew
It single-handed to the bank and sliced
Its heart and gall and liver out sufficed
To make the book of Tobit one they knew
To be apocryphal, by which we mean
That it’s not true at all from what we’ve seen.
No matter how many angels appear
The priests and bishops will not doubt, I fear.
But let them say the fish was daunting big
And all cry legend is not worth a fig.

6 The young man asked the angel then,
“Brother Azarias, what ken
You of the use of heart and gall
And liver of the fish withal?”
7 And he told him, “As for the heart,
And liver, if a devil start
Or evil spirit come dismay
Anyone, we can drive away
Such with a holy smoke of them
Before the man or woman’s hem,
And they will never more be vexed.
8 As for the gall its better use
Is to salve the eyes to produce
Healing from whiteness in recluse.”

The Decalogue, Beloved, gives word of life
On how to live long in a world of strife.
But Tobit in his prophecy like knife
Reveals the secrets of how to cure wife
And father of the dangers that are rife
In such a world where ten words and no more
Do not suffice for happiness and store.
Now that the practice of physician’s sore
With pharmaceutical companies’ lore,
The wise return to charm and spell and herb,
Hoping for healing on the frozen curb.
Beloved, I catch the fish and liver out,
Taste oil that gives me hope to gad about
With health and stealth until You knock my snout.

9 As they approached Rages then said
10 The angel to the young man led,
“Brother, today we’ll go to stay
With Raguel, your cousin gay.
He also has an only daughter
Named Sarah. I’ll speak that you sought her
As wife, 11 “for she is yours alone
By the inheritance in stone.
12 “The girl is beautiful and wise,
Now therefore hear me, I’ll apprise
Her father and when we return
From Rages wedding we shall earn.
I know Raguel may not wed her
By Moses’ law to other fer
Or else the guilt of death incur,
Because rite of inheritance
Belongs to you first not askance.”
13 To the angel the youth replied,
“Brother Azarias, aside
I’ve heard this girl was married to
Seven men who all died in crew
In marriage chamber. 14 “And now I
Am my father’s only son, I
Fear wedding her that I might die
Like those before. A devil dun
Loves her, who attacks everyone
Approaching her. That’s why I fear
To take her, lest I die, bring tear
To Mom and Dad because of me
Down to the grave and sorrowfully,
They’ve no other son to bury.”
15 The angel told him, “Don’t you mind
Your father’s precept wife to find
From your own kin? So now hear me,
O brother, you’ll take her freely,
And do not mind the evil case.
Tonight she’ll be yours in her place.

It’s news to me that Moses’ law appeals
To the death sentence when a father feels
A stranger ought to make a better man
For daughter than any matched cousin can.
The law’s interpreted in brief for guile
And for tradition of the neighbour’s smile.
I doubt not that chapter and verse are found,
What I doubt is that I’d believe the round.
The message that is taught depends so much
On heart and ear and eye as well as touch,
And oracles sung in the flooding words
Of Hebrew make no more sense than the birds’
Songs till the light of truth shine on the way
Burning by night and sheltering from the day.

16 “When you come in the marriage room
You’ll take the ashes of perfume
And lay upon them heart and liver
Of fish and make smoke from it shiver.
17 “The devil smelling it will flee
Never returning from the spree.
But when you come to her, arise
The both of you in prayerful guise
And call upon Allah Rahman
Rahiim and He will save from dawn,
Don’t be afraid, since she’s appointed
To you and from the start anointed.
And you’ll keep her and she will go
With you. Moreover as I know
She’s like to bear you children too.”
Tobias hearing this loved her,
His heart was joined to her demur.
And so they travelled on that day
Till they came to Ecbatane.

The Suura on the dawn may be enough
Now-days to rid a room of spirits tough,
But just in case the evil’s still in store
The angel and the fish will give me more.
A little ash of myrrh and heart of fish,
A little of its liver in a dish,
All caught in smoke of lamp and of perfume
Will frighten off the evil jinn to doom.
And yet I wot not but the single prayer,
Despite quotation to arise somewhere
In later chapters, was one and the same
As the Qur’an reveals in the dawn’s claim.
Beloved, I turn to You in light of flame
And trust Your holy word beneath Your care.

TOBIT 7

1 He came to Raguel’s house and there
Sarah met them, greeted the pair
And they them, and she brought them in
To the house. 2 And then did begin
Raguel to say to Edna his
Wife, “See how much this young man is
Like my cousin Tobit in fin.”
3 Then Raguel asked them, “Where then are
You from, my brothers from afar?”
And they said to him, “We are sons
Of Naphtali captive in runs
Of Nineveh.” 4 Then he asked them,
“Do you know Tobit our kin’s gem?”
And they said “We know him indeed.”
Then he asked “Is his health in weed?”
5 And they said “He’s alive and treed.”
And Tobit said “The man’s my dad.”
6 Then Raguel jumped up, kissed him glad,
And wept, 7 and blessed him, told the lad,
“Son of a man honest and good.”
But when he at last understood
Tobit was blind, his heart was hit
With sorrow and he wept a bit.
8 And so did his wife Edna and
Sarah his daughter at his hand.
But faithfully they gave them cheer,
And after that it would appear
They killed a ram out of the flock
And set meat on the table’s dock.
Said then Tobias to Raphael,
“Brother Azarias, speak well
Of what you mentioned on the way,
Let’s finish this matter today.”

How soon frightened Tobias changes ways
Of thinking about Sarah for her praise!
Faith in the angel’s words, no doubt enough,
Turned to the certainty of sight of stuff.
Truth is six men before had will to take
The risk of demon death for Sarah’s sake.
Well is she named as one to tempt both kings
And captive paupers rising on hope’s wings.
Beloved, the heart of man is filled with things
Created in Your power above gold,
Removed from fear as well as from things sold.
The light kindled Tobias’ heart and he
Returns with love to mom and dad to see
The generations hope eternally.

9 He transmitted then to Raguel
And Raguel spoke the matter well
To Tobias, “Eat, drink and be
Merry, 10 for to you fittingly
Belongs my child, but wittingly
I tell you the truth faithfully.
11 “I’ve given my child to seven men
In marriage, and that night in den
They each one died, nevertheless
For the moment enjoy the dress.”
And said Tobias, “I’ll not eat
Another bite until we meet
Agreeing to swear on the treat.”
12 And said Raguel, “Then take her now
According to the custom’s vow,
For you’re her cousin, she is yours,
And merciful Ælohim pours
On you good fortune anyhow.”
13 He summoned his daughter Sarah,
And she came to her father’s paw,
He took her by the hand and gave
Her to Tobias as wife grave,
Saying “Take her as due by law
Of Moses, and lead by the paw
To your father.” And he blessed them.
14 He called Edna his wife and took
Paper and wrote as in a book
And sealed it. 15 They began to eat.
16 So then Raguel called from her seat
His wife Edna and said to her,
“Sister, prepare the room for her,
And bring her where it will occur.”
17 When she’d done all he told her to,
She brought her there and wept a few,
And her daughter shed tears there too.
But she said to her, 18 “Don’t be sad,
My daughter, but mind to be glad.
The Lord of heaven and earth shall give
Joy for the sorrow that you live.
Take comfort then in what you’ve had.”

What happened to the year of waiting that
The bride must have before her getting fat
By Jewish law and custom on the mat?
He’s hardly met the girl and off he goes
To bed with her to pluck her thorn and rose.
The fact is time and place often relent
To see wherein societies consent.
The variation Decalogue allows
Is greater than any church’s eyebrows.
If all have customs greater for their share
Than necessary, all also must share
The guilt that no faith preserves all the law.
So let, Beloved, Tobias fill his craw
And then in joy stick Sarah with his claw.

AUTHOR: THOMAS G. MCELWAIN

Copyright © 2007 Adams & McElwain Publishers and Thomas McElwain First Published in two volumes, The Beloved and I 2005, and Led of the Beloved, 2006. Second Edition, 2010 Third and revised edition, 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this verse commentary on the sacred Scriptures may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from publisher.

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