1

 2

 3

 4

 5

 6

 7

 8

 9

 10

 11

 12

 13

 14

 15

 16

 17

 18

 19

 20

 21

 22

 23

 24

 25

 26

 27

 28

 29

 30

 31

 32

 33

 34

 35

 36

 37

 38

 39

 40

 41

 42

 43

 44

 45

 46

 48

 49

 50

 51

 52

 53

 54

 55

 56

 57

 58

 59

 60

 61

 62

 63

 64

 65

 66

 67

 68

 69

 70

 71

 72

 73

 74

 75

 76

 77

 78

 79

 80

 81

 82

 83

 84

 85

 86

 87

 88

 89

 90

 91

 92

 93

 94

 95

 96

 97

 98

 99

 100

 101

 102

 103

 104

 105

 106

 107

 108

 109

 110

 111

 112

 113

 114

 115

 116

 117

 118

 119

 120

 121

 122

 123

 124

 125

 126

 127

 128

 129

 130

 131

 132

 133

 134

 135

 136

 137

 138

 139

 140

 141

 142

 143

 144

 145

 146

 147

 148

 149

 150

 151

 152

 153

 154

 155

 156

 157

 158

 159

 160

 161

 162

 163

 164

 165

 166

 167

 168

 169

 170

 171

 172

 173

 174

 175

 176

 177

 178

 179

 180

 181

 182

 183

 184

 185

 186

 187

 188

 189

 190

 191

 192

 193

 194

 195

 196

 197

 198

 199

 200

 201

 202

 203

 204

 205

 206

 207

 208

 209

 210

 211

 212

 213

 214

 215

 216

 217

 218

 219

 220

 221

 222

 223

 224

 225

 226

 227

 228

 229

 230

 231

 232

 233

 234

 235

 236

 237

 238

 239

 240

 241

 242

 243

 244

 245

 246

 247

 248

 249

 250

 251

 252

 253

 254

 255

 256

 257

 258

 259

 260

 261

 262

 263

 264

 265

 266

 267

 268

 269

 270

 271

 272

 273

 274

 275

 276

 277

 278

 279

 280

 281

 282

 283

 284

 285

 286

 287

 288

 289

 290

 291

 292

 293

 294

 295

 296

 297

 298

 299

 300

 301

 302

 303

 304

 305

 306

 307

 308

 309

 310

 311

 312

 313

 314

 315

 316

 317

 318

 319

 320

 321

 322

 323

 324

 325

 326

 327

 328

 329

 330

 331

 332

 333

 334

 335

 336

 337

 338

 339

 340

 341

 342

 343

 344

 345

 346

 347

 348

 349

 350

 351

 352

 353

 354

 355

 356

 357

 358

 359

 360

 361

 362

 363

 364

 365

 366

 367

 368

 369

 370

 371

 372

 373

 374

 375

 376

 377

 378

 379

 380

 381

 382

 383

 384

 385

 386

 387

 388

 389

 390

 391

 392

 393

 394

 395

 396

 397

 398

 399

 400

 401

 402

 403

 404

 405

 406

 407

 408

 409

 410

 411

 412

 413

 414

 415

 416

 417

 418

 419

 420

 421

 422

 423

 424

 425

 426

 427

 428

 429

 430

 431

 432

 433

 434

 435

 436

 437

 438

87

Sennacherib was killed by his sons, and the patricides, being afraid, fled, and another son of his, Nachordan, succeeded to his father's kingdom. He appointed a relative of Tobit as administrator of his affairs, called Achiacharus. And he besought the king concerning Tobit, and he returned to Nineveh. When Pentecost came, which the Jews celebrated after seven weeks, a lavish meal was prepared for Tobit. So he says to his son Tobias, "Go, child, and bring whomever you may find of our brethren in need who is mindful of the Lord, to share our table." But he went and returned, saying, "One of our people has been strangled and cast out in the marketplace." And Tobit went out immediately, and taking up the 1.219 dead man, he brought him into the house, and when the sun had set, he buried him. And returning, he did not enter the house, as he was unclean according to the law for having touched the dead man, but slept by the wall in the courtyard. But sparrows nesting in the wall defecated into his eyes, from which white films formed on them, and from these Tobit was blinded. Having fallen into poverty, he was supported by his wife, who spun for a wage. And once, having received her wages, and having received a kid in addition to them, she came to Tobit. And hearing the bleating of the kid, he asked if it might be stolen. But she said, "It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wages." And he insisted, saying, "If it is stolen, let it be returned to its owners." But his wife, becoming greatly distressed and, as it were, mocking her husband for his scrupulousness in justice, said, "Where are your alms and your righteous deeds?" And Tobit, being distraught, wept and asked God to be released from life. And on that very day in Ecbatana of Media it happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was reproached by her father's maidservants for strangling her husbands; for she had been joined to seven, but had been with none of them. For a certain demon called Asmodeus would kill them as they went in to her. And she, not bearing the reproach, resolved to hang herself. But lest she bring grief and reproach upon her father, she did not do this, but standing in prayer she called upon God, asking to die and be released from the reproaches, or to be pitied and so again escape the reproach. So the prayer of both was heard, and 1.220 the archangel Raphael was sent from God to heal the blindness of Tobit, and to betroth Sarah to Tobias, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon, so that he might not do any harm to Tobias, if he should take Sarah. And Tobit, calling his son Tobias and exhorting him much, finally said to him, "I deposited ten talents of silver with Gamael the son of Gabrias in Rages of Media; go therefore and receive these." And he gave him the written bond concerning these things, and instructed him to seek a man who would travel with him for a wage. And while seeking a fellow traveler, he encounters the archangel Raphael, who had appeared to him in the form of a man and professed to know the way and the house of Gamael and to travel with him. And taking him as a man called Azarias, he departed. And they came in the evening to the Tigris river, and they lodged there. And Tobias went down into the river to wash himself, and a fish leaped up from there to swallow the young man. But the angel commanded him to seize the fish, and said that when it was drawn onto the land it should be cut open, and instructed Tobias to take its heart and its liver and its gall, and to keep them safely. As they were traveling and approaching Ecbatana, Tobias said, "Brother Azarias, for what will the heart of the fish and the liver and the gall be useful to us?" And he answered, "The heart and the liver, when burned as incense, drive out demons if they trouble someone, but the gall, when anointed on eyes that have white films, clears them and 1.221 gives sight." And now they had drawn near to Ecbatana, and the angel says to Tobias, "Today

87

Σεναχηρεὶμ παρὰ τῶν υἱέων ἀνῄρητο, καὶ οἱ μὲν πατροκτόνοι δείσαντες εφυγον, ετερος δὲ παῖς ἐκείνου ὁ Ναχορδὰν τὴν βασιλείαν τὴν πατρικὴν διεδέξατο. ος συγγενῆ τοῦ Τωβὶτ κατέστησε τῶν αὐτοῦ πραγμάτων διοικητήν, ̓Αχιάχαρ καλούμενον. κἀκεῖνος ἐδεήθη τοῦ βασιλέως περὶ Τωβίτ, καὶ ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Νινευί. ἐνστάσης δὲ πεντηκοστῆς, ην καθ' ἑπτὰ ἑβδομάδας ἑώρταζον ̓Ιουδαῖοι, αριστον ἡτοίμαστο τῷ Τωβὶτ δαψιλές. λέγει ουν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ Τωβίᾳ "πορεύθητι, τέκνον, καὶ αγαγε ον αν ευρῃς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν ἐνδεῆ μεμνημένον τοῦ κυρίου, μεθέξοντα τραπέζης ἡμῖν." ὁ δὲ πορευθεὶς ἀνέστρεψε λέγων "εις ἐκ τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν ἐστραγγαλωμένος ερριπται ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ." καὶ ὁ Τωβὶτ εὐθὺς ἀπῆλθε, καὶ ἀνελόμενος τὸν 1.219 νεκρὸν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐκόμισε, δύντος δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου εθαψεν αὐτόν. καὶ ἐπανελθὼν οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, οια κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἀκάθαρτος ὡς ἁψάμενος τοῦ νεκροῦ, ἀλλ' ἐκοιμήθη παρὰ τὸν τοῖχον ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ. στρουθία δὲ ἐν τῷ τοίχῳ διανυκτερεύοντα ἀφώδευσαν εἰς τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, ἐξ ων λευκώματα συνέβησαν ἐν αὐτοῖς, κἀκ τούτων πεπήρωτο ὁ Τωβίτ. ἐν ἐνδείᾳ δὲ γεγονὼς ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς μισθῷ νηθούσης ἐτρέφετο. καί ποτε μισθὸν λαβοῦσα, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ προσειληφυῖα καὶ εριφον, ηκε πρὸς τὸν Τωβίτ. καὶ ἀκούσας τῆς κραυγῆς τοῦ ἐρίφου, ἠρώτα μήποτε κλοπιμαῖος ειη. ἡ δέ "δῶρον" ειπέ "μοι δέδοται ἐπὶ τῷ μισθῷ." καὶ ος ἐνέκειτο λέγων "εἰ κλοπιμαῖόν ἐστιν, ἀποδοθήτω τοῖς κυρίοις αὐτοῦ." περιαλγήσασα δὲ ἡ γυνὴ καὶ οἱονεὶ τὸν ανδρα ἐπὶ τῇ ἀκριβείᾳ τοῦ δικαίου χλευάζουσα "ποῦ εἰσιν αἱ ἐλεημοσύναι σου καὶ αἱ δικαιοσύναι σου;" εφη. καὶ ὁ Τωβὶτ ἐδάκρυσε συγχυθεὶς καὶ ῃτει τὸν θεὸν ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ ζῆν. Καὶ κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐν ̓Εκβατάνοις τῆς Μηδίας συνέπεσεν ὀνειδισθῆναι Σάρραν τὴν θυγατέρα ̔Ραγουὴλ ὑπὸ παιδισκῶν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς, ὡς τοὺς ανδρας αὐτῆς ἀποπνίγουσαν, καὶ ἑπτὰ μὲν συζευχθεῖσαν, οὐδενὶ δὲ αὐτῶν γενομένην. δαιμόνιον γάρ τι ̓Ασμοδαῖος καλούμενον ἐθανάτου αὐτοὺς πρὸς αὐτὴν εἰσιόντας. ἡ δὲ μὴ φέρουσα τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἀπάγξασθαι ἐβουλεύσατο. ἀλλ' ινα μὴ πένθος καὶ ονειδος δῷ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῆς, τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἐποίησεν, εἰς προσευχὴν δὲ στᾶσα ἐπεκαλέσατο τὸν θεόν, αἰτουμένη θανεῖν καὶ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῶν ὀνειδῶν η οἰκτειρηθῆναι καὶ ουτως αυθις τὸ ονειδος ἐκφυγεῖν. Εἰσηκούσθη ουν ἡ προσευχὴ καὶ ἀμφοῖν, καὶ 1.220 ἀπεστάλη πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ̔Ραφαὴλ ὁ ἀρχάγγελος ἰάσασθαι μὲν τὴν πήρωσιν τῷ Τωβίτ, τὴν Σάρραν δὲ τῷ Τωβίᾳ μνηστεύσασθαι, καὶ δῆσαι τὸν ̓Ασμοδαῖον τὸ πονηρὸν δαιμόνιον, ωστε μή τι κακὸν τῷ Τωβίᾳ ἐργάσασθαι, εἰ τὴν Σάρραν ἀγάγοιτο. καλέσας δὲ ὁ Τωβὶτ τὸν Τωβίαν τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ καὶ παραινέσας πολλά, τέλος εφη αὐτῷ "δέκα τάλαντα ἀργυρίου παρεθέμην Γαμαὴλ τῷ τοῦ Γαβρία ἐν ̔Ράγοις τῆς Μηδίας· πορευθεὶς ουν λάβε ταῦτα." καὶ εδωκεν αὐτῷ τὸ περὶ τούτων χειρόγραφον, καὶ ἐνετείλατο ζητῆσαι ανθρωπον ος μισθοῦ συμπορεύσεται αὐτῷ. καὶ ζητῶν συνοδοιπόρον ἐντυγχάνει τῷ ἀρχαγγέλῳ ̔Ραφαὴλ ἐν ειδει ἀνδρὸς φανέντι αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπαγγελλομένῳ εἰδέναι τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ τὸν οικον τοῦ Γαμαὴλ καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ πορευθῆναι. καὶ παραλαβὼν αὐτὸν ὡς ανθρωπον ̓Αζαρίαν καλούμενον ἀπῄει. καὶ ηλθον ἑσπέρας ἐπὶ τὸν Τίγρην τὸν ποταμόν, καὶ ηὐλίσθησαν ἐκεῖ. Τωβίας δὲ εἰσέδυ τὸν ποταμὸν περικλύσασθαι, καὶ ἀνέθορεν ἐκεῖθεν ἰχθὺς καταπιεῖν τὸ μειράκιον. ὁ δὲ αγγελος ἐπιλαβέσθαι αὐτῷ τοῦ ἰχθύος παρεκελεύσατο, καὶ ἑλκυσθέντα αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν γῆν ἀνατμηθῆναι ειπε, καὶ λαβεῖν ὑπέθετο τῷ Τωβίᾳ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ηπαρ καὶ τὴν χολήν, καὶ διατηρεῖν ἀσφαλῶς. ̔Ως δ' ἐπορεύοντο καὶ ηγγιζον ̓Εκβατάνοις, εφη Τωβίας "ἀδελφὲ ̓Αζαρία, εἰς τί χρησιμεύσουσιν ἡμῖν ἡ καρδία τοῦ ἰχθύος καὶ τὸ ηπαρ καὶ ἡ χολή; ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο "ἡ καρδία καὶ τὸ ηπαρ θυμιώμενα διώκουσι δαίμονας, ἐάν τινι ἐνοχλῶσιν, ἡ δὲ χολὴ ἐγχριομένη ομμασι λευκώματα εχουσι καθαίρει ταῦτα καὶ 1.221 δίδωσι τὸ ὁρᾶν." ηδη δὲ τοῖς ̓Εκβατάνοις προσήγγισαν, καί φησι τῷ Τωβίᾳ ὁ αγγελος "σήμερον