Tobit
Tobit is the most entertaining narrative in the Bible, part love story, part adventure, part comedy of errors, with an angel showing up to set things right.
Read this if you…
- like a charming biblical novella with an angel-in-disguise, a love story, and a demon to defeat
- want the deuterocanonical book where the archangel Raphael accompanies a young man on a quest
- care about reading parts of the Bible that read more like folktale than scripture
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Why It Matters
Tobit is the most entertaining narrative in the Bible, part love story, part adventure, part comedy of errors, with an angel showing up to set things right. Its picture of ordinary piety, family loyalty, and trust in God's quiet providence has kept it well loved for a long time.
Where to go next
- Paradise Lost by John Milton. Tobit shaped it. - Milton plucks the demon Asmodeus straight out of *Tobit* — the "fishy fume" that drove him off Tobit's son's bride becomes Milton's image for Satan's frustrated lust - Tobit's angelic companion Raphael returns too, named in *Paradise Lost* as the spirit who "deign'd to travel with Tobias" - This deuterocanonical book gave Milton two figures — one demonic, one angelic — that he wove directly into his epic
Depicted in Art
Raphael ascends in a blaze of light as Tobit, Tobias, Anna and Sarah kneel in awe; the angel's identity revealed only at the moment of departure.
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1637
Aged blind Tobit sits at home accusing Anna of stealing the goat she has been given; Anna defends herself holding the kid.
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1626
Blind Tobit sits by the hearth in shadow while Anna spins; both wait for Tobias to return from his journey.
Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Cambridge University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“Do that to no man which thou hatest.”
“I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.”
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