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Tobit 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Tobit 1:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 1
A Man Called Tobit. 1 This book relates the story of Tobit,[a] son of Tobiel, son of Hananiel, son of Aduel, son of Gabael of the family of Asiel, of the tribe of Naphtali. 2 During the reign of Shalmaneser,[b] king of Assyria, Tobit was taken into captivity from Thisbe, which is south of Kedesh Naphtali in Upper Galilee, above Hazor and some distance to the west of Asher, north of Phogor.
The Suffering of the Righteous[c]
Tobit, a Righteous Man Put to the Test
A Model Israelite. 3 I, Tobit, have traveled along the paths of truth and righteousness throughout all the days of my life. I carried out many charitable deeds for my kindred and for those of my people who had been sent into exile with me to Nineveh in the country of the Assyrians.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Tobit 1:1 Note that though the account begins in the third person, from 1:3—3:6 it uses the first person. Tobit is short for Tobiahu, “God is my good.”
- Tobit 1:2 Shalmaneser V (727–722 B.C.) was the Assyrian king who began the siege of Samaria, but it was Sargon II (722–705 B.C.) who captured it and took its inhabitants into exile.
- Tobit 1:3 Two sequences are juxtaposed. In two different places, two Israelites, two relatives, whose fidelity cannot be placed into doubt, are led to touch the depth of suffering. Even the Old Testament is aware, above all after the Exile, that suffering lies on the path of those who wish to serve God.
