Old Tobias dieth at the age of a hundred and two years, after exhorting his son and grandsons to piety, foreshewing that Ninive shall be destroyed, and Jerusalem rebuilt. The younger Tobias returneth with his family to Raguel, and dieth happily as he had lived.
Old Tobias dieth at the age of an hundred and two yeares, 5. exhorteth his sonne and nephewes to pietie, forshewing that Niniue shal be destroyed, and Ierusalem reedified. 14. yonger Tobias returneth with his familie to Raguel, and dieth happely as he had liued.
1And the words of Tobias were ended. And after Tobias was restored to his sight, he lived two and forty years, and saw the children of his grandchildren.Così finì Tobia di parlare: ed egli dopo aver ricuperata la vista visse quarantadue anni, e vide i figliuoli de' suoi nipoti,AND the wordes of Tobias were ended. And after that Tobias was restored to his sight, he liued two and fourtie yeares, and saw the children of his nephewes.Et consummati sunt sermones Tobiæ. Et postquam illuminatus est Tobias, vixit annis quadraginta duobus, et vidit filios nepotum suorum. 2And after he had lived a hundred and two years, he was buried honorably in Ninive.È compiuta che ebbe l'età di cento due anni fu orrevolmente sepolto in Ninive.Therfore an hundred and two yeares being accomplished, he was buried honorably in Niniue.Completis itaque annis centum duobus, sepultus est honorifice in Ninive. 3For he was six and fifty years old when he lost the sight of his eyes, and sixty when he recovered it again.Imperocchè di cinquantasei anni perdè il lume degli occhi, e lo ricuperò di sessanta.For being six and fiftie yeares old he lost the sight of his eies, and being threescore he receiued it agayne.Quinquaginta namque et sex annorum lumen oculorum amisit, sexagenarius vero recepit. 4And the rest of his life was in joy, and with great increase of the fear of God he departed in peace.E il rimanente della sua vita la passò in allegrezza, e con grande avanzamento nel timor di Dio andosene in pace.And the rest of his life was in ioy, and with great increase of the feare of God he went forward in peace.Reliquum vero vitæ suæ in gaudio fuit, et cum bono profectu timoris Dei perrexit in pace. 5And at the hour of his death he called unto him his son Tobias and his children, seven young men, his grandsons, and said to them:E al punto di sua morte chiamò a se il figliuolo Tobia, e sette giovanetti figliuoli di lui suoi nipoti, e disse loro:And at the houre of his death he called vnto him Tobias his sonne, and his seuen yong sonnes, his nephewes, and sayd to them:In hora autem mortis suæ vocavit ad se Tobiam filium suum, et septem juvenes filios ejus nepotes suos, dixitque eis: 6The destruction of Ninive is at hand: for the word of the Lord must be fulfilled: and our brethren, that are scattered abroad from the land of Israel, shall return to it.Ell'è imminente la rovina di Ninive, imperocchè non cade per terra la parola del Signore: e i nostri fratelli, che sono dispersi fuor della terra d'Israele, vi torneranno.The destruction of Niniue is neere: for the word of our Lord fayleth not: and our brethren, which are dispersed from the land of Israel, shal returne to it.Prope erit interitus Ninive: non enim excidit verbum Domini: et fratres nostri, qui dispersi sunt a terra Israël, revertentur ad eam.
7And all the land thereof that is desert shall be filled with people, and the house of God which is burnt in it, shall again be rebuilt: and all that fear God shall return thither.E tutto il paese deserto sarà ripopolato, e la casa di Dio, che fu ivi data alle fiamme, farà ristorata di nuovo, e torneranno colà tutti quelli, che temon Dio.And al the desert land therof shal be replenished, and the house of God which is burnt in it, shal agayne be reedefied: and thither shal al returne that feare God,Omnis autem deserta terra ejus replebitur, et domus Dei, quæ in ea incensa est, iterum reædificabitur: ibique revertentur omnes timentes Deum, 8And the Gentiles shall leave their idols, and shall come into Jerusalem, and shall dwell in it.E le genti abbandoneranno gl'idoli loro, e verranno a Gerusalemme, e ivi abiteranno.and the Gentiles shal forsake their idols, and shal come into Ierusalem, and shal inhabite in it,et relinquent gentes idola sua, et venient in Jerusalem, et inhabitabunt in ea: 9And all the kings of the earth shall rejoice in it, adoring the King of Israel.E tutti i re della terra saranno ivi in letizia, adorando il re d'Israele.and al the kings of the earth shal reioyce in it, adoring the king of Israel.et gaudebunt in ea omnes reges terræ, adorantes regem Israël. 10Hearken therefore, my children, to your father: serve the Lord in truth, and seek to do the things that please him:Ascoltate, adunque, figliuoli miei, il padre vostro: servite di cuor verace il Signore, e studiatevi di fare quello, che piace a lui.Heare ye therfore my children your father: serue our Lord in truth, and seeke to doe the thinges that please him:Audite ergo, filii mei, patrem vestrum: servite Domino in veritate, et inquirite ut faciatis quæ placita sunt illi: 11And command your children that they do justice and almsdeeds, and that they be mindful of God, and bless him at all times in truth, and with all their power.E raccomandate a vostri figliuoli, che facciano opere di giustizia, e limosine; che si ricordino di Dio, e in ogni tempo lo benedicano con cuor verace, e con tutto il loro potere.and command your children that they doe iustices and almes deedes, that they be mindeful of God, and blesse him at al time in truth, and in al their power.et filiis vestris mandate ut faciant justitias et eleemosynas, ut sint memores Dei, et benedicant eum in omni tempore in veritate, et in tota virtute sua. 12And now, children, hear me, and do not stay here: but as soon as you shall bury your mother by me in one sepulchre, without delay direct your steps to depart hence:Adesso poi, figliuoli miei, ascoltate me, e non vogliate restarvi qua; ma quando che avvenga, che abbiate accanto a me seppellita nello stesso sepolcro la madre vostra, quel giorno stesso movetevi per partirvi di qua.Now therfore children heare me, and doe not tarie here: but what day soeuer you shal burie your mother by me in one sepulchre, from thenceforth directe your steppes to depart hence:Nunc ergo filii, audite me, et nolite manere hic: sed quacumque die sepelieritis matrem vestram circa me in uno sepulchro, ex eo dirigite gressus vestros ut exeatis hinc:
13For I see that its iniquity will bring it to destruction.Perocchè io veggo, che la sua iniquità la condurrà al suo termine.for I see that the iniquitie therof wil giue it an end.video enim quia iniquitas ejus finem dabit ei. 14And it came to pass that after the death of his mother, Tobias departed out of Ninive with his wife, and children, and children’s children, and returned to his father and mother in law.Or morta che fu sua, madre, Tobia si partì da Ninive colla sua moglie, e co' figliuoli, e coi figliuoli de' figliuoli, e tornò a casa de' suoi suoceri.And it came to passe after the death of his mother, Tobias departed out of Niniue with his wife, and children, and childrens children, and returned to his father and mother in law.Factum est autem post obitum matris suæ, Tobias abscessit ex Ninive cum uxore sua, et filiis, et filiorum filiis, et reversus est ad soceros suos: 15And he found them in health in a good old age: and he took care of them, and he closed their eyes: and all the inheritance of Raguel’s house came to him: and he saw his children’s children to the fifth generation.E li trovò sani, e salvi in prospera vecchiezza, ed ebbe cura di essi, ed egli fu, che chiuse i loro occhi, ed egli raccolse tutta l'eredità della casa di Raguele, e vide i figliuoli de' suoi figliuoli sino alla, quinta generazione.And he found them in health in good old age: and he tooke care of them, and he closed their eies: and al the inheritance of Raguels house he receiued: & he saw the fifth generation, his childrens children.invenitque eos incolumes in senectute bona: et curam eorum gessit, et ipse clausit oculos eorum: et omnem hæreditatem domus Raguelis ipse percepit: viditque quintam generationem, filios filiorum suorum. 16And after he had lived ninety-nine years in the fear of the Lord, with joy they buried him.E compiuti novantanove anni nel timore del Signore, lo seppellirono con gaudio.And nintie nine yeares being accomplished in the feare of our Lord, with ioy they buried him.Et completis annis nonaginta novem in timore Domini, cum gaudio sepelierunt eum. 17And all his kindred, and all his generation continued in good life, and in holy conversation, so that they were acceptable both to God, and to men, and to all that dwelt in the land.Or tutta la tua parentela, e tutti i suoi discendenti perseverarono nel ben vivere, e nelle operazioni sante, talmente che furon cari sì a Dio, e sì agli uomini, e a tutti gli abitanti del paese.And al his kinred, and al his generation continewed in good life, and in holie conuersation, so that they were acceptable both to God, and to men, and to al the inhabitantes in in the land.Omnis autem cognatio ejus et omnis generatio ejus in bona vita et in sancta conversatione permansit, ita ut accepti essent tam Deo quam hominibus, et cunctis habitantibus in terra.
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Haydock
Words. Greek, "confession; (or hymn of praise) and he was 58 years old when he lost his sight, which he recovered eight years after, and gave alms, and continued to fear the Lord God, and to confess unto him. Now he arrived at a very advanced age," 158, ver. 10. (Haydock)
Calmet
But this chronology must be abandoned. All the versions disagree; and perhaps there may be none perfectly accurate. (Calmet)
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Year of the World 3341, Year before Christ 663.
Two. Arabic and Schol. History, read "twelve."
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Seven. Greek Compl. and Alexandrian, as well as Fagius, have only "six."
14:6
Haydock
The. Greek, "Son, take thy children. Behold, I am grown old, and my life is hastening to an end. Depart into Media, my son, for I believe all that the prophet, Jonas, spoke concerning Ninive, that it will be overturned. But in Media there will be more peace for a time, and that our brethren in the land will be scattered from the good land; and Jerusalem shall be deserted, and the house of God in it will be burnt, and shall be abandoned for a time; and they shall build the house, not like the former, till the times of the world or age be accomplished; and afterwards they shall return from the captives, and shall build Jerusalem gloriously; and the house of God shall be built in it, and the edifice shall be glorious for ever, as the prophets have spoken concerning it; and all the Gentiles shall turn truly to fear the Lord God, and shall undermine (and destroy) their idols; and all the Gentiles shall bless the Lord," etc., (Tobit 14:9.) (Haydock)
Calmet
This text is of importance, as it specifies the name of Jonas, and is quoted by St. Jerome; (ibid.) though Nahum and Sophoniash (Nahum 3:8.; Sophonias 2:13.) also foretold the destruction of Ninive. It speaks of the future, and not of the past ruin, of the temple, which certainly took place after the death of Tobias. (Calmet)
Haydock
The prophets, however, frequently speak of future events, as if they were past, to shew the certainty of their predictions. (Haydock)
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Calmet
In it. Let the Jews shew when this was accomplished. We can easily point out the nations converted from idolatry to the Church of Christ, as the prophets foretold, (Jeremias 3:17., Jeremias 16:19.) (Calmet)
Worthington
It cannot, therefore, be understood of the temporal Jerusalem. (Worthington)
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Haydock
And. Greek, "And his people shall confess to God, and the Lord shall exalt his people, and all shall rejoice who love the Lord God in truth and justice, shewing mercy to our brethren. And now, son, depart from Ninive; for what the prophet, Jonas, spoke, shall surely be accomplished." (Haydock)
Menochius
This prediction was conditional, as was also the pardon of the people, who were justly punished for their relapse. (Menochius)
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Haydock
Seek with diligence, not barely doing what you are commanded. (Haydock)
Calmet
Greek is much more diffuse. (Calmet)
Haydock
"But do thou keep the law and the ordinances, be a lover of alms-deeds, and just, that it may be well with thee. Bury me with decency, and thy mother with me, and tarry then no longer at Ninive. Son, behold what Aman (Syriac, Acab.) did to Achiachar, who fed him, how he conducted him from light into darkness, and what return he made him. Now, Achiachar met with safety: but he received his due, and he went down into darkness. Manasses gave alms, and was rescued from the snare of death, which was laid for him: but Aman fell into the snare, and perished. And now, son, behold the effects of alms-deeds, and how justice brings deliverance. While he was speaking these things, his soul failed upon the bed: but he was 150 years old, and he buried him honourably." (Haydock)
Haydock
The allusion to Aman seems improper, he lived many years after the captivity; (Calmet) or rather it may refer to some other history (Houbigant) with which we are not acquainted. (Haydock)
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Haydock
And. Greek, "And when Anna, his mother, was dead; he buried her with his father. But Tobias departed with his wife and sons to Ecbatana, to Raguel, his father-in-law, and lived to an honourable old age; and he buried honourably his father and mother-in-law, and he inherited their substance, as well as that of his father, Tobit." (Haydock)
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Calmet
Fifth. Including himself. He might see the offspring of his great grandson, if he lived only 70 years after his marriage. (Calmet)
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Calmet
Nine. Syriac, 107. (Calmet)
Haydock
Greek, "But he also died at the age of 127, at Ecbatana, of Media; and he heard, before his death, of the destruction of Ninive, the citizens of which Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus led captives; and he rejoiced over Ninive before he died." We have been more particular in giving the Greek text of this book, because some look upon it as an original; and we should wish to lose no particle of the word of God, which is more precious than gold. Tobias might applaud the execution of divine justice without any private resentment. (Haydock)
Calmet
Ninive was taken by Nabuchodonosor, who acted for his father, Nabopolassar, with whom Astyages, king of the Medes, was leagued. They took the city in the reign of Chinaladan, or Sarac, in the year of the world 3378. It also fell a prey to its enemies, under Sardanapalus, in the year 3257; as the inhabitants did not persevere in sentiments of repentance, which they had entertained at the preaching of Jonas, in the reign of Phul. Hence God revealed its destruction to Tobias. (Calmet)
With joy, may refer to the surviving friends, who rejoiced interiorly at his felicity, while they wept for their own loss; or it may he understood of the deceased; who, like his father, (ver. 4.; Calmet) rejoiced in the Lord, and in performance of good works.
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Worthington
Kindred. Behold the influence of good example; (Haydock) and a proof that the true religion failed not in Israel, much less in Juda, or the Church of Christ. (Worthington)
Calmet
The virtues of these two holy men are truly deserving of applause and imitation. They thought and acted in perfect conformity with the gospel. The father might represent the old law, under all its inconveniences, while the son holds forth the light of Christ, and banishes the devil. (Calmet)
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THE BOOK OF JUDITH
The sacred writer of this Book is generally believed to be the high priest Eliachim (called also Joachim). The transactions herein related, most probably happened in his days, and in the reign of Manasses, after his repentance and return from captivity. It takes its name from that illustrious woman, by whose virtue and fortitude, and armed with prayer, the children of Israel were preserved from the destruction threatened them by Holofernes and his great army. It finishes with her canticle of thanksgiving to God.
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This can not be vnderstood of the citie of Ierusalem but of the Church of Christ.
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Gods seruantes must not only expect what shal be commanded, but also seeke to know what they ought to do.
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A notable cōmendation of Tobias familie and posteritie. And a plaine testimonie that true Religion neuer failed wholy in the tenne tribes, much lesse in the kingdom of Iuda, least of al in the Church of Christ, & new Testament.
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St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 On Works and Alms 20
… Give useful and saving precepts to your pledges, such as he gave to his son; command your children what he also commanded his son, saying: “And now, my son, I command thee, serve God in truth, and do before Him that which pleaseth Him; and command thy sons, that they exercise righteousness and alms, and be mindful of God, and bless His name always.”
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1. AND AFTER TOBIAS WAS ILLUMINATED, HE LIVED FOR 42 YEARS, — namely from the year of his age 60 until 102, as follows.
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2. When therefore one hundred and two years were completed, HE WAS BURIED HONORABLY IN NINEVEH, — namely in a place of exile. For he had been transferred there by Salmanasar king of the Assyrians, whose metropolis was Nineveh. Let the saints say here that they live and die in the world as in exile, and accordingly do not care to die and be buried in their homeland among their own. For: Every land is a fatherland to the brave, as the sea to fishes: and as Thomas More says in Utopia: "From everywhere the distance to the heavens is the same." Tobias, as I said in the preface, in the sixth year of Hezekiah, when he was led with the rest of the Israelites into Assyria, was 39 years old; therefore in the 25th year of Hezekiah, being in the year of his age 46, he was blinded; but in the 27th year of Hezekiah, being in the year of his age 60, he recovered his sight, and afterwards lived still two more years under Hezekiah (for he reigned 29 years), then under Manasseh for 40 years, and in the fortieth year of Manasseh he died, before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans in the year 70. Moreover, the Greek texts assign more years to Tobias. For they assert that he was blinded in the year of his age 158. But by the decree of the Council of Trent, Session IV, the Latin Vulgate as the canonical Scripture is to be followed by us, not the Greek.
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3. FOR AT THE AGE OF FIFTY-SIX HE LOST THE LIGHT OF HIS EYES (in Nineveh) BUT AT SIXTY HE RECOVERED IT.
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5. AND AT THE HOUR OF HIS DEATH HE CALLED TO HIM TOBIAS HIS SON, — so that he might give him final counsels and also oracles concerning the destruction of Nineveh and the glory of Jerusalem. The Patriarch Isaac did the same when dying, Gen. XXVII, 27, and Jacob, Gen. XLIX, and Moses, Deuter. XXXIII. Plato held that the soul at death is as it were elevated from the body of the dying man to divine things, so that it may thereafter perceive and foretell future things by a certain hidden instinct of nature and prognostic signs; just as birds, sheep and cattle from signs of changed air foresee rains and storms. Whence Cicero, lib. I De Divinatione: "As death approaches, he says, the mind is much more divine. For even those who are afflicted with grave and mortal disease see that death is at hand. And so images of the dead often come to them; and then especially do they strive for praise; and those who have lived otherwise than was fitting are then especially repentant of their sins. That the dying also divine is confirmed by Possidonius by this example: that a certain Rhodian named six equals, and said which of them would die first, which second, which thereafter." But from our own writers Arnobius, lib. II Contra gentes: "Being near to death, he says, we are especially powerful in knowledge, so that we prophesy of future things, as it is handed down that Socrates said in Plato's Apology of Socrates." St. Gregory, lib. IV Dialog. cap. XXV, approves this natural cause, and adds another supernatural one. "The very power of souls, he says, by its subtlety, sometimes foresees something. Sometimes, however, souls about to depart from the body know future things through revelation. Sometimes indeed, when it is now near that they depart from the body, divinely inspired, they send the incorporeal eye of the mind into the secret heavenly things." Moreover it is certain that Tobias here, inspired not by natural force but by divine, foretold the destruction of Nineveh as well as of Jerusalem, and its temple's restoration and glory; for he had no prognostic signs from which he could gather or conjecture the same: whence by St. Ambrose, in the book De Tobia, he himself is called a Prophet. See the things said in the preface to the Minor Prophets, cap. XXI.
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6. THE DESTRUCTION OF NINEVEH SHALL BE NEAR. — Nineveh was captured and laid waste several times; first, by Arbaces the Mede, who besieged Sardanapalus reigning in Nineveh, and drove him to the burning of himself and his city: this was done before Tobias under Ozias king of Judah, grandfather of Ezechias, as Eusebius and others testify; secondly, at the end of the reign of Ezechias; for in the 14th year of Ezechias, Sennacherib was slain by an Angel in Judaea, and soon his son Asarhaddon succeeded him, who reigned ten years, and in him the kings of Nineveh ceased. For Merodach Baladan succeeded him, who, having subdued Nineveh (as it appears), transferred the empire to Babylon, and therefore in Scripture after Asarhaddon no kings of the Assyrians are named, but only of the Babylonians. This destruction of Nineveh also preceded the death of Tobias, and consequently this very oracle of his concerning the overthrow of Nineveh, which he uttered dying, in the 4th year of Manasses, who succeeded his father Ezechias in the kingdom. Thirdly, many think that Nineveh, flourishing again, was again overthrown by Cyaxares the Mede and Nabuchodonosor the elder, who was the father of Nabuchodonosor the Great, in the 13th year of Josias king of Judah; and that Tobias speaks of this destruction. Thus St. Jerome, Eusebius and others. But Nahum, cap. II, vers. 1, shows that Nineveh was overthrown by Nabuchodonosor the younger in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem. Moreover the Greek texts add here: Go into Media, my son, because I believed all things that Jonas the prophet spoke concerning Nineveh, that it should be overthrown. But in Media there shall be more peace until the time. FOR THE WORD OF THE LORD DID NOT FALL, — uttered by Jonas the prophet, as the Greek texts have it concerning the destruction of Nineveh, for although the Ninevites, repenting at the preaching of Jonas, escaped the destruction threatened to them by him, yet soon relapsing into their former crimes, they incurred the same, as Nahum after Jonas predicted to them, cap. II, but Tobias does not speak here of the oracle of Nahum, because he had long before finished his life. AND OUR BRETHREN, WHO ARE SCATTERED FROM THE LAND OF ISRAEL, SHALL RETURN TO IT. — For many of the ten tribes, foreseeing or already feeling the destruction of Nineveh, fled from it, and not a few of them returned to the land of Israel. But others, zealous for the worship of the true God, joined themselves to the tribe of Judah, and with it coalesced into one kingdom of Judah, as I said in Esdras and Paralipomena.
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7. AND ALL THE DESERT LAND OF HIS (ISRAEL'S) SHALL BE FILLED (with inhabitants returning to it) AND THE HOUSE OF GOD, WHICH WAS BURNED IN IT, SHALL BE BUILT AGAIN. — "It was burned," that is, it will be burned by the Chaldaeans: he speaks prophetically of the future as of the past on account of the certainty of what is to come. Whence the Greek texts have in the future tense: Our brethren shall be scattered, and Jerusalem shall be desolate, and the house of God in it shall be burned, and it shall be desolate until the time: and again God shall have mercy on them, and shall turn them into the land. And they shall build the house, not such as the former, until the times of the age be fulfilled. And after these things they shall return from the captivities and shall build Jerusalem honorably, and the house of God in it shall be built. And in all generations of the age, a glorious building, as the prophets spoke of it. And all nations shall be truly converted to fear the Lord God, and shall break in pieces their idols.
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9. AND ALL THE KINGS OF THE EARTH SHALL REJOICE IN IT, ADORING THE KING OF ISRAEL, — that is, adoring Christ; for after the return from captivity there was no other king of Israel whom all the kings of the earth adored; but all nations and kings served Christ.
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10. SERVE THE LORD IN TRUTH, — that is, truly, sincerely, namely with a true, sincere, right, whole, and entire heart, not feigned, not false, not divided, not split, so that you give half of your heart and soul to God and the other half to the devil, namely to idols and desires. Truth therefore here is opposed to falsehood, superstition, hypocrisy, pretense and simulation. Thus Serarius.
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11. THAT THEY MAY DO JUSTICES, — that is, just, pious and holy works. In the Greek there is added a notable example of Achiacharus, who was the nephew of Tobias on his brother's side, as I said in cap. I, and of a certain Manasses, namely that both were cast by the impious and ungrateful Haman into danger to their reputation and life, but escaped by their piety and almsdeeds; Haman however, who was nourished by Achiacharus, fell into the same; for thus it reads: And now, son, depart from Nineveh, for all things which the prophet Jonas spoke shall surely come to pass. But do thou keep the law and the commandments, and be a lover of almsdeeds and just, that it may be well with thee; and bury me well, and thy mother with me; and do not stay any longer in Nineveh. Son, see what Haman did to Achiacharus, who nourished him, how he brought him from the light into darkness, and what recompense he rendered unto him. And Achiacharus indeed was saved, but to him recompense was made, and he himself went down into darkness. Manasses was in almsdeeds, and was saved from the snare of death which they had set for him; but Haman fell into the snare, and perished. And now, son, see what almsdeeds doth, and how justice delivereth. Who this Haman was is uncertain; it is certain that he was not the Haman who was the enemy of Mardochai and Esther: for this Tobias was much later. Who also this Manasses was is unknown. Some think he was the husband of Judith; for the time agrees, but the place disagrees, says Salianus; for Judith lived in the time of Tobias, he says, but in Bethulia of Judaea, not in Nineveh and Assyria, where this Manasses lived, of whom Tobias speaks.
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14. TOBIAS DEPARTED OUT OF NINIVE,—fleeing its destruction. He set out from Ninive into Media to his father-in-law Raguel dwelling in Ecbatana. Here note the wonderful providence of God toward Tobias, which first in the year of Hezekiah 27 directed Tobias through Raphael into Media and Ecbatana, so that from there he might lead out Sara, and receive money from Gabelus, before Ecbatana was laid waste, and thus place both rescued from danger in safety. For shortly after Ecbatana was laid waste under Manasseh son of Hezekiah, as Bellarmine and Salianus say, concerning which more in the preface to Judith. Secondly, when afterwards as Ecbatana flourished again the destruction of Ninive and Assyria was imminent, He commanded Tobias to depart thence, and to go to Ecbatana to his father-in-law, so that he might be present to him in his old age, close his eyes as he died, and enter into the whole inheritance. If God provided such care for His friends concerning bodily goods, how much will He provide concerning spiritual, heavenly and eternal goods? The Greek texts add: And he himself also died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven years in Ecbatana of Media. And he heard before he died the destruction of Ninive which Nabuchodonosor and Assuerus took into captivity, and he rejoiced before he died over Ninive. Assuerus here is by many judged to be Cyaxares father of Astyages, because he was the maternal grandfather of Cyrus the first monarch of the Persians. For he who is called Assuerus in Hebrew or Chaldean is called in Greek Axuares, Oxyares and Axares, to which is prefixed Cy, or Cu, which signifies prince in Persian. Salianus however understands by Assuerus Phraortes father of Cyaxares, who succeeded Deioces in the kingdom of the Medes. For Assuerus was a common name of the kings of the Medes. You will say: How could Tobias the younger before his death see the destruction of Ninive, when he himself according to the Latin text died in the year of his age 99, which fell in the year 16 of Josiah; according to the Greek text however he died in the year of his age 127, which fell in the second year, in the eleventh year of which afterwards Jerusalem was laid waste by the Chaldeans, and after five years Ninive, as I said on Nahum II, 5. I answer first, that these words, that Tobias saw the destruction of Ninive, are not in the vulgar Latin, which the Council of Trent approved, but in the Greek text, in which many things are added, which disagree, indeed contradict the Latin Vulgate, and therefore do not seem certain, but inserted by someone, as that in verses 4 and 8, it says Tobias the elder was blind for eight years, and lived 158 years, when the Vulgate asserts he was blind for only four years, and lived 102 years. To Tobias the younger here it gives 127 years, when the Vulgate gives only 99. Wherefore we ought to follow the Vulgate, not the Greek. And therefore it does not seem more true that Tobias did not see the destruction of Ninive, especially since the Greek texts vary here. For the Complutensian gives Tobias 127 years; but St. Athanasius in the Synopsis only 107; according to the Vulgate the death of Tobias preceded the destruction of Ninive by 47 years; according to the Greek however by 14 years. Secondly, St. Jerome, Eusebius and others judge that Ninive was destroyed in the year 13 of Josiah, and thus Tobias could see it: for he died in the year 16 of Josiah. Thirdly, although it be more true that Ninive was destroyed in the fifth year after Jerusalem was destroyed by the Chaldeans, nevertheless under the year 13 of Josiah it began to be besieged and laid waste. For, as Herodotus says, lib. I, Cyaxares began to besiege Ninive (under Josiah), but when the Scythians invaded Media, he interrupted the siege for 28 years, after which when with Nabuchodonosor the younger resuming the siege, and renewing it, he took Ninive and laid it waste in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, and then Nabuchodonosor made himself monarch: wherefore this was the first year of his monarchy. Hence the Hebrews in the Seder Olam say this happened in the first year not of the reign, but of the monarchy of Nabuchodonosor, which was the 24th year of his reign; for he himself began to reign in the fourth year of Joakim king of Judah. And this seems to be what St. Jerome and Eusebius meant, namely that Cyaxares, when with Nabuchodonosor the elder he began to besiege and lay waste the fields of Ninive, under the year 13 of Josiah, and Tobias heard this before his death, but after 28 years, when with Nabuchodonosor the younger resuming the siege, he conquered Ninive. Hence the Greek texts have Tobias hearing, not the destruction, but ἀπώλειαν, that is the perdition of Ninive, because namely he heard it being so besieged and laid waste, that it could not escape, but must necessarily be lost, that is taken and overthrown, wherefore τὸ quam captivavit, is the same as began to take; for an inchoate act is signified, not a perfect one. Fourthly, Serarius, Salianus and others answer that Ninive was often taken and despoiled, while it itself contending with the Babylonians and Medes for empire, now conquered, now was conquered by them: wherefore it is uncertain concerning which perdition of Ninive Tobias speaks here. Finally Serarius computes the 99 years of Tobias the younger from the death of his father, namely Tobias the elder, to which adding the 68 years in which Tobias lived with his father in captivity, and making him two years old when he came into captivity, he makes him to have lived universally 164 years, so that he reached the year 24 of Nabuchodonosor, in which Ninive was overthrown, and thus he could hear it overthrown; but this age in that age seems excessive and plainly paradoxical.
14:16
16. AND WHEN NINETY-NINE YEARS WERE COMPLETED HE DIED IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD (dying) WITH JOY THEY BURIED HIM,—For although his sons and grandsons grieved at his death, they nevertheless rejoiced that so long, fortunate and holy a life concluded with a death altogether similar, since thereafter for him now approaching a hundred years there was nothing else to be expected in this life but labor and pain. For to die in old age full, honored, peaceful and prosperous, equally as pious and holy, is a great, indeed the ultimate good of this life. Therefore Tobias the younger died in the sixteenth year of Josiah king of Judah; for into this year fell the ninety-ninth year of his life, and he was buried in Ecbatana, a city of the Medes.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
14:4
… The reference in Tob. 14:4 (only in codex B) is entirely uncertain (R. Galdos, Tobit, Paris 1930, p. 296; A. Miller, Tobin, Bonn 1940, p. 106). The attempted references to cuneiform texts (J. B. Schaumberger) prove unfounded. …
14:10
Ahiqar (Aramaic Ahia-Iaqar: 'The Brother Is Precious' or 'Dear')
… He is mentioned by the Vulgate, under the name Achior (v.) only in Tob. 11:20 (joined with Nabath), as a kinsman of Tobit; six other times (Tob. 1:21-22; 2:10; 11:17-18; 14:10, 15) by the Greek Septuagint Bible (under the name Achiacharos, Codex Sin. Achicharos) and by the ancient Latin versions (under the name Achichar).
14:14
… Having survived her husband, A. was cared for by her son and daughter-in-law until her death (ibid. 14, 14).
14:15
… However, in Tob. 14:15 there must be an exchange of names, because there A. is spoken of as the conqueror of Nineveh: the Assyrian metropolis was captured (512 B.C.) by Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and by …
14:21
… The two spouses spent their last years at Ecbatana in the house of Raguel (ibid. 14:21 ff.).
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.