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RighteousOld Testament

Righteous Tobit

Also known as Tobias the Elder · Tobit

A righteous and charitable Israelite of the Assyrian captivity, known for burying the dead and his almsgiving.

December 14New Calendar
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December 27Old Calendar
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Commemorated as

The Holy and Righteous Tobit

Life

Tobit is the principal figure of the Book of Tobit, one of the Anagignoskomena (deuterocanonical) books received by the Orthodox Church. The narrative presents him as a righteous Israelite of the tribe of Naphtali who was deported from Galilee to Nineveh during the Assyrian conquest and who remained faithful to the Law of Moses amid the captivity. The Church reads the book as edifying scripture and numbers Tobit among the Old Testament righteous.

He is remembered above all for his works of mercy in exile: he gave alms to his fellow captives and risked himself to bury the bodies of Israelites who had been slain and left unburied. As the book presents it, this very fidelity led to his blindness, after which he bore poverty and affliction and turned to God in prayer.

In Orthodox usage Tobit is commemorated among the Holy Forefathers, the ancestors and righteous of Israel honored during the Nativity Fast on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ; the present entry assigns him a fixed commemoration on December 14, within this Forefathers cycle.

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Exile and works of mercy

According to the Book of Tobit, Tobit belonged to the tribe of Naphtali and was carried away from his homeland to Nineveh by the Assyrians. He had observed the Law and brought offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem before the deportation, and he married a woman named Anna, by whom he had a son, Tobias.

In captivity Tobit distinguished himself by charity. He shared food and clothing with fellow exiles and gave alms, and he took particular care to bury Israelites who had been killed, even at personal risk. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes his fidelity as shown by his acts of mercy to fellow captives, and especially to the dead.

Blindness, prayer, and the journey of Tobias

The narrative relates that Tobit became blind: while he slept, droppings from sparrows fell into his eyes, and he was afterward left fully without sight. Reduced to dependence and poverty, and after reproach from his wife Anna, he prayed to God in his distress. At the same time, far off in Ecbatana, his kinswoman Sarah was afflicted by the demon Asmodeus, who had slain a succession of her suitors, and she too prayed for relief.

The book recounts that God sent the archangel Raphael, who in human guise accompanied the younger Tobias on a journey to recover ten talents of silver his father had deposited at Rhages (Rages) in Media. On the way Tobias caught a great fish in the Tigris, and Raphael directed him to keep its heart, liver, and gall. At Ecbatana the burning of the fish's offal drove off the demon, and Tobias was married to Sarah.

Healing and the book's place in Orthodox tradition

On the return to Nineveh, the gall of the fish was applied to Tobit's eyes and his sight was restored, after which Raphael revealed himself to be an angel of God before departing. Tobit then blessed God, who had chastened his people through exile but who would yet show them mercy.

The Book of Tobit is dated to roughly the third or early second century BC and is received as deuterocanonical (among the Anagignoskomena) by the Orthodox and other ancient churches, while it is absent from the Jewish Masoretic canon. As one of the Old Testament righteous, Tobit is honored by the Church together with the Forefathers of Christ during the season preparing for the Nativity.

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Notable Works

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Synaxis of the Holy Forefathers and Foremothers
Synaxis
Family2 relativesShowHide
His wife, who supported the household by her labor during his blindness.
Anna
His son, whom he sent to Media to recover his deposited silver and who returned with the means of his father's healing.
Righteous Tobias
Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints