Tobits

The Book of Tobit, sometimes referred to simply as Tobit, is an ancient Jewish–Christian text included in the canons of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bible as part of the Deuterocanon. It is not part of the Hebrew Bible and is considered apocryphal by most Protestant traditions. Scholarly consensus places its composition in the Hellenistic period, likely in the 2nd century BCE, with its story set in the Assyrian exile and later in Media. The book survives in several textual traditions, with the Greek Septuagint version being the most widely attested, and later Ethiopic and Syriac translations also existing. Its original language is uncertain, with scholarly work suggesting Hebrew or Aramaic roots complemented by Greek transmission.

The narrative centers on Tobit, a devout and charitable Israelite living in Nineveh, who becomes blind, and his son Tobias. An archangel, Raphael, appears in disguise and guides Tobias on a journey to retrieve money Tobit left in Media. Tobias marries Sarah, who has suffered from the demon Asmodeus, and, with Raphael’s instruction, uses a fish’s heart and liver to drive away the demon. On the return journey, Tobias heals Tobit’s blindness by applying the fish’s gall to his father’s eyes. The family’s fortunes are restored, Tobias becomes established, and Tobit dies at a righteous old age. The book closes with Tobit's final blessings and a note on the importance of prayer, almsgiving, and fidelity to God.

Tobit is notable for its themes of providence, piety, family duty, and angelic intervention. It has influenced Jewish and Christian devotional and liturgical traditions and remains a significant work within the broader corpus of Deuterocanonical literature.