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Tobit Blind Exile of Nineveh
About Tobit
Tobit was an Israelite of the tribe of Nephthali, carried captive to Nineveh by the Assyrians. Faithful in exile, he gave alms and buried the dead at the risk of his life, until he was blinded by sparrows' droppings. In his distress he prayed to die, and God sent the angel Raphael to guide his son Tobias and heal him. After a hymn of praise he died in old age, warning his son to leave Nineveh.
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Tobit's Character Traits
Tobit's Life Timeline
Exile in Ninevehc. 722 BC
Carried captive to Nineveh with his wife Anna and his son Tobias, he refuses to eat the bread of the Gentiles and becomes purveyor to the king.
TOB 1:10-13Burying the Deadc. 700 BC
He feeds the hungry, clothes the naked and secretly buries the Israelites killed by Sennacherib; denounced, he flees and loses all his goods.
TOB 1:16-20Blindedc. 680 BC
At Pentecost he leaves his meal to bury a murdered countryman; sleeping by the wall, he is blinded when sparrows' droppings fall into his eyes.
TOB 2:1-10Prayer for Deathc. 672 BC
Grieved and reproached, he confesses the sins of his people and asks God to take his spirit from him.
TOB 3:1-6Counsel to His Sonc. 672 BC
Remembering the ten talents left with Gabael in Media, he sends Tobias to fetch them, after charging him to honour his mother, give alms and do to no one what he hates.
TOB 4:1-21Sight Restoredc. 664 BC
When Tobias returns, he rubs the fish's gall on his father's eyes; the whiteness falls away and Tobit sees his son and blesses God.
TOB 11:10-15Hymn and DeathBefore 612 BC
After a hymn foreseeing a rebuilt Jerusalem, he warns his son to leave Nineveh, as Jonah prophesied its fall, and dies aged 158.
TOB 14:1-11
Tobit's Key Relationships
Son - Tobit sends him on the journey to Media and is healed by him on his return.
The angel sent to heal him, who guided his son and was hired by him as 'Azarias'.
Tobit belongs to the tribe of Nephthali.
On his deathbed Tobit trusts Jonah's word that Nineveh will be overthrown.
Tobit's Key Locations
Spiritual Lessons from Tobit
Mercy Toward the Dead and the Poor
Tobit shares his bread, clothes the naked and buries the abandoned dead, even when it costs him his goods and puts his life at risk. Raphael later tells him that this good deed was not hidden: 'I was with thee.' Works of mercy done in secret are seen by God.
Faithful in the Dark
A righteous man goes blind because of a good deed and asks to die. The book does not hide his despair, yet his prayer is heard the same day as Sara's, and the answer is already on its way. Suffering is not proof that God has forgotten.
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