Tobit

A literary romance of two families in distress — Tobit in Nineveh and Sarah in Media — whose prayers are heard by God and answered through the archangel Raphael, sent in disguise to guide and heal.|||The book derives from a lost Semitic original. Jerome used a Chaldean (Aramaic) text, which is no longer extant, to produce the Latin translation in the Vulgate. Qumran discoveries include Hebrew and Aramaic fragments (4Q196–4Q200).|||Scholars typically date the composition between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, although the story's setting is cast within the period shortly after the fall of the Northern Kingdom (around 722 BCE).|||Deuterocanonical in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Not canonical in Protestant or Jewish traditions. Fragments discovered at Qumran demonstrate it was known and preserved in some Jewish circles before the time of Christ.|||A rare biblical presentation of the archangel Raphael by name and function. A profound portrayal of faithful marriage and family life under God's care.|||Fitzmyer, J. A. Tobit. Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature. De Gruyter, 2003.|||Moore, C. A. Tobit: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible. Doubleday, 1996.|||Hallermayer, M. Text und Überlieferung des Buches Tobit. De Gruyter, 2008.|||Tobit — Early Jewish Writings|https://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/tobit.html|Full translation and scholarly resources.;; Tobit — Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Tobit|Background and scholarly discussion.|||" Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness." — Tobit 12:8