the Fourth Week of Advent
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Bible Dictionaries
Tobit The Book of
Smith's Bible Dictionary
or To'bit, The Book of. A book of the Apocryphal, which exists, at present, in Greek, Latin, Syriac and Hebrew texts, but it was probably written originally in Greek. The scene of the book is placed in Assyria, whither Tobit, a Jew, had been carried as a captive by Shalmaneser. It is represented, and completed, shortly after the fall of Nineveh, (B.C. 606), Tobit 14:15, and written, in the main, some time before. Tobit 12:20.
But the whole tone of the narrative, bespeaks a later age, and above all, the doctrine of good and evil spirits is elaborated in a form, which belongs to a period considerably posterior , to the Babylonian captivity. Asmodeus iii. 8; vi. 14; viii. 3; Raphael xii. 15. It cannot be regarded as a true history. It is a didactic narrative, and its point lies in the moral lessons, which it conveys, and not in the incidents.
In modern times, the moral excellence of the book has been rated highly, except in the heat of controversy. Nowhere else is there preserved so complete, and beautiful a picture, of the domestic life of the Jews after the return. Almost every family relation is touched upon, with natural grace and affection. A doctrinal feature of the book is the firm belief, in a glorious restoration of the Jewish people. Tobit 14:5; Tobit 13:9-18. But the restoration contemplated is national, and not the work of a universal Saviour. In all, there is not the slightest trace, of the belief in a personal Messiah.
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Smith, William, Dr. Entry for 'Tobit The Book of'. Smith's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/sbd/t/tobit-the-book-of.html. 1901.
