Tobit 5:1
Tunc respondens Tobias dixit patri suo: Omnia quaecumque praecepisti mihi faciam, pater.
Then Tobias answered his father: 'Everything you have commanded me I will do, father.
Translator's Introduction
What This Chapter Is About
Tobias goes to find a travel companion for the journey to Rages and encounters the angel Raphael disguised as a young Israelite named Azarias. After Raphael is brought to meet Tobit and demonstrates knowledge of the route, Tobit hires him as guide. Anna weeps at her son's departure.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The dramatic irony of this chapter is extraordinary: the reader knows Raphael's identity, but the characters do not. Raphael's assumed name 'Azarias' (meaning 'the Lord helps') is itself a clue. The negotiations between Tobit and Raphael have an earthy, realistic quality — a blind father interviewing a stranger to protect his son on a dangerous journey.
Translation Friction
Jerome's version of the exchange is more compressed than the Greek. Raphael's deception (claiming to be Azarias son of the great Ananias) raises theological questions about angelic honesty that patristic commentators addressed carefully. The Vulgate's domestic details — Anna's tears, Tobit's reassurances — are rendered with understated pathos.
Connections
The disguised divine messenger echoes Abraham's visitors at Mamre (Gen 18) and the stranger on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). Raphael as travel companion anticipates the guardian angel tradition in Christian theology. Anna's maternal grief prefigures Rachel weeping for her children (Jer 31:15).
Tobit 5:2
Quomodo autem pecuniam hanc requiram, ignoro. Ille me nescit et ego eum ignoro; quod signum dabo ei? Sed neque viam per quam pergatur illuc aliquando cognovi.
But how I shall recover this money, I do not know. He does not know me and I do not know him. What sign shall I give him? And I have never even learned the road to travel there.'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Tobias raises entirely practical objections — identification, route-finding. He is dutiful but honest about his limitations, which sets up the need for a guide.
Tobit 5:3
Tunc pater suus respondit illi et dixit: Chirographum quidem illius apud me habeo, quod dum illi ostenderis, statim restituet.
Then his father answered him: 'I have his signed note. When you show it to him, he will restore the money at once.
Tobit 5:4
Sed perge nunc et inquire tibi aliquem fidelem virum qui eat tecum salva mercede sua, ut dum adhuc vivo recipias eam.
But go now and find yourself some trustworthy man who will go with you for fair wages, so that you may recover it while I am still alive.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
fidelem virum
"trustworthy man"
The emphasis on fidelity and trust is doubly ironic — Tobias will find not merely a trustworthy man but an angel of God.
Tobit 5:5
Tunc egressus Tobias invenit iuvenem splendidum, stantem praecinctum et quasi paratum ad ambulandum.
Then Tobias went out and found a splendid young man, standing girded and as though ready for a journey.
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
splendidum
"splendid"
The radiance is subtle — not a blinding theophany but a noticeable brightness. Raphael's disguise is convincing but luminous.
Tobit 5:6
Et ignorans quod angelus Dei esset, salutavit eum et dixit: Unde te habemus, bone iuvenis?
And not knowing that he was an angel of God, he greeted him and said: 'Where are you from, good young man?'
Tobit 5:7
At ille respondit: Ex filiis Israhel. Et Tobias dixit ei: Nosti viam quae ducit in regionem Medorum?
He answered: 'From the children of Israel.' And Tobias said to him: 'Do you know the road that leads to the region of the Medes?'
Tobit 5:8
Cui respondit: Novi, et omnia itinera eius frequenter ambulavi et mansi apud Gabelum fratrem nostrum qui moratur in Rages civitate Medorum, quae posita est in monte Ecbatanis.
He replied: 'I know it well. I have traveled all its routes often and stayed with our brother Gabael, who lives in Rages, a city of the Medes, which is situated on Mount Ecbatana.'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Raphael's claim to know the route and Gabael personally is perfectly tailored to Tobias's need — this is providential guidance disguised as lucky coincidence.
Tobit 5:9
Cui Tobias ait: Sustine me, obsecro, donec haec ipsa nuntiem patri meo.
Tobias said to him: 'Wait for me, I beg you, while I tell my father these very things.'
Tobit 5:10
Tunc Tobias ingressus indicavit universa haec patri suo. Super quae admiratus pater rogavit ut introiret ad eum.
Then Tobias went in and told all this to his father. At this his father, amazed, asked that the young man come in to him.
Tobit 5:11
Ingressus itaque salutavit eum et dixit: Gaudium tibi sit semper.
So he came in and greeted him, saying: 'May joy always be with you.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
Gaudium tibi sit semper
"May joy always be with you"
Raphael's greeting is both a courtesy and (unknowingly to Tobit) a prophecy — joy will indeed come to this household through Raphael's mission.
Tobit 5:12
Et Tobias ait: Quale gaudium mihi erit, qui in tenebris sedeo et lumen caeli non video?
And Tobit said: 'What joy can there be for me, who sit in darkness and cannot see the light of heaven?'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
lumen caeli
"the light of heaven"
A double reference — physical sunlight and divine favor. Tobit's blindness is both medical and metaphorical.
Translator Notes
- Tobit's bitter reply contrasts sharply with Raphael's greeting. The 'light of heaven' is simultaneously literal (his blindness) and spiritual (his despair).
Tobit 5:13
Cui iuvenis ait: Forti animo esto; in proximo est ut a Deo cureris.
The young man said to him: 'Take courage! Your healing from God is near.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
a Deo cureris
"your healing from God"
Raphael's name means 'God heals' — his statement is simultaneously encouragement and self-identification.
Translator Notes
- Raphael cannot fully reveal himself, but he speaks more truth than Tobit realizes. 'In proximo est' — it is near — is literally true since the healer is standing in front of him.
Tobit 5:14
Dixit itaque illi Tobias: Numquid poteris perducere filium meum ad Gabelum in Rages civitatem Medorum, et cum redieris, restituam tibi mercedem tuam?
Then Tobit said to him: 'Can you lead my son to Gabael in Rages, a city of the Medes? And when you return, I will pay you your wages.'
Tobit 5:15
Et dixit illi angelus: Ego ducam et reducam eum ad te.
And the angel said to him: 'I will lead him there and bring him back to you.'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- The narrator calls him 'angelus' — reminding the reader of what the characters do not know. The promise to bring Tobias back safely is backed by divine authority.
Tobit 5:16
Cui Tobias ait: Rogo te, indica mihi de qua domo aut de qua tribu es tu.
Tobit said to him: 'Tell me, I ask — from what house or what tribe are you?'
Tobit 5:17
Cui Raphael angelus dixit: Genus quaeris mercennarii an ipsum mercennarium qui cum filio tuo eat?
Raphael the angel said: 'Are you looking for the pedigree of a hired man, or for the hired man himself to go with your son?'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Raphael deflects the genealogy question with gentle humor — a pragmatic redirect that avoids direct lying while not revealing his identity.
Tobit 5:18
Sed ne forte sollicitum te reddam, ego sum Azarias Ananiae magni filius.
But so as not to leave you anxious — I am Azarias, son of the great Ananias.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
Azarias Ananiae magni filius
"Azarias, son of the great Ananias"
Both names are theophoric — containing divine names. 'The Lord helps, son of the Lord is gracious' is a theological statement disguised as a genealogy.
Translator Notes
- 'Azarias' means 'the Lord helps' and 'Ananias' means 'the Lord is gracious.' Whether these are real people whose identities Raphael assumes, or meaningful cover names, patristic commentators debated. Both names accurately describe the angel's mission.
Tobit 5:19
Et Tobias respondit: Ex magno genere es. Sed peto ne irascaris quod voluerim cognoscere genus tuum.
And Tobit answered: 'You are of a great family. But I ask that you not be angry that I wished to know your lineage.'
Tobit 5:20
Dixit autem illi angelus: Ego sanum ducam et sanum tibi reducam filium tuum.
The angel said to him: 'I will lead your son safely and bring him back to you safely.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
sanum
"safely"
Literally 'sound, healthy' — Raphael guarantees not just the journey but Tobias's physical well-being.
Tobit 5:21
Respondens autem Tobias ait: Bene ambuletis, et sit Deus in itinere vestro et angelus eius comitetur vobiscum.
Tobit answered: 'Go well, and may God be on your journey, and may his angel accompany you.'
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
angelus eius comitetur vobiscum
"may his angel accompany you"
An unwitting prophecy — the angel is already there. This is one of the most celebrated dramatic ironies in biblical narrative.
Translator Notes
- The supreme irony of the book: Tobit prays that God's angel accompany them — while God's angel is standing in front of him. The reader sees what the father cannot.
Tobit 5:22
Tunc paratis omnibus quae erant in via portanda, fecit Tobias vale patri suo et matri suae, et ambulaverunt ambo simul.
Then, when everything needed for the journey was prepared, Tobias said farewell to his father and mother, and the two set out together.
Tobit 5:23
Cumque profecti essent, coepit mater eius flere et dicere: Baculum senectutis nostrae tulisti et transmisisti a nobis.
When they had departed, his mother began to weep and said: 'You have taken the staff of our old age and sent him away from us.
Notes & Key Terms 1 term
Key Terms
baculum senectutis nostrae
"the staff of our old age"
A poignant metaphor — the child as the support of aging parents. Without Tobias, the blind Tobit and his wife are truly helpless.
Tobit 5:24
Numquam fuisset ipsa pecunia pro qua misisti eum!
If only that money had never existed, for which you sent him!
Tobit 5:25
Sufficiebat enim nobis paupertas nostra, ut divitias conputaremus hoc quod videbamus filium nostrum.
Our poverty was enough for us — we counted it as riches just to see our son.'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Anna's words are deeply moving — she would choose poverty with her son over wealth without him. Her values are sound even as her grief is excessive.
Tobit 5:26
Dixitque ei Tobias: Noli flere; salvus perveniet filius noster et salvus revertetur ad nos, et oculi tui videbunt illum.
And Tobit said to her: 'Do not weep. Our son will arrive safely and return safely to us, and your eyes will see him.
Tobit 5:27
Credo enim quod angelus Dei bonus comitetur ei et bene disponat omnia quae circa eum geruntur, ita ut cum gaudio revertatur ad nos.
For I believe that a good angel of God accompanies him and arranges well everything that happens around him, so that he will return to us with joy.'
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
- Tobit's faith statement is truer than he knows — and this is the second time he invokes angelic accompaniment. His belief, though general, is precisely fulfilled.
Tobit 5:28
Ad hanc vocem cessavit mater eius flere et tacuit.
At these words his mother stopped weeping and was silent.