Глава 5

1–17. Departure of Tobias to Raga of Media, accompanied by the Angel Raphael, who appeared in the guise of the young man Azariah. 18–22. Anna's grief over separation from her son and her consolation by Tobit. Tob.5:1 And Tobias answered him: My father, I will fulfill everything that you command me; Comrade 5:2 but how can I get the silver without knowing the man? Comrade 5:3 Then his father gave him a receipt and said: Find yourself a man to accompany you; I will give him payment while I am still alive, and go get the silver. 1–3. In the accepted Greek text, as in Slavic-Russian. translations, speech art. 2–3 is reduced to darkness: thus the indication of the time when Tobit left the money with Gabael is omitted (I:14; IV:20), namely: twenty years ago (code. Sinaisk. Vet. Latin.); Likewise, from the accepted text it is not clear what type of receipt and why Tobit handed over to his son: it omitted what was in Sinai. code. and Vet. Latina message that, in addition to the receipt written by Gabael and kept by Tobit, there was another receipt written by Tobit and “placed with the money by Gabael (χειρόγραφον αυτού έδωκεν μοι καί χειρόγραφον έδωκα αύτφ, καί διείλον εις δύο. έν, καί έθηκα μετά τού αργυρίου art. 3 according to list LXX). This version is justified by historical data. In Assyro-Babylonia, as can be seen from the many surviving so-called contract tables or private documents of a legal and business nature, the custom of protecting property rights with written documents was very common, and these documents were drawn up with such care that they can cause surprise even on the part of modern jurists. In particular, when giving money to someone for safekeeping, in addition to the person who accepted the money for safekeeping, a receipt was also written by the owner of the money, which was usually placed along with the money. Thus, the message of the book of Tobit (according to the code. Sin. and Vet. Lat) about two monetary receipts is quite consistent with the customs of Assyro-Babylonia, to which the captive Israelites had to be more or less applied. And the message of the book of Tobit that Tobit only during the reign of Esargaddon sent his son Tobias to Media to receive money left with Gabael 20 years ago is also confirmed historically - by the lack of safe routes and peaceful relations with Media during the stormy reign of Sennacherib (cf. I:15), as well as in the first years of the reign of Esargaddon, engaged in a series of wars in order to pacify the uprisings. But even in the time of peace that followed, a distant journey, as in general in ancient times, could not be undertaken without a companion, about whom Tobit therefore takes care, v. 3 and d. Comrade 5:4 And he went to look for the man and met Raphael. It was an Angel, but he didn't know Tov.5:5 And he said to him: Can you go with me to Ragi Media and do you know these places? Comrade 5:6 The angel answered: I can go with you and I know the way; I have already stayed with Gabael, our brother. Tob.5:7 And Tobias said to him: Wait for me, I will tell my father. Comrade 5:8 He said: Go, but don’t delay. Comrade 5:9 He came and said to his father, Behold, I have found myself a companion. The father said: invite him to me; I will find out what tribe he is from and whether he is a reliable companion for you. Tov.5:10 And he called him, and he entered, and they greeted each other. Tob.5:11 Tobit asked: tell me, brother, from which tribe are you and from what family? Tov.5:12 He answered: Are you looking for a tribe and kindred, or for a hired servant to go with your son? And Tobit said to him: Brother, I want to know your family and your name. Tov.5:13 He said: I am Azariah, from the family of Hananiah the great, from your brothers. Tob.5:14 Then Tobit said to him: Brother, go safely, and do not be angry with me because I asked about your tribe and kindred. You are my brother, from an honest and kind family. I knew Hananiah and Jonathan, the sons of Shimei the great; We went together to Jerusalem to worship, with the firstborn and tithes of the earth's produce, for we were not carried away by the error of our brothers: you, brother, are of good stock! Comrade 5:15 But tell me: what payment will I have to give you? I will give you a drachma for the day and everything you need for you and for my son, Comrade 5:16 and I will add more to you on top of this payment if you return safely. Comrade 5:17 So we agreed. Then he said to Tobiah: Be ready to go, and go safely. And his son prepared what was necessary for the journey. And the father said to him: Go with this man; May God who lives in heaven make your path prosperous, and may His Angel accompany you! “And they both set off, and the young man’s dog with them.” Tob.5:18 Anna his mother began to weep and said to Tobit, “Why have you let our son go?” Wasn't he the support of our hands when he went in and out before us? 4–18. The narration of the book of Tobit about the image of the appearance of the angel Raphael on earth and about his relationship to Tobit and Tobias is fully confirmed by similar examples found in the canonical writings of the Old Testament (Gen. XVIII-XIX ch., Judges XIII: 1-21, etc.). In Raphael’s adoption of precisely the image of a person who could be Tobiah’s companion, one can see that adaptation to the circumstances of the time and to the position of persons, which is evidenced by many biblical stories about the appearances of angels (see A. Glagoleva, Old Testament biblical teaching about angels p. 148, cf. Prof. Drozdov, pp. 373–378). Regarding Raphael’s behavior that is confusing to others, namely, that he pretended to be Azariah, the son of Ananias (v. 13), we can say that “what Raphael said about himself was the truth (as it was fully consistent with the image he accepted), but he did not tell the whole truth, because Tobit should not have known it until a certain time” (cf. Prof. Drozdov, p. 375); if he had appeared in an angelic form, he would have caused Tobit and Tobias to tremble and would not have fulfilled the mission entrusted to him, as the blessed one explains. Augustine (Curs. Comp. S. Scr. t. XII, col. 546). Comrade 5:19 Do not prefer silver to silver; let it be like rubbish in comparison with our son! Comrade 5:20 For as long as the Lord has determined for us to live, we have enough for this. Tob.5:21 Tobit said to her: Do not be sad, sister; he will come healthy, and your eyes will see him, Tov.5:22 For a good angel will accompany him; his path will be prosperous, and he will return healthy. 19–22. Like all the activities of Raphael on earth, so is Tobit’s belief in the good angel accompanying Tobiah, v. 22, Wed. Life XXIV:7, testify to the deep vitality of belief in angels and their saving activity for people - at all times of Old Testament history (see A. Glagolev, op. cit. p. 489).