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From: Tobit 11:5-15
Tobias’ Return
[7] Raphael said, “I know, Tobias, that your father will open his eyes. [8] You
must therefore anoint his eyes with the gall; and when they smart he will rub
them, and will cause the white films to fall away, and he will see you.”
[9] Then Anna ran to meet them, and embraced her son, and said to him, “I have
seen you, my child; now I am ready to die.” And they both wept. [10] Tobit star-
ted toward the door, and stumbled. But his son ran to him [11] and took hold of
his father, and he sprinkled the gall upon his father’s eyes, saying, “Be of good
cheer, father.” [12] And when his eyes began to smart he rubbed them, [13] and
the white films scaled off from the corner of his eyes. [14] Then he saw his so
and embraced him, and he wept and said, “Blessed art thou, O God, and bles-
sed is thy name for ever, and blessed are all the holy angels. [15] For thou hast
afflicted me, but thou hast had mercy upon me; here I see my son Tobias!” And
his son went in rejoicing, and he reported to his father the great things that had
happened to him in Media.
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Commentary:
11:1-14:15. This last part of the story takes us back to Nineveh. The author tells
about Tobias’ arrival home with Sarah and the angel, and how Tobit is cured of
his blindness (11:1-19). The angel has completed his mission (cf. 3:16-17) and
can now reveal who he is, and go back to God (12:1-22). Tobit praises God in a
long prayer of rejoicing (13:1-18), and, in due course, after giving his son his spi-
ritual testament, he dies (14:1-11). Having done all that piety demands in Nine-
veh, Tobias and Sarah move to Media to be with Sarah’s parents (14:12-15).
The story has a happy ending, befitting Tobit’s good works and the mercy of
God, who never neglects the righteous. There have been severe trials, but trust
in God has been rewarded by special intervention of divine providence through
the angel Raphael. This is the main message of the book of Tobias. True, not
all painful situations are resolved by angels in the same remarkable way as in
the story of Tobit. But we always have angels with us, and they will comfort us
if we put our trust in God. We can see this in the life of our Lord: during his pas-
sion, an angel of heaven comforted him in the garden of olives (cf. Lk 22:43); but
Jesus still had to drink the chalice of suffering and death in order to do his Father’s
will and bring about the redemption of mankind.
11:1-15a. The scene prior to the travellers’ entry into Nineveh (vv 1-8) is similar
to that described earlier, when Tobias and the angel were nearing Ecbatana (cf.
6:10-17), and it connects up with the passage about the start of the journey
through the mention of the dog (cf. 5:16). Once again the angels takes the ini-
tiative, by telling Tobit how to cure his father. Then (vv 9-15) everything happens
very quickly. Anna is cured of her spiritual blindness on seeing her son, and
Tobit of his physical blindness thanks to the angel’s wisdom and Tobias’ obe-
dience. Tobit launches into a spontaneous prayer, blessing God and all his
angels, still not knowing who Raphael is.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.