Friday Intertestament: Tobit

I'm beginning to grasp what lies ahead this summer, yet another list of impossible goals and overcommitments. Nevertheless, I limp on. My deadline for the philosophy textbook is June 1 (wishful thinking). Two other book proposals are on hold with publishers waiting further sample chapters (ouch). May term sappeth my prime writing time (they're taking a mid-term as we speak). Oh, and there's a significant administrative duty I'm tasked with this summer as well.

There, that's my venting. The question I'm asking myself is thus how blogging might help me accomplish at least some of these tasks.

I plan for the explanatory notes to continue 1) with Hebrews so I don't feel like a failure after last semester and 2) with Galatians so that I don't have to spend as much time with the book in my Fall Romans and Galatians class. it may not come quite as quickly as I'd hope, but I'll still try for Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday. Also, since Tom Schreiner and Mark Siefrid of Southern Baptist Seminary are both writing commentaries on Galatians, some Arminian/semi-new perspective voice needs to be easily available online. Why not mine? :-)

Philosophy stuff may pop up here and there. On Fridays, however, I think I'm going to work on one of my proposals by roaming through intertestamental and Greco-Roman literature identifying key background texts. Today I've decided to take some notes on Tobit.

My method will be 1) to identify key areas of background from my own notes on these books, 2) to see what texts from these books Barrett included in his background book, 3) to check the indices of books like Justification and Variegated Nomism, E P Sander's Paul and Palestinian Judaism, Dunn's Paul and the New Perspective, etc. for cited passages.
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Before I begin Tobit, I want to dismiss 1 Esdras and the expansions of Esther and Daniel as contributing little or nothing unique to our background knowledge of the New Testament. Susanna does give us some sense of the place of women in 2nd century BC society. Bel and the Dragon is a classic piece of anti-idolatry literature. But I don't think there are any key passages that are a "must read" to understand the NT.

Tobit contributes to a couple areas of background knowledge. The first is in the areas of demonology and angelology. The OT has little in the way of demons, although it is filled with the mention of other gods. Similarly, it is late in the OT (Daniel) that we begin to hear of angel names. Tobit has both of these.

A second area of interest in Tobit is in Jewish piety, some of the basic street values of Jewish culture at the time of Christ. In particular, Tobit highlights the importance of almsgiving, loyalty to family, and the importance of burying the dead.

It's hard to date Tobit, but I think many would date it to the late Greek period of Jewish history, let's say 250-175. Here is my shot at key passages in Tobit for NT background:

The first passage that stands out to me is Tobit 4:1-19. This is a speech from Tobit to his son Tobias. It presents the basics of Jewish piety, particularly as they relate to a wealthy individual. There is a form of the Golden Rule here, concern for ethnic purity, mention of concern for the poor, for proper burial, and a basic statement of deuteronomistic theology.

A second passage that stands out to me is Tobit 6:16-18. These are instructions from the angel Raphael to Tobias concerning how to cause the demon Asmodeus to flee the bridal chamber of Sarah. A number of features of this passage give NT background information. First there is the preference for endogamous marriage, of marriage to someone in your extended family, to keep property and such within the broader family. Second there is the quasi-magical nature of the solution to the demon problem (it involves fish liver and heart).

A final passage is the prophecy of Tobit in 14:4b-7. This passage seems to play into N. T. Wright's well known thesis that the Jews of Christ's day did not feel that they had ever truly returned from exile. This passage predicts that the post-exilic temple will not be as glorious as Solomon's temple until the "times of fulfillment." It then looks to a time when all the nations will be converted and will worship the God of truth.