ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO
Tobit 8 — The Rout of the Demon and the Wedding Night
Tobit 8 narrates the expulsion of the demon Asmodeus on the wedding night, Tobias's prayer framing the marriage as an act of sincerity before God, Raguel's anxious vigil, and the joyful fourteen-day wedding feast that follows.
Escritura
- 1.Tobias Routs the Demon When they had finished eating, they escorted Tobi′as in to her.
- 2.As he went he remembered the words of Raph′ael, and he took the live ashes of incense and put the heart and liver of the fish upon them and made a smoke.
- 3.And when the demon smelled the odor he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel bound him.
- 4.When the door was shut and the two were alone, Tobi′as got up from the bed and said, “Sister, get up, and let us pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us.”
- 5.And Tobi′as began to pray, “Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers, and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever. Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee.
- 6.Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife as a helper and support. From them the race of mankind has sprung. Thou didst say, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; let us make a helper for him like himself.’
- 7.And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.”
- 8.And she said with him, “Amen.”
- 9.Then they both went to sleep for the night. But Rag′uel arose and went and dug a grave,
- 10.with the thought, “Perhaps he too will die.”
- 11.Then Rag′uel went into his house
- 12.and said to his wife Edna, “Send one of the maids to see whether he is alive; and if he is not, let us bury him without any one knowing about it.”
- 13.So the maid opened the door and went in, and found them both asleep.
- 14.And she came out and told them that he was alive.
- 15.Then Rag′uel blessed God and said, “Blessed art thou, O God, with every pure and holy blessing. Let thy saints and all thy creatures bless thee; let all thy angels and thy chosen people bless thee for ever.
- 16.Blessed art thou, because thou hast made me glad. It has not happened to me as I expected; but thou hast treated us according to thy great mercy.
- 17.Blessed art thou, because thou hast had compassion on two only children. Show them mercy, O Lord; and bring their lives to fulfilment in health and happiness and mercy.”
- 18.Then he ordered his servants to fill in the grave.
- 19.Wedding Feast After this he gave a wedding feast for them which lasted fourteen days.
- 20.And before the days of the feast were over, Rag′uel declared by oath to Tobi′as that he should not leave until the fourteen days of the wedding feast were ended,
- 21.that then he should take half of Rag′uel’s property and return in safety to his father, and that the rest would be his “when my wife and I die.”
Qué significa este pasaje
Chapter 8 centers on the rout of the demon. The chapter opens by showing that Tobias does not rely on his own strength: on the way to the bridal chamber he remembers Raphael's instructions and uses the heart and liver of the fish with live ashes of incense to drive the demon away (vv. 1–3). The binding of the demon in the remotest parts of Egypt by the angel frames the defeat as a divine, not merely human, victory. Marriage is thus introduced in the chapter not merely as a social event but as a space where supernatural evil is confronted and overcome.
The prayer of Tobias (vv. 5–8) reframes the marriage around creation and covenant rather than desire. He blesses the God of the fathers, recalls that God made Adam and gave him Eve as a helper, and explicitly states that he is not taking his kinswoman 'because of lust, but with sincerity' (v. 7). The closing line — that he may 'find mercy and grow old together with her' — sets the marriage's horizon as lifelong companionship under God's mercy, and Sarah's 'Amen' (v. 8) makes the prayer a joint act of the couple.
The final movement of the chapter (vv. 9–21) shows the resolution of the threat and the celebration of the marriage. Raguel's secret grave, dug because he feared Tobias had died like the previous seven husbands, is filled back in once the couple is found alive (vv. 9–18). His blessing of God is built on the theme of mercy: God has dealt with them 'according to thy great mercy' and has had compassion on 'two only children' (vv. 16–17). The chapter closes with a fourteen-day wedding feast, an oath that Tobias will stay until it ends, and the promise of half Raguel's property immediately and the rest at the parents' death (vv. 19–21).
Contexto
The chapter note supplied with the passage identifies it as a backfill of chapters from Tobit outside an initial priority set, and the provided text contains no cross references or original-language notes. Within the chapter itself, the defeat of the demon is tied to the fish organs introduced earlier in the book, since Tobias 'remembered the words of Raphael' and reused the heart and liver of the fish on incense ashes to produce the smoke that drives Asmodeus away (vv. 1–3). The bridal chamber sequence therefore depends on instructions given before the journey, not on anything introduced inside chapter 8.
The wedding narrative is structurally framed by two fears and two reliefs. Raguel fears a seventh death in the family and digs a grave in secret (vv. 9–12); the maid's discovery that Tobias and Sarah are alive (vv. 13–14) relieves that fear and is met with a long blessing built on the language of mercy (vv. 15–17). The chapter then moves from the private bridal chamber to a public fourteen-day feast and a legal settlement of property (vv. 19–21), so that the domestic danger is shown to be resolved by both divine action and community celebration.
Preguntas frecuentes
What does Tobias do to drive the demon away in Tobit 8?
On the way to the bridal chamber he remembers Raphael's earlier instruction, takes live ashes of incense, and places the heart and liver of the fish on them to make a smoke; when the demon smells the odor he flees to the remotest parts of Egypt, and the angel binds him there (vv. 1–3).
Why does Tobias say he is marrying Sarah 'not because of lust, but with sincerity' (v. 7)?
Within the prayer itself Tobias frames the marriage by recalling God's creation of Adam and Eve and by explicitly naming his motive as sincerity rather than desire, asking that the Lord grant him mercy and that he may grow old together with her (vv. 5–7). Sarah's 'Amen' (v. 8) joins her to that self-understanding of the marriage.
Why does Raguel dig a grave before the wedding night is over?
Fearing that Tobias will die like Sarah's previous seven husbands, Raguel digs a grave in secret and tells his wife Edna to send a maid to check; when the maid reports that both are alive (vv. 9–14), the grave is filled back in (v. 18) and Raguel blesses God for the mercy shown to 'two only children' (vv. 15–17).