ESTUDIO DEL CAPÍTULO
Tobit 2 — Charity, Loss, and Marital Friction
Tobit buries a murdered countryman, loses his sight, and then argues with his wife Anna over a goat given in addition to her wages.
Escritura
- 1.When I arrived home and my wife Anna and my son Tobi′as were restored to me, at the feast of Pentecost, which is the sacred festival of the seven weeks, a good dinner was prepared for me and I sat down to eat.
- 2.Upon seeing the abundance of food I said to my son, “Go and bring whatever poor man of our brethren you may find who is mindful of the Lord, and I will wait for you.”
- 3.But he came back and said, “Father, one of our people has been strangled and thrown into the market place.”
- 4.So before I tasted anything I sprang up and removed the body to a place of shelter until sunset.
- 5.And when I returned I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow.
- 6.Then I remembered the prophecy of Amos, how he said, “Your feasts shall be turned into mourning, and all your festivities into lamentation.” And I wept.
- 7.Tobit Becomes Blind When the sun had set I went and dug a grave and buried the body.
- 8.And my neighbors laughed at me and said, “He is no longer afraid that he will be put to death for doing this; he once ran away, and here he is burying the dead again!”
- 9.On the same night I returned from burying him, and because I was defiled I slept by the wall of the courtyard, and my face was uncovered.
- 10.I did not know that there were sparrows on the wall and their fresh droppings fell into my open eyes and white films formed on my eyes. I went to physicians, but they did not help me. Ahi′kar, however, took care of me until he went to Elyma′is.
- 11.Tobit’s Wife Earns Their Livelihood Then my wife Anna earned money at women’s work.
- 12.She used to send the product to the owners. Once when they paid her wages, they also gave her a kid;
- 13.and when she returned to me it began to bleat. So I said to her, “Where did you get the kid? It is not stolen, is it? Return it to the owners; for it is not right to eat what is stolen.”
- 14.And she said, “It was given to me as a gift in addition to my wages.” But I did not believe her, and told her to return it to the owners; and I blushed for her. Then she replied to me, “Where are your charities and your righteous deeds? You seem to know everything!”
Qué significa este pasaje
The chapter opens at the feast of Pentecost (literally 'the sacred festival of the seven weeks'), locating Tobit's charitable meal within Israel's liturgical calendar and tying his table fellowship to a holy occasion. His instruction to his son — to fetch any poor relative who is 'mindful of the Lord' — frames almsgiving as an act rooted in covenantal memory rather than abstract pity.
The burial episode is the pivot of the chapter. Tobit rises 'before I tasted anything,' removes the corpse, waits until sunset, digs a grave, and burials the body — all in continuity with the burial-of-the-dead ethic the chapter presents as costly. The neighbors' taunt — 'He once ran away, and here he is burying the dead again' — shows that this obedience is public and dangerous, not hidden. The chapter then reports his defilement, his sleeping by the courtyard wall with uncovered face, the sparrows' droppings into his eyes, the white films that form, and the failure of physicians.
The final scene moves from public piety to domestic conflict. Anna earns money 'at women's work'; the owners pay her wages and add a kid. Tobit suspects theft and demands its return. Anna retorts by invoking his 'charities and righteous deeds' as if to expose hypocrisy. The chapter does not resolve the dispute — it ends with Anna's accusation hanging in the air, leaving the reader to weigh both characters' claims.
Contexto
The curated note identifies this chapter as a backfill drawn from outside the P0/P1 selection set, so this page does not import external historical or chronological claims beyond what the chapter text itself supplies. The chapter names Pentecost, the prophet Amos, and the locale Elyma'is only in passing; no geography, dating, or authorship argument is developed here.
Within the chapter, three settings follow in sequence: the Pentecost meal in the family home, the burial of the murdered man and its aftermath on the same night, and Anna's wage-earning work and the dispute over the kid. The chapter closes on the marital tension without resolving who is right, so the immediate literary function of chapter 2 is to set up Tobit's suffering and household strain that the surrounding narrative addresses.
Preguntas frecuentes
Why is Pentecost mentioned in Tobit 2?
The chapter places Tobit's charitable meal on 'the sacred festival of the seven weeks,' linking his table fellowship with the poor to a specific liturgical occasion and presenting almsgiving as an act done in the setting of Israelite holy time.
How does Tobit become blind in this chapter?
After burying the dead man, Tobit sleeps by the courtyard wall with his face uncovered. Sparrows are on the wall; their fresh droppings fall into his open eyes and white films form. The chapter states that physicians did not help him and that Ahi'kar cared for him until he went to Elyma'is.
Does the chapter resolve the dispute over the kid?
No. Tobit insists the goat must be returned because he suspects theft; Anna claims it was a gift above her wages and counters by pointing to his 'charities and righteous deeds.' The chapter ends on her accusation without stating who is right.