章节研读
Tobit 10 — The Parents' Anxiety and Tobias's Journey Home
As the wedding feast ends, Tobit counts the days in fear while Anna mourns her son as dead; Tobias presses Raguel to let him return home with Sarah.
经文
- 1.父母的忧虑 现在他的父亲托比每天都在数着日子，当出行的日子已经过去而他们还没有回来，Anxiety of the Parents Now his father Tobit was counting each day, and when the days for the journey had expired and they did not arrive,
- 2.他说：“难道他被拘留了吗？或者加布列已经死了，没有人给他钱吗？”he said, “Is it possible that he has been detained? Or is it possible that Gab′ael has died and there is no one to give him the money?”
- 3.他极其烦恼。And he was greatly distressed.
- 4.他妻子对他说：“那小子必死无疑，他迟迟不回足以证明。”于是她为他举哀，且说，And his wife said to him, “The lad has perished; his long delay proves it.” Then she began to mourn for him, and said,
- 5.“我的孩子，我难道不痛苦吗，我竟然让你离开我，你是我眼中的光”“Am I not distressed, my child, that I let you go, you who are the light of my eyes?”
- 6.但托比对她说：“不要出声，停止担心，他很好。”But Tobit said to her, “Be still and stop worrying; he is well.”
- 7.她回答说：“不要再欺骗我，我儿子已经死了。”她每天都去到他们离开的路上，白天不吃东西，整夜不停地为她的儿子托比亚哀悼，直到拉格尔许誓要在那里度过的十四天婚宴期满。托比亚和撒拉回家的时候到了，托比亚对拉格尔说：“让我回去吧，因为我的父母已经放弃了再见到我的希望。”And she answered him, “Be still and stop deceiving me; my child has perished.” And she went out every day to the road by which they had left; she ate nothing in the daytime, and throughout the nights she never stopped mourning for her son Tobi′as, until the fourteen days of the wedding feast had expired which Rag′uel had sworn that he should spend there. Tobias and Sarah Start for Home At that time Tobi′as said to Rag′uel, “Send me back, for my father and mother have given up hope of ever seeing me again.”
- 8.但是他的岳父对他说：“你留在我这里吧，我会派人去见你的父亲，并且会告诉他你一切都好。”But his father-in-law said to him, “Stay with me, and I will send messengers to your father, and they will inform him how things are with you.”
- 9.托比亚回答说：“不，请打发我回父亲那里。”Tobi′as replied, “No, send me back to my father.”
- 10.拉格未起来，将他的女儿撒拉和一半的财产、奴仆、牛群和银钱都给了他。So Rag′uel arose and gave him his wife Sarah and half of his property in slaves, cattle, and money.
- 11.他为他们祝福后，就打发他们走了，说：“天上的神必在我死之前使你们繁荣，我的孩子们。”And when he had blessed them he sent them away, saying, “The God of heaven will prosper you, my children, before I die.”
- 12.他也对他的女儿说，尊敬你的公公和婆婆，他们现在就是你的父母，让我听到你好的消息。他亲吻了她。埃德娜对托比亚斯说，天主让你平平安安地回来，亲爱的兄弟，也让我能看到你和我的女儿撒拉生的孩子，这样我就可以在主面前欢喜。看哪，我把我的女儿托付给你，不要做让她伤心的事。He said also to his daughter, “Honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law; they are now your parents. Let me hear a good report of you.” And he kissed her. And Edna said to Tobi′as, “The Lord of heaven bring you back safely, dear brother, and grant me to see your children by my daughter Sarah, that I may rejoice before the Lord. See, I am entrusting my daughter to you; do nothing to grieve her.”
这段经文的意思
This chapter is built on a contrast between two households separated by distance. On one side, in Ecbatana, Tobit counts each day of the journey and grows anxious that the money he entrusted is lost; on the other side, the wedding feast Raguel swore Tobias to attend finally reaches its fourteen-day limit. The narrative tension rests entirely on waiting and on the gap between what Tobit's parents believe and what is actually happening to their son.
Anna's grief is described with striking physical detail: she goes out daily to the road by which the young men left, eats nothing in daytime, and keeps mourning through the nights. The narrator marks her repeated claim that her child has perished as a refusal of Tobit's reassurance. Tobit's reply, 'Be still and stop worrying; he is well,' is met by her retort that he is deceiving her, so that the chapter foregrounds how parental anxiety can harden into a settled interpretation of events.
Once the feast is over, the focus shifts to Raguel's household. Tobias insists on returning immediately rather than waiting for messengers, and Raguel blesses him and Sarah, handing over half his property in slaves, cattle, and money. The final words of the chapter are given to Raguel and Edna as they entrust Sarah to Tobias and pray that the Lord of heaven bring them home safely and grant them children.
背景
Tobit 10 functions as the hinge between the wedding at Ecbatana (Tobit 7–8) and the homeward journey that follows. The earlier scenes established the fourteen-day wedding period Raguel bound Tobias to by oath, and this chapter shows that period expiring so the departure can begin. The reader already knows from earlier in the book that Tobias traveled with Raphael and that Sarah was delivered from the demon Asmodeus on the wedding night.
The chapter introduces no new locale; it only moves between the two households already established in the narrative. Raguel's final words about honoring father-in-law and mother-in-law, together with Edna's charge that Tobias do nothing to grieve Sarah, anticipate the journey and frame Sarah's transfer into her new family. There is no additional commentary supplied beyond the brief curated note indicating that this chapter was backfilled from material outside the main P0/P1 range.
常见问题
Why does Tobit count each day while Tobias is away?
Counting the days reflects the fixed length of the journey Tobias was expected to take. When the days pass without his return, Tobit's anxiety shifts from delay to the suspicion that something specific has gone wrong, which is why he first wonders whether Tobias has been detained and then whether Gabael himself has died and the deposit is lost.
Why does Anna insist her son has perished?
The narrative presents Anna's grief as overwhelming and resistant to correction. Although Tobit tries to reassure her that Tobias is well, the text notes that she eats nothing in daytime and continues mourning through the nights, and Tobit's attempt at comfort is dismissed by her as deception. The chapter shows how grief can settle into a fixed reading of events that overrides evidence to the contrary.
What happens at the end of the chapter regarding Tobias and Sarah's journey?
When the fourteen days of the wedding feast are fulfilled, Tobias asks Raguel to let him return immediately rather than waiting for messengers. Raguel agrees, blesses them, transfers half his property in slaves, cattle, and money to Tobias, and entrusts Sarah to him with a charge to honor her new parents. Edna adds her own prayer that the Lord of heaven bring them home safely and grant them children, so that the couple set out under parental blessing.