章节研读
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.
经文
- 1.当我回到家里，我的妻子安娜和我的儿子托比亚斯归还给我，在五旬节，也就是七周的圣节的时候，人们为我准备了一顿好的晚餐，我坐下来吃。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.我看见食物很多，就对我的儿子说，去找我们兄弟中间任何一个记念主的穷人，带他来，我等你。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.但他回来说：“父亲，我们的人中有一个被勒死并扔在市场上了。”But he came back and said, “Father, one of our people has been strangled and thrown into the market place.”
- 4.在我尝任何东西之前，我跳起来把尸体移到一个遮蔽的地方，直到日落。So before I tasted anything I sprang up and removed the body to a place of shelter until sunset.
- 5.我回来以后就洗了自己，吃了食物，但仍带着悲伤。And when I returned I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow.
- 6.然后我记起了阿摩司的预言，他说：“你们的宴乐必变为哀哭，你们一切的欢乐必变为哀歌。”于是我哭了。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.托比失明 当太阳落下的时候，我去挖了一个坟墓并埋葬了尸体。Tobit Becomes Blind When the sun had set I went and dug a grave and buried the body.
- 8.我的邻居们嘲笑我，说：“他不怕再次因为这样而被处死；他曾经逃跑过，现在又回来埋葬死人了！”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.同夜我从埋葬他回来，因为我被玷污了，就在院子的墙旁睡觉，脸也没有遮盖。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.我不知道墙上有麻雀，它们的新鲜粪便掉进了我的睁开的眼睛，我的眼睛上形成了白膜。我去找医生，但是他们没有帮助我。然而，阿希卡尔照顾我，直到他去以拖迈。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.托比特的妻子为家庭赚取生计 那时我的妻子安娜靠做女人的工作赚钱维持生活Tobit’s Wife Earns Their Livelihood Then my wife Anna earned money at women’s work.
- 12.她过去常常将产品送给主人，有一次当他们付给她工钱时，还给了她一只小羊；She used to send the product to the owners. Once when they paid her wages, they also gave her a kid;
- 13.她一回到我这里，小山羊就叫了起来。我对她说：“你从哪里得来的小山羊？这小山羊是不是偷来的？还是你从别人家里拿来的？把小山羊还给主人，因为吃偷来的东西是不对的。”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.她说：“这是额外给我作为工钱的。”但是我不相信她，就告诉她把它还给主人，并且我为她感到羞愧。然后她对我说：“你的仁慈和公义在哪里呢？你似乎什么都知道！”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!”
这段经文的意思
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.
背景
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.
常见问题
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.