In the days of may be also expressed as “when” (Contemporary English Version) or “During the time that….” (Good News Translation).

King Shalmaneser: This King (Good News Translation “emperor”) reigned from 727 to 722 B.C. His name actually appears in the Greek text as Enemessaros, but Shalmaneser is the accepted form. In a number of languages King may be expressed as “high [or, great] chief,” or just “the great one.” However, Good News Translation uses the term “emperor,” indicating that Shalmaneser ruled over an empire that included a number of smaller or vassal states, each governed by a minor king. The equivalent of “emperor” in some languages is something like “supreme king [or, chief].” It is also possible to avoid the use of King or “emperor” and translate the first clause as “During the time that Shalmaneser ruled over the people of Assyria….”

Was taken into captivity from Thisbe …: Was taken into captivity means that the Assyrian army captured Tobit and took him as a prisoner back to their homeland. In languages that do not have the passive voice, all this information must be made clear; for example, “During the time that Shalmaneser ruled over the people of Assyria, the Assyrian soldiers captured me in my hometown of Thisbe, and took me to Assyria. Thisbe is located….” In cultures where only villages of various sizes exist, we may translate “town” or “city” as “a large village with a high fence around it.” The other place names locate Tobit’s hometown Thisbe to the northwest of Lake Galilee, although the town is otherwise unknown. It is not the same place as the prophet Elijah’s hometown Tishbe, which was east of the Jordan River in Gilead. Good News Translation attempts to clarify above Asher toward the west by identifying the same location with reference to the more familiar city of “Hazor.” In some languages it will be better to break the long Greek sentence after Thisbe, and begin a new sentence: “… from Thisbe. Thisbe is south of the town of Kedesh in the region of Naphtali…” (Contemporary English Version does something like this). In languages where all directional information depends upon where the speaker or writer of the book is located, translators should place the writer of Tobit in the general area of Judah.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• During the time that Shalmaneser ruled over Assyria, the Assyrian soldiers captured me in my hometown of Thisbe and took me back to their country. Thisbe is located in northern Galilee, south of the town of Kedesh in the region of Naphtali, northwest of the town of Hazor, and north of the town of Phogor.

Since it is certain that the Assyrian soldiers captured many Israelites and took them into exile with Tobit, it may be helpful for the development of the storyline to make that clear here. One model that does this is as follows:

• My hometown is Thisbe in northern Galilee. It is located south of the town of Kedesh in the region of Naphtali, and is northwest of the town of Hazor and north of the town of Phogor. When Shalmaneser was king of Assyria, the Assyrian soldiers captured me and many other Israelites, and took us away to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Tobit. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.