This book tells the story is literally “book of words,” which is the Greek equivalent of a Hebrew phrase, the second word of which, davar, means both “word” and “deed.” Although the first part of the book (1.3-3.6) is narrated by Tobit in the first person singular, “acts” or “deeds” is surely the intended sense. In certain languages translators may express this clause in a way similar to Hebrew; for example, “This is the book of the deeds of…” or “This book tells about the deeds of…”; or we may even say “This book tells what happened to….” Good News Translation has “this is the story of my life” for This book tells the story. The Contemporary English Version is even shorter with “this book tells my story.” Both Contemporary English Version and Good News Translation take the small liberty of moving the beginning of the first person speech to the beginning of the book, and many translators will find this restructuring helpful.

Son of: In many languages the repeated use of son of will be unnatural style and confusing to the readers. In such languages the model of Good News Translation may be a good guide. It states that Tobit’s father was Tobiel, his grandfather Ananiel (New Revised Standard Version Hananiel), and his great-grandfather Aduel; it then goes on to list Aduel’s ancestors in a similar way. Some translators, though, will find the model of Contemporary English Version more natural style:

• my ancestors include my father Tobiel, my grandfather Hananiel, and then Aduel, Gabael, and Raphael.

In this list translators may spell the name of Tobit’s grandfather either as Hananiel or “Ananiel,” depending on the spelling system of their language. The phrase son of Raphael son of Raguel appears in the text we are following, but most other manuscripts and versions omit both names. Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible do this, for example; so translators may omit both names on good authority and know that they are taking the same course as some of the major English versions.

The descendants of Asiel: Asiel is otherwise unknown.

The tribe of Naphtali: Naphtali was one of the northern tribes of Israel; much of its population was exiled to Assyria (roughly modern Iraq) by its king Shalmaneser the Fifth in 722 B.C. (2 Kgs 17.1-6). The ancestors of Tobit who are named here are otherwise unknown. In some languages there is no word for tribe or “clan.” In such cases, something like “family group of Naphtali” or “descendants of the great ancestor Naphtali” may be used.

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.

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.

The previous two verses serve to provide the setting for the story in time and on the map. At this point the story itself begins with the writer, speaking as Tobit himself, establishing Tobit’s pious character. Like the time and place, this is necessary for an understanding of the story (compare Job 1.1-5). Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have introduced the first person direct speech at verse 1.

Walked in the ways of truth and righteousness all the days of my life: This indicates correct ways. To “walk in the ways of truth” is to do what each person ought to do. The metaphor walked may be retained in certain languages, but in a majority of languages it is best to drop it and to introduce the clause with something like “I have been honest…” (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Joining truth with righteousness establishes that Tobit did what was morally proper; Good News Translation expresses this as “I have been honest and have tried to do what was right” (similarly Contemporary English Version). All the days of my life is a literary device adding a note of authority to the story. In many languages it will be better style to put this phrase at the beginning of the verse, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have done, and say “All my life I have been….” Tobit’s own death will be described at the end of the narrative in 14.11.

Acts of charity for my kindred and my people identifies Tobit’s piety as distinctively Israelite. The word for charity is used particularly of almsgiving; Good News Translation says “I often gave money” (Contemporary English Version “gave help” is too vague). Kindred refers to relatives, while my people goes beyond near relatives to show that Tobit’s concern did not stop with his immediate family, but included all Israelites who found themselves exiled in the foreign land of Assyria. Good News Translation renders my people as “fellow Jews,” but this is technically wrong, since Jews are people descended from the tribe of Judah, and the term is not much used before the time of the Babylonian exile, when the people of that tribe, that is, the Jews, were in exile. The events described in the book of Tobit take place at an earlier time, when people of the northern tribes were exiled in Assyria. In 11.17, however, the author does actually refer to the people as “Jews.”

Who had gone with me in exile to Nineveh: This may also be rendered as “people who the Assyrians had taken captive with me to Nineveh.” In some languages the sense of Nineveh as the capital city of the empire may be expressed as, for example, “the big village where the high chief lives.”

It is possible to restructure verse 3 as follows:

• All my life, I have been honest and tried to do what is right. And even after we were brought here to Nineveh, I often gave money to help my needy relatives and other Israelites who were in exile with me in Nineveh.

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.

When I was in my own country: New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version omit the word “and” in the Greek text at the beginning of this verse. It is a Greek conjunction that is often best represented at the beginning of sentences by nothing at all. Any connective used here must be one appropriate to the flashback that follows, such as “Long before this” or “Many years before this.” Good News Translation opens a new paragraph here as Tobit begins to tell about his youth. This seems better than starting a new paragraph at verse 5, as New Revised Standard Version does. The actual place of Tobit’s own country is given by Good News Translation: “northern Israel.” With these remarks in mind, the first part of this verse may be expressed as “Many years before this, when I was a young man, I lived in northern Israel.”

The whole tribe of my ancestor Naphtali deserted the house of David and Jerusalem: Naphtali is Tobit’s very distant ancestor, the son of Jacob who gave his name to this tribe, the social unit to which Tobit belonged. The house of David refers to the dynasty (line of kings) descended from David, which ruled the southern kingdom of Judah. New Revised Standard Version would have been better with “Jerusalem and the house of David” (compare Good News Translation “the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David”). The verb deserted used with the phrase must indicate a willful breaking away, a defiant secession from that government; for example, “rejected” in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. Although the character Tobit will demonstrate intense loyalty to his own tribe, it is clear that the writer’s sympathies are with the line of David. The reference here is to the rebellion of the northern tribes against Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kgs 12) in 922 B.C. Tobit claims that he was a young man when this happened, but Shalmaneser’s capture of Israel (verse 2) dates from 200 years later, in 722 B.C. This reflects the writer’s lack of historical accuracy rather than a claim that Tobit lived to an extremely old age.

This city had been chosen from among all the tribes of Israel: The agent of the choosing is God (which Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make clear), who selected this city from among all the tribes, that is, from anywhere in all the tribal territories; Good News Translation expresses this as “from among all the Israelite cities” (compare 1 Kgs 8.48).

Where all the tribes of Israel should offer sacrifice: Neither New Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation deals with this point, but it should perhaps be made clear that the “sacrifices” were to be made by the “people” of the tribes, since it was individuals who offered the sacrifices, not tribal representatives. So an alternative rendering for the middle of this verse may be: “God has chosen this city from among all the cities in the land of Israel as the place where the people from every Israelite tribe should go to offer sacrifices.” In some languages, however, it must also be made clear that the sacrifices are offered to God for example, “… should go to offer sacrifices to God.” Sacrifice in a number of languages is expressed as “slaughter animals and offer them.”

Where the temple, the dwelling of God, had been consecrated and established: The temple is identified as the dwelling of God, the place where God lives. This temple was consecrated, that is, it was made holy (or, sacred) at the dedication ceremony described in 1 Kgs 8. Solomon conducted that ceremony, but it was God’s action that made the place holy, meaning that it belongs to him and he lives there. In languages where “holy” or “sacred” means only “tabooed,” it will be necessary to translate in a way similar to New Revised Standard Version: “and where the temple, where God lived, had been set apart to him and….” Established translates a Greek word carrying the imagery of building; so Good News Translation has “was to be built” and Contemporary English Version “had been built.” The temple was consecrated after it was built, of course, and in some languages it will be more natural to reverse the order of consecrated and established (see the model below). However, the consecration is what established it as the place of worship for all generations forever (Good News Translation “his Temple was to be built for his holy and eternal home”). Good News Translation has changed the order of the clauses in this verse in a helpful way. Translators should study this model carefully. However, for those translators whose languages do not have the passive voice, the following model may be used:

• Many years before this, when I was young, I lived in northern Israel. The people from all the tribes in Israel were supposed to go to the city of Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to God there. God had chosen just this one city from all the Israelite cities as the place where they should build a temple that would be his own, where he would live forever. But all the people from my tribe [or, family group] of Naphtali rejected the city of Jerusalem and the kings descended from David.

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.

This verse refers to what happened after the political break with the dynasty of David. The people abandoned the worship of God in the temple, in favor of worshiping the images of calves or bulls set up at certain shrines in northern Israel (1 Kgs 12.28-33). This break was made by King Jeroboam the First about the year 922 B.C.

For my kindred see verse 3.

Our ancestral house of Naphtali is the same as “the whole tribe of my ancestor Naphtali” in the previous verse. It will not be necessary in most languages to repeat the name Naphtali; the phrase “my tribe” will be sufficient.

Sacrificed to the calf that King Jeroboam of Israel had erected in Dan and on all the mountains of Galilee: For sacrificed see the comment in the previous verse. Good News Translation makes it clear that the calf is a “gold bull-calf,” namely a young male. The textual variant “heifer” mentioned in the New Revised Standard Version footnote is quite minor and may be ignored. Contemporary English Version adds “idol” to the idea of calf by translating “offered sacrifices to the idol that King Jeroboam had made in the shape of a calf.” In cultures where cattle are unknown, translators may borrow the word for “cow” from a major language and say something like “sacrificed animals to the idol that King Jeroboam had made in the shape of a young male cow.” The use of the calf here with the definite article shows that this calf was an idol that Tobit’s readers were familiar with. Translators should try to find a term that brings this out. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version seem to understand that there was only one idol, situated in Dan. However, New Revised Standard Version suggests that there were a number of these calves set up in many shrines on the mountaintops of northern Galilee. Translators are urged to follow the interpretation of New Revised Standard Version.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• My relatives and everyone else in my tribe went to the town of Dan. There they offered sacrifices to the idol that King Jeroboam had made in the shape of a bull-calf. He had also placed these idols on hilltops all over northern Galilee.

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.

Although Good News Translation begins a new section here, the Handbook does not recommend this.

I alone went often to Jerusalem for the festivals: Tobit affirms his own faithfulness to the temple and the Torah; I alone went means “I was the only one who went.” Tobit’s statement that he alone of his family used to attend the festivals in Jerusalem is not quite true. In 5.14 he names two kinsmen who used to go with him on these occasions. Either the author has missed this discrepancy, or the author is having Tobit, as narrator, voice a view of his own goodness that is mistaken or false. (In chapter 5 Tobit is not the narrator.) The aspect of the verb went often indicates that Tobit “made it a practice to go often” to Jerusalem, the valid place of worship, at the times of the festivals. For the festivals may be expanded to “to celebrate the religious festivals” (Good News Translation). These festivals were of course not occasions for merrymaking, but for solemn religious ceremonies. They would be the festivals called Passover, Weeks (or, Pentecost; Good News Translation “Harvest Festival”), and Booths (or, Shelters/Huts), when every male Jew was expected to come to Jerusalem with offerings, according to Deut 12.10-11; 16.1-17.

As it is prescribed for all Israel by an everlasting decree: This reference may be the everlasting decree, though Good News Translation understands it in a broader sense as “the Law of Moses.” Contemporary English Version has a more neutral rendering: “just as God’s unchanging command says to do.” Any one of these interpretations is valid.

I would hurry off may be difficult to translate in a number of languages. Tobit probably walked, accompanied by pack animals carrying all the articles he lists in the second half of this verse. So in some languages it may be necessary to use a verb such as “travel” or “go” and say something like “I would go as quickly as possible.”

With the first fruits of the crops …: According to Deut 18.4, God was to be given the first fruits of the crops as well as the first wool clipped from the sheep, the shearings (compare Deut 14.22-23). Crops would include not only the grain crops such as wheat and barley, but also the fruit from vineyards (grapes and wine), olive trees (oil), and other fruits such as figs and pomegranates (see verse 7). In some languages crops may be expressed as “everything they grew in their fields.” The firstlings of the flock are “the first-born of my animals” (see Deut 15.19-23). The tithes of the cattle means “a tenth of my cattle” or “one in every ten of my cattle [cows and bulls].” In parts of the world where cattle are unknown translators will need to use a loan word such as “cow” and say for example, “animals named ‘cow.’ ” It will also be helpful to include a picture of these animals. Tobit used to present these offerings to the priests, the descendants of Aaron, at the temple altar.

The final sentence in Good News Translation, “Then I would stand before the altar in the Temple…,” is the first sentence in verse 7 in New Revised Standard Version (see also Contemporary English Version). Translators are urged to follow New Revised Standard Version in this matter.

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.

Tobit speaks about two tithes (tenths) he gives in verses 7-8. His first tithe (Num 18.21-24), given to the Levites, is described in the second half of the first sentence in verse 7. A second tithe (Deut 14.22-29), given for a feast, is described in verses 7b-8.

I would give these to the priests: Priests may be difficult to translate in some languages, although in most languages the words or expressions which are most appropriate will already have been decided for the New Testament. A Handbook on Leviticus has an excellent discussion on the Levitical priests:

The primary duty of the priest was to serve as an intermediary between the LORD and his people. The means by which this was done was sacrifice. Thus in some languages this word has been translated “sacrificer” or “intermediary.” But care should be taken to avoid negative connotations of a word like “sacrifice.” If it evokes ideas of pagan sacrifice quite different from those of the people of Israel, then another term should be sought….

A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark lists terms that a number of cultures have used. Some examples are “one who presents man’s sacrifice to God,” “one who takes the name of the sacrifice,” and “spokesman of the people before God.”

The altar: In cultures where altars are unknown, we may say something like “place [or, platform] for sacrificing animals.” An alternative translation model for the first part of the verse is: “I would always take these offerings to the temple and give them to the priests at the altar” (Contemporary English Version).

The tenth of the grain, wine, olive oil, pomegranates, figs, and the rest of the fruits: This tenth refers to the tithe given to the Levites. Grain refers to crops of wheat and barley. Some translators will need to make this clear. For wine translators should not substitute something like “rice wine,” as the writer is referring to a fermented drink made from grapes. If wine is unknown in a particular culture, a translator may say something like “fermented drink made from the fruit called ‘grape,’ ” or simply transliterate the word wine and include a footnote explaining what wine is. Olive oil may be expressed as “oil made from the fruit called ‘olive.’ ” Pomegranates and figs, if not present in a culture, may be described in a similar way.

The sons of Levi refers to men from the priestly tribe of Levi who were not priests themselves, but who assisted the priests and took care of temple business that did not involve worship.

Also for six years I would save up a second tenth in money and go and distribute it in Jerusalem: Six years refers to the years between every seventh year (Good News Translation “Every year, except the seventh year”). Since the land was not to be farmed on the seventh year, no tithes were paid then; see Lev 25.1-7. A second tenth refers to the second tithe given by Tobit. For six years in a row he took an additional tenth and used it for a festive meal, as described in Deut 14.22-26.

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.