His son Sennacherib reigned in his place: History is abbreviated here. Shalmaneser was followed in 722 B.C. by Sargon; Sennacherib followed Sargon in 705 B.C. This clause may also be expressed as “his son Sennacherib succeeded him as emperor” (Good News Translation) or “… took his place as king” (Contemporary English Version), or even “… ruled over Assyria in his place.”

The highways into Media became unsafe; that is, “Media was no longer a safe place to travel” (Contemporary English Version). We may also connect this clause logically to the final clause and say, “It soon became so dangerous to travel on the roads in Media that I….” Tobit could not travel the roads to Media because travel had become unsafe, presumably because of robbers.

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.