He has no male heir and no daughter except Sarah only: Male heir is the significance of the Greek, which is literally “male son.” No male heir and no daughter … is incorporated by Good News Translation into the previous verse, “has only one child.”

You, as next of kin to her, have before all other men a hereditary claim on her: You … have … a hereditary claim on her is a tactful way of expressing the literal “inherit her”; Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version say “the right to marry her.” This includes information from a line in the next verse, “You have every right to take her in marriage.” There is an application here of the law of levirate marriage (Deut 25.5-10), according to which a dead man’s male next of kin was required to marry the childless widow. The law in Deuteronomy speaks of “brothers” (compare Mark 12.18-23), but Jewish law extended it to any next of kin.

It is right for you to inherit her father’s possessions: What is involved here is the law regarding property inherited by daughters, in the absence of sons (see Num 36).

Moreover is a good way of representing the connective in the Greek, although it is somewhat stronger. Good News Translation omits this without much loss, but some connective is helpful. Raphael has just informed Tobias that there is a woman he has the right to marry: he has the right to inherit her property, and besides that, she would be desirable as a wife anyway.

The girl is sensible, brave, and very beautiful: These are good qualities associated with the wisdom tradition (compare Sir 26.13-18, 36.22-24). The second of the adjectives is derived from the Greek word for “a man”; it describes a quality usually associated with manliness, but it is often ascribed to women in the Bible. (Examples in the Greek Old Testament are Pro 12.4; 31.10; Sir 26.2; 28.15.) In Pro 31.10 the word carries the meaning “hard-working,” and that could well be intended here rather than brave. “Sensible, hard-working, and very beautiful” is recommended.

The interest in the third adjective is that it is here applied to both Sarah (very beautiful) and to her father (a good man). The basic meaning is “good” in the sense of “fair” or “beautiful.” (Compare its application to women in Gen 12.14; Jdt 8.7; Song 1.5, 15.) In the sense of “good-looking” it is also applied to men in Gen 39.6; Song 1.16. (It is clear in both Hebrew and Greek that Song 1.15 refers to a woman, 1.16 to a man.) Yet it has a broader application, suitable to Sarah’s father here, describing him as honorable, capable, and wise. Both Tobias and Tobit are described as “good and noble” at 9.6.

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.