ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA. This book is called the book of Tobit because it contains his story. He was a man from the tribe of Naphtali, held in captivity in Nineveh, merciful and fearing God. For, when he was in captivity, he did not eat bread in common with the Gentiles, but he guarded himself. He was superintendent of the markets for king Shalmaneser, and he deposited ten talents of silver at Gabelus’s in Media. This Tobit devoted himself to burying the dead Jews. He was denounced to king Sennacherib for this, and fled to save himself. When he was back from his flight, after burying a few dead, he fell asleep outside the walls of his house, and while, as was his habit, he kept his eyes open in his sleep, he contracted a white film over them, and from that time he lost sight. There was in Ecbatana the daughter of Raguel, a relative of Tobit’s, called Sara. The devil Asmodeus would not let her enter into any marriage. For he had already killed seven young men who had taken her as a bride. When, strongly saddened by this, she gave herself over to prayers, God sent the archangel Raphael to help her. So, Tobit, having commanded his son Tobias not to take a wife from elsewhere than from his own tribe and family, gave him the note concerning the ten talents, and told him to go and ask for them. As the son knew neither the way nor the man to whom he had to go, he went out to seek a guide for his journey, and, by God’s providence, he stumbled upon Raphael, who stood outside in the appearance of a man, and he hired him for a price, because he said he knew the way. Therefore the angel accompanied him, in man’s disguise, saying his name was Azarias. When they reached the waters of the Tigris, Tobias wanted to go down into them to wash himself, and soon a large fish attacked him. The angel ordered him to catch the fish, cut it into pieces, take out the liver, heart, and gall, and keep them. When, later, the boy asked what he thought they would be useful for, he replied: “The liver and heart, when set on fire, put demons to flight; and the gall removes white films from the eyes.” Therefore, thanks to the advice and assistance of the angel, Tobias put the demon to flight with the smoke, and made the angel bind him in the upper part of Egypt; and so he took Sara, Raguel’s daughter, as a wife. While he stayed with his wife, he sent Azarias, as a man, to Media. When Tobias had gotten back the ten talents through him, he returned to his father with him and his wife. Once he was back, he smeared the fish’s gall on his father’s eyes; when that had been done, scales fell off from them, and soon the old man recovered sight. He was 58 years old when he became blind, and 66 when he recovered sight. Then at last the angel revealed that he was not a man, but an angel sent by God to bring help to them and Sara. When Tobit became old, he ordered his son to depart for Media, because Nineveh, according to what the prophet Jonah had said, was going to be destroyed. And, his strength abandoning him, he died at the age of 158. His son Tobias moved to Media, where, eventually, having buried his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and heard the news of Nineveh’s destruction, he died at the age of 107. [Athanasius of Alexandria, Synop. On Tobit]?