A semantic comparison of the conclusion of LXX Tobit and Semitic 4QTobit

Annette H.M Evans

doi:10.4102/hts.v77i1.6672

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century, the shorter Greek version of the book of Tobit, GI, which is included in the Catholic Bible, was thought to be the oldest version. It was defined as ‘a lesson on almsgiving and its redeeming powers’. As the discoveries of the Semitic copies of Tobit at Qumran, GI is recognised to be a reworking of the longer version GII, most probably originally written in Aramaic, between 225 and 175 BCE. In all versions of Tobit, the theme of almsgiving is introduced as specifically directed to Jewish kinsmen, but towards the end, is to be directed to all poor, suggesting that it may have been written by a Hellenistic Jew. Although the surface context of the narrative of Tobit is the Jewish tradition of proper observation of mitzvot and sacrifice and eventual reward, the various versions contain varying degrees of ancient Near Eastern wisdom, and an ironic, subversive reflection of hypocritical righteousness. This article questioned why the endings differ markedly in different versions. To try to find answers, a semantic comparison was made between GI and the most complete Aramaic version 4Q196.Contribution: This article considered the implications of source criticism in the reception of the various versions of Tobit. The possibility was examined that the pre-Christian, Aramaic version 4Q196Tobit does not confirm the excessive focus on almsgiving as righteousness apparent in the GI version of LXX Tobit.

Highlights

It is not known how old the earliest Greek version of Tobit is
The surprising result was that the Aramaic lexeme for ‫‘ רחם‬mercy’ only appears three times in all the fragments of 4QTobit, and in each position. it is described as a quality possessed by God, and is not in association with righteousness
Whereas the earliest Greek versions tend to emphasise almsgiving as a means to gain righteousness, the older Aramaic versions 4Q196 tends to highlight truthfulness as the primary value

Summary

Introduction

It is not known how old the earliest Greek version of Tobit is. The shorter GI version was preserved by the church, contained in Codex Sinaiticus. The one Hebrew 4Q200 and four Aramaic versions 4Q196–199 found at Qumran are the oldest extant pre-Christian versions we have. The surface context of the narrative of Tobit is the Jewish tradition of proper observation of mitzvot and sacrifice and eventual reward, the various versions contain varying degrees of ancient Near Eastern wisdom, and an ironic, subversive reflection of hypocritical righteousness.. Could a better understanding of the differences in the rhetorical currents in the earliest versions cast light on the cross currents in the Jewish roots of early Christianity? At the beginning of the 20th century, the shorter Greek version GI was still regarded as the oldest version of Tobit. The book was depicted as ‘a lesson on almsgiving and its redeeming powers’, but GI emphasises the rewards of almsgiving to such an extent that today a ‘prosperity cult’ comes to mind (Kohler 1906:1)

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion