Studien zum Buch Tobit

Description

Building on a literary analysis that posits the evolution of the book of Tobit from a basic narrative through three redactional expansions, Rabenau explicates these four hypothetical stages in the context of their religious, social, and economic environments. In chapter 1, he outlines his literary analysis and indicates the reasons for it and the points at which it differs from the four-stage division proposed by Paul Deselaers (Das Buch Tobit [OBO 43; Freiburg: Universitätsverlag, 1982]). Chapter 2 focuses on the wisdom teaching in the speeches of Tobit and Raphael (chaps. 4 and 12), comparing it with an array of parallels from the Bible, ancient Near Eastern texts, and Greek literature. The third chapter is an analysis of Tobit’s psalm (chap. 13), which Rabenau sees as a combination of two separate pieces, one about the God who humbles and exalts (vv1-8) and the other about the future Jerusalem (vv 9-18). Chapter 4 discusses the basic narrative that forms the core of the book. It is a story about angelic guidance based on biblical prototypes, especially in the patriarchal narratives; its central concern is Jewish life in the Diaspora. The two final sections of the chapter treat the rise of almsgiving as a religious institution and the literary structure of the prayers in Tobit. Chapter 5 explains the rationale and tendencies in each of the book’s three redactional expansions. On the basis of chapters 4 and 5, Rabenau suggests in chapter 6 a time and place for Tobit’s four stages. Each of the stages is placed in Palestine.