Chapter 12
Drafted by Grok 4.7 on 8 October 2026. First draft. Not independently reviewed. Aramaic and Hebrew where a Qumran copy can be read (4Q196–4Q200), and otherwise the longer Greek of Codex Sinaiticus. The shorter Greek in Swete is not the base. Gaps in Sinaiticus are not filled from a later edition.
1When the wedding was over, Tobit called Tobias his son and said to him, “Child, see that you pay the man who went with you, and add something to his pay.”
2He said to him, “Father, how much shall I pay him? I would not be hurt if I gave him half of what I brought back with me.”
3He has brought me back safe, he has healed my wife, he has brought the silver with me, and he has healed you. How much more should I pay him?”
4Tobit said to him, “It is right, child, for him to take half of everything he came with.”
5He called him and said, “Take half of everything you came with, as your pay, and go in good health.”
6Then Raphael called the two of them aside and said to them, “Bless God, and thank him in front of all the living for the good he has done for you. Bless and sing his name. Show all people the words of God, and do it with honor. Do not be slow to thank him.
7It is good to hide a king’s secret, and to thank God and reveal the works of God. Thank him with honor. Do what is good, and evil will not find you.
8Prayer with truth is good, and gifts of mercy with right action, better than wealth with wrong. It is better to give gifts of mercy than to store up gold.
9Gifts of mercy rescue from death, and they wash away every sin. People who give gifts of mercy will be filled with life.
10People who sin and do wrong are enemies of their own life.
11I will show you the whole truth, and I will not hide any word from you. I have already shown you, and I said that it is good to hide a king’s secret and to reveal the works of God with glory.
12And now, when you prayed, and Sarah too, I brought the reminder of your prayer before the glory of the Lord. And when you buried the dead, I did the same.
13When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your meal, and you went and wrapped the dead man, then I was sent to you, to test you.
14And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your bride.
15I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and go in before the glory of the Lord.”
16The two of them were shaken. They fell on their faces and were afraid.
17He said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Peace to you. Bless God forever.
18When I was with you, it was not by my own favor that I was with you, but by the will of God. Bless him, and sing to him all your days.
19You were watching me, but I did not eat anything. What you saw was a vision.
20And now bless the Lord on the earth and thank God. Look, I am going up to the one who sent me. Write down everything that has happened to you.” And he went up.
21They got up, and they could no longer see him.
22They blessed and sang to God, and they thanked him for these great works of his, because an angel of God had appeared to them.
Notes (1)Hide notes
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4Q200 fragment 6 preserves a broken Hebrew of this ending: write the whole event, they no longer saw him, they were astonished, blessing and praising, and they thanked him for his great deed, astonished that an angel of God had appeared. The Greek is continuous and matches that. The Hebrew is not used to replace words that are only partly on the leather. The next lines of the same fragment belong to the song in chapter 13.