Here’s the Latin Vulgate version of Tobit 12:7, as translated by St. Jerome:
“Etenim sacramentum regis abscondere bonum est, opera autem Dei revelare et confiteri honorificum est.”
“For it is good to hide the mystery sacramentum] of a king, and it is honorable to reveal and confess the works of God.”
This quote is a pretty important one in medieval discussions of sacramental theology, and why most of the Sacraments include visible signs of hidden things God is doing within us. So yeah, it’s not about the angel lying.
Here’s the extended version of what Raph said in the Vulgate. You will see that Jerome indicates that Raphael is not lying, and is instead being kinda cutesy and riddling.
Then Tobias going forth, found a beautiful young man standing, belted up, and as if ready for travel. And not knowing that he was an angel of God, he greeted him, and said: “Where have you come from, good youth?”
Tunc egressus Tobias, invenit juvenem splendidum, stantem praecinctum, et quasi paratum ad ambulandum.Et ignorans quod angelus Dei esset, salutavit eum, et dixit: Unde te habemus, bone juvenis?
While he answered, “From the children of Israel.”
At ille respondit: Ex filiis Israel.
[And yeah, angels would generally be hanging around God’s people, the children of Israel…]
And Tobias said to him, “Do you know the way that goes to the country of the Medes?”
Et Tobias dixit ei: Nosti viam, quae ducit in regionem Medorum?
He answered him, “I know it, and I have often walked all the roads; and I have stayed with our brother Gabelus, who remains at Rages, a city of the Medes which is situated on the mountain of Ecbatana.”
Cui respondit: Novi: et omnia itinera ejus frequenter ambulavi, et mansi apud Gabelum fratrem nostrum: qui moratur in Rages civitate Medorum, quae posita est in monte Ecbatanis.
[And again, Raphael has been among the Medes as an angel, and has stayed in Rages doing work as an angel. He’s not lying!]
"And Tobias said to him, “I ask you to reveal to me - from what house or what tribe are you?”
Cui Tobias respondit: Rogo te, indica mihi de qua domo, aut de qua tribu es tu.
And Raphael the angel said, “Do you want a hired man’s origin genus, also meaning “family” or “kind, sort”], or do you want that hired man to go with your son? But so that I not make you perhaps worry, I am Azarias, a son of the great Ananias.”
Cui Raphael angelus dixit, Genus quaeris mercenarii, an ipsum mercenarium, qui cum filio tuo eat? Sed ne forte sollicitum te reddam, ego sum Azarias Ananiae magni filius.
Literally, “I am YHWH’s help, a son of God’s great grace.”
And Tobias answered: “You come from a great origin.”
Et Tobias respondit: Ex magno genere es tu.
And Tobiah isn’t wrong about that! Angels do have a great origin!
Another funny bit:
"And Tobias answering, said [to Raphael], “May you have a good journey, and may God be with you on your way, and may his angel accompany you.”
That’s part of the point. Apparently, people often wished that God’s angel would be with their loved ones on their journeys. What if God’s angel
were a visible travel companion? Tobit and Tobiah, and Tobit’s mom (who is comforted by Tobiah’s belief that an angel is accompanying his son, albeit not guessing that they were literally right about that), find out exactly what would happen!
As for calling yourself a son of someone, or calling someone else a brother - well, welcome to Hebrew. The angels were sometimes called sons of God, just as Seth’s descendants were called sons of God. It was totally okay to call pretty much anybody your brother, if they were known to you. They didn’t have to be blood relations.
There are similar customs in many countries of the world. In Japan, as in many European countries, you can politely but informally address any older man as “Older Brother,” “Uncle” or “Grandfather,” and any older woman as “Big Sister,” “Auntie,” or “Grandmother.” You can address any younger person as “Little Brother” or “Little Sister”. In Japan, you can even refer to people you don’t know as “that uncle” or “that big sister over there.” This used to be the custom in English, too! Young men would politely address old ladies whom they didn’t know as “Mother” or “Granny.”
Speaking a language correctly but misleadingly is not lying. It is a joke, and an extended one, but it all turns out well for Tobiah’s family. It’s a surprise and a deceptive game, but it’s not false witness. It’s clever talking, that’s all.
On the same principle that everything has to be revealed explicitly, you could never even have angels taking on visible forms that aren’t their own, because the truth about angels is that they are spirits without any visible form. If an angel’s disguise isn’t a lie, then an angel disguising his thoughts, his mission, and the meaning of his ambiguous words isn’t necessarily a lie, either. There’s a big pattern in the whole Bible, and in the whole of salvation history, of God doing something first and revealing its significance later. Both the existence of a mystery, and the revelation of its meaning, are important for our understanding of just what God is doing. He wants us to think about this stuff carefully.
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