Did Jesus quote or allude to Tobit?

[fisherman_carl]

I was reading the book of Tobit today. And I was amazed at 4:3-21. It sounds so much like some of the things that Jesus said in his sermons. Which made me wonder if Jesus was quoting or alluding to Tobit when he said them.

For example, he says to not neglect the poor and he says through charity “So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself…”. This seems to parallel what Jesus said when he said to lay up treasures in heaven.

Also , he mentions 10 talents which brings to mind the parable of the talents.

 

[RPRPsych]

I was reading the book of Tobit today. And I was amazed at 4:3-21. It sounds so much like some of the things that Jesus said in his sermons. Which made me wonder if Jesus was quoting or alluding to Tobit when he said them.

For example, he says to not neglect the poor and he says through charity “So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself…”. This seems to parallel what Jesus said when he said to lay up treasures in heaven.

Also , he mentions 10 talents which brings to mind the parable of the talents.

Indeed!

Tobit 4:16 is the Golden Rule stated in the negative:
“See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to have done to thee by another.”

 

[Beryllos]

The seven husbands of Sarah may also be the basis of the Sadducees’ question to Jesus about the widow of seven husbands and the resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33, also in Mark, Luke).

 

[po18guy]

In a paralel thread, forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=852703 it was noted that (in the D-R bible), Raphael told Tobias (12:19):

“I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you: but I use an invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men.”

Which compares favorably with our Lord at Jacob’s well in John 4:32

"But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

And it was also noted:

“I believe that Luke borrowed the theme of scales falling off Tobit’s eyes (Tobit 11:13) when he spoke of scales falling off Paul’s eyes (Acts 9:18). If I am correct then it is an important reference which should not be ignored.”

 

[gmanlq]

I was reading the book of Tobit today. And I was amazed at 4:3-21. It sounds so much like some of the things that Jesus said in his sermons. Which made me wonder if Jesus was quoting or alluding to Tobit when he said them.

For example, he says to not neglect the poor and he says through charity “So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself…”. This seems to parallel what Jesus said when he said to lay up treasures in heaven.

Also , he mentions 10 talents which brings to mind the parable of the talents.

Excellent thread. The 7 deuterocanonical books that Protestants reject (Tobit being one of the 7) are quoted around 300 times by various New Testament authors and as you mentioned Jesus himself. Such a shame that Protestants miss out on these facts and 7 good books.

 

[po18guy]

Excellent thread. The 7 deuterocanonical books that Protestants reject (Tobit being one of the 7) are quoted around 300 times by various New Testament authors and as you mentioned Jesus himself. Such a shame that Protestants miss out on these facts and 7 good books.

There have always been some in the Church who have questioned the canonicity of those books - most famously Saint Jerome. Yet, Jerome knew that he was not greater than the Church and translated them out of obedience to his Pope, Damasus I. In the 16th century, some young, radical priests decided for themselves that they were of lesser value and should be segregated from the rest of the scriptures. Once this second-class status was applied, it was merely a matter of time before they disappeared from protestant bibles completely - and they certainly did.

The tragedy for protestants is that they have no way of ever knowing if these books are God’s inspired word or not. They cannot convene a council and if they somehow managed this seemingly impossible task, they lack the authority to make any such pronouncement. As well, to do this, they would have to admit this most basic of errors on the parts of their founders. Since the Orthodox and Catholic Churches have used these books since day 1, I can only pray that this gives a few protestants pause to wonder about them.

 

[Judas_Thaddeus]

I was reading the book of Tobit today. And I was amazed at 4:3-21. It sounds so much like some of the things that Jesus said in his sermons. Which made me wonder if Jesus was quoting or alluding to Tobit when he said them.

For example, he says to not neglect the poor and he says through charity “So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself…”. This seems to parallel what Jesus said when he said to lay up treasures in heaven.

Also , he mentions 10 talents which brings to mind the parable of the talents.

Sure seems so!
Also, the Sadducee test Jesus with a ‘for instance’ question,
if a man dies without child, then brother marries man’s wife,
but he dies too, and so on, WHO’S HER HUSBAND IN THE
RESURRECTION? Obviously from Tobit!

Awesome that you pointed that out there, Tobit 4.
I actually have a group devoted to the defending of the
Deuterocanon, if you’d like to join. It’s not so highly ac-
tive, but there we pose and master challenges against
books like Tobit, Judith, etc, talk about parallels to the
New Testament (which some Protestants thing are not
really there), and more!

Message me if interested.

 

[shawnbm]

I am a convert and when I first read Tobit, I had to go back and read it again. What wisdom, what songs of praise, what fidelity to the LORD and His teachings. It is a shame so many in the Christian world do not know this rich story. The same can be said about the wisdom and beauty of Sirach.