A

CONCISE DICTIONARY
OF THE

BIBLE ;
ITS ANTIQUITIES, BIOGRAPHY, GEOGRAPHY,
AND NATURAL HISTORY.

CONDENSED FROM THE LARGER WORK .

EDITED

By WILLIAM SMITH , D.C.L., LL.D.

The Golden Candlestick .

TWENTY -SEVENTH THOUSAND.

WITH MAPS AND 300 ILLUSTRATIONS .

LONDON :
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET .
1889.
 TOBIT, BOOK OF TOLAITES 953
Galilean or Babylonian Jew, from the prominence in the exquisite tenderness of the poitraiture of do
given to those districts in the narrative. De Wette mestic life that the book excels. Almost every
leaves the date undetermined, but argues that the family relation is touched upon with natural grace
author was a native of Palestine. Ewald fixes the land affection. The most remarkable doctrinal fea
composition in the far East, towards the close of ture in the book is the prominence given to the
the Persian period (cir. 350 B.C.). This last opi- action of spirits. Powers of evil (iii. 8, 17, vi. 7,
nion is almost certainly correct. Its date will fall | 14, 17 ) are represented as gaining the means of
somewhere within the period between the close of injuring men by sin, while they are driven away
the work of Nehemiah and the invasion of Alex- and bound by the exercise of faith and prayer
ander ( cir. B.C. 430-334 ). The contents of the ( viii . 2, 3) . On the other hand Raphael comea
book furnish also some clue to the place where it among men as “ the healer," and by the mission of
was written, and would suggest that he was living God ( iii. 17 , xii . 18 ) , restores those whose good
out of Palestine, in some Persian city, perhaps Ba- actions he has secretly watched (xii . 12 , 13), and
bylon , where his countrymen were exposed to the the remembrance of whose prayers he has brought
capricious cruelty of heathen governors, and in before the Holy One” (xii. 12 ). This ministry of
danger of neglecting the Temple-service. If these intercession is elsewhere expressly recognised (xii.
conjectures as to the date and place of writing be 15). A second doctrinal feature of the book is the
correct, it follows that we must assume the exist- firm belief in a glorious restoration of the Jewish
ence of a Hebrew or Chaldee original. And even people (xiv. 5, xiii. 9-18 ). But the restoration
if the date of the book be brought much lower, to contemplated is national , and not the work of a
the beginning of the second century B.C., it is universal Saviour. In all there is not the slightest
equally certain that it must have been written in trace of the belief in a personal Messiah .
some Aramaic dialect, as the Greek literature of To'chen. A place mentioned ( 1 Chr. iv. 32
Palestine belongs to a much later time. If the only) amongst the towns of Simeon .
historical character of the narrative is set aside, Togar'mah. A son of Gomer , and brother of
there is no trace of the person of the author. - Ashkenaz and Riphath (Gen. x. 3 ). Togarmah , as
5. History . — The history of the book is in the a geographical term , is connected with Armenia,
main that of the LXX . version . While the con- and the subsequent notices of the name (Ez. xxvii.
tents of the LXX ., as a whole, were received as ca- 14, xxxviii. 6) accord with this view. The mos
nonical, the Book of Tobit was necessarily included decisive statement respecting the Armenians in
without further inquiry among the books of Holy ancient literature is furnished by Herodotus, who
Scripture. There appears to be a clear reference to says that they were Phrygian colonists (Herod .
it in the Latin version of the Epistle of Polycarp. vii. 73) . The remark of Eudoxus that the Arme
In a scheme of the Ophites, Tobias appears among nianis resemble the Phrygians in many respects in
the prophets. Clement of Alexandria and Origen language tends in the same direction . It is hardly
practically use the book as canonical; but Origen necessary to understand the statement of Herodotus
distinctly notices that neither Tobit nor Judith as implying more than a common origin of the two
were received by the Jews, and rests the au- peoples. We should rather infer that Phrygia was
thority of Tobit on the usage of the Churches. colonised from Armenia, than vice versa . There
Even Athanasius when writing without any critical can be little doubt but that the Phrygians were
regard to the Canon quotes Tobit as Scripture; but once the dominant race in the peninsula, and that
when he gives a formal list of the Sacred Books, he they spread westward from the contines of Armenia
definitely excludes it from the Canon. In the Latin to the shores of the Aegaean . The Phrygian lan
Church Tobit found a much more decided accept- guage is undoubtedly to be classed with the Indo
ance. Cyprian , Hilary, and Lucifer, quote it as European family. The Armenian languagepresents
authoritative. Augustine includes it with the other many peculiarities which distinguish it from other
apocrypha of the LXX. among "the books which branches of the Indo-European family ; but in spite
the Christian Church received ,” and in this he was of this, however, no hesitation is felt by philo
followed by the mass of the later Latin fathers. logists in placing it among the Indo-European lan
Ambrose speaks of the book as “ prophetic ” in the guages.
strongest terms. Jerome, however, followed by To'hu. An ancestor of Samuel the prophet, per
Ruffinus, maintained the purity of the Hebrew haps the same as Toal (1 Sam . i . 1 ; comp. 1 Chr.
Sanon of the 0. T. In modern times the moral vi. 34) .
excellence of the book has been rated highly, except Toʻſ. King of Hamath on the Orontes, who, after
n the heat of controversy. Luther pronounced it, the defeat of his powerful enemy the Syrian king
of only a fiction, yet " a trnly beautiful, whole- Hadadezer by the army of David, sent his son
some, and profitable fiction, the work of a gitted Joram, or Hadoram, to congratulate the victor and
poet. . . . A book useful for Christian reading.” do him homage with presents of gold and silver and
The same view is held also in the English Church . - brass ( 2 Sam . viii . 9, 10 ).
6. Religious character . - Few probably can read the Tola. 1. The first- born of Issachar, and ancestor
book in the LXX. text without assenting heartily of the Tolaites (Gen. xlvi. 13 ; Num. xxvi. 23 ; 1
to the favourable judgment of Luther on its merits. Chr. vii, 1 , 2).-2. Judge of Israel after Abimelech
Nowhere else is there preserved so complete and (Judg. x. 1, 2). He is described as “ the son of
beautiful a picture of the domestic life of the Jews Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar . ” Tela
after the Return. There may be symptoms of a judged Israel for twenty-three years at Shamir in
tendency to formal righteousness of works, but as Mount Ephraim , where he died and was buried .
yet the works are painted as springing from a living To'lad . One of the towns of Simeon ( 1 Chr. iv,
faith. Of the special precepts ore (iv. 15) contains 29) . In the lists of Joshua the name is given in
the negative side of the golden rule of copduct the fuller form of EL -TOLAD .
(Matt. vii. 12 ), which in this partial form is found To'laites, the. The descendants of Tola the sor
among the maxims of Confucius. But it is chiefly of Issachar ( Num. xxvi. 26 ).