The Story of Tobit : : A Comparative Literary Analysis / / Giancarlo Toloni.

• Superior document: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism ; 204
• VerfasserIn: Toloni, Giancarlo,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2022.
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism ; 204.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (273 pages)

This volume charts Tobit’s narrative sources in myth, legend and folktale through comparative literary analysis, firmly placing the story in the genre of the didactic and edifying religious novel.

The story of Tobit builds on various themes derived from myth, legend and folktale. Tobiah’s journey recalls Homer’s Odyssey, the suffering of the righteous brings to mind the legend of Job, and the narrative around a disgraced and then rehabilitated official evokes the story of Ahiqar. The author of Tobit seeks to exploit his readers’ knowledge of these stories in order to convey his message more effectively: he encourages them to trust in divine providence that intervenes on behalf of the faithful. This volume, based on essays previously published in Italian, charts Tobit’s narrative sources through comparative literary analysis, firmly placing the story in the genre of the didactic and edifying religious novel.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Part 1 Tobiah and Odysseus -- Chapter 1 The Return to the Family Affections -- 1 The Reasons behind a Comparison -- 2 Tobiah's Return Home (Tob 11:1-18) -- 3 The Return of Odysseus to Ithaca -- Chapter 2 The νόστος in Tobit between Greek Epic and Hellenistic Novel -- 1 The νόστος of Tobiah and Odysseus -- 2 Epic in the Hellenistic Age: Apollonius of Rhodes -- 3 The Greek Novel -- Chapter 3 Homeric Echoes in Tobit? -- 1 The Exegetical Problem -- 2 Starting Points for a Comparison -- 2.1 Similarities in the Literary Structure -- 2.2 Similar Themes -- 2.2.1 The Journey in the Remote Regions of the East -- 2.2.2 The Dangers and the Unexpected Events of the Journey -- 2.2.3 The World of Family Connections -- 2.2.4 Conjugal Love -- 2.3 Common Narrative Elements -- 2.3.1 The Father-Son Relationship -- 2.3.2 The Dog of the Protagonist -- 2.3.3 Divine Intermediaries -- 2.3.4 Tears -- 2.3.5 Drug and Magic Elixirs -- 2.3.6 Blindness -- 3 The Homeric Contribution -- Part 2 Tobit and Job -- Chapter 4 An Ancient Legend -- Chapter 5 Provocation and Response -- 1 Tobit, the Right Man as a Victim of Misfortune -- 2 Job, the Right Man Put to the Test -- Chapter 6 Looking for the Original Tale -- 1 Similar Themes -- 1.1 Wealth -- 1.2 Blindness -- 1.3 Family -- 1.4 Angelology -- 1.5 The Image of God -- 2 Convergences in the Structure of the Accounts -- 2.1 Historical Frame -- 2.2 The Structure of a Drama -- 2.3 The Reader -- 2.4 The Typology of the Tests -- 2.5 Evil Spirit -- 2.6 Heartfelt Prayer -- 2.7 The Request for Death -- 2.8 Words of Blessing -- Chapter 7 Two Different Solutions -- 1 A Pain that Saves -- 2 The Perspective of Faith -- Chapter 8 Pain, Tribulation, and Suffering -- Part 3 Tobit and Aḥiqar -- Chapter 9 Aḥiqar and the Story of Tobit -- 1 The Literary Problem.

2 The Direct Mentions of Aḥiqar in Tobit -- 2.1 Aḥiqar at the Assyrian Court (1:21-22) -- 2.2 Aḥiqar as an Example of Rectitude (14:10) -- 2.3 Aḥiqar Helps Tobit (2:10) -- 2.4 Aḥiqar at the Wedding of Tobiah (11:18) -- 3 The Indirect Mentions of Aḥiqar in Tobit -- 3.1 An Echo of the Wisdom of Aḥiqar (4:17) -- 3.2 Aḥiqar King of Media (14:15) -- Chapter 10 The Intertextuality of the Aḥiqar Story in Tobit -- 1 Critical Evaluation of the Citations -- 1.1 The Redaction of the Text -- 1.2 The Compositional Structure -- 2 Literary Comparison -- 2.1 Similarities and Differences in the Structure -- 2.2 Thematic Similarities and Differences -- 3 What Dependence on Aḥiqar? -- 3.1 The Literary Genre -- 3.2 The Influence of Aḥiqar on Tobit -- 3.3 Tobit and Its Sources -- Chapter 11 The Legend and the Historicization of Aḥiqar -- 1 The Legend and Its Attestations -- 2 The Problem of the Sources -- 3 The Formation of the Tradition -- 4 The Reuse of the Tradition -- 5 From the Legend to the Story -- Conclusions -- Appendix 1 Passages in Tobit Referring to Aḥiqar -- Appendix 2 Extra-Biblical Texts Referring to Aḥiqar -- Bibliography -- Index of Modern Authors -- Index of Ancient Sources -- Index of Names and Subjects.