The Book of Tobit (Tobias)
⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑
- Kapitel 6 -
By the angel’s advice young Tobias takes hold on a fish that assaults him. Reserves the heart, the gall, and the liver for medicines. They lodge at the house of Raguel, whose daughter Sara, Tobias is to marry; she had before been married to seven husbands, who were all slain by a devil.
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Fußnoten
(a)6:4 The word ‘palpitare’ can refer to throbbing, beating, or pulsating; but in this context, it means that the fish was thrashing back and forth on the ground.(Conte)
(b)6:5 This action of taking a fish and dividing it into parts is very similar to the various Old Testament animal sacrifices, which of course have a symbolic meaning. The term ‘heart’ is still used today in modern English as a symbol. Similarly, the parts of the fish have symbolic meanings. The smoke symbolizes prayer. The heart symbolizes a pure love for God and neighbor. The liver symbolizes the removal of sin from one’s life (the liver removes toxins from the body). The gall symbolizes the suffering of self-denial and the healthful effects on the soul of that suffering (since gall is bitter, but was used as a medicine in ancient times). So the parts of the fish represent useful medicines for the soul.(Conte)
(c)6:8
Its heart, etc. The liver (ver. 19): God was pleased to give these things a virtue against those proud spirits, to make them, who affected to be like the Most High, subject to such mean corporeal creatures as instruments of his power.(Challoner)
(d)6:12 The Latin word ‘substantia’ is often translated as substance, but it refers to the necessary belongings, or, as in this case, the things that constitute one’s livelihood.(Conte)
(e)6:15 In some contexts, ‘infernos’ refers to Hell, but in other contexts it merely refers to death or to the grave or to death under adverse circumstances.(Conte)
(f)6:15
Hell: That is, to the place where the souls of the good were kept before the coming of Christ.(Challoner)
(g)6:19 The word ‘incenso’ refers to burning something, and, in this context, it calls to mind the burning of incense. So the translation is to burn like incense: somewhat awkward, but more accurate. The first night of continence is to dispel the demons of lust and selfishness.(Conte)
(h)6:20 The second night of continence is to prepare the husband and wife to be ready to receive the type of physical union (marital relations) that the holy Patriarchs had in their marriages. In other words, Tobias and Sarah would become able to have sexual relations within a devout marriage, out of love for one another and for God, and with faithfulness to one another and to God.(Conte)
(i)6:21 The third night of continence is for the sake of healthy and holy children.(Conte)