Tobit

Michele Murray is professor in the department of religion, society, and culture at Bishop’s University, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, where she served as the dean of arts and science, and dean of arts, for a decade. She holds an MA in Second Temple period Jewish history from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a PhD in religion, specializing in Christian origins, from the University of Toronto. Her research areas include Jewish-Christian relations in the ancient world, and interaction among Eastern-Mediterranean religions in late antiquity; she is the author of Playing a Jewish Game: Gentile Christian Judaizing in the First and Second Centuries CE (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2004), and several articles and book chapters.

"With this engaging treatment of Tobit, Michele Murray continues the high standards of the Wisdom Commentary Series. The social world of the story comes alive through comparisons to historical and modern equivalents. Feminist and intersectional concerns are prominent, creating a dialogue between ancient text and modern social issues. I was challenged on every page to return again to the text with new questions."Lawrence M. Wills, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry

• ContentsAcknowledgments    ixList of Abbreviations    xiList of Contributors    xiiiForeword: “Tell It on the Mountain”—or, “And You Shall Tell Your Daughter [as Well]”    xvAthalya Brenner-IdanEditor’s Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: “She Is a Breath of the Power of God” (Wis 7:25)    xixBarbara E. Reid, OPAuthors’ Introduction: Setting the Scene    xxxixTobit 1–2 When Bad Things Happen to Good People    1Tobit 3 When Your Husbands Keep Dying    55Tobit 4 Living a Good Life    87Tobit 5–6 How to Hire an Angel    107Tobit 7–9 Ridding Your Life of a Demon in One Simple Step    131Tobit 10 The Good Mother    171Tobit 11 Sarah Arrives at Her New Home    183Tobit 12 An Angel Is Revealed (to the Men)    195Tobit 13–14 Restoration    207 Conclusion: Feminist Commentaries Are Not for the Faint of Heart    229Works Cited    231Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings    257Index of Subjects    265