Thursday, July 17, 2014

The Book of Tobias and the Catholic ideal of Marriage


 
 by Raymond Taouk
 
The Reason the book of Tobias is chosen to set forth the high ideal which the Church has set forth on marriage is not because the Old Testament perfectly presents to us the Christian notion of marriage but because in it we see a perfect blue print of the Christian ideal of Marriage according the mind of God. If we take the relevant principles that the book of Tobias exemplifies and incorporate it into the New Testament teaching of Marriage - we will have a firm theological basis for living the married life and attaining a high degree of sanctity by living according to the maxims of Sacred Scripture.


Canonicity and Historicity of the book


I would like to give you a brief overview of the book of Tobias itself so that you have some understand about it's historicity and canonicity, since this is one of those inspired books of the bible that the protestant regard as apocryphal. They deny that it's inspired even though its authenticity is vouched for from the early ages of the Church. For example its clearly quoted in the didache which is one of the earliest Christian manuals. It is also quoted by St. Polycap, St.'s Clement of Alexandria, Origen, St. Cyprian, St. Athanasius and a number of other Church Fathers all defended it's canonically, not to mention the fact that it was also unequivocally affirmed to belong to the canon of scripture at the Council of Trent .


The interesting thing about the book of Tobias besides its profound insight to true notion of marriage which I shall look at shortly, is that neither its author nor the date of its authorship is not exactly known. Some ascribe its work to a joint authorship of Tobias and his Son, while the more common opinion today is that it was authored by someone else. It's said to have been written anywhere between 350 - 150 BC mainly because the greater majority of theologians don't hold that it was written by Tobias himself but by someone else many years later under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who wrote down an account ot what had previously taken place much like what Moses did in when he wrote the Pentateuch under the inspiration of the holy Ghost even though we know that Moses was not around "in the beginning" (Genesis 1) and yet no one denies that the book of Genesis was written by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.


In addition, we are not certain in which language it was originally written. Some Biblical scholars maintain that it was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic and then translated into Greek. The earliest Hebrew version of the book that we have available dates back to the 5th Century, while there is an Aramaic version available, which dates back to the 7th Century.


St. Jerome states that his Latin Vulgate translation was made from the Aramaic, which he had translated with help of person who knew both Hebrew and the Chaldean (Praef. in librum Tobiae, PL 29, 25 f.).


As to the literary Character of the book their is a dispute as to whether the book is historical or merely a piously inspired inspired book intended to encourage the Jews in their captivity. Nevertheless, after reading the pros and cons on the issue it's true to say that regardless of whether or not it is relating to us a true historical even or not it still remains didactic and most important of all it still remains part of the inspired word of God. Just as we hold that the parable of Our Lord remain part of the inspired word of God even if the truths they relate are not necessarily historical facts.

The book of Tobias - overview of content


To those of you who are not familiar with the book itself - I think it would be worth first giving you a brief outline:


The story opens with Tobias, the elder, who a Jew from the Tribe of Nephtali , who was taken into captivity by the Assyrians in the time of Shalmaneser and carried to Nineveh with a number of his countrymen. Tobias was upright from his youth and so he quickly won the honor and respect of the people and became wealthy, so that he was able to help his fellow countrymen and bury the dead even though this angered the King. Later on, however he lost his wealth and was blindedby some bird dropping which got into his eyes and so he could no longer see. Like Job, his own wife upbraided him for his firm confidence in God in his affliction (2:22) as he would not blame God for sufferings. In his distress he prayed to God to be allowed to die if God so willed. At the same time, a young and beautiful girl called Sara was also praying for the same thing, since she was unjustly accused of murdering the various men that had entered into marriage with her, who all died before the marriage could be consummated.


God however in his providence answers both their prayers in the form of Tobias the younger, who when his father asked him to make a trip to Rages in Media to collect some money that was owing to him, was willing to do so but somewhat hesitant because he was afraid to set out on so long a journey to Media without any real knowledge of the surrounding regions. However, Azarias offers to help him to get to his destination. And so both Tobias and his guide set out to together to Money to collect the Money that was owing to his Father.


After an exciting journey, in which Tobias is attacked by a large fish that he kills at the instigation of his guide, they both loge at the house of Ragual a relative of Tobias, who is also the father of Sara, who I mentioned earlier. Azarias advises Tobias to take Sara’s hand in marriage. But Tobias was reluctant since he had already heard that she had taken several husbands all of which were killed by a devil. So he wasn’t willing to try his luck. However, Azarias reassures him that to have confidence in God and tells him who to overcome the devil. When Tobias is finally convinced they go to as Sara’s parents to ask for her hand in marriage, but they are at first reluctant to accept since they think that Tobias will also be killed but eventually like Tobias they make an act of faith and consent. Now on their marriage night both Tobias and his new bride Sara follow the advice of Azarias and spend three nights in prayer together before coming together to consummate their marriage.


While Tobias remains at the house of Raguael, Azarias goes ahead of Tobias to collect the money from Gabelus that was owed to Tobias's father. while in the meantime Tobias’s Father and Mother begin to worry about his delay since he is their only son. Once again, Anna begins to upbraid Tobias (the elder) for sending out his son into a distant land. Eventually however Tobias takes leave of from Raguel and goes back home with his new bride and all the money and abundance of gifts that he had received from Sara's parents. When he gets home, he is greeted by his parents and at instigation Azarias Tobias anoints the eyes of his father with the Gaul of the fish that he had obtained on his journey. His father's sight is restored.


Finally in thanksgiving for the help that he received from his companion Tobias goes about trying to repay this stranger with some money only to find out that this stranger reveals his identity as being St. Raphael "one of the seven angels who stand before the throne of God" (12:5). The angel tells them that their afflictions were permitted by God to try them; "Because you were acceptable to God it was necessary that Temptation should prove thee” (Tobias 12:13). At hearing this they were filled with fear and admiration and remained prostrate on their faces for three hours giving glory to God, while St. Raphael disappears from their presence.


It is from this revelation that St. Raphael is given the title of "Patron of Travelers" and "help of the sick", but he could also be given the title "patron of those seeking matrimony".


To those who are married and who have not read the book of Tobias I recommend you do so. In order to get the context for what I am about to say it would be at least good for me to reiterate in more detail the more pertinent parts of the book, especially that which is found in the 6th and 8th chapters of the book. In these chapters we read that young Tobias asks his tour guide where they are headed next - the response to which scripture tells us that St. Raphael simply answers "Here is one whose name is Raguel, a near kinsman of your tribe, and he has a daughter named Sara, but he has no son nor any other daughter beside her. All his substance is due to you, and you must take her to wife. Ask her therefore of her father, and he will give her you to wife. Then Tobias answered, and said: I hear that she hath been given to seven husbands, and they all died: moreover I have heard, that a devil killed them. Now I am afraid, lest the same thing should happen to me also: and whereas I am the only child of my parents, I should bring down their old age with sorrow to hell." Then the angel Raphael said to him: "Hear me, and I will show you who they are, over whom the devil can prevail. For they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power. But thou when thou shall take her, go into the chamber, and for three days keep thyself continent from her, and give thyself to nothing else but to prayers with her. "- (Tobias 6).


Now in taking the advice from his tour guide - Scripture further tells us "Tobias exhorted the virgin, and said to her: 'Sara, arise, and let us pray to God today, and tomorrow, and the next day: because for these three nights we are joined to God: and when the third night is over, we will be in our own wedlock. For we are the children of saints, and we must not be joined together like heathens that know not God.' So they both arose, and prayed earnestly both together that health might be given them, and Tobias said: 'Lord God of our fathers, may the heavens and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains, and the rivers, and all Thy creatures that are in them, bless Thee. You made Adam of the slime of the earth, and gave him Eve for a helper. And now, Lord, you know, that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which Thy name may be blessed for ever and ever.' Sara also said: ; 'Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, and let us grow old both together in health" (Tobias 8:4-10).


From these profound words I hope to draw out for you the Catholic ideal of Marriage . An Ideal which is latent throughout the New Testament and an exemplified in the lives of those canonized saints and Martyrs who truly understood the purpose of marriage.


1. Correct attitude/Outlook



The first principle that the angel Rachael sets down for his Tobias is to have a correct attitude, a correct look upon marriage. Thousands of People enter into marriage daily with the wrong attitude/outlook towards marriage. While the thought that should be instilled in our minds with regards to marriage is the great holiness and responsibilities of that the married state requires, yet it is so sad to say that most people today take a purely materialistic view of marriage so that their only thoughts are of the natural benefits that come with marriage. While it’s true that their are natural benefits in the married state (the mutual help of the spouses, conjugal love etc.) but these are only secondary advantages of marriage even on the purely natural level, since the primary end of Marriage is the procreation and education of children to continue the human race. That is why the angels do not marry since they have no need of maintaining their own existence since they do not die. Man doesn’t have that advantage of the Angels and so in order to continue the human race God instituted the marriage (Gen 2).


Even from a purely natural level, marriage has had it’s place in society long before it was elevated the dignity of a sacrament (Eph 5:32). Marriage on the purely natural level is a contract between a man and women to enter into a life long union (Gen 2:24) for the purpose of (primarily) raising children and (secondarily) providing one another with mutual support (Genesis 2:18)


This life long union has now been given an additional dignity by being elevated by Christ to the status of Sacrament, which is symbolic of union between Christ and His Church , which is why, St. Ambrose declared that marriage was "sanctified y Christ, His divine voice saying "they shall be two in one flesh" (Mark 7:12). Marriage is symbolic of Christ union with his Church because it is he who elevated it to a dignity of a sacrament, an gave it an ideal. For this reason does St. Paul affirm "Husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the Church and delivered himself up for it" (Eph 5:25).


Hence it is evident that from the earliest of times matrimony among Christians was always recognized as a sacrament and therefore something exalted and sacred capable of imparting grace to the couple. These graces however are only given to those who enter into marriage with high ideals of the state they are entering and with the purpose of living up to its obligations. Like the other sacraments, Matrimony confers on those who receive it worthily a twofold grace. Firstly, it imparts sanctifying grace, and secondly it imparts a special sacramental grace, which means the spouses now have special claim to the supernatural help that they will need in their married life.


I say this since as you already know, if someone receives the sacrament of matrimony unworthily, that is in the state of mortal sin, even if the marriage be valid, he will not only incur God’s anger but will be deprived of the supernatural helps that are needed in the married life.


Even if it had not been elevated to the great dignity of a sacrament it would not change the fact that it could still not be rightly used as a mere means or occasion to fulfill the natural desires of the flesh since we are not as the horse and mule, we are not beasts but rational animals endowed with reason!


Keep in mind that the words I just quoted from the book of Tobias were written in the Old Testament, a time in which, while marriage amongst the Jews was still considered to be something not just natural but also religious, yet it had still not be elevated to the dignity of sacrament and so how much more should we now be moved to look upon marriage as a very holy union, made in Christ for the sanctification of the spouses and salvation of the spouses. That is why St. Paul in his exhortation to wives tells them that it is through child bearing that they shall be saved (1 Tim 2:15). This is because marriage is a state in which those who have received the sacrament of matrimony must work to sanctify themselves and those under them in preparation for eternal life. That is why something that all who want to get married should ask themselves before they choose their spouse is not "does she/he have blue eyes" but: is this person going to help me and my children to get to heaven! That is the real question. If the answer is no - then the option is clear - no marriage. That is why from the very beginning the Church has always done all that she could to prevent marriages between Catholics and Non-Catholics because not only is the eternal salvation of the spouses at stake but inevitably also that of the Children.


As a rule, no Catholic who lives the faith and see things according to the faith would find it difficult to understand why the Church is opposes to these sorts of unions, which are not suggested by God but by "the Devil, the Flesh and world" (1 John 2). And so as a rule , Anyone who marries a non -Catholic is certainly not judging from the motives or standards of the faith. In the Old Testament God explicitly condemned these marriages. In the New Testament our lord is no less explicit "he who loves Mother or Father more than me , is not worthy of me ". Don’t deceive yourself on this point, for as the marriage progress you will also begin to see this more and more.


The reason I say this is because in order to have a correct outlook on marriage we must first judge things from supernatural motives of faith and not from the standards that the world dictates to us. This is because marriage is not something purely personal, its something public. It's a public act that you now belong to someone. In fact, the reason that the previous husbands of young Sara had not been acceptable to God was that they entered into marriage for their own personal desire of lust and not from the motives of faith. They didn't enter into marriage with the motive of extending the linage of the Children of Abraham. Whereas Tobias who was rightly instructed in the things of the faith, had the right attitude towards marriage. St. Raphael points out the public aspect of matrimony when he points out to Tobais saying "the second night you will be admitted into the society of the holy Patriarchs. And the third night you will obtain a blessing that sound children may be born of you" (Tobias 6:20).


It is the family which is basic building block/unit of society. For this reason marriage is a Public sacrament, which is not purely for ourselves. Just as a priest who is ordained is not ordained for his own sake but for the sake of bringing men to God, so to those who are married are united together in holy matrimony to beget saints to God.


Those who base their marriage on mere physical attraction or self gratification or whatever worldly motive deceive themselves. As Children of God we must judge by the standards of God, in other words we must judge by the standards of the faith.


That is something that the book of Tobias really drives home to us. Look at the verse I just quoted. Did young Tobias spend years in dating this girl before he got married to her? No! He had never met the girl and yet St. Raphael suggest to him to take in marriage a women he had never met. That sounds radical, but its not. St. Raphael who is an Angel has God’s perspective on Marriage. That perspective is that marriage is not about worldly pleasures and feeling good, but that it is a holy union between a man and women destined to raise saints to God. That is what matters, all else is vain. Those who base their marriage on mere physical attraction of the spouse deceive themselves since “Beauty is only skin deep”. As Catholics we have to judge from the standards of faith.


2. Purpose


The second principle that comes through is the correct purpose of marriage. What is the ultimate purpose of marriage? Well Tobias makes it clear “Lord, thou know, that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for the love of posterity, in which Thy name may be blessed for ever and ever." These same sentiments were also those of Sara who shortly before had prayed to God saying “ You know, O Lord, that I never coveted a husband, and have kept my soul clean from all lust. Never have I joined myself with them that play (fornicators): neither have I made myself partaker with them that walk in lightness. But a husband I consented to take, with thy fear, not with my lust” (Tobias 3:16). In other words, the intention in getting married of these two saintly spouses was not so that they could gratify their natural desires but so they could united in their fear of God with the hope of raising children and educating them according to the will of God.


That is exactly what the priest affirms in the Nuptial Mass, “May the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you, and may He fulfill His blessing in you: that you may see your children’s children even to the third and fourth generation, and everlasting”.


In fact The word matrimony itself come from comes from two Latin words “Matris” (Mother) and “Munus” (office/gift), which means the gift or duty of mother hood. And so the very name indicates God’s purpose in instituting marriage, namely that the spouses by their union have now been established in the office of parenthood. Just as the priest is by his very his very ordination anointed for the office of the priesthood, so also every married Christian by his very marriage is anointed/established by the sacrament of matrimony into the office of motherhood or fatherhood.


From this we can also see why marriage is seen as something Holy and sacred because in the union between the spouses God allows mere insignificant creatures to become "Pro-creatures" with the Almighty! Our Catholic theology even asserts on this point that at the moment of conception God infallibly infuses the soul making what we have begotten to a living rational creature. What a profound mystery. God confirms every act of generation by positively giving each child a rational soul which will henceforth have an eternal destiny. We can now see why God takes great offense of those who make light of marriage or the marital act.


Those words of Tobias speak volumes to our Modern world In a day and age in which children are seen as burden or a curse, . We ought to look upon having children as one of the great blessings of marriage. In fact through Old Testament theology, sterility or the inability to have children was always seen as curse from God. When the world regards what is a curse as being a blessing you truly know that there is something wrong!


While I don't want to get into the question of how many children and the issue of NFP but what I will say is that as Catholic, as adopted son's of God we should be ready to accept all the children that God wants to send us. God is not out to deceive us, if by his help we have 10 children or 10,000 children, He will give us the necessary means and graces that we need to raise those children. In fact if the non-believers have a great number of children (i.e. Muslims) and naturally speaking God helps them to raise those children (Matt 5:45), is he not going to help you who have a special right to his help. If he helps strangers how much more does he help his sons? (Matt 7:11).


On this I will nevertheless add that as a qualification, that we note well that in the book of Tobias, that Tobias himself doesn't merely come home to his parent with some beautiful looking young bride, with a smiling face and empty hands. He comes home with all the money that he was sent out to collect and whatever else he was able to obtain from Raguel in order to provide for his young bride. In other words as children of God we have to actually think before we get married not only about who we marry, and why, but also about when. Since if a person is not able to provide for his spouse and have himself somewhat (reasonably) established, he shouldn't get married in the first place. This is something which is often overlooked in our self centered society, where marriage is often looked at as a means of instant self gratification.


I know that in our days one of the customs that is often overlook or entirely ignored in modern times is the that custom of seeking the blessing of our parents and that the parents of the future spouse to enter into matrimony. It has true that parents might often reject our choice of person on some personal grounds yet realistically most parents only want the best for their Children. So like Tobias we ought to seek also to obtain the parental blessing for our marriages. I think most bad marriages would have been avoided if the kids to the time to listen to the advice of their parents. But the problem is that, like I am sure any priest could tell you, when people want to get married the only thing they know is “we are in love”. So it’s hard to reason with someone who has his head in the stars. The problem is though, that we have to learn to think with our heads and not your hearts. That’s why God gave us a brains!


3. God's assistance for Godly Marriages


In the spiritual life there is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum, in other words you are either filled with the sentiments of the world or the sentiments of the faith. Now the same is true of the Christian life as whole. Where ever God's rights are trampled upon you can be sure that the devil is around to claim his victory, that’s why St. Raphael explicates those who the devil has power over are " they who in such manner receive matrimony, as to shut out God from themselves, and from their mind, and to give themselves to their lust, as the horse and mule, which have not understanding, over them the devil hath power."


In other words, if Jesus and Mary do not preside at your marriage, the devil will surely usurp their place. The more victories gained in this regard the greater is his power and dominion over society. That is why today most, marriages today end in divorce. In fact, Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical on Christian marriage states that many of the terrible problems afflicting modern society can be traced back to the breakdown of the family.


Nevertheless over the those marriages which Christ and His Church presides, Tertullian asks “Where shall we find power to declare the happiness of that marriage which the Church arranges, the offering confirms, the blessing seals, the angels proclaim and the Father ratifies?”


Yes, who can comprehend the joy of those who are united in matrimony with the true blessing of God and His Church. They have a peace and blessing that the world cannot give.


The very reason that the devil had power over the men who previously married Sara, was because they were only to marry her out of lust, since she was as scripture relates "a beautiful young women". It is by this lust that the devil was given so much power over them. Today the devil is given the same power over those who have already given themselves over to the temptation of lust, and it is for that reason that there are a great number of people who are already spiritually dead.


In fact in order to understand why so many marriages end in divorce all we need to do is look at why the couples got married in the first place. Was it to raise saints to God? I doubt that in most cases God ever really crossed their minds. If such is the case how can such a marriage last in our self centered modern world? These people who marry for selfish reasons (money, pleasure, beauty, etc) never find happiness there is always something lacking, it is because true happiness is attained only by those who are completely generous and ready to sacrifice themselves in all things.


4. The Importance of Prayer


As Catholics no matter what vocation or state in life we consider we must first pray to God for counsel and guidance. In seeking for a wife this even more important, since if you make the wrong decision you are stuck with it for life - "for better or for worse." There is no divorce in the Catholic Church. We don't have such a word. It's not part of our Catholic dictionary! "What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." (Mark 10:9). No state law can change this, since no human law is above the natural law or Divine Law of God.


Unlike a vocation you can try out marriage for a few years and then decide you want to leave. So you have to pray, pray and pray, that God grants you the graces you need to chose the right spouse and to avoid like a plague a spouse that would not be beneficial to you. The book of Proverbs tells us that : "House and riches are given by parents: but a prudent wife is properly from the Lord." (Proverbs 19:14)


Again we read in Ecclesiasticus that: "A good wife is a good portion; she shall be given in the portion of them that fear God, to a man for his good deeds. Rich or poor, if his heart is good, his countenance shall be cheerful at all times." (Ecclesiasticus 26:1-4)


In other words a good wife is a blessing from God. like all blessing from God that we obtain we have to first ask for them and then merit to obtain them both by our prayers and a godly life. That is why St. Raphael tells young Tobias to pray together with his spouse before their marriage is consummated.


I will say on this point that you should pray together not only as a family once you married but even before that since it is only by doing this that you will avoid being like the horse and mule, which have not understanding," for its over them the devil has power."


You see the sacramental grace that you receive at matrimony is meant to help you to fulfill your duty of state but in order to be in tune with that grace you have to pray. It's only in prayer that we obtain the graces we need and merit God's blessing.


A good priest I know told me that he often recommends to those who he is giving marriage instructions to imitate Tobias and Sara literally, so that they should spend 3 days in prayer after the marriage ceremony before the marriage is consummated. In this way, they will gain many graces for the future difficulties that they will inevitably encounter in marriage.


If you want to be led by the hand of Gods providence like Tobias, then you have to pray. The venerable Louis de Ponte on this point gives us some encouraging words:


"God is not only the author of matrimony, but He brings to that state, by a special providence, those who He wishes to be in it. He acts thus both of the good of society and for the happiness of individuals; and, although according to the teaching of the Church, it is better and more perfect to observe virginity than to engage in matrimony,' yet Divine Providence is not less admirable in the matter of vocations to the marriage state than in vocations to perpetual continence."


Undeniably the book of Tobias clearly is encouraging in this regard. It shows us that God truly does desire we make the right decision and that he does care about with who and how we spend our earthly life. That is exactly what we see in the book of Tobias, especially when in her distress Sara prayed to God after the death of all her previous husbands saying “either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps you have kept me for another man” (Tobias 316). And that is exactly what God did, he had something else in mind for her. But she would not have received God’s help if she had not first been a devote servant. So we must also seek to put God first in all that we do so that in return he will neither allow us to be deceived or to deceive ourselves which is what happens in most cases today.

In other words even with regards to your marriage God doesn't work by mere chance but he will guide you by his providence to the marriage state on he condition that you ask for his help in not allowing yourself to be deceived with regards to the person you marry.


So its by prayer that we will be lead to make the right decision and by its by prayer that you will get the graces you need to raise a family and to keep and sanctify that family. As the saying goes, "A family that prays together stays together,"! That is why the priests will often stress the importance of the Family Rosary. Only in eternity will you realize the great amount of graces that you have won for your family by the praying together the rosary.


5. Raising Saints



How many families today have apostate children? Or Parents?


Catholics often forget that the salvation of their Children is something that they will be held accountable for.


The Reason we have the 4th Commandment "Honor thy Father and Mother" is because the Parents take the place of God. They are like "gods" to the children they are entrusted with. However implicit in this commandment is the law that parents must rightly fulfill their obligations towards their children. To fulfill these obligations, you must first know them and work to put them into effect.


Any Children that God sends us are only given to us on trust, we are their custodians but they ultimately belong to God and so if by your negligence they become reprobates you will have to pay account for it.


The gospel tells us, that a good plant cannot produce bad fruit, and that a bad one cannot produce good fruit. We learn from this, that a good father brings up good children. But, if the parents are wicked, how can the children be virtuous? Have you ever, says Our Lord, in the same gospel, seen grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? (Matt. 5:16) So, it is impossible, or rather very difficult, to find children virtuous, who are brought up by immoral parents! There is a lot resting up the shoulders of parents.


On this I would like to quote to you the great words of Dom Prosper Gueranger, from his Book the Liturgical year (Vol.V, pg. 411-2) :


"What greatness there is in a little child? But what a responsibility for the world! If God does not wait for the age of reason before bestowing His gifts, His sublime haste is due to the impatience of His love, but at the same time their duty to these children of heaven, to form them and educate them in a way befitting of their divine lineage is incumbent on them. The education of a Kings son corresponds to the dignity of his birth, and those who have the honor of being his tutors never forget that he is a prince. Instructions, common to all, are presented to him in a way, which harmonizes with his exalted destiny, and everything is directed to rendering him capable of wearing his crown with glory. Does the education of a child of God need less care? Is it right that his teachers should forget his birth and his destine?"


In other words it's not merely enough to beget children, we also have to instruct them. That is why God warns us in the book of ecclesiasticus that "It is better to die without children, than to leave ungodly Children" (Eccles 16:4). Since "to be fruitful and multiply" regards primarily the instruction and education of children and not merely the begetting of children which any idiot can do.


It is no coincidence that saints come from saintly families. No one knew better than St. Paul, the saying that "saints are not born they are made" and that is why he explicitly states in what the proper education of children consists. He says that it consists in discipline and correction: "And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord (Ephes. 5:4). Discipline here, implies an obligation of educating them in habits of virtue by word and example. This is what the Holy Ghost tell us to practice: Do you have children? Instruct them and bow down their neck from their childhood. (Eccl. 7:25)


According to Saint Thomas, scandalous parents compel, in a certain manner, their children to lead a bad life. This statement should in a sense be obvious since the children look can often but follow the example of their parents since it's all that they know.


To add to this scripture tells us that those who fail to instruct their children in the ways of God will not only be punished in the next life but also in this life. While those who fulfill their duty will like wise not only be rewarded in the next life but also in this life "Instruct your son, and he will refresh you, and will give delight to your soul. (Prov. 29:17). If this is true so also is the contrary, namely an ignorant child is a source of sorrow to his father since the ignorance of his obligations as a Christian is always accompanied with a bad life. That is why scripture tells us that a Father who loves his children will correct them and put them on the right path: "He that spares the rod hates his son" (Prov. 13:24) . In fact Saint Bernard, goes as far saying that those who fail to correct and educate their Children in the faith "are not fathers, but murderers, they kill, not the bodies, but the souls of their children".


I can assure you God's scrutiny will be far more rigorous than that of all men put together. Just listen to the hard hitting words of St. Paul : " if any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Timothy 5:8).



Conclusion



It seem undeniably clear that the Holiness and Sanctity of Marriage is explicitly stressed in the book of Tobias : "We are Children of Saints, and we must not be joined together like heathens that know not God" (Tobias 8:5). Those who know not God can also come together and bring forth children and in this sense, they become an extension of Satin and His Kingdom, since in general reprobate parents bring forth children who will become reprobate unless by a miracle of grace they are converted to the faith. While on the other hand as children of the saints we must be an extension of the Kingdom of God on earth and work to extend that kingdom. Every family must be a reflection of hte Holy Family of Nazareth, that is why in order to redeem us Our Lord chose to come to us in and through the family, in order to exemplify for us the reality of what the family should be.


If what we see presented to us in the book of Tobias took place under the old law, which did not have any of the abundance of Holiness or grace which is seen in the New Testament times, how much more holiness is demanded of us now that we have received that grace? If anything comes through in the book of Tobias it's the notion that most men fall short of the true ideal of Marriage. In which case they will have to pay a strict account for their failings. If for example God did not spear the men who entered into marriage with Sara with a false outlook on marriage, how much more shall we be guilty before God, since we claim to be "children of the saints".


The principle is simple. We belong to God and so as true sons of God we have a high standard to live up to and this is only accomplished by entering into holy matrimony with a profoundly supernatural and realistic outlook based ultimately on the firm principles of the Catholic faith.

....
 

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Vulgate Book of Tobit Anchors Judith of Bethulia to Era of Sennacherib






No need any longer for biblical commentators to seek for the era of the Book of Judith drama - whether considered fully or only partially historical - late, during the Maccabean era. For one of the main characters in the Book of Judith,Achior, re-appears in the Vulgate version of the Book of Tobit as Tobit’s own nephew, otherwise known as Ahikar (Tobit 1:21-22 GNT). Achior and his own nephew, Nabath, will attend the joyous wedding of Tobit’s son, Tobias (= holy Job, see our site: http://bookofjob-amaic.blogspot.com.au/), at Nineveh (Tobit 11:20): “…. veneruntque Achior et Nabath consobrini Tobiae gaudentes …”. (“And Achior and Nabath the kinsmen of Tobias came, rejoicing”).



Now the era of the Book of Tobit spans the neo-Assyrian period of “Shalmaneser”(V), “Sennacherib” and “Esarhaddon”, with the latter two kings only being relevant for Achior/ Ahikar (1:21-22):



[The Assyrian king] Esarhaddon … put Ahikar, my brother Anael’s son, in charge of all the financial affairs of the empire. This was actually the second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant, and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put in a good word for me with the emperor ….




The defeat of the massive Assyrian army, the central drama of the Book of Judith, occurred during the reign of Sennacherib, not Esarhaddon.



For more on all of this, see our:


Ahikar Part One: As a Young Officer for Assyria

http://www.academia.edu/7048703/Ahikar_or_Achior._Part_One
 

Ahikar Part Two: As a Convert to Yahwism

http://www.academia.edu/7067422/Ahikar_Part_Two_As_a_Convert_to_Yahwism

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Deuteronomy 28 influenced Esarhaddon’s Vassal Treaty, not the other way around

 
 
King Esarhaddon of Assyria, perhaps greatly under the influence of the wise Israelite sage, Ahikar, see our:
and

could well have absorbed the laws and teachings of the Israelite Moses. Thus we would disagree with the suggested source of influence (this being the typical modern approach that always has Israel being influenced) in the following otherwise highly interesting set of comparisons between Deuteronomy and Esarhaddon’s document.
 
….
 
The discovery of Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaty (EST) at Tell Tayinat confirms the Assyrian application of this text on western vassals and suggests that the oath tablet was given to Manasseh of Judah in 672 BC, the year in which the king of Assyria had all his empire and vassals swear an oath or treaty promising to adhere to the regulations set for his succession, and that this cuneiform tablet was set up for formal display somewhere inside the temple of Jerusalem. The finding of the Tell Tayinat tablet and its elaborate curses of §§ 53–55 that invoke deities from Palestine, back up the claim of the 1995 doctoral thesis of the author of this article that the impressive similarities between Deuteronomy 28:20–44 and curses from § 56 of the EST are due to direct borrowing from the EST. This implies that these Hebrew verses came to existence between 672 BC and 622 BC, the year in which a Torah scroll was found in the temple of Jerusalem, causing Josiah to swear a loyalty oath in the presence of Yhwh. This article aimed to highlight the similarities between EST § 56 and Deuteronomy 28 as regards syntax and vocabulary, interpret the previously unknown curses that astoundingly invoke deities from Palestine, and conclude with a hypothesis of the composition of the book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 28:20–44 and Esarhaddon’s Succession Treaties § 56
This section highlights the parallels between Deuteronomy 28:20–44 and EST § 56, the curse of the great gods. Although lists comparing curse motifs in extra biblical texts with Deuteronomy 28 present a lot of motif parallels, a careful look at such lists shows that the paralleling of motifs destroys the sequence of elements in one text in order to fit it to the sequence of the other (eds. Kitchen & Lawrence 2012:244,
Dt 1–32 being number 83 in their counting of ANE treaties). In Deuteronomy 28:20–44 and EST § 56, however, the sequence of motifs is identical. In only two cases does a topic appear at a slightly different position, and in both these cases one can explain the difference as a deliberate scribal arrangement.
Apart from the identical sequence of topics in both curses, there is an astounding parallel regarding the syntax. Curses invoking Yhwh or the gods as subjects causing calamity, alternate with curses in which natural forces are the subjects, or sentences that just describe the result of the preceding curse. In Deuteronomy 28:20–44 and EST § 56, these alternations occur at parallel positions.
There is still another syntactical parallel between the Assyrian and the Hebrew text. The curses invoking the divinity are optative sentences. In Assyrian, precative verbal forms mark the optative. In Hebrew, yiqtol-x formations mark the optative. Although most English translations render Deuteronomy 28:20–44 as indicative, the Hebrew text alternates between invocations of Yhwh that concede to him the option of punishing in optative yiqtol-x, and sections in the indicative dealing with the consequences of Yhwh’s punishments or the harmful effect of natural forces. The following translation will indicate an optative sentence by using ‘may’. A similar comparison has previously been published (Steymans 1995). The comparison presented here has been amended to highlight vocabulary and syntactical features common to both texts.
There is not much need for the diachronic separation in Deuteronomy 28:20–44. Three verses show elements of later elaboration.
Deuteronomy 28:20c
Deuteronomy 28: 20c: ‘[because of your evildoing] in forsaking Me’.
This ending of the first curse reads in Hebrew: mippenê rōac macalelê-kā ’ašer cazabtā-nî. The three words at the beginning do not appear elsewhere in Deuteronomy, however, they appear in Jeremiah three times (Jr 4:4; 21:12; 44:22). Since the curse section following in Deuteronomy 28:45–62 has a lot of links to Jeremiah, it is safe to suggest that the scribe who added the curses after verse 45 also added mippenê rōac macalelê-kā in order to point to the prophetic language (cf. Is 1:16; Hs 9:15) right at the beginning and prepare for the following links with Jeremiah. Nowhere else does the relative clause ašer cazabtā-nî follow ac macalelê-kā in the Hebrew Bible. There is ašer cazābû-nî in Jeremiah 1:16 and ka’ašer cazabtem ’ôtî in Jeremiah 5:19. The relative clause in Jeremiah expressing that the people leave (forsake) Yhwh differs from the one in Deuteronomy 28:20. In addition, it does not occur in context with mippenê rōac macalelê-kā in Jeremiah. In Deuteronomy, the verb c.z.b is linked to the Levites in Deuteronomy 12:19 and 14:27.
Deuteronomy 29:25 quotes the statements of people passing by giving the reason for the disaster that befell Israel: ‘Because they forsook the covenant of Yhwh, the God of their fathers’ (cal ’ašer cāzebû ’et bet Yhwh ’ælōhê ’abōtām). Deuteronomy 31 quotes the words of God, predicting that his people:
… will begin to prostitue themselves to the foreign gods in their midst, the gods of the land into which they are going; they will forsake me [wa-caba-nî], and break my covenant, which I have made with them. (Dt 31:16)
It is important to notice that Deuteronomy 28:20 is the first occurrence in Deuteronomy where the verb c.z.b means ‘leaving or forsaking Yhwh’, and that this meaning is taken up in Deuteronomy 29 and 31. Further use of the verb c.z.b speaks about Yhwh leaving or abandoning his people (Dt 31:6, 8, 16, 17; 32:26). Hence, c.z.b only means leaving Yhwh as a form of disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:20, the first verse of the curse section, and then in two quotations, namely in the words of other people (Dt 29:25) and of Yhwh (Dt 31:16). Prophetic language uses the verb in a similar sense, however, never in the context of ac macalelê-kā.
The verb ezābu, the Assyrian equivalent of Hebrew c.z.b, occurs in line 479 of § 56 with food and water as subjects. The only other occurrence of the verb in the EST is in line 172 of § 14, a stipulation closely linked to the whole treaty’s ‘first commandment’ in § 4 through the word repetition of a.šà ‘field’ (l. 49, l. 165), naāru ‘protect’ (l. 50, l. 168), uru ‘city’ (l. 49, l. 166), gammurtu ‘totality’ (l. 53, l. 169), libbu ‘heart’ (l. 51, 53, l. 169). The treaty’s addressees must protect Assurbanipal in country (field) and town (city), and advise him in total truth of their heart according to § 4. Then § 14, demanding them to protect Assurbanibal, repeats this order in case of a rebellion. The stipulation ends: ‘You shall Assurbanibal […] let escape [leave]’ [the dangerous situation tušezabā-ni-ni, ezābu-causative Š-stem].
Without claiming to be able to prove it, the verb c.z.b in verse 20c may have been inspired by the EST. The verb is rare in Deuteronomy and the EST, but it is existent in § 56 and the important stipulation of § 14 – and in Deuteronomy 28, it may be the relict of the conditional clause that opened the curse section in the Judean loyalty oath. The Judean scribe reversed the main offence against the overlord, using the same verb. As regards Assurbanibal, the main offence is not to let him leave (= rescue him from) any dangerous situation. As regards Yhwh, the main offence is to leave (= forsake) him in disobedience. Thus, the curse section of the Judean loyalty oath might have begun with something like: ‘If you leave [forsake] him [kî tacazbennû; cf. Dt 14:27], Yhwh may send on you curse’, picking up the conjunction of most conditional laws in Deuteronomy. When DtrL, a pre-exilic scribe (Braulik 2011; Lohfink 1997, 2000), added the blessing of Deuteronomy 28 to his account of a covenant in Moab and the conquest of the land – starting with the bārûk-formulas (Dt 28:3–5) together with the corresponding ’ārûr-formulas (Dt 28:16–19) and the alternative introductions of blessing and curse in Deuteronomy 28:1f. and 15 – the conditional clause kî tacazbennû was transferred to the end of verse 20 and the verb changed into perfect cazabtô (cf. Dt 13:11; 22:2, i.e. the taw moved from the front of the verbal form to its end and the nun energicum was deleted). A later scribe inserted the allusion to Jeremiah mippenê rōac macalelê-kā and replaced by ašer. The first person pronoun present in the Masoretic text today may be a technical mistake made by one scribe during the transmission process confusing waw with nun, letters that look similar in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet as they do in the Hebrew ‘square script’, because he knew Deuteronomy by heart and was influenced by the first person pronouns in Deuteronomy 29:15 and 31:16. One Septuagint manuscript has the third person pronoun, and Old Latin has ‘because you have forsaken the Lord’.
Deuteronomy 28:21a
Deuteronomy 28:21aI: ‘until he has put an end to you [on the soil, 21aR you are entering to possess]’.
The phrase cal hā-’adāmâ ’ašer ’attâ bā’ šāmmâ le-rišt-āh appears similarly in Deuteronomy 12:1, 21:1, 30:18, 31:13 and 32:47. However, it appears absolutely identically in Deuteronomy 28:63. Verse 63 starts with a small poem later inserted in the curse section (Steymans 1995). The scribe who added the poem also added the phrase in verse 21 in order to bracket his addition in Deuteronomy 28:63–65 with the section Deuteronomy 28:20–44. Since a previous scribe already added to verse 20, the first verse of the oldest part of the curse section, this later scribe added to the second verse of this section, namely verse 21.
Deuteronomy 28:36b
Deuteronomy 28:36b: ‘There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. [37a] You will become a horror, a proverb and a byword among all the peoples, [aR] where the Lord will drive you’.
Verses 36b and 37 assess worshipping of other gods as punishment, and not as sin. The same idea is present in Deuteronomy 4:28, 28:64 and 29:17. Thus, this passage may be an addition by the same scribe who added his poem in Deuteronomy 28:63–65.
Italics mark the common vocabulary and syntactical parallels in Deuteronomy 28 and the EST. The Assyrian and Hebrew language only sometimes use common Semitic roots in exactly the same meaning. Identical or semantically corresponding Semitic roots are put in parentheses. Every sentence starts a new line. The Bible text indicates main and subordinate clauses according to Richter (1991): ‘I’ meaning infinitive and ‘R’ meaning relative clause. The Assyrian text follows Parpola and Watanabe (1988).
Since both texts are rather long, they are divided into sections for convenience. The texts are arranged in tables (Tables 2–9) with three columns. Two columns parallel Deuteronomy 28: 20–44 with EST § 56, model for the sequential arrangement of topics. The third column gives the text of other inserted curse paragraphs, because the scribe composing Deuteronomy 28:20–44 considered their topic fitting to the topic indicated by § 56.
Both curse sequences begin with the divinity as subject of the clause and the keyword curse taken from the Semitic root ’.r.r. (Table 2). The predicate of line 474 maāu [to strike] may have been the inspiration for the series of curses using the predicate n.k.h-Hiphil [to strike] in Deuteronomy 28:22, 27, 28 and 35 (Table 4, 7f.).
TABLE 2: Divine curse using the semitic root ’.r.r.
The divinities are the subject of the syntax of the curse. The ending of life is the common topic, in Hebrew it is expressed with an infinitive of k.l.h, and in Akkadian with the Mesopotamian vegetable metaphor of ‘rooting out’ (Table 3).
TABLE 3: The deity brings existance to a termination.
TABLE 4: Natural forces chase the cursed humans.
Pestilence is the concluding illness in EST, line 480 of the following section of § 56 (Table 5). This section is marked in line 479 by a shift of the subject from divinity to natural entities. The Hebrew scribe transferred the topic of pestilence to verse 21, as the beginning of a series of illnesses unfolded in verse 22 (Table 4). Thus, he makes pestilence a heading, whereas it was a conclusion in the Assyrian text. The Hebrew scribe did not adopt the Mesopotamian concern for the ghost of the dead in accordance to the general reluctance of the Hebrew Bible in dealing with the afterlife.
TABLE 5: Lack of food due to the impossibility of agriculture.
The Judean scribe took up the verb ‘to strike’ from the first curse of § 56 together with the divine subject. Then he followed the shift from divine subject to natural entity by making the diseases the actors of the chasing, as are shade and daylight in § 56 (Table 4).
The headwords ‘food’ and ‘water’, as well as ‘want’, ‘famine’ and ‘hunger’ in § 56 provide the topic for this section. The Assyrian curse of § 56 starts with entities (food and water) as subject of the sentence. The Judean scribe follows this by making sky and ground the subjects of the Hebrew sentences. He elaborates on the topic by inserting a curse from § 63. His attention was called to this curse whilst reading the EST through the co-occurrence of ‘ground’ and ‘sky’ together with ‘the great gods […] who are mentioned by name in this tablet’, which is similar to the beginning of § 56. The word kaqquru [ground, earth] is written in syllables in § 63, indicating the Assyrian pronunciation of the logogram ki.tim in § 56 (Parpola & Watanabe 1988:92, sub kaqquru). Hence, when read aloud there is a link (Table 5).
Only one exemplar from Calhu has a dividing line between lines 529 and 530, thus counting a § 63 and a § 64, as do the modern editions. All other manuscripts from Calhu, as well as the tablet from Tell Tayinat, present lines 526–533 (= § 63 + 64) as one single paragraph (Lauinger 2012:120). It is one single curse and the Judean scribe was right in taking it up completely. However, he changed the sequence of the similes. The EST lists the metals in a sequence of decreasing hardness – from iron to lead – in the following § 65. By doing so, the Assyrian text inverts the common sequence of heaven and earth to ground and sky. The Hebrew scribe changed the sequence to heaven and earth, but kept the comparison of sky with bronze and ground with iron. Both curses change their subjects. EST § 63 starts with the gods who turn the ground into iron. The subjects of the next sentence are natural entities, namely rain, dew and burning coals. Mixing both Assyrian syntactical structures, the one with divine subject in lines 526–529 and those with natural elements as subject in line 530 (§ 63) and lines 479 and 480 (§ 56), the Hebrew text starts with sky and ground as subjects, following the vocabulary of lines 526–529 and the syntax of lines 479 and 480. Then Yhwh is the subject causing harmful rain, following the syntax of lines 526–529, where the gods are the subject. Military defeat is the topic of § 65, a curse using the simile of lead in order to denote military weakness. The sons and daughters taken by the hand by their fleeing parents link this paragraph to the young women and young men of § 56, whose bodies are mutilated in the squares of Assur before the eyes of their parents, relatives and neighbours.
EST § 56 does not describe military defeat, however, the scene of line 481f. presupposes deportation because the mutilation of bodies takes place in the city of Assur. This might be the finale of a triumphal procession in which captives of rebellious countries were carried through the streets of Assur. Thus, the topic of military defeat only alluded to in § 56 and the topic of corpses being food for animals then expressed in § 56, probably has lead the eye of the Judean scribe to § 41: the curse invoking Ninurta, which clearly speaks of defeat. He conflated § 41 and § 56 in order to create verse 25f. He began his curse by invoking Yhwh instead of Ninurta and expressing defeat. He kept the Semitic root ’.k.l present as verbal form in the Š-stem in § 41 (feed) in form of the noun expressing the effect of the curse in verse 26a (food). In addition, he changed the subject. The addressees of the curse are the subject of verse 26, as are the addressees’ young women and men in § 56. The Hebrew curse continues to have the corpses being the subject of verse 26, whereas the Assyrian one of § 56 has the earth as subject. Both curses share the topic of refused burial. Both curses have an international flavour by becoming a horror to foreign kingdoms, as well as a spectacle in the capital of the multi-ethnic Assyrian empire. The combination of birds and beasts in verse 26 conflates the birds (eagle and vulture) of § 41 and the beasts (dog and pig) of § 56 (Table 6).
TABLE 6: The results of military defeat using the semitic root ’.k.l.
It has long been noticed that Deuteronomy 28:27–29 parallel the Sin and Shamash curses of Assyrian treaties. However, being aware of the topic indicated by § 56 line 485, one realises that the Judean scribe rearranged the complete sequence of Anu-Venus curses, that is §§ 38A–42, in order to elaborate on the topics he found in § 56. The headwords ‘sighing’ and ‘sleeplessness’ link § 56 with the Anu-curse in § 38A, and the skin disease rendered ‘leprosy’ links the Sin-curse § 39 with the skin disease translated ‘scurvy’ in Deuteronomy 28:27. Loss of eyesight (blindness), as well as darkness, link Deuteronomy 28:29 with § 56 and the Shamash-curse in § 40 (Table 7).
TABLE 7: The curse motifs of Anu, Sin, and Šamaš.
The subjects change. Verse 27 starts with the divinity as subject, as do §§ 38A–40. Verse 29 shifts to the addressees as subject, as do the Sin-curse (roam in the desert) and the Shamash-curse (walk about). Both the biblical and the Assyrian curses focus on the desperate way the people move (grope about).
Having elaborated on the topic of military defeat by using imagery of § 41 to create Deuteronomy 28:25, the Judean scribe now elaborates on § 42. This curse invokes Venus, a manifestation of Ishtar, and offers the headwords ‘eyes’ taken up in verses 32 and 34, ‘lying’ as a metaphor for sexual intercourse and rape taken up in verse 30, ‘sons’ taken up in verse 32, and ‘enemy’ taken up in verse 31. The loss of possession to spoiling soldiers is the common topic. The metaphor of an irresistible flood in § 56 also denotes military defeat. The Biblical text is enriched by futility curses that add the topics house and vineyard, as well as curses that focus on cattle. It is not before Deuteronomy 28:31e and 32a that the Assyrian headwords are taken up again. The Venus curse focuses on the impossibility of transferring property as a heritage to the next generation. There is no deportation from the land. However, the enemy is in the land and takes all goods. The biblical curse goes one step further in making the sons themselves a chattel to be taken by the spoiling army. Their parents remain in their land, consumed by the yearning for their children (Table 8).
TABLE 8: The motif of plundering enemies followed by baleful wishes.
The return to illness in Deuteronomy 28:34 and 35 is inspired by the term ‘ill’ in § 56. The Tell Fekhariye inscription reveals that the rendering of curses that are mere invocations in Assyrian as futility curses in a West-Semitic text is not uncommon (Steymans 1995:156–161, 181–185).
There is no curse in EST that deals with deportation. Deportation, however, is the topic of § 25, an admonition that the oath-takers must enounce. Thus, Judeans who were bound by the EST had to say this to their children. Any Judean scribe must have been aware of this admonition. The headword ‘son’ links it to the topic of several curses of the EST. The most striking correspondence between Deuteronomy 28:36 and EST § 25 is the combination of setting a king over oneself and deportation (Table 9).
TABLE 9: Deportation and appointment of a king.
After the topic ‘lack of food’ in verse 26 in correspondence to line 479, the fact that the topic reappears with the root ’.k.l ‘to eat’ in verse 39 and line 490 is a further indication of the common structure of both curse sections. Another identical root connects both texts, namely c.l.h [to come up, rise]. In § 56, the root occurs in line 489 with the metaphor of a flood that symbolises enemies. In Deuteronomy 28, the root occurs three times in verse 43, turning the stranger (a person to be cared for according to the biblical law) into an enemy. The Judean scribe elaborated on the topics given in § 56 by creating futility curses. He kept the sequence of food, drink, and then ointment. However, he discarded clothing and repeated deportation of sons and daughters instead. The last line of § 56 lists three types of spirits that haunt the dwelling places. The Assyrian verb īaru means ‘to choose, to select’, and exists also in the noun ā’iru/āmiru/āwiru [spouse]. The verb can mean ‘to marry’. The spirits are not evil per se – they may even have protective power (Wiggermann 1992:69, 96, 218f., 221). The point being made in both the Assyrian and the biblical curse is that entities that are not harmful in general and must be protected (as the stranger in the Bible) or may be protecting forces (as the spirits in ANE belief) turn out to be harmful and threaten the intimate space where one dwells (‘in your midst, your houses’) (Table 10).
….