Tobit and Tobias

(the LORD is good; Tob. 1:1; 6:1; 12:6)—the principal father and son in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. Tobit, a Naphtalite living in Nineveh after the Assyrian exile, faithfully gave alms, fed the poor, and buried slain Israelites despite royal prohibition. After returning from hiding, he buried another corpse during Pentecost and slept outdoors because of ritual impurity. Bird droppings fell into his eyes and blinded him. His wife Anna supported the household; when he unjustly suspected that a goat given to her had been stolen, her rebuke deepened his grief and he prayed for death.