HIMAN U TOB 13,1-18 KAO MOLITVA ŽIDOVA DIJASPORE.

This is an exegetical contribution to the exploration of Tobit 13:1-18 from the perspective of its meaning in the context of the whole book. As one of the Jewish exiles Tobit works for the Assyrian king and at the end of the book, after he and his wife Anna depart, he asks his son and daughter-in-law to leave Niniveh and move to another place where they can live more safely, preserving their Jewish identity and educating their children in their shared faith but he does not ask them to move to the land of Israel. Together with other Christian and Jewish scholars this author concludes that Tobit was written for the Jewish Diaspora around the year 200 BC to help them pre- serve their faith in the God of the covenant and their ethnic identity. Five prayers of Tobit illustrate events in their immediate context: the prayer for death of Tobit (3:2-6) and Sarah (3:11-15), the prayer of Tobit and Sarah on their wedding night (8:5-8), Raguel's prayer of thanksgiving after his son-in-law survives the wedding night (8:15-17), and Tobit's prayer of praise after his sight is miraculously restored (11:14-15). In his Psalm-like prayer Tobit first praises God who educates his people in the Diaspora through discipline but who also grants mercy (13:1-8), then he summons his fellow Jews and gentiles to praise God, who is about to rebuild Jerusalem and bring the scattered people of Israel back to it (13:9-18). By examining the hymn exegetically, the author shows how the Canticle of Tobit is connected to the whole narrative of the book and to the Deuteronomy, Prophetic and Wisdom traditions of the Old Testament. As well as its social meaning, Diaspora in Old Testament books can also have spiritual meaning. A sincere believer is a "sojourner" in his or her own country (Lev 19:33-34; 1 Chr 29:15; Ps 39:13 etc). Social and spiritual Diaspora represent a "school of hope" (L. Alonso Schökel). Some New Testament writings adopt Old Testament designation "the twelve tribes of the Dispersion, aliens and exiles" (James 1:1; 1 Pt 1:17; 2:11) for Chris- tian believers, in the sense of social and spiritual Diaspora. Different passages of Tobit, especially 13:1-8 are used in the Liturgy of the Hours and in the Liturgy of the Word. While we Christians pray Tobit's Hymn we should not forget its original meaning for the Jews - in history and today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovo je prilog egzegetskom istraživanju Tob 13,1-18 sa stajališta uklopljenosti te psalamske molitve u cijelu ovu knjigu. Tobija u izgnanstvu obavlja administrativne poslove za asirskog vladara, a na kraju savjetuje svojemu sinu i snahi da se nakon njegove i Anine smrti presele u mjesto gdje će sigurnije živjeti ćuvajući židovski identitet i odgajajući djecu u vlastitoj vjeri, a ne traži da se odsele u zemlju Izraelovu. Iz toga autor, zajedno s novijim kršćanskim i židovskim egzegetima, zakljućuje daje Tob pisan za Židove dijaspore kao pomoć da ženidbom unutar zajednice ćuvaju vjeru u Boga saveznika i svoj etnićki identitet. Pet molitava u ovoj knjizi osvjetljuje događaje u neposrednom kontekstu: Tobijina (3,2-6), Sarina (3,11-15), mladenaca Tobije i Sare pred prvu braćnu noć (8,5-8), Raguelova nakon što mu je zet preživio prvu noć (8,15-17) i starog Tobije nakon što gaje sin izlijećio od sljepoće po Rafaelovoj uputi (11,14-15). Psalamska molitva staroga Tobije zahvala je Bogu koji svoj narod u dijaspori kaznama odgaja, ali mu i milosrđe iskazuje (13,1-8) te poziv sunarodnjacima i poganima na velićanje Boga koji sprema obnovu Jeruzalema i sabiranje raspršenih Izraelaca (13,9-18). Egzegetskim izlaganjem ovog himna autor pokazuje povezanost Tobijine pjesme sa sadržajem cijele knjige te s tradicijama Deuteronomija, nekih proroka, psalama i mudrosnih knjiga. Dijaspora uz socijalni ima u nekim tekstovima SZ i duhovni smisao. Iskreni vjernik je «pridošlica» u vlastitoj zemlji (Lev 19,33-34; 1 Ljet 29,15; Ps 39,13 i dr). Socijalna i duhovna dijaspora su «škola nade» (L. Alonso Schokel). Neki spisi NZ primjenjuju iz SZ naziv «plemena raseljeništva, pridošlice» na Kristove vjernike (jak 1,1; 1 Pt 1,17; 2,11) usmislu duhovne i socijalne dijaspore. U liturgiji Crkve ćitaju se odlomci iz Tob, posebno 13,1-8. Dok mi kršćani molimo Tobijin himan u Časoslovu i službi Rijeći, ne smijemo zanemariti što on znaći Židovima - kroz povijest i danas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]