Book of Tobit - Date of Composition

Date of Composition

It is generally believed that the book was written in the 2nd century BC, on the basis of the scrupulous attention to ritual details and the stress laid upon giving alms. However, neither the date nor location of composition is certain. The setting of the story is the 8th century BC, and it was traditionally thought that it was written at that time.

The book was possibly originally written in one of the forms of the Aramaic language. Jerome described his version for the Vulgate as being made from an Aramaic text available to him. Four fragmentary texts in Aramaic and one in Hebrew were found at Qumran.

The surviving Greek translations are found in two versions. The shorter form, called Greek I by Robert Hanhart in his edition of the Septuagint, is found in Codex Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Venetus, and most cursive manuscripts. The Greek II version, which is 1700 words longer, is found in Codex Sinaiticus and closely aligns with the Hebrew and Aramaic fragments found at Qumran. Apparently the Old Latin (La) manuscripts are also translated from the longer Greek II version. Most English translations since 1966 have relied on the Greek II version.