Francis M. Macatanguay, «Mistos and Irony in the Book of Tobit»
The deuterocanonical Book of Tobit is a delightful story that employs ironic flourishes in its narrative. The word mistos which literally means 'wages' and figuratively connotes 'reward' appears frequently in the story. It is argued that the narrative use of the word participates in dramatic irony. As a rhetorical strategy, the irony addresses the limitations of the title character’s espousal of the traditional typology for reward and punishment.
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Μισθός AND IRONY IN THE BOOK OF TOBIT
wife Anna starts doing women’s work, presumably as a textile weaver.
Once, after sending the product of her labors to her employer, she receives
a goat on top of her usual μισθός as a reward. When Tobit hears the bleating
of the goat, he questions his wife about it. He is not convinced by her re-
sponse that the kid was not stolen but was, rather, a bonus over and above
her payment. Suspicious of this windfall, Tobit angrily orders her to return
the goat to her employer. And so, the crisis between the couple develops
when the unexpected and gratuitous gift comes with Anna’s μισθός.
The acrimonious exchange between the spouses conveys the impres-
sion that Tobit wants to deprive Anna of her μισθός with its bonus just as
he is bereft of his. It would seem as well that if Anna were to give her
bonus back the two would be equal again, both boasting of nothing and
thereby normalizing and stabilizing their relationship. In more ways than
one, the goat bleats Tobit into shame and umbrage. Changing thus the
topic of their heated discussion from wages and bonuses to something
theological, Anna undercuts Tobit’s wary stare at her μισθός by asking
her husband in effect if his poverty and loss of sight were the divine rec-
ompense he received for his faithful abiding by God’s laws (2,14) or if
his righteous deeds are futile since they have not merited anything resem-
bling a reward 10. If Tobit suffers from such adversities, then perhaps it is
equally legitimate to doubt, as he does Anna’s μισθός, the authenticity of
his righteousness and acts of charity. On the other hand, Tobit’s distrust
of Anna’s μισθός inadvertently calls into question the value and the usual
understanding of μισθός. In other words, Tobit’s questioning attitude cov-
ers the notion of μισθός with a hint of suspicion.
This episode of the quarreling pair dramatizes a theological concern
central to the narrative. Anna worked with diligence and skill and received
a bonus on top of her μισθός while Tobit who is known for his works of
charity and righteousness had earned no reward other than blindness and
misery. That the roles of Tobit and Anna are upturned further underscores
the irony in the use of μισθός in this narrative episode. Both the role reversal
and the added bonus to Anna’s μισθός were an insult to Tobit. Anna the
generous financial provider of the family had a μισθός to show for her work,
but Tobit, the one provided for, had none to prove his works of charity. With
10
C.A. MOORE, Tobit. A New Translation with Introduction and Commen-
tary (AB 40A; New York 1996) 136, notes that Anna’s first words indicate not
only that she is volatile but also perceptive, raising “in effect, the crucial ques-
tion in Tobit, namely, does it really pay to be good and to do good?â€. H.
SCHÃœNGEL-STRAUMANN, Tobit (HTHKAT; Freiburg 2000) 74, points out that
Anna plays a theological role in this episode. G.D. MILLER, Marriage in the
Book of Tobit (DCLS 10; Berlin 2011) 188-189, discusses the various readings
of this episode in the story. See also R. PETRAGLIO, “Tobit e Anna: un cammino
difficile nella crisi di una coppiaâ€, RivBib 52 (2004) 391.