06_Biblica_AM_MacAgantay_Layout 1 16/12/13 12:28 Pagina 582 582 FRANCIS M. MACATANGAY plies that the angelic word is the final say on this matter. Between com- peting meanings, the implied alternative prevails over the proffered. The reader ’s perception of the real situation is thus affirmed as Tobit realizes that the angel who is God’s alter-ego and agent of providence in the story is giving him and his son an incomparable reward, namely the assurance and disclosure that God has done good things for them. In other words, the reversal or unexpected outcome lies in the fact that it is not Tobit and Tobias who pay the reward but God through the ministration of his angel who rewards with providence a faithful man who makes the correct choices and submits to the divine purposes. With the angel’s revelation, their understanding of μισθός starts to align with its upper level of mean- ing or with the reader’s privileged and divine point of view. In the end, what matters most is the divine and not the human μισθός which earlier had been shrouded in suspicion. Rafael of course unveils the hidden reality behind the events that have favorably unfolded on behalf of Tobit and his family. With this dramatic turn, the narrative provides an alternative to the literal meaning of μισθός as wages or payment for services done, understanding it to be something more than it appears to mean. In fact the surface meaning of μισθός is qualified. In this case, the ironic Rafael seems to say that divine recom- pense includes the knowledge of the hidden marvels of God and the rev- elation that divine providence is at work albeit in mysterious ways (12,11). In other words, the author dissembles the other meaning of μισθός until the moment of revelation in a story that hides from the characters what is actually the case. III. Irony and Retribution The ironic use of μισθός provides a rhetorical outlet for the tacit theo- logical tension in the narrative. It is a story that struggles with God’s justice, which is typically expressed in the theological doctrine of retribution 12. Is 12 I. NOWELL, “The Book of Tobit. Introduction, Commentary, and Re- flections”, New Interpreter’s Bible 3 (1999) 985, argues that the doctrine of retribution as found in Deuteronomy 28 accounts for the dramatic conflict in the story. Other scholars who share the view that the core theological per- spective of Tobit is deuteronomic include MOORE, Tobit, 20; J. FITZMYER, Tobit (CEJL; Berlin 2003) 36; J. CORLEY – V. SKEMP, “Introduction”, Inter- textual Studies in Ben Sira and Tobit. Essays in Honor of Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M (eds. J. CORLEY – V. SKEMP) (CBQMS 38; Washington, DC 2005) xiii. See also A.A. DI LELLA, “The Deuteronomic Background of the Farewell Discourse in Tob 14:3-11”, CBQ 41 (1979) 380-389; W. SOLL, “Mis- fortune and Exile in Tobit: The Juncture of a Fairy Tale Source and Deuteron-