Raphael's Instruction to 'Write Everything Down' in the Book of Tobit

This study posits the thesis that the praise of God has become book-centered in the Book of Tobit. Raphael’s command in Tob 12,20 to praise God and to write in a book all that has happened in the lives of Tobit and Tobiah affirms the status of the book as a valid avenue for proclaiming God’s marvelous works. The Book of Tobit presents itself as the written work that proclaims the revealed secrets and providential plan of the heavenly king. As a public repository of the memories of the magnalia dei, the book fulfills the same function as engraved inscriptions and fulfilled vows of praise before the assembly around the sacrificial altar do.