So he called his son Tobiah; and when he came, he said to him: "My son, when I die, give me a decent burial. Honor your mother, and do not abandon her as long as she lives. Do whatever pleases her, and do not grieve her spirit in any way. Remember, my son, that she went through many trials for your sake while you were in her womb. And when she dies, bury her in the same grave with me. Through all your days, my son, keep the Lord in mind, and suppress every desire to sin or to break his commandments." (Tobit 4:3-5)

Tobit prepares himself for death. He does so by instructing his son. The first instruction is to honor father and mother.

In both Exodus and Deuteronomy the commandment to honor mother and father is a conditional followed by "so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."(Exodus 20:12)

Is this a bit of irony? How does this apply when the family is in forced exile and the father has asked for death?

For the next maxim, a slightly different translation, "Be mindful of the Lord, my boy, every day of your life. Do not seek to sin or transgress His commandments."

For any post-Freudian there is a profound difference between "do not seek" or "suppress every desire." Before Freud there was more confidence in the value of doing or not doing, regardless of internal motivation.