Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours. When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!" I said to him, "What is it, son?" He answered, "Father, one of our people has been murdered! His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!" I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched; and I carried the dead man from the street and put him in one of the rooms, so that I might bury him after sunset. Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself and ate my food in sorrow. I was reminded of the oracle pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel: "Your festivals shall be turned into mourning, And all your songs into lamentation." And I wept. Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him. The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another: "Will this man never learn! Once before he was hunted down for execution because of this very thing; yet now that he has escaped, here he is again burying the dead!" (Tobit 2: 3-8)

Was Tobiah the first Israelite to see his kinsman in the market? Perhaps. Why did Tobiah bring back news of the murdered man, but it was left to Tobit to retrieve the body? Was Tobiah still too young to carry the weight?

Strangulation was not typical of official Assyrian executions. Tobiah calls the death a murder. In some ancient texts strangulation means being hung. One ancient Greek version of Tobit references a noose. Was the the kinsman lynched by a mob?

Mob action would help explain the disdain (and fear) that meets Tobit's unselfish act. Whether a victim of official or unofficial violence, the neighbors are certainly correct that caring for a victim might attract violent attention.

There are always good reasons for not doing right. We may not know of what needs to be done. Or if we know, it may be a physical impossibility. To do right is often a risk. I can often think myself into uncertainty regarding what is right.

But Tobit sprang to his feet. Tobit immediately took action. He was not foolish, waiting until after sundown to accomplish the burial. But he was courageous and confident in taking immediate action to achieve what was right.