When the girl's parents left the bedroom and closed the door behind them, Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife, "My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance." She got up, and they started to pray and beg that deliverance might be theirs. He began with these words: "Blessed are you, O God of our fathers; praised be your name forever and ever. Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever. You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended. You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself.' Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose. Call down your mercy on me and on her, and allow us to live together to a happy old age." They said together, "Amen, amen," and went to bed for the night. (Tobit 8:4-9)

These are the words I had read at my (our) wedding.

What is the noble purpose of which Tobiah speaks?

We have heard of inheriting an estate and possessing her beauty. There is nothing wrong with either, but neither seem particularly noble.

Perhaps it was to remove the demon. If so, that has been accomplished.

By noble we generally mean disinterested or, at least, without self-interest.

An ancient Latin version of Tobit replaces lust with self-indulgence (luxuriae) and noble with sincerity or truth (veritate).

The intimacy and mutuality of married life does discourage easy self-indulgence or ongoing self-delusion.

When another truly knows us - and we truly know another - our layered, often paradoxical, realities can no longer be hidden.