1 Tobias then answered and said, Father, I will do all things which thou hast commanded me: 2 But how can I receive the money, seeing I know him not? 3 Then he gave him the handwriting, and said unto him, Seek thee a man which may go with thee, whiles I yet live, and I will give him wages: and go and receive the money. 4 Therefore when he went to seek a man, he found Raphael that was an angel. 5 But he knew not; and he said unto him, Canst thou go with me to Rages? and knowest thou those places well? 6 To whom the angel said, I will go with thee, and I know the way well: for I have lodged with our brother Gabael. 7 Then Tobias said unto him, Tarry for me, till I tell my father. 8 Then he said unto him, Go and tarry not. So he went in and said to his father, Behold, I have found one which will go with me. Then he said, Call him unto me, that I may know of what tribe he is, and whether he be a trusty man to go with thee. 9 So he called him, and he came in, and they saluted one another. 10 Then Tobit said unto him, Brother, shew me of what tribe and family thou art. 11 To whom he said, Dost thou seek for a tribe or family, or an hired man to go with thy son? Then Tobit said unto him, I would know, brother, thy kindred and name. 12 Then he said, I am Azarias, the son of Ananias the great, and of thy brethren. 13 Then Tobit said, Thou art welcome, brother; be not now angry with me, because I have enquired to know thy tribe and thy family; for thou art my brother, of an honest and good stock: for I know Ananias and Jonathas, sons of that great Samaias, as we went together to Jerusalem to worship, and offered the firstborn, and the tenths of the fruits; and they were not seduced with the error of our brethren: my brother, thou art of a good stock. 14 But tell me, what wages shall I give thee? wilt thou a drachm a day, and things necessary, as to mine own son? 15 Yea, moreover, if ye return safe, I will add something to thy wages. 16 So they were well pleased. Then said he to Tobias, Prepare thyself for the journey, and God send you a good journey. And when his son had prepared all things far the journey, his father said, Go thou with this man, and God, which dwelleth in heaven, prosper your journey, and the angel of God keep you company. So they went forth both, and the young man's dog with them. 17 But Anna his mother wept, and said to Tobit, Why hast thou sent away our son? is he not the staff of our hand, in going in and out before us? 18 Be not greedy to add money to money: but let it be as refuse in respect of our child. 19 For that which the Lord hath given us to live with doth suffice us. 20 Then said Tobit to her, Take no care, my sister; he shall return in safety, and thine eyes shall see him. 21 For the good angel will keep him company, and his journey shall be prosperous, and he shall return safe. 22 Then she made an end of weeping.
[AD 735] Bede on Tobit 5:1-22
Tobias brought the angel to his father, who greeted him, saying: "May joy be with you always." To which he replied: "What joy will there be for me, who sit in darkness and do not see the light of heaven?" He said, "Be of strong spirit, it is near that you will be healed by the Lord." And our Lord, through the miracles he performed in the flesh, showed the people of the Jews, from whom he had taken flesh, that he himself is the Son of God, and the angel, that is, the messenger of the Father's will. To whom he also proclaimed the joy of eternal salvation, saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. III). And to those despairing of acquiring the heavenly light: "I am," he said, "the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John VIII).
The angel promised Tobias to lead his son to the city of Rages in the Medes, and to bring him back to him. The Lord promises to the believers from the Jewish people, although the same people are in large part blinded, that he will reveal the mysteries of his incarnation to the Gentiles, and again at the end of times, he will more broadly open the same to his people from whom he had taken flesh, accompanied and effected everywhere by the faith in his divinity. He speaks of the leading to the Medes: "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, etc." (John X). The Apostle speaks of the return: "Until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, and so all Israel will be saved" (Rom. XI).
When Tobias asked the angel where he was from, he said: "I am Azarias, the son of the great Ananias." Azarias means "the Lord is my helper," Ananias means "grace of the Lord." And the Lord intimates to those who believe in him that he is the one whom the prophet, desiring his coming, sang: "Be my helper and my deliverer, O Lord, do not delay" (Psalm LXIX). Of whom also the evangelist says: "And we saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John I).
Then, having prepared everything to be carried on the way, Tobias said goodbye to his father and mother, and they both walked together. With the Lord appearing in the flesh, all things that pertained to the redemption of the world and by which the faith and life of the holy Church would be nourished and strengthened, until the end of the way of this age, were prepared; that is, his virtues, doctrine, temptation, passion, resurrection, ascension, sending of the Holy Spirit, faith of believers, and persecution by unbelievers. Having accomplished these in Judea, the Mediator of God and men preached through the apostles to the people and the synagogue, from whom he had taken the origin of the flesh, the joys of heavenly salvation and peace. And to those who wished to believe and receive, he granted these things through himself, and thus he came to the salvation of the Gentiles in those same his teachers.