*Sacred Scripture* Tobias and the Archangel Raphael – Goya

God sent the Archangel Raphael to aid and guide the young Tobias in finding a cure for Tobit’s blindness. This image of Tobias holding the fish for Tobit’s eyes while being mesmerized by the shining glory of the Archangel is by the artist F. Goya

Tobias and the Angel

Ca. 1787.
This devotional painting illustrates an Old Testament story (Tobias 6, 1-8) in which Tobias meets the Archangel Raphael. The story of the two Tobias, father and son, is a model of Jewish piety and the father foreshadows the suffering of Christ´s Passion. He was faithful to the Law of God in the midst of generalized abuse and was put to the test on various occasions, always successfully. This scene depicts one of those events, when he went blind and God sent the Archangel Raphael to tell his son that his father could be cured by applying fish liver to his eyes. Notable here is the use of light as the most important technical element. The Archangel´s brilliance is, in fact, the only source of light in the whole composition.

Tb 6:2-8

On the Way to Rages.

2When the young man left home, accompanied by the angel, the dog followed Tobiah out and went along with them. Both journeyed along, and when the first night came, they camped beside the Tigris River.^*

3When the young man went down to wash his feet in the Tigris River, a large fish leaped out of the water and tried to swallow his foot. He shouted in alarm.

4But the angel said to the young man, “Grab the fish and hold on to it!” He seized the fish and hauled it up on dry land.

5The angel then told him: “Slit the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver, and keep them with you; but throw away the other entrails. Its gall, heart, and liver are useful for medicine.”^*

6After Tobiah had slit the fish open, he put aside the gall, heart, and liver. Then he roasted and ate part of the fish; the rest he salted and kept for the journey.

Raphael’s Instructions. Afterward the two of them traveled on together till they drew near to Media.

7Then the young man asked the angel this question: “Brother Azariah, what medicine is in the fish’s heart, liver, and gall?”

8He answered: “As for the fish’s heart and liver, if you burn them to make smoke in the presence of a man or a woman who is afflicted by a demon or evil spirit, any affliction will flee and never return.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/tobit/6