Front Matter -- Copyright page / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Dedication / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Preface / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Abbreviations and Sigla / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Introduction / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Background Issues for This Study / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Walking in the Ways of Righteousness: Food and Eating in Tobit’s Testimonial (Tob. 1) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- ‘The Table Was Set Before Me’: Tobit’s Shavuot Meal, Its Aftermath, and the Parallel Woes of Sarah (Tob. 2–3) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- ‘Live Uprightly All the Days of Your Life’: Food and Drink in Tobit’s Testament and the Preparations for Tobiah’s Journey (Tob. 4–5) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- ‘Leaping Up from the Water, a Great Fish’: An Eat-or-Be Eaten Struggle and the Acquisition of Medicinal Fish Organs (Tob. 6 and Its Echoes in 8 and 11) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- ‘I Will Neither Eat nor Drink Here until You Resolve the Things Concerning Me’: Food and Wedding Celebrations (Tob. 7–9 and Elsewhere) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- ‘And Observe [Me] That I Did Not Eat Anything But [That] a Vision Was Beheld By You’: Tobiah’s Return to Nineveh, Raphael’s Revelation, and the Story’s Closure (Tob. 10–14) / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Conclusion / Naomi S. S. Jacobs -- Back Matter -- Bibliography / Naomi S. S. Jacobs.

In Delicious Prose: Reading the Tale of Tobit with Food and Drink , Naomi S.S. Jacobs explores how the numerous references to food, drink, and their consumption within The Book of Tobit help tell its story, promote righteous deeds and encourage resistance against a hostile dominant culture. Jacobs’ commentary includes up-to-date analyses of issues of translation, text-criticism, source criticism, redaction criticism, and issues of class and gender. Jacobs situates Tobit within a wide range of ancient writings sacred to Jews and Christians as well as writings and customs from the Ancient Near East, Ugarit, Greece, Rome, including a treasure trove of information about ancient foodways and medicine.