The Book of Judith is a text contained in the in the LXX and the Catholic Bible but not longer accepted in the Hebrew Bible after Council of Jamnia like the other Deuterocanonical Books. It has come down to us in a Greek version of about the end of the 2nd century BC, based on a lost Hebrew prototext composed in Judea around the middle of the 2nd century BC.
It consists of 16 chapters describing the story of the Jewish Judith, set in the time of Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC), "king of the Assyrians". The Jewish city of Bethulia is under siege by Holofernes, an Assyrian general, and is liberated thanks to Judith.
Contents[]
The Book of Judith presents the story of a difficult and unexpected victory, achieved against the powerful Holofernes, supreme general of Nebuchadnezzar's army, thanks to Judith's faith and courage. The background is provided by a conflict between Nebuchadnezzar, king of Nineveh, and Arphaxad, king of Ecbatana. Proud of the victory over Arphaxad, Nebuchadnezzar thinks of taking revenge on the Western peoples who had refused to ally themselves with him and gives Holofernes the mandate. Faced with the advance of his army, all the peoples submit, with the exception of the children of Israel. Holofernes, arriving in front of the small city of Bethulia, which represents the strategic entrance to reach Jerusalem, occupies its water sources. The inhabitants give themselves a maximum limit of five days before surrendering. Judith enters the scene, denouncing in this decision a lack of faith in the God of Israel, committing herself before the elders of the city to implement a project of liberation. Having laid aside the clothes of widowhood, with one of her maids she presents herself to Holofernes as a fugitive. Welcomed in the camp with great respect for her beauty, Holofernes invites her to dinner, during which, however, he gets drunk and falls into a deep sleep. Judith beheads him and takes his head as a trophy to Bethulia. This fact encourages everyone to take up arms and defeat the powerful enemy army. The people's jubilation ends with a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Characteristics[]
The historical framework in which the story is set has no consistency, because it is very vague and full of contradictions. What we want to talk about is the ideal of a heroic woman, who is described by putting together different and disparate elements already known from the most ancient Scripture. Judith recalls the deceit of Tamar (Gen 38), the cold determination of Jael (Judges 4), the perfidy of Delilah (Judges 16) and the cunning of Abigail (1 Kings 25). Bethulia itself seems to be the ideal outpost created for the salvation and glorification of Jerusalem, the true theme of the final hymn. What Judith asks of God in prayer sums up well the spirit of the story (9,13).