They went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted so long. His judith is a luminous, serene beauty assisted by a black servant woman. Apocryphal is a protestant term which means hidden or of uncertain authenticity. In the story, judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of holofernes because of his desire for her. Her story is similar to the david and goliath story, where a seemingly weak person overcomes a person of superior strength by calling on gods help and using cunning and intelligence. Now arphaxad king of the medes had brought many nations under his dominions, and he built a very strong city, which he called ecbatana, 2. Judith chapter 2 kjv king james version 1 and in the eighteenth year, the two and twentieth day of the first month, there was talk in the house of nabuchodonosor king of the assyrians that he should, as he said, avenge himself on all the earth 2 so he called unto him all his officers, and all his nobles, and communicated with them his secret counsel, and concluded the afflicting of the. Gallagher, edmon louis, hebrew scripture in patristic biblical. In the deuterocanonical book of judith, holofernes greek. Roman catholics chant verse from the book of judith in liturgy on marys name day in.
Book of judith, apocryphal work excluded from the hebrew and protestant biblical canons but. One of only four women to lend her name to a biblical book esther and ruth in the hebrew bible and susanna in the apocrypha are the others, judith challenges. Holofernes, the general of king nebuchadnezzar, has laid siege to the. She resembles several other biblical women, most obviously jael, the wife of heber the.
Click the search button below to search the entire website including all scripture translations, comments, commentary, bible dictionary, articles, and other pages. Judith, the magnificent widow, works deliverance for her city and thus saves all the kingdom of judea by charming the assyrian captain, holofernes, then cutting off his head as he sleeps. The latter besieges them in bethulia, a city on the southern verge of the plain of esdrelon. The book is filled with double entendres and ironic situations, e.
The book of judith is part of the apocrypha deuterocanonical scripture and appears in the old testament of catholic bibles. Apocrypha 14 books of the old testament included in the vulgate. Holofernes holophernes chief captain of the army of assur assyria, in charge of destroying jerusalem and any place else that strikes nebuchadnezzar as a nuisance. A truly great story from questionable authors, judith. In this series on the books of the bible, it is time for a look at the two women highlighted. Indeed her beheading of holofernes, the invading assyrian generalin his own tent, with his own sword, and surrounded by his own heretofore victorious army, no less. Bible commentaries george haydocks catholic bible commentary judith. Judith new revised standard version nrsv judith beheads holofernes. They went off to their beds, for they were all tired because the banquet had lasted so long. The general holofernes, whom judith assassinates, represents the worst of the oppressors.
Their mountains will be drunk with their blood and their plains filled with their corpses. The nation of israel treated the apocryphal books with respect, but never accepted them as true books of the hebrew bible. The jews are besieged in bethulia and rapidly lose all hope of victory. Hebrew is an assyrian invading general dispatched by nebuchadnezzar to take vengeance on the nations of the west who withheld assistance to his reign. Jews considered this a misuse of holy scripture and stopped using the.
The story behind judith and holofernes comes from the bible the deuterocanonical book of judith. Whatever the reasons, the rabbis did not count judith among their scriptures. The early christian church debated the status of the apocrypha deuterocanonicals, but. The first is perhaps the most disquieting aspect of this book. The story of judith would make a blockbuster movie, with its seduction, suspense, war, violence, and feisty, beautiful widow. Read by sean mckinley judith is the 18th book of the bible and one of the historical books in the old testament. Holofernes definition of holofernes by the free dictionary. Judith is a dramatic story of a pious and godly woman who was able by use of her godgiven beauty and brain to defeat a dangerous enemy of the israelites and save her people from destruction. The book of judith relates the story of gods deliverance of the jewish people. Librivox recording of the book of judith, douayrheims version. Bethulia was saved by judith, a beautiful hebrew widow who entered holoferness camp, seduced him, then beheaded him while he was drunk. The book of judith is an apocryphal or deuterocanonical book. A jewish heroine whose legendary feats are told in the apocryphal book late 1st cent.
Holofernes definition of holofernes by merriamwebster. Wheelers literature students, and it offers introductory survey information concerning the literature of classical china, classical rome, classical greece, the bible as literature, medieval literature, renaissance literature, and genre studies. The book of judith is not included in the protestant or jewish scriptures, perhaps because of. The bible tells us that the king of nineveh, nebuchadnezzar, sent his general, holofernes, to subdue his enemies, the jews. This verse, an echo of deborahs vindication of jaels similar, handson. Nabuchodonosor, king of ninive, sends his general holofernes to subdue the jews. Judith 10 gnt judith goes to the camp of holofernes bible. The israelites are beseiged by the forces of holofernes and pray to god to overcome the forces. Entry for judith, book of, cyclopedia of biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia, with its nearly 50,000 entries and 17 millin words, dwarfs modern bible encyclopedias with the depth of knowledge. The book of judith is one of the apocryphal books of the bible. Hearing of holofernes plot, judith, a widowed resident of bethulia, put on beautiful clothes and jewelry and entered the assyrian camp, purporting to be a spy against the jewish people.
How the bible began the bible went from many scattered scriptures to a. Please check the reference to make sure it is correct. Judith is volume 40 in the acclaimed anchor bible series of new bookbybook translations of the old and new testaments and apocrypha. Bagoas closed the tent from the outside and dismissed the attendants from their masters presence. No direct matches for your keyword exist in the king james bible. Holofernes definition is a general of nebuchadnezzars who led an assyrian army against israel and was beheaded in his sleep by judith. The purpose of the book is to inspire courage and patriotism through its. Judith 10 good news translation gnt judith goes to the camp of holofernes. She assassinates the assyrian general holofernes, but the book contains a mixture of allusions to assyrian, babylonian, and persian eras with several historical errors. Judith has cut off the head of holofernes and now picks it up by its hair, to lower into the bag held by her maid abra. According to the book of judith, chief captain of nebuchadnezzar, king of the assyrians judith 2. Judith is a book of the bible that is meant to be enjoyed. The first part of the book chapters 17 tells how holofernes, the violent chief captain of the armies of king nebuchadnezzar of assyria, has been ordered by the king to punish the nations in the.
The book of judithconsidered canonical by roman catholics, apocrypha. Standing beside the bed, judith murmured to herself. The book, then, has far less currency than the book of samuel, a canonical book of the bible in all christian sects, and the source of david and goliaths story. Become a member of biblical archaeology society now and get more than half off the regular price of the allaccess pass. Like many of the books of the apocrypha, judith was part of the early canon in the christian bible, but is not part of the protestant canon. This is a painting made by titian towards the end of his life. The book relates that nebuchadrezzar, king of assyria, sent his general holofernes on an expedition against.
Indeed her beheading of holofernes, the invading assyrian generalin. She promised to tell holofernes how to destroy the jews. Judith is volume 40 in the acclaimed anchor bible series of new book by book translations of the old and new testaments and apocrypha. There are several possible reasons it was not included in the protestant canon. Beyond traditional biblical studies, commentaries, and translations, judith. Judith, the biblical widow, infiltrated an army and beheaded. Holofernes was an assyrian general who was about to destroy judiths home, the city of.
Considered apocrypha literature by protestants, the book of judith is regarded as canon by roman catholics and. Holoferness advance stopped the water supply to bethulia, and the people lost heart and encouraged ozias and their rulers to give way. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the roman catholic and. For he has spoken, and his words will not prove empty. Except the book of judith, other deuterocanonical books are the first and second maccabees, seven books tobit, wisdom, sirach, baruch and some parts of esther and daniel that make the part of the catholic old testament but not the hebrew. Judith overview george leo haydocks catholic bible. Deuterocanonical is more catholic and means of or relating to a second canon. Judith holds the head of holofernes in the painting by the italian artist pietro. The head of holofernes, hung on the town ramparts, caused panic among the assyrians who fled in great disorder. Achior the ammonite, who speaks in defense of the jews, is maltreated by him and sent into the besieged city to await his punishment when holofernes shall have taken it.
Lord god, to whom all strength belongs, prosper what my hands are now to do for the greater glory of jerusalem. The account of the beheading of holofernes by judith is given in the deuterocanonical book of judith, and is the subject of many paintings and sculptures from the renaissance and baroque periods. Though, however, all romanists include these books in their bible the vulgate, protestant versions of the bible, with very few exceptions, exclude the whole of the apocrypha see apocrypha. When her town was besieged and death stared them all in the face, judith hatched a plan to save herself and the townspeople. The persian period is represented by two characters, holofernes and bagoas. As to its authorship it belongs to the maccabean period, b. Over the next few days, holofernes persuades the lovely judith to eat and drink with him.
Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The assyrians, instead of attempting to force the pass, lay siege to the city and cut off its water supply. Judith was a beautiful, clever, coolwitted widow in the ancient town of bethuliah. The second half of robin gallaher branchs twopart bible history daily presentation of judith.
Nebuchadnezzar the king of the neobabylonian empire 603539, in a very bad mood. She tricks, seduces and beheads the drunken holofernes. The leaders vowed to surrender if no help arrived within five days. Holofernes synonyms, holofernes pronunciation, holofernes translation, english dictionary definition of holofernes. One of only four women to lend her name to a biblical book esther and ruth in the. Holofernes occupied all the countries along the sea coast and destroyed all their gods, so that they would worship nebuchadnezzar alone. I included a summary on judith from the five books that are traditionally not included on the bible. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from the hebrew canon and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha. Judith nrsv judith beheads holofernes bible gateway. She offered herself to holofernes, the assyrian general sent by nebuchadnezzar to destroy the israelites.
Book of judith, apocryphal work excluded from the hebrew and protestant biblical canons but included in the septuagint greek version of the hebrew bible and accepted in the roman canon. The desire of the authorsto bring about an event that may have affected the future from that time on. Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from his masters presence. Holofernes definition and meaning bible dictionary. But both judith and tobit were recognized as canonical by the council of carthage 397 ad and by the council of trent 1545 ad. Few biblical characters have generated as much controversy. Judith, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Judith goes to the camp of holofernes when judith had finished her prayer to the god of israel, she stood up, called her slave woman, and went down. Nebuchadnezzars capital city was not nineveh and ecbatana was captured by cyrus in 550 bce, not by nebuchadnezzar.
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