The Book of Judith

The warrior woman.

The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Church of the East Old Testament of the Bible but excluded from the Hebrew canon and assigned by Protestants to the apocrypha. It tells of a Jewish widow, Judith, who uses her beauty and charm to kill an Assyrian general who has besieged her city, Bethulia. With this act, she saves nearby Jerusalem from total destruction. The name Judith (Hebrew: יְהוּדִית, Modern: Yəhūdīt, Tiberian: Yŭhūḏīṯ), meaning "praised" or "Jewess",[1] is the feminine form of Judah.

The extant translated manuscripts from antiquity appear to contain several historical anachronisms, which is why the majority of modern scholars consider the book ahistorical. Instead, the book has been re-classified as a parable, theological novel, or even the first historical novel. Although the majority of Catholic scholars and clergy now view the book as fictional, the Roman Catholic Church had traditionally maintained the book's historicity, assigning its events to the reign of King Manasseh of Judah and that the names were changed in later centuries for an unknown reason.[2] The Jewish Encyclopedia identifies Shechem (modern day Nablus) as "Bethulia", and argues that the name was changed because of the feud between the Jews and Samaritans. If this is the case, it would explain why other names seem anachronistic as well.[3]

Historical context

Original language

It is not clear whether the Book of Judith was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, as the oldest existing version is from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. However, due to the large number of Hebraisms in the text, it is generally agreed that the book was written in a Semitic language, probably Hebrew or Aramaic, rather than Koine Greek. When Jerome completed his Latin Vulgate translation, he asserted his belief that the book was written "in Chaldean (Aramaic) words".[4] Jerome's Latin translation was based on an Aramaic manuscript and was shorter because he omitted passages that he could not read or understand in the Aramaic that otherwise existed in the Septuagint. The Aramaic manuscript used by Jerome has long since been lost.

Carey A. Moore argued that the Greek text of Judith was a translation from a Hebrew original, and used many examples of conjectured translation errors, Hebraic idioms, and Hebraic syntax.[5] The extant Hebrew manuscripts are very late and only date back to the Middle Ages. The two surviving Hebrew manuscripts of Judith are translated from the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate.[6]

The Hebrew versions name important figures directly, such as the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and place the events during the Hellenistic period when the Maccabees battled the Seleucid monarchs. However, because the Hebrew manuscripts mention kingdoms that had not existed for hundreds of years by the time of the Seleucids, it is unlikely that these were the original names in the text.[7] In the minority, Helmut Engel and Jeremy Corley argued that Judith was originally composed in Greek that was carefully modeled after Hebrew and pointed out "Septuagintalisms" in the vocabulary and phrasing of the Greek text.[8][9]

Canonicity

While the author was likely Jewish, there is no evidence aside from its inclusion in the Septuagint that the Book of Judith was ever considered authoritative or a candidate for canonicity by any Jewish group.[10][11] The Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible does not contain it; it is not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls or any early Rabbinic literature.[11][12] Speculated reasons for its exclusion include the possible lateness of its composition, possible Greek origin, apparent support of the Hasmonean dynasty (to which the early rabbinate was opposed), and perhaps the brash and seductive character of Judith herself.[13]

After disappearing from circulation among Jews for over a millennium, however, references to the Book of Judith and the figure of Judith herself resurfaced in the religious literature of crypto-Jews who escaped Christian persecution after the capitulation of the Caliphate of Córdoba.[11] The renewed interest took the form of "tales of the heroine, liturgical poems, commentaries on the Talmud, and passages in Jewish legal codes."[11] Although the text does not mention Hanukkah, it became customary for a Hebrew midrashic variant of the Judith story to be read on the Shabbat of Hanukkah as the story of Hanukkah takes place during the time of the Hasmonean dynasty.[14]

That midrash, whose heroine is portrayed as gorging the antagonist on cheese and wine before cutting off his head, may have formed the basis of the minor Jewish tradition to eat dairy products during Hanukkah.[11][15] In that respect, the Jewry of Europe during the Middle Ages appear to have viewed Judith as the Maccabean-Hasmonean counterpart to Queen Esther, the heroine of the holiday of Purim.[16][17] The textual reliability of the Book of Judith was also taken for granted, to the extent that biblical commentator Nachmanides (Ramban) quoted several passages from a Peshitta (Syriac version) of Judith in support of his rendering of Deuteronomy 21:14.[11][18]

In Christianity

Although early Christians, such as Clement of Rome, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, read and used the Book of Judith,[19][20][21] some of the oldest Christian canons, including the Bryennios List (1st/2nd century), that of Melito of Sardis (2nd century), and Origen (3rd century), do not include it.[22] Jerome, when he produced his Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Vulgate, counted it among the apocrypha,[23] (though he translated it and later seemed to quote it as scripture), as did Athanasius,[24] Cyril of Jerusalem,[25] and Epiphanius of Salamis.[26]

Many influential fathers and doctors of the Church, including Augustine, Basil of Caesarea, Tertullian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Bede the Venerable and Hilary of Poitiers, considered the book sacred scripture both before and after councils that formally declared it part of the biblical canon.[27][28] In a 405 letter, Pope Innocent I declared it part of the Christian canon.[29] In Jerome's Prologue to Judith,[30][31] he claims that the Book of Judith was "found by the Nicene Council to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures". No such declaration has been found in the Canons of Nicaea, and it is uncertain whether Jerome was referring to the book's use during the council's discussion or spurious canons attributed to that council.[31]

Regardless of Judith's status at Nicaea, the book was also accepted as scripture by the councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393), Carthage (397), and Florence (1442) and eventually dogmatically defined as canonical by the Roman Catholic Church in 1546 in the Council of Trent.[32] However, Rome, Hippo, and Carthage were all local councils (unlike Nicaea, an ecumenical council). The Eastern Orthodox Church also accepts Judith as inspired scripture; this was confirmed in the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672.[33] The canonicity of Judith is typically rejected by Protestants, who accept as the Old Testament only those books that are found in the Jewish canon.[12] Martin Luther viewed the book as an allegory, but listed it as the first of the eight writings in his Apocrypha, which is located between the Old Testament and New Testament of the Luther Bible.[34][35] Though Lutheranism views the Book of Judith as non-canonical, it is deemed edifying for matters of morality, as well as devotional use.[36] In Anglicanism, it has the intermediate authority of the Apocrypha of the Old Testament and is regarded as useful or edifying, but is not to be taken as a basis for establishing doctrine.[36]

Judith is also referred to in chapter 28 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[37]

Contents

Plot summary

Judith and Holofernes, an engraving done by Gustave Doré in 1866. Doré also did another engraving from the book: Judith Shows the Head of Holofernes.

The story revolves around Judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her Judean countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the Assyrian general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the people of Israel. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved.[38] Though she is courted by many, Judith remains unmarried for the rest of her life.

Literary structure

The Book of Judith can be split into two parts or "acts" of approximately equal length. Chapters 1–7 describe the rise of the threat to Israel, led by king Nebuchadnezzar and his general Holofernes, and is concluded as Holofernes' worldwide campaign has converged at the mountain pass where Judith's village, Bethulia, is located.[39] Chapters 8–16 then introduce Judith and depict her heroic actions to save her people. The first part, although at times tedious [according to whom?] in its description of the military developments, develops important themes by alternating battles with reflections and rousing action with rest. In contrast, the second half is devoted mainly to Judith's strength of character and the beheading scene.[39]

The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha identifies a clear chiastic pattern in both "acts", in which the order of events is reversed at a central moment in the narrative (i.e., abcc'b'a').[39]

Part I (1:1–7:23)

A. Campaign against disobedient nations; the people surrender (1:1–2:13)

B. Israel is "greatly terrified" (2:14–3:10)C. Joakim prepares for war (4:1–15)D. Holofernes talks with Achior (5:1–6.9)E. Achior is expelled by Assyrians (6:10–13)E'. Achior is received in the village of Bethulia (6:14–15)D'. Achior talks with the people (6:16–21)C'. Holofernes prepares for war (7:1–3)B'. Israel is "greatly terrified" (7:4–5)

A'. Campaign against Bethulia; the people want to surrender (7:6–32)

Part II (8:1–16:25)

A. Introduction of Judith (8:1–8)

B. Judith plans to save Israel (8:9–10:8), including her extended prayer (9:1–14)C. Judith and her maid leave Bethulia (10:9–10)D. Judith beheads Holofernes (10:11–13:10a)Judith Returns to Bethulia, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von KarolsfeldC'. Judith and her maid return to Bethulia (13.10b–11)B'. Judith plans the destruction of Israel's enemy (13:12–16:20)

A'. Conclusion about Judith (16.1–25)[39]

Similarly, parallels within Part II are noted in comments within the New American Bible Revised Edition: Judith summons a town meeting in Judith 8:10 in advance of her expedition and is acclaimed by such a meeting in Judith 13:12–13; Uzziah blesses Judith in advance in Judith 8:5 and afterwards in Judith 13:18–20.[40]

Literary genre

Most contemporary exegetes, such as Biblical scholar Gianfranco Ravasi, generally tend to ascribe Judith to one of several contemporaneous literary genres, reading it as an extended parable in the form of a historical fiction, or a propaganda literary work from the days of the Seleucid oppression.[41]

It has also been called "an example of the ancient Jewish novel in the Greco-Roman period".[42] Other scholars note that Judith fits within and even incorporates the genre of "salvation traditions" from the Old Testament, particularly the story of Deborah and Jael (Judges 4–5), who seduced and inebriated the Canaanite commander Sisera before hammering a tent-peg into his forehead.[43]

There are also thematic connections to the revenge of Simeon and Levi on Shechem after the rape of Dinah in Genesis 34.[39]

In the Christian West from the patristic period on, Judith was invoked in a wide variety of texts as a multi-faceted allegorical figure. As a "Mulier sancta", she personified the Church and many virtues – Humility, Justice, Fortitude, Chastity (the opposite of Holofernes' vices Pride, Tyranny, Decadence, Lust) – and she was, like the other heroic women of the Hebrew scriptural tradition, made into a typological prefiguration of the Virgin Mary.[44][45][46] Her gender made her a natural example of the biblical paradox of "strength in weakness"; she is thus paired with David and her beheading of Holofernes paralleled with that of Goliath – both deeds saved the Covenant People from a militarily superior enemy.[citation needed]

Main characters

Judith, the protagonist of the book, introduced in chapter 8 as a God-fearing woman, she is the daughter of Merari, a Simeonite,[47] and widow of a certain Manasseh or Manasses, a wealthy farmer. She sends her maid or "waitingwoman"[48] to summon Uzziah so she can challenge his decision to capitulate to the Assyrians if God has not rescued the people of Bethulia within five days, and she uses her charm to become an intimate friend of Holofernes, but beheads him allowing Israel to counter-attack the Assyrians. Judith's maid, not named in the story, remains with her throughout the narrative and is given her freedom as the story ends.[49]

Painting by Trophime Bigot (c. 1579–1650, also known as Master of the Candlelight), depicting Judith and Holofernes.[50] The Walters Art Museum.

Holofernes, the antagonist of the book. He is a dedicated soldier of his king, general-in-chief of his army, whom he wants to see exalted in all lands. He is given the task of destroying the rebels who did not support the king of Nineveh in his resistance against Cheleud and the king of Media, until Israel also becomes a target of his military campaign. Judith's courage and charm occasion his death.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Nineveh and Assyria. He is so proud that he wants to affirm his strength as a sort of divine power, although Holofernes, his Turtan (commanding general), goes beyond the king's orders when he calls on the western nations to "worship only Nebuchadnezzar, and ... invoke him as a god".[51] Holofernes is ordered to take revenge on those who refused to ally themselves with Nebuchadnezzar.

Achior, an Ammonite leader at Nebuchadnezzar's court; in chapter 5 he summarises the history of Israel and warns the king of Assyria of the power of their God, the "God of heaven",[52] but is mocked. He is protected by the people of Bethulia and is Judaized, and circumcised on hearing what Judith has accomplished.[53][a]

Bagoas, or Vagao (Vulgate),[56] the eunuch who had charge over Holofernes' personal affairs. His name is Persian for a eunuch.[57][b] He brought in Judith to recline with Holofernes and was the first one who discovered his beheading.

Uzziah or Oziah, governor of Bethulia; together with Cabri and Carmi, he rules over Judith's city. When the city is besieged by the Assyrians and the water supply dries up, he agrees to the people's call to surrender if God has not rescued them within five days, a decision challenged as "rash" by Judith.[58]

Judith's prayer

Chapter 9 constitutes Judith's "extended prayer",[59] "loudly proclaimed" in advance of her actions in the following chapters. This runs to 14 verses in English versions, 19 verses in the Vulgate.[60]

References

1. Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1783746767.
2. "THE ARGVMENT OF THE BOOKE OF IVDITH - 1610 Douay Rheims Bible".
3. "Jewish Encyclopedia - Book of Judith".
4. "Prologue to Judith by Jerome".
5. Moore, Carey A. (1985). The Anchor Bible - Judith: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Carey A. Moore. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300139952.
6. "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Book of Judith".
7. Septuagint: Judith. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp. 19 April 2021. ISBN 9781990289064.
8. Schmitz, Barbara (2010). "Holofernes's Canopy in the Septuagint". In Kevin R. Brine, Elena Ciletti and Henrike Lähnemann (ed.). The Sword of Judith. Judith Studies across the Disciplines. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1-906924-15-7.
9. Greenspoon, Leonard (2010). "Studies in the Greek Bible: Essays in Honor of Francis T. Gignac (Review)". Hebrew Studies. 51 (1): 392–394.
10. Senior, Donald & Collins, John J., The Catholic Study Bible: The New American Bible, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 222, [1]
11. Deborah Levine Gera (2010). Kevin R. Brine; et al. (eds.). The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies Across the Disciplines. Open Book Publishers. pp. 29–36. ISBN 978-1906924157.
12. Flint, Peter & VanderKam, James, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Significance For Understanding the Bible, Judaism, Jesus, and Christianity, Continuum International, 2010, p. 160 (Protestant Canon) and p. 209 (Judith not among Dead Sea Scrolls), [2]
13. Sidnie White Crawford, The Book of Esther in Modern Research, pp. 73–74 (T&T Clark Int'l 2003); ISBN 082646663X.
14. Joel Lurie Grishaver (2001). Hanukkah: The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration. Jewish Lights Publishing. ISBN 1-58023-122-5.
15. Noam Zion & Barbara Spectre (eds.). A Different Light: The Hanukkah Book of Celebration. Devora Publishing. p. 241. ISBN 1-930143-31-1
16. Kevin R. Brine, et al., The Sword of Judith: Judith Studies Across the Disciplines, p. 30 (Open Book Publishers 2010).
17. Zion & Spectre, at p. 241.
18. R. Nosson Scherman, The Torah: With Ramban's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated, Vol. VII, p. 524 (Mesorah Pubs. 2008) [ISBN missing]
19. "Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 55: Examples of Such Love - Pope St. Clement of Rome".
20. "On Monogamy - Tertullian".
21. "The Stromata Book II, chapter 7: The Utility of Fear. Objections Answered - Clement of Alexandria".
22. Gallagher, Edmon Louis, Hebrew Scripture in Patristic Biblical Theory: Canon, Language, Text, Brill, 2012, pp. 25–26, [3]
23. Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus (Jerome), Preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings, translated by Philip Schaff
24. Hartmann, Wilfried, The History of Byzantine and Eastern Canon Law to 1500, Catholic University of America Press, 2012, p. 95 [4]
25. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures, iv. 33–37, c. 350 AD, translated by Edward H. Gifford
26. Epiphanius of Salamis, Panarion viii. 6, c. 385 AD, Translated by Frank Williams
27. "The Argvment of the Booke of Ivdith - 1610 Douay Rheims Bible".
28. "The Book of Saint Basil on the Spirit - Chapter VIII".
29. Pope Innocent I, Letter to Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse, 405 AD
30. "Philip Schaff: NPNF2-06. Jerome: The Principal Works of St. Jerome - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org.
31. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Book of Judith" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.: Canonicity: "..."the Synod of Nicaea is said to have accounted it as Sacred Scripture" (Praef. in Lib.). It is true that no documents about the canon survive in the Canons of Nicaea, and it is uncertain whether St. Jerome is referring to the use made of the book in the discussions of the council, or whether he was misled by some spurious canons attributed to that council"
32. Vanhoozer, Kevin J., Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, Baker Academic, 2005, p. 98 [5]
33. Nigosian, S.A., From Ancient Writings to Sacred Texts: The Old Testament and Apocrypha, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004, p. 29, [6]
34. Enslin, Morton Scott (1972). The Book of Judith: Greek Text with an English Translation (Volume 7 of Jewish Apocryphal Literature). Brill Archive. p. 49. ISBN 978-9004035959.
35. Luther, Martin; Füssel, Stephan (1534). Bible de Luther de 1534, Réimpression Intégral. Taschen. p. 41. ISBN 978-3-8228-2470-2.
36. Geisler, Norman L.; MacKenzie, Ralph E. (1995). Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences. Baker Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-8010-3875-4. Lutherans and Anglicans used it only for ethical / devotional matters but did not consider it authoritative in matters of faith.
37. "Torah of Yeshuah: Book of Meqabyan I–III".
38. Christiansen, Ellen Juhl (2009). Xeravits, Géza (ed.). "Judith: Defender of Israel Preserver of the Temple" In A Pious Seductress: Studies in the Book of Judith. Walter de Gruyter. p. 75. ISBN 978-3110279948.
39. Michael D. Coogan, ed. (2010). The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version (4th ed.). Oxford Univ. Press. pp. 31–36. ISBN 978-0-19-528961-9.
40. Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Footnote a at Judith 13:12, accessed 2 November 2022
41. Gianfranco Ravasi (2009-02-05). "Giuditta" [Judith]. Famiglia Cristiana (in Italian) – via Santi Beati.
42. The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 3rd edition (NY: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 32 AP. [ISBN missing]
43. Ida Frolich, Time and Times and Half a Time: Historical Consciousness in the Jewish Literature of the Persian and Hellenistic Eras, pp. 125–126 (Sheffield Academic Press 1996), ISBN 1-85075-566-3.
44. 1610 A.D. Douay Old Testament, 1582 A.D. Rheims New Testament. Vol. 1. 1635. p. 919.
45. Lapide, Cornelius a (1679). Commentarius in Esdram, Nehemiam, Tobiam, Judith, Esther et Machabaeos (in Latin). Meursius. pp. 97, 126, 129.
46. Wujek, Jakub (1541-1597); Menochio, Giovanni Stefano (1576-1655) (1885). Biblia łacińsko-polska, czyli Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego Testamentu: we czterech tomach. T. 2: Obejmujący Księgi: cztery Królewskie, dwie Paralipomenon, dwie Ezdrasza, Tobiasza, Judyty, Estery, Joba, Psalmów, Przypowieści, Ekklezyastesa, Pieśni nad pieśniami, Mądrości i Ekklezyastyka (in Polish). Vol. 2. Warszawa: Gebethner i Wolff. p. 459.
47. Judith 9:2; in most versions, her genealogy in Judith 8:1 omits her tribal ancestry, although some manuscripts, the Vulgate and the New American Bible Revised Edition include it.
48. Judith 8:10 in Brenton's Septuagint Translation
49. Judith 16:23 (Judith 16:28 in the Vulgate)
50. "Judith Cutting Off the Head of Holofernes". The Walters Art Museum.
51. See footnote a at Judith 3:8 in the New American Bible Revised Edition and footnote b at the same verse in the Jerusalem Bible,
52. Judith 5:8 (Judith 5:9 in the Vulgate)
53. Judith 14:10
54. Judith 14:6: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition, based on the Vulgate
55. Aquinas, T., Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas Aquinas, FS: Treatise on Law, Q[105]: Of the Reason for the Judicial Precepts, Article 3, accessed 3 November 2022[dead link]
56. Judith 12:10
57. Haydock, G. L., Judith 12: Notes & Commentary, accessed 31 October 2022
58. Haydock, G. L., Judith 8: Notes & Commentary, accessed 16 October 2022
59. Levine, A., 41. Judith, in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), The Oxford Bible Commentary Archived 2017-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, p. 638
60. Judith 9:1–19: Vulgate

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1. The Book of Judith, Apocrypha. Alexander Scourby SYC. Audio & Text - 2025.

https://youtu.be/LvAYVFwD2Z0?si=6JaLW2df4j1pln1T

2. The Book of Judith. Christopher Glyn. Audio & Text -2022.

https://youtu.be/-N_rdKxJchc?si=XQuYie0HoEYBX3bs

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The Book of Judith

The Book of Judith relates the story of God's deliverance of the Jewish people. This was accomplished "by the hand of a female"—a constant motif (cf. 8:33; 9:9, 10; 12:4; 13:4, 14, 15; 15:10; 16:5) meant to recall the "hand" of God in the Exodus narrative (cf. Ex 15:6). The work may have been written around 100 B.C., but its historical range is extraordinary. Within the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (1:1; 2:1), it telescopes five centuries of historical and geographical information with imaginary details. There are references to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital destroyed in 612 B.C., to Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler not of Assyria but of Babylon (605/604–562), and to the second Temple, built around 515. The postexilic period is presumed (e.g., governance by the High Priest). The Persian period is represented by two characters, Holofernes and Bagoas, who appear together in the military campaigns of Artaxerxes III Ochus (358–338); there seem to be allusions to the second-century Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Several mysteries remain: Judith herself, Arphaxad, and others are otherwise unknown. The geographical details, such as the narrow defile into Bethulia (an unidentified town which gives access to the heart of the land), are fanciful. The simple conclusion from these and other details is that the work is historical fiction, written to exalt God as Israel's deliverer from foreign might, not by an army, but by means of a simple widow.

There are four Greek recensions of Judith (Septuagint codices Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, and Basiliano-Vaticanus), four ancient translations (Old Latin, Syriac, Sahidic, and Ethiopic), and some late Hebrew versions, apparently translated from the Vulgate. Despite Jerome's claim to have translated an Aramaic text, no ancient Aramaic or Hebrew manuscripts have been found. The oldest extant text of Judith is the preservation of 15:1–7 inscribed on a third-century A.D. potsherd. Whatever the reasons, the rabbis did not count Judith among their scriptures, and the Reformation adopted that position. The early Church, however, held this book in high honor. The first-century Pope, St. Clement of Rome, proposes Judith as an example of courageous love (1 Corinthians 55). St. Jerome holds her up as an example of a holy widow and a type of the Church (To Salvina: Letter 79, par. 10; see also To Furia: Letter 54, par. 16) and, in another place, describes Mary as a new Judith (To Eustochium: Letter 22, par. 21). The Council of Trent (1546) included Judith in the canon; thus it is one of the seven deuterocanonical books.

Inner-biblical references are noteworthy: as God acted through Moses' hand (Ex 10:21–22; 14:27–30), so God delivers "by the hand of a female," Judith. Like Jael, who drove a tent peg through the head of Sisera (Jgs 4), Judith kills an enemy general. Like Deborah (Jgs 4–5), Judith "judges" Israel in the time of military crisis. Like Sarah, the mother of Israel's future (Gn 17:6), Judith's beauty deceives foreigners, with the result that blessings redound to Israel (Gn 12:11–20). Her Hebrew name means "Jewish woman." Her exploits captured the imagination of liturgists, artists, and writers through the centuries. The book is filled with double entendres and ironic situations, e.g., Judith's conversation with Holofernes in 11:5–8, 19, where "my lord" is ambiguous, and her declaration to Holofernes that she will lead him through Judea to Jerusalem (his head goes on such a journey).

The book can be divided into five parts:

I. Assyrian Threat (1:1–3:10)

II. Siege of Bethulia (4:1–7:32)

III. Judith, Instrument of the Lord (8:1–10:10)

IV. Judith Goes Out to War (10:11–13:20)

V. Victory and Thanksgiving (14:1–16:25)

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