4When the Israelites saw their vast numbers, they were greatly terrified and said to one another, “They will now strip clean the whole land; neither the high mountains nor the valleys nor the hills will bear their weight.” 5Yet they all seized their weapons, and when they had kindled fires on their towers, they remained on guard all that night.
6On the second day Holofernes led out all his cavalry in full view of the Israelites in Bethulia. 7He reconnoitered the approaches to their town, and visited the springs that supplied their water; he seized them and set guards of soldiers over them, and then returned to his army.
8Then all the chieftains of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Moabites and the commanders of the coastland came to him and said, 9“Listen to what we have to say, my lord, and your army will suffer no losses. 10This people, the Israelites, do not rely on their spears but on the height of the mountains where they live, for it is not easy to reach the tops of their mountains. 11Therefore, my lord, do not fight against them in regular formation, and not a man of your army will fall. 12Remain in your camp, and keep all the men in your forces with you; let your servants take possession of the spring of water that flows from the foot of the mountain, 13for this is where all the people of Bethulia get their water. So thirst will destroy them, and they will surrender their town. Meanwhile, we and our people will go up to the tops of the nearby mountains and camp there to keep watch to see that no one gets out of the town. 14They and their wives and children will waste away with famine, and before the sword reaches them they will be strewn about in the streets where they live. 15Thus you will pay them back with evil, because they rebelled and did not receive you peaceably.”
16These words pleased Holofernes and all his attendants, and he gave orders to do as they had said. 17So the army of the Ammonites moved forward, together with five thousand Assyrians, and they encamped in the valley and seized the water supply and the springs of the Israelites. 18And the Edomites and Ammonites went up and encamped in the hill country opposite Dothan; and they sent some of their men toward the south and the east, toward Egrebeh, which is near Chusi beside the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army encamped in the plain, and covered the whole face of the land. Their tents and supply trains spread out in great number, and they formed a vast multitude.
The Distress of the Israelites
19The Israelites then cried out to the Lord their God, for their courage failed, because all their enemies had surrounded them, and there was no way of escape from them. 20The whole Assyrian army, their infantry, chariots, and cavalry, surrounded them for thirty-four days, until all the water containers of every inhabitant of Bethulia were empty; 21their cisterns were going dry, and on no day did they have enough water to drink, for their drinking water was rationed. 22Their children were listless, and the women and young men fainted from thirst and were collapsing in the streets of the town and in the gateways; they no longer had any strength.
23Then all the people, the young men, the women, and the children, gathered around Uzziah and the rulers of the town and cried out with a loud voice, and said before all the elders, 24“Let God judge between you and us! You have done us a great injury in not making peace with the Assyrians. 25For now we have no one to help us; God has sold us into their hands, to be strewn before them in thirst and exhaustion. 26Now summon them and surrender the whole town as booty to the army of Holofernes and to all his forces. 27For it would be better for us to be captured by them.a We shall indeed become slaves, but our lives will be spared, and we shall not witness our little ones dying before our eyes, and our wives and children drawing their last breath. 28We call to witness against you heaven and earth and our God, the Lord of our ancestors, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors; do today the things that we have described!”
29Then great and general lamentation arose throughout the assembly, and they cried out to the Lord God with a loud voice. 30But Uzziah said to them, “Courage, my brothers and sisters!b Let us hold out for five days more; by that time the Lord our God will turn his mercy to us again, for he will not forsake us utterly. 31But if these days pass by, and no help comes for us, I will do as you say.”
32Then he dismissed the people to their various posts, and they went up on the walls and towers of their town. The women and children he sent home. In the town they were in great misery.
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a Other ancient authorities add than to die of thirst
b Gk Courage, brothers
7.1–5 In Section B (see note on 2.14–7.32) the scene shifts to the Assyrian camp (vv. 1–3) and then back to the Bethulia (vv. 4–5). Holofernes orders war preparations; Israel sees this and is greatly terrified.
7.2 The forces of Holofernes have grown from one hundred twenty thousand (2.5, 15) to one hundred seventy thousand infantry.
7.3 As in 6.11 Bethulia is described as atop a hill with its water supply below it. If the writer had Shechem in mind as a model for Bethulia, then perhaps the spring is the so-called Well of Jacob, first mentioned in the story of the Samaritan woman (Jn 4.6). Tradition supports identification of this ancient site with a deep cistern or spring located at Shechem, near the foot of Mount Gerizim, where roads from Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley join. Dothan. See note on 3.9. Balbaim, Cyamon, unknown.
7.4–5 Despair overcomes the Bethulians when they see the enormous size of the enemy. Nonetheless, they seize their weapons and prepare to defend their town.
7.6–32 In Section Á, which completes the first chiasm (see note on 2.14–7.32), the scene shifts between the Assyrian camp (vv. 6–18) and Bethulia (vv. 19–32). Holofernes leads the campaign against Bethulia; the Bethulians want to surrender.
7.7 Holofernes seizes the springs (v. 3) that supplied Bethulia’s water.
7.8 Edomites (mentioned here for first time) and Moabites propose a scheme to cut off the water supply so that thirst and famine will destroy the Bethulians.
7.10 The leaders point out that the Israelites depend on the height of the mountains where they live for protection.
7.12 Take possession of the spring is redundant, given that the springs were taken and put under guard in v. 7.
7.13 Thirst will devastate the Bethulians, but the plan to surround the town in order to see that no one gets out of the town ultimately fails because it is not enforced to stop the two women—Judith and her female servant—from leaving the city (10.9b–10) and saving it.
7.16 Holofernes orders the town surrounded, but either his order is ignored or understood to refer to men only.
7.18 Egrebeh…Mochmur, likely Acraba, near Sychar’s well, twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem.
7.19–32 The final scene in Part 1 takes the people of Bethulia to the threshold of surrender.
7.20 After being surrounded for thirty-four days, the Bethulians lose heart. In Part 2, Judith spends four days in the Assyrian camp (12.10) and the Israelites plunder the enemy camp for thirty days (15.11).
7.25 In despair, the people claim they have no one to help them, that God has sold them into the Assyrians’ hands; cf. Esth 7.4. According to 4.13, God heard their prayers and had regard for their distress, but the people are not convinced.
7.27 Crisis and confusion make slavery to Assyria look appealing.
7.28 The people judge themselves guilty, for God punishes them for their sins and the sins of their ancestors. In 8.18–27 Judith will deny that their suffering is the result of sinfulness.
7.30–31 Uzziah urges courage, but does not address the theological confusion that has made the people believe their suffering results from sin. He asks for a compromise to give God five days more before surrender.
7.32 Part 1 ends on the bleak note that the people return to their various posts and homes in great misery. Surrender, destruction of the sanctuary, and worship of Nebuchadnezzar seem inevitable, granted the five-day wait.
Judith 8
The Character of Judith
1Now in those days Judith
heard about these things: she was the daughter of Merari son of Ox son of Joseph son of Oziel son of Elkiah son of Ananias son of Gideon son of Raphain son of Ahitub son of Elijah son of Hilkiah son of Eliab son of Nathanael son of Salamiel son of Sarasadai son of Israel. 2Her husband Manasseh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during the barley harvest. 3For as he stood overseeing those who were binding sheaves in the field, he was overcome by the burning heat, and took to his bed and died in his town Bethulia. So they buried him with his ancestors in the field between Dothan and Balamon. 4Judith remained as a widow for three years and four months 5at home where she set up a tent for herself on the roof of her house. She put sackcloth around her waist and dressed in widow’s clothing. 6She fasted all the days of her widowhood, except the day before the sabbath and the sabbath itself, the day before the new moon and the day of the new moon, and the festivals and days of rejoicing of the house of Israel. 7She was beautiful in appearance, and was very lovely to behold. Her husband Manasseh had left her gold and silver, men and women slaves, livestock, and fields; and she maintained this estate. 8No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God with great devotion.
Judith and the Elders
9When Judith heard the harsh words spoken by the people against the ruler, because they were faint for lack of water, and when she heard all that Uzziah said to them, and how he promised them under oath to surrender the town to the Assyrians after five days, 10she sent her maid, who was in charge of all she possessed, to summon Uzziah anda Chabris and Charmis, the elders of her town. 11They came to her, and she said to them:
“Listen to me, rulers of the people of Bethulia! What you have said to the people today is not right; you have even sworn and pronounced this oath between God and you, promising to surrender the town to our enemies unless the Lord turns and helps us within so many days. 12Who are you to put God to the test today, and to set yourselves up in the place ofb God in human affairs? 13You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test, but you will never learn anything! 14You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart or understand the workings of the human mind; how do you expect to search out God, who made all these things, and find out his mind or comprehend his thought? No, my brothers, do not anger the Lord our God. 15For if he does not choose to help us within these five days, he has power to protect us within any time he pleases, or even to destroy us in the presence of our enemies. 16Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading. 17Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.
18“For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or town of ours that worships gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by. 19That was why our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies. 20But we know no other god but him, and so we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our nation. 21For if we are captured, all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be plundered; and he will make us pay for its desecration with our blood. 22The slaughter of our kindred and the captivity of the land and the desolation of our inheritance—all this he will bring on our heads among the Gentiles, wherever we serve as slaves; and we shall be an offense and a disgrace in the eyes of those who acquire us. 23For our slavery will not bring us into favor, but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.
24“Therefore, my brothers, let us set an example for our kindred, for their lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary—both the temple and the altar—rests upon us. 25In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our ancestors. 26Remember what he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia, while he was tending the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother. 27For he has not tried us with fire, as he did them, to search their hearts, nor has he taken vengeance on us; but the Lord scourges those who are close to him in order to admonish them.”
28Then Uzziah said to her, “All that you have said was spoken out of a true heart, and there is no one who can deny your words. 29Today is not the first time your wisdom has been shown, but from the beginning of your life all the people have recognized your understanding, for your heart’s disposition is right. 30But the people were so thirsty that they compelled us to do for them what we have promised, and made us take an oath that we cannot break. 31Now since you are a God-fearing woman, pray for us, so that the Lord may send us rain to fill our cisterns. Then we will no longer feel faint from thirst.”
32Then Judith said to them, “Listen to me. I am about to do something that will go down through all generations of our descendants. 33Stand at the town gate tonight so that I may go out with my maid; and within the days after which you have promised to surrender the town to our enemies, the Lord will deliver Israel by my hand. 34Only, do not try to find out what I am doing; for I will not tell you until I have finished what I am about to do.”
35Uzziah and the rulers said to her, “Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before you, to take vengeance on our enemies.” 36So they returned from the tent and went to their posts.
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a Other ancient authorities lack Uzziah and (see verses 28 and 35)
b Or above
8.1–16.25 Part 2. These chapters are organized according to a threefold chiastic pattern, in which narrative elements are repeated in reverse order (A, B, C, C, B, Á), with the climactic scene of the beheading of Holofernes at its center (D).
8.1–8 Section A of Part 2 (see note on 8.1–16.25) introduces Judith.
8.1 Judith is named for the first time in the story; according to her genealogy her father, Merari, was a descendant of Israel/Jacob of the fourteenth generation. The Greek name Judith (Hebrew yehudit) is the feminine of “Jew” or “Judean.” Now in those days Judith heard links Part 2 to all that has gone before.
8.2–3 Manasseh, Judith’s husband, is dead as the result of sunstroke (cf. 2 Kings 4.19). The last reference to Dothan. See note on 3.9.
8.4–8 No longer a wife, apparently never a mother, Judith is pious, beautiful, wealthy, and lives alone on her estate (cf. 16.21).
8.6 New moon. Cf. Num 28.11–15.
8.8 No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God. Notice about her effect on the people is repeated in the story’s conclusion (16.25). Judith fears no one in the story save God.
8.9–10.8 Section B (see note on 8.1–16.25) tells how Judith plans to save Israel.
8.9–36 Judith and the elders.
8.9 When Judith heard. The narrative resumes with repetition of the opening words of Part 2 (v. 1).
8.10 Judith’s first act in the story is to send the unnamed woman (maid, lit. “graceful one” see also 8.33; 10.2, 5, 17; 13.9; 16.23) who was in charge of all she possessed (cf. Gen 15.2; 24.2; 39.4) to summon the town officials, Uzziah and Chabris and Charmis (see 6.15).
8.12 Judith reprimands the leaders for putting God to the test (cf. Deut 6.16); in vv. 25–27 Judith will argue that to God alone belongs the right to test.
8.15 Judith defends God’s freedom to deliver or destroy (cf. Job 1.21; 2.10).
8.16 God is not like a human being and cannot be won over by threat (cf. the actions of the Assyrians, 2.1–13) or pleading (cf. the actions of Israel, 7.23–29).
8.17 Faith is waiting for deliverance, calling upon God for help, and being heard if it pleases God. Judith defends the innocence of her people (vv. 18–23).
8.24 Let us set an example. Judith includes herself in the solution she proposes.
8.26 Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. See Gen 13–31.
8.27 Tried us with fire may allude especially to the Aqedah, or binding of Isaac, in Gen 22. Together the patriarchs will model belief that God scourges those who are close to him (wisdom reminiscent of Ps 94.10, 12; Prov 3.12).
8.28 Uzzi
ah responds and acknowledges her true heart (because of this verse, Judith has been the queen of hearts in French playing cards since the fourteenth century).
8.29 Uzziah claims that Judith is recognized for her understanding and that her heart’s disposition is right, although he did not think earlier to seek her counsel.
8.30 Uzziah argues that he was forced to take an oath that he cannot break (on other foolish vows, see Judg 11.30–31, 35; on the blaming of others, see Gen 3.12–13; Ex 32.22–24).
8.31 Pray for us…rain. Uzziah wants a face-saving miracle.
8.32–34 Judith protests that, within the five days allowed by the compromise, the Lord will deliver Israel by her hand. Judith refuses to explain the details of what she will do to accomplish God’s purpose (cf. Nebuchadnezzar’s full explanation of his secret plan in 2.2), but asks the leaders to meet her and her maid that night at the town gate. Listen to me. Note the verb changes from the reported Judith heard in 8.1, 8 to the imperative listen to me in 8.11, 32 to the petition hear me in 9.4, 12.
Judith 9
The Prayer of Judith
1Then Judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. At the very time when the evening incense was being offered in the house of God in Jerusalem, Judith cried out to the Lord with a loud voice, and said,
2“O Lord God of my ancestor Simeon, to whom you gave a sword to take revenge on those strangers who had torn off a virgin’s clothinga to defile her, and exposed her thighs to put her to shame, and polluted her womb to disgrace her; for you said, ‘It shall not be done’—yet they did it; 3so you gave up their rulers to be killed, and their bed, which was ashamed of the deceit they had practiced, was stained with blood, and you struck down slaves along with princes, and princes on their thrones. 4You gave up their wives for booty and their daughters to captivity, and all their booty to be divided among your beloved children who burned with zeal for you and abhorred the pollution of their blood and called on you for help. O God, my God, hear me also, a widow.
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