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The first half of a two-part Bible History Daily presentation of Judith.
Robin Gallaher Branch • 07/30/2012
Editor’s note: This is the first half of Robin Gallaher Branch’s article discussing the character Judith, the remarkable heroine of the book bearing her name.
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The Book of Judith—considered canonical by Roman Catholics, Apocrypha Literature by Protestants, and non-canon by Jews—tells the story of the ignominious defeat of the Assyrians, an army bent on world domination, by the hand of a Hebrew woman (Judith 13:14).
Artemisia Gentileschi's 17th century depiction of Judith beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Indeed her beheading of Holofernes, the invading Assyrian general—in his own tent, with his own sword, and surrounded by his own heretofore victorious army, no less!—marks her as a political savior in Israel on a par with David.
Consider these characteristics:
1. Judith commands, plans, leads. She enters the book bearing her name when the Assyrians have cut off the water supply of Bethulia, the town at the entrance of the narrow corridor leading to Jerusalem (Judith 7:7, 4:7). The siege, which has lasted 34 days, has made the people fractious, thirsty, and bitter (Judith 7:20, 29). Uzziah and the town’s other magistrates succumb the townspeople’s demands and say they will surrender to the Assyrians in five days—unless the Lord takes pity (Judith 7:29-30). Upon hearing this, Judith, instead of going to Bethulia’s leaders, summons them to her home (Judith 8:10). Chiding them for testing God (Judith 8:11-12), she declares she has a plan to save Bethulia, Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people. Declining to reveal it, she nonetheless proclaims her deed will “go down through all generations of our descendants” (Judith 8:32). Not only do the leaders listen without interruption, they also acclaim her for her wisdom and—like all men in this tale!—do her bidding (Judith 8:28-29). She demands that the gates be opened and that she and her maid be let out of the city (Judith 8:33, 10:9).
2. Judith is verbose. Other women wordsmiths in the Biblical text are Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 8-9), Abigail (1 Samuel 25:23-31), Deborah (Judges 5), and the Beloved in Song of Songs. Judith tops them all with two long statements—first to Uzziah and the other Bethulian magistrates (Judith 8:11-27), and the second to Holofernes and the Assyrian forces crowding around to gaze at her beautiful face (Judith 11:5-19). She prays thrice—once before her adventure starts (Judith 9), then for strength to behead Holofernes (Judith 13:4-7) and finally in a public song at the national celebrations honoring her deed and the slaughter of the Assyrians (Judith 16:1-17).
3. Judith strategizes. Dressing in a way “to entice the eyes of all the men who might see her” (Judith 10:4), Judith and her maid set forth at night down the valley intending to be captured. Stopped by an Assyrian border patrol and escorted by 100 men directly to Holofernes (Judith 10:17), she readily spins a tall tale that contains just enough fact to be believed. Claiming to have direct access to God, she promises to guide Holofernes and his whole army through the hill country to Jerusalem without the loss of life or so much as a dog growling at them (Judith 10:13, 11:19). Her words delight the general and his attendants (Judith 11:20). Calling her beautiful and eloquent (Judith 11:23), he welcomes her to the camp and grants her request to travel through the camp at night to bathe at a spring and pray (Judith 12:5-7). Thus this unprotected and unexpected guest in the Assyrian camp dangles herself alluringly as bait and waits for three days for a chance to strike and save Israel.
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4. Judith knows her power over men. Throughout the book, it seems Judith merely smiles and men collapse (Judith 10:7, 14, 19, 23). Wisely appealing to their senses of sight and smell, she mesmerizes them. Her weapons of warfare are sensual and material. She dresses carefully, knowing the success of her ruse and assassination plan depend upon her ability to entice. For her adventure, she removes her sackcloth and widow’s dress, bathes and richly perfumes herself, fixes her hair, selects a festival dress, and dons a tiara as her battle garb’s finishing touch (Judith 10:3). She accessorizes her outfit with rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings, other jewelry, and attractive sandals (Judith 10:4). In the intimate seduction banquet scene set in Holofernes’ tent, Judith simply reclines on lambskins, nibbles her food brought from Bethulia, and flatters the general by telling him “today is the greatest day of my whole life” (Judith 12:15-20). She presents such a pretty picture that gullible Holofernes, beset with lust, drinks himself into senseless, fatal oblivion (Judith 12:16, 20).
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BAS Library Member Exclusive Content For more on Judith, read Carey A Moore’s “Judith: The Case of the Pious Killer” as it appeared in Bible Review, Feb 1990, 26-36.
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5. Judith acts for the common good. Judith murders Holofernes, the enemy of Israel, a world-class bully who slaughtered his way through Put, Lud, the lands of the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites, the walled towns along Wadi Abron, and Cilicia; he set fire to the tents of the Midiantites and the fields of Damascus (Judith 2:23-27). Alone with him late at night in his tent, Judith beheads him with two strokes to the neck from his own famous sword—praying beforehand, of course (Judith 13:4-7)! She rolls his corpse to the floor, yanks down a jeweled canopy from above his bed, walks out of the tent, and hands his head to her waiting maid who puts it in the food sack (Judith 13:9-10). Together the women walk through the Assyrian lines as they have on other nights, allegedly to pray and bathe. This time skipping the prayer-and-bath routine, they head straight up the mountain to Bethulia’s gates. There, Judith starts shouting (Judith 13:14)! The gates open and she shares her story. She carefully proclaims in front of all that she has not been defiled by Holofernes because the Lord protected her; her face tricked Holofernes and brought his downfall (Judith 13:16). Displaying his head, and no doubt unraveling the jeweled canopy, her story is believable. Uzziah proclaims Judith is blessed “by the Most High God above all other women on earth” (Judith 13:18). This verse, an echo of Deborah’s vindication of Jael’s similar, hands-on murder of Sisera (Judges 4:21, 5:24-26), is pivotal in Roman Catholic theology, for it also is spoken of Mary (Luke 1:42, 48).
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Click here to read the second half of Robin Gallaher Branch’s study of Judith, in which she analyzes Judith’s extraordinary courage, Judith and her maid, her heritage and theology and her roles as prophetess and countrywoman.
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Robin Gallaher Branch
Robin Gallaher Branch is professor of Biblical studies at Victory University (formerly Crichton College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and Extraordinary Associate Professor in the Faculty of Theology at North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa. She received her Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas in Austin in 2000. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for the 2002-2003 academic year to the Faculty of Theology at North-West University. Her most recent book is Jereboam’s Wife: The Enduring Contributions of the Old Testament’s Least-Known Women (Hendrickson, 2009). Contact Dr. Branch.
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Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2
The second half of Robin Gallaher Branch's two-part Bible History Daily presentation of Judith.
Robin Gallaher Branch • 08/01/2012
Editor’s Note: This article continues Robin Gallaher Branch’s earlier post (published 7/30/12) discussing the character Judith, the remarkable heroine of the book bearing her name. Considered Apocrypha Literature by Protestants, the Book of Judith is regarded as canon by Roman Catholics and as non-canonical by Jews. To read part one, click here.
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Its truly remarkable heroine, Judith, introduced as a devout, shapely, beautiful and wealthy widow (Judith 8:4, 7), exhibits characteristics showing her the equal of Israel’s finest warriors. Indeed her beheading of Holofernes, the invading Assyrian general—in his own tent, with his own sword, and surrounded by his own heretofore victorious army, no less!—marks her as a political savior in Israel on a par with David. To read part one, click here.
Judith: A Remarkable Heroine, Part 2
Cristofano Allori's representation of Judith carrying the head of Holofernes. Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
1. Judith displays extraordinary courage. Anticipating the gruesome outcome of the 34-day Assyrian siege against Bethulia, Judith describes it this way: “The slaughter of our kindred and the captivity of the land and the desolation of our inheritance” (Judith 8:22). If the little town at the gateway to Jerusalem falls, Jerusalem will be exposed and the sanctuary looted. But unlike the Bethulian magistrates who cry to the Lord for rain and hope for deliverance from the Assyrians (Judith 8:31, 7:30), Judith acts. Correcting their theology, she proclaims the siege as a test from God, like the one he put to Abraham and Isaac, and even thanks God for it (Judith 8:25-26)! Everyone knows that the Bethulian men, while brave, present no match for the Assyrian’s 170,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry (Judith 7:2). Judith, unarmed, alone but for her accompanying maid, steps forward (Judith 8:33).
2. Judith and her maid. A silent, anonymous maid shadows Judith throughout her adventure and shares equally in it. Serving as an inclusion (Judith 8:10, 16:23), the maid summons the magistrates to Judith’s home and receives emancipation just before Judith dies at age 105. The maid, it seems, also is beautiful, for the awestruck Assyrians marvel, “Who can despise these people when they have women like this among them?” (Judith 10:19) (italics added). The maid cares for the physical needs of her mistress—her food and clothing—and acts as chaperone and attendant, necessary qualifications adding to the mystique and credibility of a great lady claiming she flees in distress from her doomed countrymen to the Assyrians because the Hebrews “are about to be devoured” (Judith 10:12).
The text hints at a deep bond between Judith and her maid and the deep faith they share. Both are members of the covenant community; the maid observes Judith’s lifestyle of prayer and fasting. Although the text does not indicate that the maid knew Judith’s complete plan or was asked to accompany her, I think that Judith’s character indicates she would not order someone to come with her on what could be a death mission. I believe she asked her maid, and the maid, meeting her eyes and with her head held high, nodded yes. I believe they prayed together. In modern terms, both were enemy agents bent on the destruction of Israel’s foe. Both are heroines.
3. Judith’s heritage. Judith is introduced with a lineage virtually unparalleled in the Biblical text (Judith 8:1-2). A descendant of Simeon, her genealogy includes 16 progenitors and doesn’t even make it back to Simeon! The genealogy, a significant textual marker, establishes her as a formidable literary character. In an interesting psychological insight, her prayer for help with her plan to save Israel and assassinate Holofernes, the besieging Assyrian general, begins with a remembrance of Dinah’s shame (Genesis 34:2; Judith 9:2-4). Judith, by her upcoming valor and good deed, expresses determination to erase this early, but still remembered, defamation.
Her covenant heritage combines prayer and action. She calls on God to break the world-renowned pride of the Assyrians “by the hand of a woman” (Judith 9:10), thus causing them ongoing, international shame. She calls on God, in his anger, to bring down the strength of the Assyrians (Judith 9:8). She demands that God demonstrate throughout the world that “there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you alone” (Judith 9:14). She beseeches God to grant her, a widow, the strength she needs and to hear her prayer (Judith 9:9, 12). She asks that “my deceitful words bring wound and bruise on those who have planned cruel things” against the covenant people (Judith 9:13). Then, with Holofernes’ neck exposed for the deadly blow, she prays for strength to accomplish her plan and speedily slashes through his neck with two blows (Judith 13:5, 7-8; 16:9).
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4. Judith’s theology. Judith ranks along with Deborah (Judges 5), the wife of Manoa (Judges 13:23), Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10), Naomi (Ruth 1:20-21) and Abigail (1 Samuel 23-31) as theologians in the Old Testament, in the sense that they all comment on God’s character and actions. However, in terms of verbosity, she exceeds them all. She credits God for the victory over the Assyrians and the killing of Holofernes (Judith 16:5-6). Her theology includes possession and shows her leadership. In her closing prayer, she sings of my territory, my young men, my infants, my children, and my maidens (Judith 16:4) (italics added).
Her song, containing many distinctively feminine insights, details her preparation for war—how she anointed her face with perfume and fixed her hair. Judith’s song speaks of her sandals, her renowned beauty, that fetching tiara and the deliberate action of putting on a linen gown, knowing it would beguile her intended prey, Holofernes (Judith 16:7-8). These were her weapons, as important and deadly as Sisera’s 900 chariots in Deborah’s war (Judges 4:3). Judith triumphantly proclaims “the Persians shuddered at her audacity and the Medes were daunted by her daring” (Judith 16:10).
Her song lauds the kind of upset the Biblical text loves: that of the underdog winning against the mighty, proud foe; of the enemy cowering in fear and screaming and running; of mere boys slaying seasoned Assyrian warriors (Judith 16:11-12).
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BAS Library Member Exclusive Content For more on Judith, read Carey A Moore’s “Judith: The Case of the Pious Killer” as it appeared in Bible Review, Feb 1990, 26-36.
Not a library member yet? Sign up here.
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Judith receives—and accepts—accolades usually reserved for God. Joakim, the high priest, and the Israelite Council (yet again, men who come to Judith rather than her going to them) arrive from Jerusalem. With one voice they call Judith the glory of Jerusalem, the great pride of Israel, and the boast of the nation (Judith15:9). The people concur with Amen (Judith 15:10).
5. Judith as prophetess. Although the text does not call her by the appositive prophetess, her words and actions raise the possibility that she indeed is a prophetess. The first indication is when she asserts to Uzziah and the Bethulian magistrates that “I am about to do something that will go down through all generations of our descendants.” (Judith 8:32). She does. Consider these other instances: At the start of her adventure, she (and her maid) are blessed by Uzziah. Uzziah asks God’s favor on the mission and charges Judith to fulfill her plans “so that the Israelites may glory and Jerusalem may be exulted!” (Judith 10:8). Judith responds that she “will go out and accomplish the things you have just said to me” (Judith 10:9). She does.
While a “guest” of the Assyrians, she accepts the invitation to attend a banquet in Holofernes’ tent with this double-meaning response and a pun on the word lord: “Who am I to refuse my lord? Whatever pleases him I will do at once” (Judith 12:14). She does—but for her lord. She proclaims that the banquet “will be a joy to me until the day of my death” (Judith 12:14). It is. While Holofernes ogles her and thinks of how he intends the night to progress, Judith encourages his fantasies by agreeing that “today is the greatest day of my whole life” (Judith 12:18). It is. Clearly, Judith’s adventure progresses according to the plan she devised and prayed about.
Back in Bethulia, she tells her townspeople that once the Assyrians find Holofernes’ headless corpse, “panic will come over them, and they will flee before you” at the advance of the Bethulians who will cut the enemy down “in their tracks” (Judith 14:3-4). As usual, Judith is right.
6. Judith and her countrywomen. Judith relates well to other women. They express no hint of jealousy toward her beauty, wealth, piety, and accomplishments; indeed, they arguably identify with her. She inspires them. They sing her praises and dance in her honor (Judith 15:12). Judith and the women crown themselves with garlands (Judith 15:13). Judith then leads the women first, with the men following, in a celebratory victory dance, just as Miriam the prophetess led the women after the victory at the Sea of Reeds (Exodus 15:20-21). In both stories, a mighty foe bent on the destruction of God’s covenant people, falls. A heroine knows no greater honor.
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Taken from:
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