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ON
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Beautiful Judith
Beheading
Holofernes
Returning
to Bethuliah
Extra Websites
Paintings by
Cristofano
Allori
Baglione
Botticelli
Caravaggio
Cranach
Orazio
Gentileschi
Artemesia
Gentileschi
Giorgione
Klimt
Liss
Mantegna
Michelangelo
Carlo
Saraceni
Elisabetta
Sirani
Titian
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'When
Judith came into the tent and lay down on the sheepskins,
Holofernes was besotted. He offered her something to drink, but
she drank only the wine given to her by her maid - was it
watered down so she could stay sober? Holofernes, on the other
hand, got down to some serious drinking.'
Sex, lies,
murder...
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Nebuchadnezzar
was the King of Babylon, and 'Babylon' became code for
depravity, cruelty and paganism.
Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned in the Bible because he met and
terrified King Jehoiakim of Judah, who paid tribute to him and
acknowledged him as Judah's master. Of course, Jehoiakim had
little choice in the matter - Nebuchadnezzar's resources were
immense, and little Judah stood no chance at all against him.
Bible's
Top Ten Villains
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'The giant
siege ramp was built on a gradient of about 30°, flattening out
at the top to give a platform large enough to hold five
battering rams. The ramp led right up to the walls of
the city. It provided passage for four-wheeled battering
rams, and for attacking soldiers.'
Ancient
Warfare
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'The
Israelites were at a disadvantage because the Philistine
overlords did not allow them to have metal-working
facilities. This
meant they could never have weapons that matched their enemy's. If
they had swords, they were always inferior to the ones wielded
by their adversaries, and could only be used as backup
weapons.'
Weapons
in Ancient Wars
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'When at
the climax of any siege the defenders on the battlements were
unable to hit the enemy at the foot of the walls without
exposing themselves dangerously to the attackers' missiles, the
men posted on the towers could shoot along the walls from
relatively secure positions.'
Attacking
a Bible City
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Judith's
Story
At great personal
risk she went into the enemy camp of Holofernes. He had a fearsome reputation, but she charmed him,
holding his sexual advances at bay.
Read more...
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Scripture She came close to his bed, took hold of the
hair of his head, and said, ‘Give me strength today, O Lord God
of Israel!’ Then she struck his neck twice with all her
might, and cut off his head.
Read more... |
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The
beautiful widow Judith
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Hidden
Meanings in
paintings of Judith
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The
first paintings of Judith, produced in the Middle Ages, were
meant to show an example of virtue overcoming vice.
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During
the Renaissance a different theme emerged: Judith was an
example of man's misfortunes at the hands of a scheming
woman. The decapitation of Holofernes has sexual overtones:
a man is robbed of his virility by a beautiful woman. In
fact, paintings of Judith are still sometimes confused with
Samson and Delilah.
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In
fact, Judith was a Jewish patriotic heroine and a symbol of the Jews' struggle against their ancient,
much more powerful, oppressors.
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The
story tells of the Assyrian army laying siege to the Jewish city of Bethulia. When the inhabitants were on the point of capitulating, Judith, a rich and beautiful widow, devised a scheme to save them. She adorned herself 'so as to catch the eye of any man who might see her' (10:5), and set off with her maid into the Assyrian lines. By the pretence of having deserted her people she gained access to the enemy commander, Holofernes, and proposed to him a fictitious scheme for overcoming the Jews. After she had been several days in the camp Holofernes became enamoured of her and planned a banquet to which she was invited. When it was over and they were alone together he had meant to seduce her, but he was by then overcome with liquor. This was Judith's opportunity. She quickly seized his sword and with two swift blows severed his head. Her maid was ready with a sack into which they put the head. They then made their way through the camp and back to Bethulia before the deed was discovered. The news threw the Assyrians into disarray and they fled, pursued by the Israelites.
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'Judith and Holofernes',
Gustav Klimt, 1901-2
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Judith is dressed in the rich clothing
and lavish jewellery she wore when she went to meet Holofernes. Some
commentators have suggested that the oversize golden choker at her neck
suggests decapitation. Her clothing is disarrayed, but her look is
triumphant as she holds the head of her enemy by her side.
There are similarities between this Art Nouveau
painting and Byzantine icons: both make lavish use of gold leaf, both
depict female heroines in elongated form. The gold-leaf landscape
behind her, with laden palm trees, is reminiscent of ancient Assyrian wall
drawings of the Tree of Life. And is that a Star of David above her left
shoulder?
See Ancient
Jewelry for the sort of jewels that Judith might
have worn.
Bible reference:
Book of Judith
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Beheading
Holofernes
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'Judith Beheading Holofernes', Caravaggio, 1599
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 Judith has steeled herself to cut into
Holofernes' neck, using his own sword.
The maid Abra stands ready to
catch the severed head when it falls away (Abra is one of the most
over-looked figures in the Old Testament; she is with Judith every step
of the way, and clearly gives her not only a servant's support, but a
large measure of courage as well).
Caravaggio has painted a magnificent Holofernes, muscled, strong,
powerful. His horrified face is the attention-grabbing focus of
this picture. Judith, on the other hand, slices his neck with a look of
mild distaste, as if she is carving the Sunday roast. 
The colors, harmonious composition
and shading of the painting are superb, as we
would expect from Caravaggio. But magnificent as the painting is, it
does not convey the ghastly horror of the event.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:7-8
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'Judith and her Maidservant', Artemisia Gentileschi, 1613-14
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Judith's maid Abra has gathered up the head of
Holofernes in a basket, and they are preparing to leave his tent when
they hear something which makes them stop and listen. The danger of
their situation is implied by the position of the sword in Judith's
hand: a few more inches and it will cut into her own white throat.
Close-ups of the painting show that the brooch in her
hair is a picture of a warrior, perhaps the biblical David who is the
male equivalent of Judith.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:10 |
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'Judith', Gustav Klimt, 1909
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Judith stands, her fingers clenched in the
hair of Holofernes' head. Her gorgeous robe has fallen away from her
body and her hair is disarranged, but she seems calm, oblivious of her
surroundings, almost in shock.
This painting has often been labeled 'Salome',
because it depicts a half-naked woman carrying a man's severed head. In
fact, it is Judith.
Though it is an archetypal
Art Nouveau painting, there are many similarities with Old Master images
of Judith: a remorseless, half-clothed woman, disguised tension in the
rigid hands, the sumptuous dress.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:9
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'Judith with the Head of Holofernes', Carlo Saraceni, 1615-20
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The maid's anxious face looks up for
reassurance to Judith, who despite the horror of the situation appears
calm, almost serene. She holds the head of Holofernes in her left hand,
ready to drop it in the bag held by her maid.
The darkness of the painting suggests the
secretive nature of what they are doing, the need for stealth. In
reality it is unlikely that Judith was as calm as she appears in this
picture, but
there is an unexpected touch of realism in the way the maid holds the
bag. She grips one point between her teeth and makes an opening by
holding two other points with her hands - just the way you would to make
an opening for a large round object, be it a cabbage or a human
head.
There
are only subtle indications of the violent murder that has just
occurred: the reddened fingers that hold Holofernes' head, and the
spatter of blood on Judith's right temple. Subtle, but terrifying.
Bible reference: Judith
13:9-10 |
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'Judith
and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes'
Orazio
Gentileschi, (father
of Artemisia), 1610-12
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The deed is done - Judith still
holds the sword in her hand. Now the fearful women stop to listen, to
see if an alarm has been raised.
Orazio Gentileschi seems to have been more
interested in the woman themselves than in the violent crime they had
committed. These two women are not idealized beauties but real people,
both with their own personalities and agendas. This makes the
painting sharply different from many of the others completed at that
time, and may have something to do with the rape of his daughter
Artemisia Gentileschi - a real person to her father, not just an unnamed
victim of crime.
See Warfare
in the Bible for information about the reality of war
in biblical times.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:9-10
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'Judith in the Tent of Holofernes', Johann Liss, 1622
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Judith has cut off the head of Holofernes and
looks back over her shoulder, out towards the viewer. Her expression is
strange - dazed, almost detached. She and her servant Alba are placing
the severed head in a basket.
Caravaggio's influence is clearly evident in Liss's
painting - the sumptuous flesh tones, lavish fabrics and dramatic
lighting. The twisted gold fabric draws the eye upward towards Judith's
naked back and the ambiguous glance she casts over her shoulder.
Holofernes' hapless body pushes out into the foreground of the painting.
An unusual feature of the painting is the black servant who stands
behind Judith, looking up at her.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:8-9 |
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'Judith
Beheading Holofernes',
Artemisia Gentileschi, circa1612
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This is a rare depiction of
something other paintings ignore: the fight that Holofernes may or may
not have put up when he was being murdered. Here, in the moment of
dying, he presses his right hand up against his assailant, attempting to
fight her off. Judith's body seems to flinch away - from Holofernes? or
from what she is doing?
This painting was made at about the time that
Artemisia Gentileschi was raped by her tutor, the Tuscan painter Agostino
Tassi. There is obviously a certain amount of personal relish in the
painting, with underlying themes of castration and impotency. The story
of Judith doubtless appealed to Gentileschi, depicting as it did the triumph of
female guile over male force.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:8 |
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'Judith and the head of Holofernes',
Giovanni
Baglione, 1608
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The body of Holofernes, now
separated from his head, seems to writhe in its death throes. A rather
winsome Judith has
grasped the head by its hair and is moving away from the couch. Her maid
looks back in horror at the body.
Contrast this image with Caravaggio's
(above). Judith seems remarkably tranquil in the circumstances, while her
maid registers shock and horror. But note in particular the different
treatment of Holofernes' body. Here in Baglione's painting the body
itself is almost hidden. What we can see of it is distorted and writhing, the head quite separate from the
body -
altogether, a figure of horror. Bible reference:
Judith 13:8-9 |
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'Judith and her Maidservant With the Head of
Holofernes'
Artemisia
Gentileschi, circa 1625
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Judith has killed Holofernes, and now her
maid Abra crams the bloody head into a sack, to carry it back to
Bethuliah. But they seem to have heard something, and pause, waiting to
see if they have been discovered. If they have, they know they will die
too.
The tension of the scene is almost palpable.
Danger is close as Judith and her maid Abra gather up the severed head
of Holofernes, preparing to flee from the enemy camp, back to safety in
Bethulia. The light and shadow emphasise the imminent danger as Judith
and Abra prepare to flee Holofernes's tent with his severed head. We can
almost smell and feel their fear.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:8-9 |
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'Judith with the head of
Holofernes', Cristofano Allori, 1613
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Judith has hacked off the head of
Holofernes and now puts away the sword she used to do the deed. Her maid
leans anxiously towards her, protectively, urging the dazed Judith to
move with more speed.
The head of Holofernes is said to be a portrait of the
artist, and the woman in the picture was modeled on his mistress, a
famous beauty called Mazzafirra. Perhaps it is a comment on the balance
of power within their own relationship - she having conquered him and
now holding him helpless in her grip. His face is already drained of
color, a dramatic contrast to the rich material of her robe.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:10 |
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'Judith with the Head of
Holofernes', Lucas Cranach, 1530
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Judith's right hand holds the sword,
instrument of death. The fingers of her left hand as entwined in
Holofernes' hair, as she toys in an absent-minded way with the
lifeless head.
If
you are looking for subtlety, walk on by. Cranach the Elder is not your
man. But if you value a strong, no-nonsense message about God, faith and
salvation, you may want to look more carefully at his work.
Cranach was a close friend of Martin Luther (the famous portrait of
Luther is by Cranach), and helped promote his ideas - he was a staunch
supporter of the Protestant Reformation.
The story of Judith struck a chord with the Protestant
reformers, since it described the courage of a small nation resisting a tyrant from outside who sought to impose his own beliefs
about God on them. The Protestant states cast themselves as Judith, and
Catholicism and the Pope as Holofernes. There was also an attempt at
this time to
balance the preponderance of male heroes in Christian tradition with
biblical heroines who could be role models of particular virtues.
Cranach's paintings are always beautiful, but it is a beauty with evil
lurking just beneath the surface.
For information on jewelry at that time,
see Ancient
Jewelry
Biblical reference:
Judith 13:6-9
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Judith
with the head of Holofernes, stained glass window
Diane-Blair Goodpasture, 2010
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Judith holds the recently severed head of Holofernes by its
hair. His sword, which she used to kill him, is smeared with his own
blood. Her dress, too, is spattered by the fearsome thing she has done.
An
ignoble end for a famous warrior, killed by his own sword. Judith is
lavishly dressed, with a jewelled head-dress enclosing her thick hair.
Compare the two faces: hers blank - with shock? His ghastly in death.
Behind Judith are
two things: the all-seeing eye of God, and the Hebrew letter 'yod' which
is symbolic of the name of God - Marc Chagall uses this same device in
his paintings.
Bible
reference: Judith
13:9 |
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'Judith with the head of Holofernes',
Titian,
circa 1515
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Judith has cut off the head of the enemy
general Holofernes, and now prepares to carry it back to the townspeople
of Bethuliah.
There has been some argument about the identity
of the woman in this painting. The confusion arose because the
decapitated head is carried on a silver platter, traditionally the way
that John the Baptist is depicted. This would then make the woman
Salome. But the adoring expression on the face of the second woman
suggests that she is Abla, Judith's servant, and this seems more likely.
It is generally accepted now that this is, in fact, a painting of
Judith, done at the beginning of Titian's career.
Bible
reference: Judith 13:8-9 |
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'Judith', Vicenzo Catena, 1520
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This painting of Judith is quite
different to most others on the subject. She is dressed in white, the
color of chastity, and the sword stands firmly between her body and
Holofernes' head. The picture contains a message about her chastity,
which the Bible says she retained despite every effort on Holofernes'
part to seduce her. This is no seductress, but a determined heroine.
Bible reference:
Judith
13:9-17 |
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'Judith with the head of Holofernes', Titian,
1570
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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.
This is a painting made by Titian towards the end
of his life. His Judith is a luminous, serene beauty assisted by a black
servant woman. The head of Holofernes is truly terrifying, a dark and
gruesome trophy for the Judean inhabitants of Bethuliah.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:9-10 |
Returning
to Bethuliah
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'Judith carries away the head of Holofernes', Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1508-1512
Below: the same
image before cleaning |
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Below:
Detail of Judith and Abra with the head of Holofernes
Holofernes' lifeless body lies in the
background as Judith and Abra hurry away from the scene of the murder.
Abra carries the grisly head on a tray/basket, and Judith tries to
cover it from sight.
This is part of the fresco in the Sistine Chapel. When
he came to choose images for the Chapel, Michelangelo seems to have
focused on heroic deeds, or on seminal moments in the story of
God's unfolding plan. He saw Judith as one such hero, leaving the
obscurity of her life as a widow in a small city to undertake terrifying
actions that would ultimately save her people.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:9-11 |
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'Judith',
Giorgione, 1504
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Unlike the other paintings of Judith, this one
does not show a particular moment in the story. Holofernes has been
killed, but Judith is not in the process of returning to Bethuliah as
she subsequently did. The head is not wrapped up, or being displayed on the city
walls, but is
simply a trophy taken in battle. The battle of the sexes? The painting is
more like a portrait of Judith as a goddess of sexual love - see
Giorgione's 'Sleeping Venus' for a similar image of idealized beauty.
See also Bible
Heroines: Judith
Georgione's image of Judith contrasts dramatically
with other paintings of this subject. She is remote, untroubled, serene
- a goddess, not a human woman who has just committed
violent murder.
In the background is a
landscape, reminiscent of the country round Castelfranco, which the
artist knew as a boy, and loved all his life. Giorgione died young, probably of the plague in Venice,
but his works have remarkable maturity and a certain enigmatic quality,
Could not this 'Judith' be likened to a profane Mona Lisa?
Biblical reference: Book
of Judith
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'Judith with
the Head of Holofernes',
Elisabetta Sirani (1638-1665) circa
1660
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Judith
has returned to Bethuliah, and now draws the head of Holofernes
out of the sack her maid has carried. Two attendants run to
light her way with torches. Now all the townspeople and all the
enemy soldiers can see that the much-feared Holofernes is really
dead.
Elizabeth
Sirani came from a prominent family of artists - her father was
Giovanni Adrea Sirano, principal assistant of Guido Reni. She
died at the early age of 27. She has placed Judith in a medieval
setting - note the castle ramparts in the background.
See
Destruction
of Lachish for pictures and information about Lachish,
the biblical city that was actually destroyed by an invading
king.
Biblical
reference: Judith 13:15 |
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'Judith's Return to
Bethulia', Alessandro Botticelli, 1470
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Judith has completed her mission and
returns to Bethulia, sword in hand. Her maid Abra follows with
Holofernes' head, wrapped up and carried on the woman's head.
Judith has the air and demeanor of a goddess,
rather than a mortal woman. She strides across an idealized landscape
sword in one hand, olive branch in the other. She will live in peace if
she can, but is prepared for war if it is forced upon her.
 It is interesting to
compare Botticelli's Judith and Abra with the figures in his more famous
'Spring'. There is the same sense of detached majesty at the center of
the painting. Judith dominates all around her - and reinforces her power
by carrying a rather nasty-looking sword. Yet, as the 'Spring', the
overall impression is of fluid beauty and movement.
For more on the unfortunate Nebuchadnezzar,
see
Bible
Villains: Nebuchadnezzar
The image at right
is thought to be a portrait of Botticelli.
Bible reference:
Judith 13:10
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The
Bible text
Book
of Judith,
Chapters 8-16
What
Judith was like:
Chapter 8
1 Now 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.
2 Her husband Manasseh, who belonged to her
tribe and family, had died during the barley harvest.
3 For 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.
4 Judith remained as a widow for three years and
four months
5 at 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.
6 She 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. 7
She 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.
8 No one spoke ill of her, for she feared God
with great devotion.
Judith
talks about God
9
When 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,
10 she sent her maid, who was in charge of all
she possessed, to summon Uzziah and Chabris and Charmis, the elders of
her town.
11 They 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.
12 Who are you to put God to the test today, and
to set yourselves up in the place of
God in human affairs?
13 You are putting the Lord Almighty to the test,
but you will never learn anything!
14 You 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.
15 For 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.
16 Do 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.
17 Therefore, 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.
19 That was why our ancestors were handed over to
the sword and to pillage, and so they suffered a great catastrophe
before our enemies.
20 But we know no other god but him, and so we
hope that he will not disdain us or any of our nation.
21 For 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.
22 The 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 offence and a disgrace in the eyes of those who acquire
us.
23 For our slavery will not bring us into favour,
but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.
24
‘Therefore,
my brothers, let us set an example to our kindred, for their lives
depend upon us, and the sanctuary—both the temple and the
altar—rests upon us.
25
In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who
is putting us to the test as he did our ancestors.
26 Remember 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.
27 For 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.’
28
Then
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.
29 Today 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.
30 But 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.
31 Now 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.’
32
Then Judith said to them, ‘Listen to me. I am about to do something
that will go down through all generations of our descendants.
33 Stand 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.
34 Only, 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.’
35
Uzziah and
the rulers said to her, ‘Go in peace, and may the Lord God go before
you, to take vengeance on our enemies.’
36 So they returned from the tent and went to
their posts.
The
Prayer of Judith - Chapter 9
1
Then 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 clothing 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;
3 so you gave up their rulers to be killed, and
their bed, which was ashamed of the deceit they had practised, was
stained with blood, and you struck down slaves along with princes, and
princes on their thrones.
4 You 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.
5
‘For you have done these things and those that went before and those
that followed. You have designed the things that are now, and those that
are to come. What you had in mind has happened;
6 the things you decided on presented themselves
and said, “Here we are!” For all your ways are prepared in advance,
and your judgement is with foreknowledge.
7
‘Here now are the Assyrians, a greatly increased force, priding
themselves on their horses and riders, boasting in the strength of their
foot-soldiers, and trusting in shield and spear, in bow and sling. They
do not know that you are the Lord who crushes wars; the Lord is your
name.
8 Break their strength by your might, and bring
down their power in your anger; for they intend to defile your
sanctuary, and to pollute the tabernacle where your glorious name
resides, and to break off the horns of your altar with the sword.
9 Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon
their heads. Give to me, a widow, the strong hand to do what I
plan.
10 By the deceit of my lips strike down the slave
with the prince and the prince with his servant; crush their arrogance
by the hand of a woman.
11
‘For
your strength does not depend on numbers, nor your might on the
powerful. But you are the God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed,
upholder of the weak, protector of the forsaken, savior of those without
hope.
12 Please,
please, God of my father, God of the heritage of Israel, Lord of heaven
and earth, Creator of the waters, King of all your creation, hear my
prayer!
13 Make my deceitful words bring wound and bruise
on those who have planned cruel things against your covenant, and
against your sacred house, and against Mount Zion, and against the house
your children possess.
14 Let your whole nation and every tribe know and
understand that you are God, the God of all power and might, and that
there is no other who protects the people of Israel but you
alone!’
Judith
Prepares to Face Holofernes:
Chapter 10
1
When Judith had
stopped crying out to the God of Israel, and had ended all these
words,
2 she rose from where she lay prostrate. She
called her maid and went down into the house where she lived on sabbaths
and on her festal days.
3 She removed the sackcloth she had been wearing,
took off her widow’s garments, bathed her body with water, and
anointed herself with precious ointment. She combed her hair, put on a
tiara, and dressed herself in the festive attire that she used to wear
while her husband Manasseh was living.
4 She put
sandals on her feet, and put on her anklets, bracelets, rings,
ear-rings, and all her other jewellery. Thus she made herself very
beautiful, to entice the eyes of all the men who might see her.
5 She gave her maid a skin of wine and a flask of
oil, and filled a bag with roasted grain, dried fig cakes, and fine
bread; then she wrapped up all her dishes and gave them to her to carry.
6
Then they
went out to the town gate of Bethulia and found Uzziah standing there
with the elders of the town, Chabris and Charmis.
7 When they saw her transformed in appearance and
dressed differently, they were very greatly astounded at her beauty and
said to her,
8 ‘May
the God of our ancestors grant you favour and fulfil your plans, so that
the people of Israel may glory and Jerusalem may be exalted.’ She
bowed down to God.
9
Then she
said to them, ‘Order the gate of the town to be opened for me so that
I may go out and accomplish the things you have just said to me.’ So
they ordered the young men to open the gate for her, as she
requested.
10 When they had done this, Judith went out,
accompanied by her maid. The men of the town watched her until she had
gone down the mountain and passed through the valley, where they lost
sight of her.
Judith is Taken
Prisoner
11
As the
women
were going straight on through the valley, an Assyrian patrol met
her
12 and took her into custody. They asked her,
‘To what people do you belong, and where are you coming from, and
where are you going?’ She replied, ‘I am a daughter of the Hebrews,
but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to be handed over to you
to be devoured.
13 I am on my way to see Holofernes the commander
of your army, to give him a true report; I will show him a way by which
he can go and capture all the hill country without losing one of his
men, captured or slain.’
14
When the men heard her words, and observed her face—she was in their
eyes marvellously beautiful—they said to her,
15 ‘You have saved your life by hurrying down
to see our lord. Go at once to his tent; some of us will escort you and
hand you over to him.
16 When you stand before him, have no fear in
your heart, but tell him what you have just said, and he will treat you
well.’
17
They chose from their number a hundred men to accompany her and her
maid, and they brought them to the tent of Holofernes.
18 There was great excitement in the whole camp,
for her arrival was reported from tent to tent. They came and gathered
around her as she stood outside the tent of Holofernes, waiting until
they told him about her.
19 They marveled at her beauty and admired the
Israelites, judging them by her. They said to one another, ‘Who can
despise these people, who have women like this among them? It is not
wise to leave one of their men alive, for if we let them go they will be
able to beguile the whole world!’
Judith Meets
Holofernes Face to Face
20
Then the
guards of Holofernes and all his servants came out and led her into the
tent.
21 Holofernes was resting on his bed under a
canopy that was woven with purple and gold, emeralds and other precious
stones.
22 When they told him of her, he came to the
front of the tent, with silver lamps carried before him.
23 When Judith came into the presence of
Holofernes and his servants, they all marveled at the beauty of her
face. She prostrated herself and did obeisance to him, but his slaves
raised her up.
Chapter
11
1 Then Holofernes
said to her, ‘Take courage, woman, and do not be afraid in your heart,
for I have never hurt anyone who chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of
all the earth.
2 Even now, if your people who live in the hill
country had not slighted me, I would never have lifted my spear against
them. They have brought this on themselves.
3 But now tell me why you have fled from them and
have come over to us. In any event, you have come to safety. Take
courage! You will live tonight and ever after.
4 No one will hurt you. Rather, all will treat
you well, as they do the servants of my lord King Nebuchadnezzar.’
Judith
explains her presence
5
Judith
answered him, ‘Accept the words of your slave, and let your servant
speak in your presence. I will say nothing false to my lord this night.
6 If you
follow out the words of your servant, God will accomplish something
through you, and my lord will not fail to achieve his purposes.
7 By the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the
whole earth, and by the power of him who has sent you to direct every
living being! Not only do human beings serve him because of you, but
also the animals of the field and the cattle and the birds of the air
will live, because of your power, under Nebuchadnezzar and all his
house.
8 For we have heard of your wisdom and skill, and
it is reported throughout the whole world that you alone are the best in
the whole kingdom, the most informed and the most astounding in military
strategy.
9
‘Now as for Achior’s speech in your council, we have heard his
words, for the people of Bethulia spared him and he told them all he had
said to you.
10 Therefore, lord and master, do not disregard
what he said, but keep it in your mind, for it is true. Indeed our
nation cannot be punished, nor can the sword prevail against them,
unless they sin against their God.
11
‘But
now, in order that my lord may not be defeated and his purpose
frustrated, death will fall upon them, for a sin has overtaken them by
which they are about to provoke their God to anger when they do what is
wrong.
12 Since their food supply is exhausted and their
water has almost given out, they have planned to kill their livestock
and have determined to use all that God by his laws has forbidden them
to eat.
13 They have decided to consume the first fruits
of the grain and the tithes of the wine and oil, which they had
consecrated and set aside for the priests who minister in the presence
of our God in Jerusalem—things it is not lawful for any of the people
even to touch with their hands.
14 Since even the people in Jerusalem have been
doing this, they have sent messengers there in order to bring back
permission from the council of the elders.
15 When the response reaches them and they act
upon it, on that very day they will be handed over to you to be
destroyed.
16
‘So when
I, your slave, learned all this, I fled from them. God has sent me to
accomplish with you things that will astonish the whole world wherever
people shall hear about them.
17 Your servant is indeed God-fearing and serves
the God of heaven night and day. So, my lord, I will remain with you;
but every night your servant will go out into the valley and pray to
God. He will tell me when they have committed their sins.
18 Then I will come and tell you, so that you may
go out with your whole army, and not one of them will be able to
withstand you.
19 Then I will lead you through Judea, until you
come to Jerusalem; there I will set your throne. You will drive them
like sheep that have no shepherd, and no dog will so much as growl at
you. For this was told me to give me foreknowledge; it was announced to
me, and I was sent to tell you.’
20
Her words pleased Holofernes
and all his servants. They marveled at her wisdom and said,
21 ‘No other woman from one end of the earth to
the other looks so beautiful or speaks so wisely!’
22 Then Holofernes said to her, ‘God has done
well to send you ahead of the people, to strengthen our hands and bring
destruction on those who have despised my lord.
23 You are not only beautiful in appearance, but
wise in speech. If you do as you have said, your God shall be my God,
and you shall live in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar and be renowned
throughout the whole world.’
Judith
is the Guest of Holofernes: Chapter 12
1
Then he
commanded them to bring her in where his silver dinnerware was kept, and
ordered them to set a table for her with some of his own delicacies, and
with some of his own wine to drink.
2 But Judith said, ‘I cannot partake of them,
or it will be an offence; but I will have enough with the things I
brought with me.’
3 Holofernes said to her, ‘If your supply runs
out, where can we get you more of the same? For none of your people are
here with us.’
4 Judith replied, ‘As surely as you live, my
lord, your servant will not use up the supplies I have with me before
the Lord carries out by my hand what he has determined.’
5
Then the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept
until midnight. Towards the morning watch she got up
6
and sent this message to Holofernes: ‘Let my lord now give
orders to allow your servant to go out and pray.’
7 So Holofernes commanded his guards not to
hinder her. She remained in the camp for three days. She went out each
night to the valley of Bethulia, and bathed at the spring in the camp.
8 After
bathing, she prayed the Lord God of Israel to direct her way for the
triumph of his people.
9 Then she returned purified and stayed in the
tent until she ate her food towards evening.
Judith
Attends Holofernes' Banquet
10
On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his personal attendants
only, and did not invite any of his officers.
11 He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge
of his personal affairs, ‘Go and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in
your care to join us and to eat and drink with us.
12 For it would be a disgrace if we let such a
woman go without having intercourse with her. If we do not seduce her,
she will laugh at us.’
13
So Bagoas left the presence of Holofernes, and approached her and said,
‘Let this pretty girl not hesitate to come to my lord to be honoured
in his presence, and to enjoy drinking wine with us, and to become today
like one of the Assyrian women who serve in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.’
14 Judith replied, ‘Who am I to refuse my lord?
Whatever pleases him I will do at once, and it will be a joy to me until
the day of my death.’
15 So she proceeded to dress herself in all her
woman’s finery. Her maid went ahead and spread for her on the ground
before Holofernes the lambskins she had received from Bagoas for her
daily use in reclining.
16
Then
Judith came in and lay down. Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her
and his passion was aroused, for he had been waiting for an opportunity
to seduce her from the day he first saw her.
17 So Holofernes said to her, ‘Have a drink and
be merry with us!’
18 Judith said, ‘I will gladly drink, my lord,
because today is the greatest day in my whole life.’
19 Then she took what her maid had prepared and
ate and drank before him.
20 Holofernes was greatly pleased with her, and
drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any
one day since he was born.
Judith
Beheads Holofernes: Chapter 13
1
When
evening came, his slaves quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from
outside and shut out the attendants from his master’s presence. They
went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted so
long.
2 But Judith was left alone in the tent, with
Holofernes stretched out on his bed, for he was dead drunk.
3
Now Judith had told her maid to stand outside the bedchamber and to wait
for her to come out, as she did on the other days; for she said she
would be going out for her prayers. She had said the same thing to
Bagoas.
4 So everyone went out, and no one, either small
or great, was left in the bedchamber. Then Judith, standing beside his
bed, said in her heart, ‘O Lord God of all might, look in this
hour on the work of my hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem.
5 Now indeed is the time to help your heritage
and to carry out my design to destroy the enemies who have risen up
against us.’
6
She went
up to the bedpost near Holofernes’ head, and took down his sword that
hung there.
7 She came close to his bed, took hold of the
hair of his head, and said, ‘Give me strength today, O Lord God
of Israel!’
8 Then she struck his neck twice with all her
might, and cut off his head.
9 Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled
down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterwards she went out and gave
Holofernes’ head to her maid,
10 who placed it in her food bag.
Judith Returns to
Bethulia
Then the two of them went
out together, as they were accustomed to do for prayer. They passed
through the camp, circled around the valley, and went up the mountain to
Bethulia, and came to its gates.
11 From a distance Judith called out to the
sentries at the gates, ‘Open, open the gate! God, our God, is with us,
still showing his power in Israel and his strength against our enemies,
as he has done today!’
12
When the people of her town heard her voice, they hurried
down to the town gate and summoned the elders of the town.
13 They all ran together, both small and great,
for it seemed unbelievable that she had returned. They opened the gate
and welcomed them. Then they lit a fire to give light, and gathered
around them.
14 Then she said to them with a loud voice,
‘Praise God, O praise him! Praise God, who has not withdrawn his
mercy from the house of Israel, but has destroyed our enemies by my hand
this very night!’
15
Then she pulled the head out of the bag and showed it to
them, and said, ‘See here, the head of Holofernes, the commander of
the Assyrian army, and here is the canopy beneath which he lay in his
drunken stupor. The Lord has struck him down by the hand of a
woman.
16 As the Lord lives, who has protected me on the
way I went, I swear that it was my face that seduced him to his
destruction, and that he committed no sin with me, to defile and shame
me.’
17
All the people were greatly astonished. They bowed down and worshipped
God, and said with one accord, ‘Blessed are you our God, who have this
day humiliated the enemies of your people.’
18
Then Uzziah said to her, ‘O daughter, you are
blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth; and blessed
be the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who has guided
you to cut off the head of the leader of our enemies.
19 Your praise will never depart from the hearts
of those who remember the power of God.
20 May God grant this to be a perpetual honor to
you, and may he reward you with blessings, because you risked your own
life when our nation was brought low, and you averted our ruin, walking
in the straight path before our God.’ And all the people said,
‘Amen. Amen.’
Judith Tells
Them What to Do: Chapter 14
1
Then Judith said
to them, ‘Listen to me, my friends. Take this head and hang it upon
the parapet of your wall.
2 As soon as day breaks and the sun rises on the
earth, each of you take up your weapons, and let every able-bodied man
go out of the town; set a captain over them, as if you were going down
to the plain against the Assyrian outpost; only do not go down.
3 Then they will seize their arms and go into the
camp and rouse the officers of the Assyrian army. They will rush into
the tent of Holofernes and will not find him. Then panic will come over
them, and they will flee before you.
4 Then you and all who live within the borders of
Israel will pursue them and cut them down in their tracks.
5 But before you do all this, bring Achior the
Ammonite to me so that he may see and recognize the man who despised the
house of Israel and sent him to us as if to his death.’
6
So they summoned Achior from the house of Uzziah. When he came and saw
the head of Holofernes in the hand of one of the men in the assembly of
the people, he fell down on his face in a faint.
7 When they raised him up he threw himself at
Judith’s feet, and did obeisance to her, and said, ‘Blessed are you
in every tent of Judah! In every nation those who hear your name will be
alarmed.
8 Now tell me what you have done during these
days.’
So Judith told him in the
presence of the people all that she had done, from the day she left
until the moment she began speaking to them.
9 When
she had finished, the people raised a great shout and made a joyful
noise in their town.
10 When Achior saw all that the God of Israel had
done, he believed firmly in God. So he was circumcised, and joined the
house of Israel, remaining so to this day.
Holofernes'
Death is Discovered
11
As soon as it was dawn they hung the head of Holofernes on the wall.
Then they all took their weapons, and they went out in companies to the
mountain passes.
12 When the Assyrians saw them they sent word to
their commanders, who then went to the generals and the captains and to
all their other officers.
13 They came to Holofernes’ tent and said to
the steward in charge of all his personal affairs, ‘Wake up our lord,
for the slaves have been so bold as to come down against us to give
battle, to their utter destruction.’
14
So Bagoas went in and knocked at the entry of the tent, for
he supposed that he was sleeping with Judith.
15 But when no one answered, he opened it and
went into the bedchamber and found him sprawled on the floor dead, with
his head missing.
16 He cried out with a loud voice and wept and
groaned and shouted, and tore his clothes.
17 Then he went to the tent where Judith had
stayed, and when he did not find her, he rushed out to the people and
shouted,
18 ‘The slaves have tricked us! One Hebrew
woman has brought disgrace on the house of King Nebuchadnezzar. Look,
Holofernes is lying on the ground, and his head is missing!’
19
When the
leaders of the Assyrian army heard this, they tore their tunics and were
greatly dismayed, and their loud cries and shouts rose up throughout the
camp.
The Assyrian
Army Flees in Panic: Chapter 15
1
When the men in
the tents heard it, they were amazed at what had happened.
2 Overcome with fear and trembling, they
did not wait for one another, but with one impulse all rushed out and
fled by every path across the plain and through the hill country.
3 Those who had camped in the hills around
Bethulia also took to flight. Then the Israelites, everyone that was a
soldier, rushed out upon them.
4 Uzziah
sent men to Betomasthaim and Choba and Kola, and to all the frontiers of
Israel, to tell what had taken place and to urge all to rush out upon
the enemy to destroy them.
5 When the Israelites heard it, with one accord
they fell upon the enemy, and cut them down as far as Choba. Those in
Jerusalem and all the hill country also came, for they were told what
had happened in the camp of the enemy. The men in Gilead and in Galilee
outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damascus and its
borders.
6 The rest of the people of Bethulia fell upon
the Assyrian camp and plundered it, acquiring great riches.
7 And the Israelites, when they returned from the
slaughter, took possession of what remained. Even the villages and towns
in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, since
there was a vast quantity of it.
Victory for
the Israelites
8
Then the high priest Joakim and the elders of the
Israelites who lived in Jerusalem came to witness the good things that
the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to wish her
well.
9 When they met her, they all blessed her with
one accord and said to her, ‘You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are
the great boast of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation!
10 You have done all this with your own hand; you
have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the
Almighty Lord bless you for ever!’ And all the people said,
‘Amen.’
11
All the people plundered the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the
tent of Holofernes and all his silver dinnerware, his beds, his bowls,
and all his furniture. She took them and loaded her mules and hitched up
her carts and piled the things on them.
12
All the
women of Israel gathered to see her, and blessed her, and some of them
performed a dance in her honour. She took ivy-wreathed wands in her
hands and distributed them to the women who were with her;
13 and she and those who were with her crowned
themselves with olive wreaths. She went before all the people in the
dance, leading all the women, while all the men of Israel followed,
bearing their arms and wearing garlands and singing hymns.
Judith's Song of
Triumph: Chapter 16
1
And Judith said,
Begin a song to my God with tambourines,
sing to my Lord with cymbals.
Raise to him a new psalm;
exalt him, and call upon his name.
2 For the
Lord is a God who crushes wars;
he sets up his camp among his people;
he delivered me from the hands of my pursuers.
3 The
Assyrian came down from the mountains of the north;
he came with myriads of his warriors;
their numbers blocked up the wadis,
and their cavalry covered the hills.
4 He
boasted that he would burn up my territory,
and kill my young men with the sword,
and dash my infants to the ground,
and seize my children as booty,
and take my virgins as spoil.
5 But the
Lord Almighty has foiled them
by the hand of a woman.
6 For
their mighty one did not fall by the hands of the young men,
nor did the sons of the Titans strike him down,
nor did tall giants set upon him;
but Judith daughter of Merari
with the beauty of her countenance undid him.
7 For she
put away her widow’s clothing
to exalt the oppressed in Israel.
She anointed her face with perfume;
8 she
fastened her hair with a tiara
and put on a linen gown to beguile him.
9 Her
sandal ravished his eyes,
her beauty captivated his mind,
and the sword severed his neck!
10 The
Persians trembled at her boldness,
the Medes were daunted at her daring.
11 Then
my oppressed people shouted;
my weak people cried out, and the enemy trembled;
they lifted up their voices, and the enemy were
turned back.
12 Sons
of slave-girls pierced them through
and wounded them like the children of fugitives;
they perished before the army of my Lord.
13 I will
sing to my God a new song:
O Lord, you are great and glorious,
wonderful in strength, invincible.
14 Let
all your creatures serve you,
for you spoke, and they were made.
You sent forth your spirit, and it formed them;
there is none that can resist your voice.
15 For
the mountains shall be shaken to their foundations with the waters;
before your glance the rocks shall melt like wax.
But to those who fear you
you show mercy.
16 For
every sacrifice as a fragrant offering is a small thing,
and the fat of all whole burnt-offerings to you is a
very little thing;
but whoever fears the Lord is great for ever.
17 Woe to
the nations that rise up against my people!
The Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the
day of judgement;
he will send fire and worms into their flesh;
they shall weep in pain for ever.
18
When they arrived at Jerusalem, they worshipped God. As soon as the
people were purified, they offered their burnt-offerings, their
freewill-offerings, and their gifts.
19 Judith also dedicated to God all the
possessions of Holofernes, which the people had given her; and the
canopy that she had taken for herself from his bedchamber she gave as
a votive offering.
20 For three months the people continued
feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with
them.
Beloved
Judith Grows Old and Dies
21
After this they all returned home to their own
inheritances. Judith went to Bethulia, and remained on her estate. For
the rest of her life she was honored throughout the whole
country.
22 Many desired to marry her, but she gave
herself to no man all the days of her life after her husband Manasseh
died and was gathered to his people.
23 She became more and more famous, and grew
old in her husband’s house, reaching the age of one hundred and
five. She set her maid free. She died in Bethulia, and they buried her
in the cave of her husband Manasseh;
24 and the house of Israel mourned her for
seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those
who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest
kindred.
25 No one ever again spread terror among the
Israelites during the lifetime of Judith, or for a long time after her
death.
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