It was written in koine greek in the first or second century ce it is not in the bible for most churches, but is an appendix to the greek bible, and in the canon of the georgian orthodox bible. A hidden hanukkah tale of a woman, an army and some killer. From the 17th century on, northern european artists characterized judith as a nude woman who took pleasure in the gore and violence of her female sexuality. Hugo willrich suggested in 1900 in his book judaica that bethulia is a corrupted form of bethalagan. The book of judith is similar to the biblical book of esther in that it also describes how a woman saved her people from impending massacre. Some of these books are considered sacred by some christians, and are included in the old testament. Judith is a feminine given name derived from the hebrew name or yehudit, meaning woman of judea. The book of judith full text also available in arabic. Judith, book of the 1901 jewish encyclopedia bible. Many anglicans, lutherans, and methodists have it in. The book of judith relates the story of the heroic and devout hebrew woman, judith, who singlehandedly saved her city and country from the enemy. But the church has always maintained its canonicity. Whatever the reasons, the rabbis did not count judith among their scriptures, and the reformation adopted that position. Even jahn considers that the genealogy of judith is inexplicable on the hypothesis that the story is a mere fiction introductio, vienna, 1814, p.
Counterreading womens lives in the hebrew bible jsotsup, 81. The book contains numerous historical anachronisms, which is why many scholars now accept it as nonhistorical. Since the original work was completed almost 100 years ago, it does not cover a significant portion of modern jewish history e. Judith in art artistic depictions of the apocryphal character judith have much to do with biblical interpretation strategies, views on gender roles and violence, and historical ideas. The book of judith, first printed in hebrew in istanbul in 1552, is next found in hebrew type in a yiddish translation printed in cracow in 1571, with an explanatory. Achior, the ammonite, who speaks in defense of the jews, is maltreated by him and sent into the besieged.
Judith might well have been written during the persecution of the maccabean age, as was almost certainly the book of daniel. The content, text, canonicity, and literary form of the book are discussed in this article. According to some scholars, the last chapter shows signs of later addition to the work, though this was disputed by the 19th century authors of the jewish encyclopedia. Nabuchodonosor, king of ninive, sends his general holofernes to subdue the jews. A descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the jewish people from the earliest times to the present day, volume 5 funk and wagnalls, 1912 jews. The dispute is based on the weak ending the book would have without the added chapter, as well as arguments based on style. Publishers wishing to submit books or inquire about the award should contact.
Book of judith the catholic encyclopedia bible encyclopedia. Catholics with very few exceptions accept the book of judith as a narrative of facts, not as an allegory. The book of judith is a story written for household reading, while it may properly be classed as didactic, yet it is one of those popular tales in which the chief concern of the writer is with the telling. There are four books which pass under this namei, ii, iii, and iv maccabees. One of the apocryphal or socalled deuterocanonic books of the old testament. It is, however, canonical in early christian and greek old testaments.
Intentional historical inaccuracies, typical of jewish novels of the time, mark judith s. Jerome, while rejecting in theory those books which he did not find in his hebrew manuscript, yet consented to translate judith because the synod of nicaea is. We have in this book that zeal for orthodox judaism which marked the age of the maccabees, and the same strong belief that the war in which the nation was engaged was a holy one. The book of judith has a tragic setting that appealed to jewish patriots and it warned of the. From a literary perspective, the book is an artistic masterpiece, constructed in two parts 1. Numerous correspondences between the two halves of the story provide elegant compositional symmetries. An apocryphal book bearing the name of its principal character. The book of judith second or early first century b. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from the hebrew canon and assigned by protestants to their apocrypha. The book of judith has a dramatic setting that appealed to jewish patriots and it warned of the urgency of adhering to mosaic law, generally speaking, but what accounted for its enduring appeal was the drama of its narrative.
The oldest extant text of judith is the preservation of 15. Entry for judith, book of, cyclopedia of biblical, theological and ecclesiastical literature one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia, with its nearly 50,000 entries and 17 millin words, dwarfs modern bible encyclopedias with the depth of knowledge. The book receives its title from the name of its principal character, judith jewess. We first hear of the heroine in the apocryphal book of judith, a jewish work which has survived in the septuagint in greek. The book of judith does not exist in the hebrew bible, and is consequently excluded from the protestant canon of holy scripture. Judith 9 new revised standard version catholic edition nrsvce the prayer of judith. Though it is absent from the protestant and jewish canons, the book of judith appears in the roman catholic and orthodox christian canons among the deuterocanonical literature. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from jewish texts and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha. Baruch, the secretary of jeremiah, having written a book, reads it before king jehoiachin and the exiles in babylon. A descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the jewish people from the earliest times to the present day, isidore singer.
The jewish encyclopedia funk and wagnells, is a magnum opus that outshines its successors of later generations. 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. Judith, book of university of michigan digital collections. Establishment of the press in the colonies through 1925 sharona r. According to the book of judith, holofernes is said to have been despatched by nebuchadnezzar with an army of 120,000 foot and 12,000 horse for the purpose of taking vengeance on all the earth judith 2.
The story is set much earlier, in the reign of the imperialist babylonian king nebuchadnezzar c. Key works defining jewish disciplines such as astrology are outlined by showing their original works in hebrew, and tracing their influence as they are translated. The prayer of judith then judith prostrated herself, put ashes on her head, and uncovered the sackcloth she was wearing. It was included in the 1688 romanian orthodox and the. We have in this book that zeal for orthodox judaism which marked the age of the maccabees, and the same strong belief that the war in. It tells of a jewish widow, judith, who uses her beauty and charm to destroy an assyrian general and save israel from oppression. Jan 28, 2021 although judith is entirely fictional story, i suggest the author drew on stories of heroic women from the hebrew bible and wellknown historical threats to the jewish people to create a story which encourages readers to resist the empire, whatever empire happens to be oppressing at the time. A descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the jewish people from the earliest times to the present day, volume 5 the jewish encyclopedia. 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, o lord god of my ancestor simeon, to whom you gave a sword to take revenge on those strangers who had torn off a. A descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the jewish people from earliest times. The fourth book of maccabees, also called 4 maccabees, is a homily or philosophic discourse praising the supremacy of pious reason over passion. The jewish encyclopedia, which recently became part of the public domain, contains over 15,000 articles and illustrations.
However, no placename easily derivable from bethulia could be identified there. Great idea to remember inspiring jewish women from judith from the book of judith from the time of the hashmonaim till judith reznik the astronaut. A descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the jewish people from the earliest times to the present day, volume 10 funk and wagnalls, 1912 jews. It is in common usage in english, french, german, many scandinavian languages, dutch, and hebrew the name was among the top 50 most popular. After having devastated many countries, holofernes reached esdraelon, and encamped between geba and scythopolis to collect his forces. Arthur honegger composed an oratorio, judith, in 1925 to a libretto by rene morax. The name judith is hebrew praised or jewess, the feminine form of judah. Judith, book of international standard bible encyclopedia.
Absent from the hebrew bible, judith and her book had no formal place in lutheran and reformed theology but fulfilled an ambiguous cultural role as a female worthy or seductress. The book relates that nebuchadrezzar, king of assyria, sent his general holofernes on an expedition against palestine. Book of judith, apocryphal work excluded from the hebrew and protestant biblical canons but included in the septuagint greek version of the hebrew bible. A tone of religious fervor and of intense patriotism runs through the narrative, and no opportunity of enforcing the claims of the jewish law is lost. This suits the portrayal of judith as a chaste widow and the books emphasis on following religious rules, chastity among them. The latter besieges them in bethulia, a city on the southern verge of the plain of esdrelon. The view that bethulia is merely a symbolic name for jerusalem or a fictitious town, has met with little favor, even among those who. Judith and the hanukkah story jewish womens archive. The book of judith was written down about 100 bc, and variants of it are preserved in greek and latin, although it was probably composed in hebrew. The jewish encyclopedia suggests an original allegorical sense, later applied to a concrete place in the described region. Judith, book of, cyclopedia of biblical, theological and. In rabbinic times, jews told her story on hanukkah, and some communities still do, but for the most part judith s story has been lost.
Arthur honegger composed an oratorio, judith, in 1925 to a libretto by rene. The first book of the maccabees covers the period of forty years from the accession of antiochus 175 b. Queer jewish texts from the first century to 1969 sienna, noam, and judith plaskow. 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. The book of judith, a hebrew text which circulated among jewish communities in grecoroman times, was not included in the hebrew bible after about 200 ce. Nabuchodonosor, king of nineveh, sends his general holofernes to subdue the jews.
This online version contains the unedited contents of the original encyclopedia. It was recognized as canonical by the council of hippo in 393, the councils of carthage of 397 and 417, and the council of florence in 1442, and confirmed in the counterreformation by the council of trent 1546. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the roman catholic and eastern orthodox bibles, but excluded by jews and protestants. Holofernes, holophernes the 1901 jewish encyclopedia. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded by jews and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha. The book of judith is a story written for household reading, while it may properly be classed as didactic, yet it is one of those. The book of judith is a story written for household reading, while it may properly be classed as didactic, yet it is one of those popular tales in which the chief concern of the writer is with the telling of the story rather than with the pointing of a moral, and in which the wish to interest takes precedence even of the desire to instruct. The book receives its title from the name of its principal character, judith jewess in the greek transliteration.
The apocryphal book of judith tells the story of an assyrian invasion of israel, led by a man named holofernes. The story may sound familiar to catholics, as the book of judith is. The first large jewish encyclopedia in alphabetical arrangement was pa. According to the book of judith, in the 12th year of his reign nebuchadnezzar, the. The authenticity and the canonicity of the book of judith are strongly contested. This website contains the complete contents of the 12volume jewish encyclopedia, which was originally published between 19011906. The siege, which has lasted 34 days, has made the people fractious, thirsty, and bitter judith 7. In the biblical account, judith was born in bethulia near jerusalem after the jews returned from exile in babylonia. Concepts are carefully grounded in the talmudic roots they spring from. Jews read and preserved this text at the time of saint jerome. Jewish tradition connects judith with the maccabbean revolt and chanukah. Judith appeared in the old testament as one of esaus wives, while the deuterocanonical book of judith deals with a different judith. Biblical literature judith encyclopedia britannica. Judith 9 nrsvce the prayer of judith then judith bible.
Numerous correspondences between the two halves of the. The book of judith in the context of twentiethcentury studies of. We at wol first portal for women in israel would like to coolaborate with jwa and suggest for purim together to list women to start for all holiday purim esther and so on. The book of judith is similar to the biblical book of esther in that it also describes how a woman saved her people from impending massacre by her cunning and daring. Torrey, however, goes too far when he says see jewish encyclopedia, book of judith that the writer aimed at nothing more than to write a tale that would amuse. A late jewish work, never received into the jewish canon, and included in the apocrypha by protestants, although it was pronounced canonical by the council of carthage 397 and the council of trent 1546. It tells of a jewish widow, judith, who uses her beauty and charm to destroy.
Jerome, while rejecting in theory those books which he did not find in his hebrew manuscript, yet consented to translate judith because the synod of nicaea. We at wol first portal for women in israel would like to coolaborate with jwa and suggest for purim together to list women to. The early church, however, held this book in high honor. The first of these is the only one of the four which can be regarded as a reliable historical source. The book of judith provides evidence for a number of early, biblically based jewish practices that never became part of the standard practice of rabbinic judaism. Book of judith project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
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