BIBLE HEROINES: JUDITH - Sex, lies, murder...        BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY - Siege warfare

          JUDITH

FAMOUS PAINTINGS
 

SEX, LIES, MURDER

  PEOPLE IN THE STORY

  FAMOUS QUOTES

  BIBLE REFERENCE

  INTERESTING SITES

  ACTIVITIES/QUESTIONS

THE PRICE OF DEFYING NEBUCHADNEZZAR
Once when he was at war,  the great King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the city states in surrounding kingdoms to send him a levy of soldiers. Most of them ignored him and stayed at home. Despite this he won the war, and when it was over he decided to take revenge on the cities who had failed to help him. He summoned the fearsome leader of his army, Holofernes, and ordered him to punish those states who had ignored him.  So Holofernes set out, burning, murdering and plundering as he went. All those who would not submit to Nebuchadnezzar were destroyed completely. 

The Israelites who lived in Judea know their turn was coming. They were terrified, especially since they had only recently returned from exile in Babylon and knew that Nebuchadnezzar would not only obliterate them but  the Temple they had just rebuilt. 

So they devised a plan: they would retreat to the hill-tops, fortify and provision them, and wait out the storm. 

HOLOFERNES APPROACHES BETHULIAH
One of the Israelite towns was Bethulia. It sat astride the route to Jerusalem, and so it was in a strategic position: Holofernes had to capture it to keep his supply lines open.

Holofernes sent out scouting parties, who told him that the mountain passes had been closed and the hilltop villages fortified. He was outraged at their failure to submit, and called a meeting of all the princes of the Moabite and Ammonite city states. One of the princes,  Achior of the Ammonites, took the opportunity to tell him about the Israelites. He praised them as a people, and begged Holofernes to not to harm them.

Holofernes did not respond to this plea. He reasoned  that sheer strength of numbers would guarantee him success and that the Israelite settlements would be easy prey. He was not pleased with Achior either. He had him seized, tied up, and left outside the walls of the town.

The townspeople retrieved Achior and took him inside the walls of Bethulia. Once there, Uzziah, the chief magistrate of the town, pumped him for information. Achior told him about Holofernes' plans; he also told them of the admiring description of them that had landed him in so much trouble. The grateful townspeople made him welcome.

HOLOFERNES LAYS SIEGE TO BETHULIAH
Holofernes then mustered his entire army.  The little mountain town was vastly outnumbered but the walls of Bethulia were strong, and they decided to tough it out. Holofernes laid siege to the town, and settled down to wait.

The people of Bethulia held out until every water container in the town was dry. Then when things got desperate they began to blame Uzziah for not submitting to Holofernes in the first place. They urged him to surrender the town to Holofernes. 

JUDITH STEPS FORWARD
At this stage in the story we are introduced to Judith of Bethulia. She was a woman of impeccable character and a great beauty. She was also a widow - her husband had left her financially  independent, and she lived a simple life, fasting and praying. She was evidently influential, because she sent for the elders, including Uzziah, and when they came to her she remonstrated with them. 

Uzziah brushed off her advice, telling her that the best thing she could do was leave decision-making to the men. Judith in turn brushed off his advice.  She  told Uzziah she and her maid would leave the town that night, and to have the city gate opened for them.

JUDITH PRAYS
When the men were gone, she prostrated herself on the ground and prayed to God. She described the predicament of the townspeople,  then urged God to break the enemy's power by putting strength instead into the hands of a widow, herself. She also asked God to make her a good liar.

'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.'
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SHE PERFUMES AND DRESSES HERSELF
When she had finished her prayer she perfumed herself, dressed her hair with a tiara, and put on one of the extravagant robes she wore when her husband was alive. Then she decked herself with jewelry - anklets, bracelets, rings, earrings and other assorted pieces. After that, she and her maid gathered an assortment of ritually pure food and put it all in a large bag. The town gates were opened, and she and her maid slipped out.

Almost immediately she and her maid ran into an Assyrian patrol, who challenges them.  She told the soldiers she had secret information that would help Holofernes capture the town without losing a single soldier. The soldiers were bowled over by her beauty, and escorted her to Holofernes. The general was resting on his luxurious bed, but he came to the front of the tent and greeted her. 

HOLOFERNES IS SMITTEN
Beguiled, he told her that he had never met a woman who was as beautiful in appearance and wise in speech as she was. He provided a tent for her, and told the soldiers to leave her unharmed. She stayed three days in the camp, remaining in the tent during daylight hours and eating her own food each evening. 

On the fourth day, Holofernes invites her to an informal banquet in his tent. As he observes to his servant, it would be a disgrace to let her go without seducing her. She dressed in all her finery and presented herself at his tent, where her maid has laid Judith's sheepskin bedding on the ground. 

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.

Eventually Judith was left alone in the tent with Holofernes, now dead drunk, stretched out on his bed. The moment had come to act.  She lifted down Holofernes' gleaming sword hanging in its sheath from the bedpost, and raised it high above her head. 

JUDITH HACKS OFF HOLOFERNES' HEAD
She struck once, then again. On the second stroke his head fell away from his body. She then rolled the headless body off the bed and pulled down the luxurious bed curtains. Pausing for a moment to gather her strength, she picked up the twitching head and passed it out to her maid, who placed it in the food bag.

Without arousing suspicion, the two women left the tent and passed through the camp, then circled up towards Bethulia. Once there, they call to the guards to open the gates and let them in. Once inside Judith pulled out the grisly contents of the bag and showed it to the people.

THE ENEMY FLEES
But the battle was not over yet. Judith instructed the people to hang Holofernes' head in full view on the battlements, and gave instructions for the next morning. At dawn when the Assyrian soldiers went to wake Holofernes they found his headless body. Without their leader they panicked and fled in great disorder. They were easy prey for the Israelites, who were familiar with the terrain and were experts at guerilla warfare. 

Judith became a national heroine, lauded by everyone. She lived on, heaped with honors, until she was very old - one hundred and five. The faithful maid who had accompanied her was set free. Judith never remarried.

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BIBLE REFERENCE
The Book of Judith

PEOPLE IN THE STORY
Judith, a beautiful, clever, cool-witted widow in the besieged town of Bethuliah
Holofernes, the enemy general who has been sent by Nebuchadnezzar
Abra, the maidservant of Judith
Uzziah, the chief magistrate and councillor of Bethuliah
Achior of the Ammonites, prince of a neighboring city

FAMOUS QUOTES
'Who are you to put God to the test? You cannot plumb the depths of the human heart... How can you expect to search out God and comprehend his thought?' Judith 8:12-14
'Give me strength today, Lord God of Israel!' 13:7

INTERESTING WEBSITES - stories, pictures, information

Sex, lies, murder - the full story of Judith and Holofernes
BIBLE WOMEN: JUDITH

Nebuchadnezzar: one of the Bible's Top Ten Villains
BIBLE TOP TEN VILLAINS: NEBUCHADNEZZAR

War in biblical times
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: WAR

See the ruins of Lachish - what could happen to a town that was besieged
BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: LACHISH

Sex, lies, murder - Judith as one of the Top Ten Heroines of the Bible
BIBLE TOP TEN HEROINES: JUDITH

The sort of jewelry Judith might have worn
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: JEWELRY

Famous paintings of this bloodthirsty story
BIBLE ART: JUDITH

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ACTIVITIES AND FOCUS QUESTIONS

Focus Questions for the Scripture passage
1. What are the most interesting moments in Judith's story? 
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends with? Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to know?
6. Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story still present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially your own?

Images of God
There are two basic questions that hang over the whole of the Old Testament:
     what is the nature of God presented by the narrator of this particular story?
     do I agree with it?
Focus on the passage about the nature of God in Judith 9:11-17. What is Judith's image of  God? How does it differ from the elders' image of a God you can bargain with? Have you encountered this image of a bargaining God in your own experience? In the modern world's image of God? Spend some time in quiet thought, drawing up your own image of God. Discuss with a learning partner.

Rising to the Occasion
Think of some moments in your own life when you have risen to some extraordinary occasion, some emergency that called for you to behave in a way you would normally find difficult. Write a brief description of one of these moments in your life. What qualities did you find that you did not realize you had?

In depth study of one person's story
Choose one of the people whose stories are told on this site and develop a PowerPoint presentation about them.
The presentation must be at least 10 slides long and should include 
 *  a supporting image/picture/painting of each person 
 *  a map of Israel showing the cities and areas where the story took place.  
You may call up other websites to support your ideas.

In your presentation (approximately 10 minutes), answer the following questions:

1. What are the main events of the person's life? Tell the story.

2. What were their main qualities? What made them stand out from the crowd?

3. What obstacles did they face? Did they overcome them, or go with the flow? Explain.

4. How did they use their abilities to do God’s work?  

5. Which part of their story appeals to you most? Why?

You must include three short quotations from the Bible texts to illustrate the points you are making. 

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Bible Stories: People of the Old Testament - Bible Study Resource: Judith and Holofernes