Judith [Heb.,=Jewess], early Jewish book included in the Septuagint, but not included in the Hebrew Bible, and placed in the Apocrypha of Protestant Bibles. It recounts an attack on the Jews by an army led by Holofernes, Nebuchadnezzar's general. Bethulia, a besieged Jewish city, is about to surrender when Judith, a Jewish widow of great beauty and piety, takes it upon herself to enter the enemy camp. She gains the favor of Holofernes, who seeks an opportunity to seduce her. Judith beheads him while he is drunk. Judith returns to the city with his head, and the Jews rout the enemy. The story depicts Judith as an example for godly Jews when God's commitment to saving his people is mocked. Texts of Judith exist in several ancient languages. The book might be based on a folk-tale and was probably composed in Palestine during the Hasmonean period (c.160–37 B.C.). The identification of Nebuchadnezzar as king of Assyria (he was king of Babylon) may indicate that the book is not intended as literal history. However, there are historical analogies for the invasion, especially that of Antiochus IV Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes) (āntī`əkəs ēpĭf`ənēz), d. 163 B.C., king of Syria (175 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. . Another Judith, a wife of Esau, is named in the Book of Genesis.

Bibliography

See C. A. Moore, Judith (1985). See also bibliography under Apocrypha 1)); First and Second Maccabees ; the Prayer of Manasses (see Manasseh ). All are included in the Septuagint , with the exception of 2 Esdras=4 Ezra. However, they were not included in the Hebrew canon (ratified c.A.D. 100).
..... Click the link for more information. .

Judith

Legendary Jewish heroine, the central character in the Book of Judith in the Apocrypha. (The book is excluded from the Hebrew Bible.) A beautiful Jewish widow whose city is besieged by the Assyrians under their general, Holofernes, Judith leaves the city in pretended flight and foretells victory to Holofernes. Invited into his tent, she cuts off his head as he lies in a drunken sleep, and the Jews defeat the leaderless Assyrians. Probably fictional, the story may have been written in the 2nd century BC, after the end of the Maccabean revolt.

Judith

1. the heroine of one of the books of the Apocrypha, who saved her native town by decapitating Holofernes

2. the book recounting this episode

Judith

saved her city from the onslaught of Holofernes by beheading him during a drunken sleep. [Apocrypha: Judith 13:4-10]

See : Heroism

Judith (redirected from Book of Judith)

Bibliography

Judith

Judith
(redirected from Book of Judith)