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The Wisdom of Judith: A Contrast between Judith 8:12-17 and 8:29-31

-by Arlene Stevens
5th year, Undergraduate Studies
University of Saskatchewan
and St. Thomas More College,
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
September 9, 2001

The Book of Judith[1] is a remarkable text, which is steeped in both irony and beauty. The reader is presented with a pious and humble (Judith 8:8), almost saintly, beautiful (Judith 8:7),[2] widowed (Judith 8:4-6), childless and chaste woman (Judith 16:22-23) who was willing to sacrifice herself, and maid, for the freedom of her people (Judith 8:32-34). Judith presents to the reader a woman who is in possession of an unbelievable devotion to her God and in custody of an almost implausible faith and trust that the Hebrew God will deliver the town of Bethulia from the hands of Holofernes. However, under this cloud of religious piety lies a woman who was cunning, deceitful, and for lack of a better word, a murderer[3] (Judith 13:8). Judith the pious widow was able to play the part of the seductress and takes, for her God and people, the head of the General Holofernes (Judith 13:8).[4] Ironically, Holofernes is also the head of the Assyrian army and "hand-picked" by the King Nebuchadnezzar (Judith 2:4-6) to campaign against the Hebrew people. What is fascinating and intriguing about the Judith tale is that it seems as though there has been more of an emphasis, both artistically and literary, placed upon her most memorable achievement of her beheading the General Holofernes (Judith 13:8) and that she was a chaste beauty. The most notable literary comment upon Judith was stated by St. Jerome (c. 341-420 C.E.)[5] with his own vision of Judith, "I see her hand armed with the sword and stained with blood. I recognize the head of Holofernes which she has carried away... Here a woman vanquishes men, and chastity beheads lust".[6] However, there seems to exist a facet of the character of Judith, which is always mentioned textually but rarely portrayed in literature and art, which is the fact that she was a very wise woman. Judith possessed a wisdom and understanding of the Hebrew God that even the elders, or learned men, of her community lacked. The people of Bethulia present to God a time limit of five days (Judith 8:9) after this time has passed they will then surrender to the Assyrian army. The town"s people, perhaps due to thirst and fatigue (Judith 7:22) turn to question the loyalty and faith in terms of their relationship to God, and yet Judith did not succumb to their lack of faith in their God. Perhaps the overall question is how one interprets Judith before her bloody victory. Does the author of the text mean to portray her wisdom as meaning something more or is it a mere representation of how a "good" Hebrew woman is to hold faith and trust in God. It is this question, among others, which will be explored within the presentation of this paper. This paper's primary focus will be upon the association that Judith has with the topic wisdom. This will be done by "dissecting" parts of her theological argument that she presents to the community leaders and an association Judith seems to have with that of the figure of the female entity of Wisdom. This examination of wisdom and Judith will be based around Judith 8:12-17, a section of her theological argument, which will then be contrasted to the words of the elders of the communities, spoken by Uzziah, and his response to the argument in Judith 8:29-31.[7]

Before our examination of Judith 8:12-17 and Judith 8: 29-31, there will have to be a brief presentation as to the historic and literary background of the text. The text, as a whole, seems to have been presented as a work of fiction. The reader is presented with the fact that the people of Judea have just returned from the exile (Judith 4:3) and that they are now being besieged by the Assyrian army and King Nebuchadnezzar (Judith 4:1-2). The problem with the textual history is that King Nebuchadnezzar (604/5-562 B.C.E.) was the second ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and not a ruler of the Assyrians. It should be stated that it was King Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 587/86 B.C.E., and forced the Hebrew people into exile.[8] It should also be stated that the Assyrian domination over Judah existed in and around 745-627 B.C.E. At one point during the reign of Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.E.), an Assyrian, there was an attempt of Hezekiah (715-687 B.C.E.) and other allied kings to overthrow Assyrian domination. However, this coup failed and many of Judea"s cities and towns were destroyed, it seems as though it was only Jerusalem who seemed to have narrowly escaped military destruction (2 Kings 18:9-19:37).[9] The later seems to emanate within the presented text, that of the siege of Judean towns (Judith 1:12), mainly Bethulia as a "gate way" to Jerusalem (Judith 15:8), we must note that it does not take the high priest long to arrive and see our hero and her town of Bethulia which has also narrowly escaped destruction. It could be quiet feasible that the author of the text has mistaken their history or that they are blending two of Judea"s most traumatic historical events as a literary ploy. The latter may have been done to present the extreme desperation of the situation and the need for a pious hero to save the Judeans. It should also be stated that there does seem to exist the problem of being able to accurately date the text of Judith. It should be stated that, within its pages, there are a number of Persian nouns and names that the author uses.[10] It should also be noted that there exist a number of Hellenistic influences within the text such as the use of garlands (Judith 3:7; 15:13) and reclining while partaking in a meal (Judith 12:15).[11] The other and seemingly more important, Hellenistic aspect of this text is that of the fact that it possesses a distinctively Hasmonean/Maccabean element. We are able to note the possible play on names when one compares that of Judith (which means Jewess) to that of Judas Maccabeus (167-161 B.C.E.).[12] We may note that Judas retakes the Holy Temple of Jerusalem (1 Maccabees 4:36-59)[13] and defeats the General Nicanor who was general under Antiochus IV Epiphanies (175-163 B.C.E.), a man who viewed himself as God on earth. Other notable Hasmonean ideologies that Judith presents is that of the desire of a foreign king to be worshipped as a God (Judith 3:8), the political and military powers held by the priest (Judith 4:6-7) and the glory and supremacy of Jerusalem (Judith 4:6, 8; 11:14).[14] When attempting to date the text, we have to keep in mind that the text does not relay unto the reader any of the characteristic anti-Sadducean attributes of the Pharisees in the days of Alexander Jannaeus (104-78 B.C.E.). This point seems to suggest that the text of Judith could have been composed in and around the days of John Hyranus I (135-105 B.C.E.).[15] It seems as though the Greek version of Judith was a translation from a Hebrew text and it seems likely that the author was of Palestinian Jewish decent.[16]

Now that there has been a presentation as to the literary history that the text conveys to the reader, we can now explore the topic of wisdom and how it is associated with Judith. As previously stated, this paper will be exploring Judith 8:12-17,[17] specifically the section of her theological argument which scolds the community leaders lack of faith,[18] this will then be briefly contrasted with Uzziah"s response to the argument in Judith 8:29-31.[19] Judith 8:12-17 presents to the reader words that are spoken by Judith to the "rulers of the people of Bethulia" (Judith 8:11) with Judith 8:29-31 as the response that the community leaders present to her. The words spoken by Judith, of which will be examined first, are as follows,

" (12) Who are you to put God to the test today, and 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 working 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 the power to protect use within any time he pleases, or even destroy use in the presents of our enemies. (16) Do not try to bind the purpose 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." (Judith 8:12-17).

Judith has spoken these words as a response to the fact that the people and elders of her community have placed upon their God a time limit to their salvation. They have presented to their God a five-day limit (Judith 7:30), after which they will surrender to Holofernes. If they do this, they will have to abandon their God, as Holofernes" King, Nebuchadnezzer, demands to be worshiped as a God (Judith 3:8). Thus, the worship of the Hebrew God as a supreme entity would be forbidden under this "Assyrian" king"s reign. The people of Judea would have committed the act of idolatry (Exodus 20: 4-6; Deuteronomy 4:8-10)[20] by surrendering to the armies of Holofernes and the Judeans would have been punished by their God for doing so. However, in defense of the people of Bethulia, they are faint from lack of water (Judith 7:22). However, Judith seems to be the only person to realize that the people are on the verge of committing idolatry. She realizes that the Hebrew God does not conform to a time limit for the necessity of humanity and their wants and desires, regardless of the desperation of their actions. Judith points out to the rulers of Bethulia that they have placed themselves in the position only held by God (Judith 8:12). That they have decided to put God to the test, when in reality it is God who puts the Hebrew people to the position of having their faith and devotion tested by Yahweh,[21] humanity does not test God as to whether God is devoted to the faiths followers (Deuteronomy 6:16). Judith seems to remember that it was God who chose the Hebrew people not the other way around (Deuteronomy 7:6), thus the followers of the Hebrew God posses no real right to question or place restrictions upon their God (Deuteronomy 6:16). In order to keep their land and homes, all the Hebrew people have to do is remain faithful (Exodus 20:6); those who do not will be punished (Deuteronomy 6:13-15; 8:20). However, the most intriguing statement that Judith makes is in 8:13, in which she points out that this testing upon the part of God seems to be a sign that they have learned nothing of their Hebrew past and history,[22] "...but you will never learn anything" (Judith 8:13). This statement seems to represent a double meaning. On the one hand, Judith seems to draw the reader to the fact that the elders of Bethulia have yet to learn that God does not seem to work within the time limitation of humanity. The second is that the people have yet to learn that if they remain faithful that God will deliver and help them. This coupled with the fact that it seems that the community in Bethulia have forgotten that the Hebrew people are never to test their God, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him in Massah" (Deuteronomy 6:16). God had agreed that if the people remain faithful to the Laws of Moses and covenant that God will ensure they and their children will remain in the promise land (Leviticus 26:6-9; Deuteronomy 7:12-16). It should be pointed out that Judith, in 8:14, states that the people should not anger the Lord. Perhaps she means that to anger their God would mean that they question the actions of their God, thus angering their God enough that God will not desire to help them in their plight.

The next point that Judith makes is that of the omnipotent power of the Hebrew God (Judith 8:15).[23] That God has the power to protect and save the Bethulians at will, as well as the choice of when to destroy their "enemies". Perhaps both Judith and the author of her text are attempting to draw the reader into remembering the many plights of the people of Israel. Perhaps both the author and Judith are attempting to remind the readers about the length of time, forty years, before the Hebrew people were allowed into the Promised Land. Though it seems more likely that the author, as well as Judith, are drawing upon the fact of how long the Hebrew people were in exile in Babylon, an exile that lasted from 587/6 to 538 B.C.E. Since the author is blending two of Judea"s most traumatic events, that being the exile and when they were under Assyrian control, it seems most likely that the author has Judith discreetly remind the leaders of the community of the length of time it took their God to deliver them from these events. However, Judith seems to want to stress the point that in the end their God did deliver them back to their homeland and, at least for the Babylonian exile, present a leader who "destroyed" the harsh control that Babylon had over the people. Thus, God vindicated the Hebrews and this act was accomplished through a human, the Persian King Cyrus,[24] who allotted the Hebrew people the right to go home. It seems as though the author and Judith want their audiences to remember that though a substantial amount of time passed, the Hebrew people were saved by their God. The next line in her argument that Judith presents (Judith 8:16) is that of the point that God is not human and does not prescribe to human emotions. This section of Judith"s argument seems to draw the reader to the fact that both Numbers 32:19, "God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind. Has he promised, and will he not do it. Has he not spoken, and will he not fulfill it,"[25] and 1 Samuel 15:29, "Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not mortal, that he should change his mind"[26] present this idea that God is not a human.[27] It seems as though Judith and the author want to stress the theological fact that their God is above humanity and is an entity unto itself, the idea that God, unlike humans, seems to be unable to make mistakes. Judith and the author end this section of the theological argument (Judith 8:17) by presenting the fact that while they wait to be delivered, they should raise up their voices so that God might hear them, if their God desires to. This section is intriguing based upon two points; one is that the Hebrew people seem to always, in one generation or another, raise up their voices to God in hopes that their prayers will be answered. However, Judith seems to stress the point that God will only hear them if God wishes to. However, this statement seems very poetic in its nature and is slightly reminiscent of a Psalm. Meaning that Judith"s closing line on this section of her argument is reminiscent of a particular Psalm 40,[28] in which the individual lamenter "...waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry..." (Psalm 40:1). This is, as with the Book of Judith, a later post-exilic work, as it seems to represent a shift from cultic Temple worship to that of a strict adherence to the Law. We have noted that Judith does adhere to the Law and fears her God (Judith 8:8) and that she instructs the leaders in her community that while they wait to be delivered, they should call to their God in hopes that their God will answer their prayers soon. As with the Psalmist of 40, Judith wishes her community to call up to their God with patience, their God will hear them when it pleases the Hebrew God. As with the Psalmist of 40, Judith realizes that one has to wait for God and deliverance.

Over all, this section of Judith 8:12-17,[29] represents the extent of the pious knowledge that Judith possesses. The author of the text presents Judith as being far more theologically "educated" than those of the leaders of the community, who would have been male leaders. Judith possesses a knowledge and understanding about how her God will act in the presented situation that even the leaders seem to forget or lack knowledge in faith. She knows that the only way that God will deliver her people is that the people must remain steadfast to their covenantal Law with their God and hope that God decides to hear their voices soon. Judith points out that God does not work within the boundaries of human time and as with the exile, God will deliver the chosen people in due time. What is intriguing is that the leaders of the community note her wisdom (Judith 8:29), but the desire of their need for water does not shake them from the five-day limit that they have bestowed upon God. The leaders have sworn an oath to the community (Judith 8:30), which, in their eyes, out weighs the oath sworn to their God long ago. Within these few lines, the reader is presented with a woman who has complete faith in her God; we are also presented with a woman who acts as a sort of prophet who attempts to reveal to her people in words the history of God"s actions. She wishes only for her people to realize their faith will aid them in their time of need.

When we contrast the wisdom of Judith to that of the leader named Uzziah"s response in Judith 8:29-31, we the reader are presented with an intriguing dilemma. The leader Uzziah"s response is as follows,

(23) 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 use 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. (Judith 8:29-31).[30]

This section of response is intriguing when one contrasts it to the theological argument that Judith has presented. The leaders of her community note that Judith is most indefinitely wise, but they cannot break their promise to the community so they ask her to pray for water. Line 29 seems to speak for itself; the people have noted for a long time that she is wise. However, it seems as though the author of the text has presented line 30 as to be slightly ironic. The leaders of the community have noted her wisdom, but have due to their oath to the community they cannot follow her words of wisdom. This seems to be ironic in the since that Judith"s speech in 8:12-17 is that if they follow the Lord their God, an oath that was sworn long ago and an oath the male leaders of the community would have possessed upon their bodies,[31] that they will be saved (Deuteronomy 6:24-5). The irony is that the leaders of the community have chosen to obey an earthly oath other than the one their ancestors had sworn to their God when they accepted the covenantal Laws of Moses (Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 5:6-10; 7: 12-16). Conversely, it is interesting to note line 31 of the text in which the elders of the community ask Judith to intercede and pray to their God for water. This is interesting because Judith is noted as being wise and asked to intercede for the people liking her to a Wisdom incarnate figure.[32] It seems as thought the author of Judith wants to present to the reader an interesting theological idea. Keeping in mind that the author has presented to the reader the fact that the people of Judea have just returned from exile, one could conclude that the author intends, on some level, to liken Judith to the female personification of Wisdom (Hebrew: Hokhma).[33] There exists the possibility that during the Babylonian exile the people were torn away from their central worshiping place, the Holy Temple. It is possible that the exiled people felt as though they were leaving their God within the confines of the Holy Temple. Thus, in order for the Hebrew people to remain faithful to their God and in order to remain a distinct entity, there seems to have been a shift to the Law being more important than the cultic activity of the Temple. The idea seems to have been that the Babylonians could strip the Hebrew people of their land and possessions but that as long as they carried the word of their Lord in their hearts, a place where none can take it way, then God would be able to hear their prayers (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:18-19). In order to commune with their God there was now the need for an intermediary, God"s first creation (Sirach 24:9), and an entity that seems to represent the ideal woman and one who is wise and knows God.[34] The idea seems to have been that knowing wisdom is to know and follow the Law, by doing this one is in the favor of the Hebrew God, no matter the person"s location in the world. These wise words of God are bound within the hearts of the Hebrew people no matter their location (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:18-21). It seems as though the author of Judith wants the reader to remember this ideology and casts Judith in the light of this wise intermediary. Judith is wise and knows and fears God with great devotion (Judith 8:8), thus her wisdom brings her closer to God and this will mean that the Hebrew God will hold her in favor as this God will hold any in favor who are devoted in their love of the faith (Deuteronomy 7: 12-16). However, the author also seems to place an ironic twist in the tale with the presentation and request from Uzziah that Judith should pray for rain. Uzziah and the people of Bethulia do not seem to understand that Judith"s wisdom has cast her in the light of an intermediary to God, but instead of asking her to pray for deliverance from the impending hands of the Assyrian army, the elders of Bethulia ask her pray for the temporary relief of their thirst. In the following lines of the tale after her theological debate with the towns elder"s has ended, Judith, in 9:2-14, states that she will pray to her God about the plight of her people and that she will help deliver them from the hands of the Assyrians. Her God will answer by granting her favor and strength in her plan to save her people from Holofernes and the Assyrian army.

In closing, by examining Judith 8:12-17 and contrasting it with 8:29-31, the reader is left with the sense that Judith"s wisdom and almost prophetic theological argument has seemed to cast her as a Wisdom figure. Judith is wise, with her wisdom comes her knowledge and fear of her God (Judith 8:8). Judith"s actions, wisdom and faith allow her to live a long and famous life (Judith 16:23) and her people to not live in fear of terror as long as she was alive and for sometime after her death (Judith 16:25). It seems as though in the end the only words to truly describe Judith are to be found in the Wisdom of Solomon 8:3-4, "(3) She glorifies her noble birth by living with God, and the Lord of all loves her. (4) For she is an initiate in the knowledge of God, and an associate in his works." What this paper has attempted to do was to convey the fact that Judith was wise and contrasted it to the foolishness of the leaders in the community whom she calls to council (Judith 8:10). Judith presents to them the fact that humanity should humble before their God, that the Hebrew God has saved the Hebrew people in the past and if they retain their faithfulness to the Law that their God will save them again. However, the leaders in the community chose to obey an oath sworn to other people and seemingly deny their God. By surrendering themselves to the armies of Holofernes and the Assyrian King Nebuchadnezzar would have been the equivalent of blasphemy. This Assyrian king views himself as being God on earth and ruler over all. The Hebrew people swore an oath to worship only one God, the Hebrew God, to break this would bring about the wrath of their God (Deuteronomy 8:18-20). Judith knows this and the community and leaders seem to have forgotten this and ask not for salvation but for water. The author of the text seems to play upon the fact that Judith is far wiser than the community elders were and seems to place a hint of irony upon the words of Uzziah. Overall, it seems a shame that the artistic, scholarly and literary world chose to emphasis more the fact that Judith was a chaste woman who visually seduced a man into loosing his head and seem to place more of a weight upon the fact that she was cunning and deceitful in her treatment of Holofernes than upon the fact that she was wise. It is wisdom that allows one to fear the Hebrew God and obedience to the Laws that seems to bring one into the favor of the Hebrew God (Deuteronomy 8:12-13). It should be stated that Judith was a wise woman who merely used her physicality to succeed in her deed because she was a woman and was not allowed to enter into the Jewish military groups. If she had been a wise, fearful and faithful man to the Hebrew God, she would have been a lot like Judas Maccabee. By casting the role of Judith in the feminine, the author allows for the reader is able to make the interpretation of Judith as being a representation of wisdom on earth. Judith was wise, wiser and in possession of more knowledge than her community and its elders, this seems to be far more important than the mere act of beheading a man, a section that takes up fewer lines than those of her prayer to God, the presentation of her theological argument and her acts of piety to her God. Judith gained her Gods favor because of acts of devotion and wise understanding of God, not because God saw in her a seductive murderess.

ISSN: 1496-2798

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