Book of Judith

[[Image:Artemisia_Gentileschi_-_Judith_Beheading_Holofernes_-_WGA8563.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Don't lose your head, says Artemisia Gentileschi]]
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The '''Book of Judith''' is a [[deuterocanon]]ical book of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]]: it is considered part of the [[Old Testament]] by the [[Roman Catholic]] church, but is not considered part of [[Judaism|Jewish]] scripture, and relegated to the [[apocrypha]] by [[Protestant]]s.<ref name=wp>{{wpa|Book of Judith}}</ref>

It tells the story of the Jewish heroine Judith, a widow from the city of Bethulia who goes to the enemy camp with her maid, and seduces and murders the invading enemy general Holofernes, cutting off his head and bringing it back to her people as a trophy. In the aftermath, the Israelites easily defeat their enemy and free their land. The story is historically dubious. But despite this, it has become an important myth in western culture, featuring in numerous works of [[art]], and Judith has become a ''femme fatale'', a symbol of destructive female power over men, with the beheading a symbolic castration.<ref name=albin>[http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/albin/7.html Depictions of Judith], Tania Albin, Victorian Web, 2006</ref> Quite a journey for a nice Jewish girl to take.

==Sources==
There are a number of different versions of the text: a Greek and a shorter [[Latin]] version, and two [[Hebrew]] versions which differ considerably from each other. St Jerome claimed to have translated it from now-lost Chaldaic texts which he only understood part of; this version (in the [[Vulgate]]) is considered inferior to the Greek version. The latter, in the [[Septuagint]], appears to contain fewer obvious errors.<ref name=cathen/>

==Historicity==
The book was traditionally considered by Christian church fathers as describing an actual historical event.<ref name=cathen>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08554a.htm Book of Judith], Catholic Encyclopedia</ref> However it is impossible to relate it to what we know of [[Middle Eastern]] [[history]]. At best, it is heavily fictionalised, but it could be entirely made up.<ref name=wp/> Problems start at the beginning: the first words are "It was the twelfth year of Nebuchadnezzar who reigned over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh" (1:1). Except {{wpl|Nebuchadnezzar II||,}} who features in the [[Book of Daniel]], was actually king of the Neo-Babylonian empire. It is suggested by some people that the setting is transparently fictional, a "once upon a time", or "in a galaxy far, far away".<ref name=je>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9073-judith-book-of Book of Judith], Jewish Encyclopedia</ref>

There have been numerous attempts to associate it with actual historical events and personages. Often it is assumed to be set in the 2<sup>nd</sup> or 1<sup>st</sup> century [[BCE]], with Judith possibly a portrayal of {{wpl|Salome Alexandra||,}} a female ruler of Judea, and the villains possibly {{wpl|Tigranes the Great}} and his [[Armenian]] army. However, it is also placed in the 7<sup>th</sup>-century BCE interregnum following the Jews' defeat by Nineveh.<ref name=wp/> The fictional king has also been identified with the 7<sup>th</sup> century Neo-Assyrian ruler {{wpl|Ashurbanipal||.}}<ref name=cathen/> It may be a retelling of another, older story, possibly that of the Kenite heroine {{wpl|Jael}} who killed the Canaanite military leader Sisera, resulting in the Israelites' defeat of the army of King Jabin, in the [[Book of Judges]].<ref name=britannica>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Book-of-Judith Book of Judith], Britannica.com</ref> This would place it possibly as far back as the 12<sup>th</sup> century BCE. The book offers a genealogy for Judith, but each of the manuscript sources has a different version,<ref name=cathen/> though differing genealogies of [[Jesus|someone else]] [[Genealogy of Jesus|didn't invalidate other Christian books]].

It is also unclear where the story is set; Judith's home town of Bethulia is unknown, despite apparently being a comparatively large city and scene of an important siege and battle. It has been identified with the Canaanite and Israelite city of Shechem (probably modern-day Tell Balata in the Palestinian West Bank),<ref name=je/> and with Mithilia (or Meselieh) south of Jenin.<ref name=cathen/><ref>[https://amaicjudith.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/location-of-judiths-town-of-bethulia/ Location of Judith’s Town of “Bethulia”], A Historical Commentary on the Book of Judith, WordPress, 2016</ref> The book also has other geographical problems. It mixes [[Babylon]]ian, Greek, and [[Persian]] names. At one point, Judith herself appears to confuse Bethulia with Jerusalem.<ref name=cathen/>

Most commentators praise it as a piece of story telling, and it appears to have significantly more merit as [[literature]] than as historical writing.<ref name=je/><ref name=britannica/>

==As symbol==
Judith is considered by some as an exemplary leader and role model, a thoughtful, devout, brave, and eloquent woman.<ref>[https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/judith-a-remarkable-heroine/ Judith: A Remarkable Heroine], Bible History Daily, 2016</ref> However that is not the only way she has been seen: images in art range from [[feminist]] avenging [[angel]] to [[Castration|castrating]] [[vampire]].

There are a number of [[Renaissance]] and Baroque paintings of the theme, generally focussing on the murder or the severed head of Holofernes. One of the most gory is ''{{wpl|Judith Slaying Holofernes (Artemisia Gentileschi)|Judith Slaying Holofernes}}'' by the female Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi, which seems to offer the story as an example of female power and revenge over [[patriarchy]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/oct/05/artemisia-gentileshi-painter-beyond-caravaggio More savage than Caravaggio: the woman who took revenge in oil], Jonathan Jones, ''The Guardian'', 5 Oct 2016</ref>

Judith was popular in the decadent atmosphere of the latter 19<sup>th</sup> century CE, with Gustav Klimt a pre-eminent example of the conversion of the [[myth]] of Judith into a psychosexual drama, mixing her with the myth of Salome and vampire lore.<ref name=albin/>

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Judith, Book of}}
[[Category:Apocrypha]]
[[Category:Deuterocanon]]

Categories: Apocrypha, Deuterocanon