Judith 1-3
New Catholic Bible
The Assyrian Threat[a]
Fall of the Empire of the Medes
Chapter 1[b]
War against the Medes. 1 It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,[c] who ruled the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh. During that period Arphaxad ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana, 2 and he completely encircled this city with a wall constructed of hewn stones, each stone three cubits thick and six cubits long. The completed wall was seventy cubits high and fifty cubits thick. 3 At the city’s gates he erected towers one hundred cubits high, with a thickness of sixty cubits at its foundations. 4 He made its gates seventy cubits high and forty cubits wide to enable his entire army to march out in a body with his infantry arrayed in proper rank.
5 In those days, King Nebuchadnezzar waged war against King Arphaxad in the vast plain of the district of Regau. 6 Coming to his support were all the inhabitants of the hill country, all who dwelt along the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Hydaspes,[d] and from the plain, Arioch, king of the Elamites. Thus many nations banded together to confront the forces of the Cheleoud.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Message to Many Peoples. 7 Then Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, sent messengers to all the inhabitants of Persia, and to all who lived in the west: those who dwelt in Cilicia and Damascus, Lebanon and Anti-lebanon, to all who lived along the seacoast, 8 to the peoples of Carmel and Gilead, Upper Galilee, and the great plain of Esdraelon, 9 to all those who were in Samaria and its towns, and beyond the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, Bethany, Chelous, Kadesh, and the River of Egypt, to Tahpanhes, Rameses, and the whole land of Goshen, 10 even beyond Tanis and Memphis, and to all the inhabitants of Egypt as far as the borders of Ethiopia. 11 However, the inhabitants of all those lands paid no heed to the summons of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and refused to join forces with him for the campaign. They were not afraid of him, regarding him as just a man. They sent his envoys away empty-handed and in disgrace.
12 The Campaign against Arphaxad. Then Nebuchadnezzar’s anger was aroused against that entire region, and he swore by his throne and his kingdom to take revenge on all the territories of Cilicia, Damascus, and Syria, and also to put to the sword all the inhabitants of Moab, Ammon, the whole of Judea, and everyone in Egypt, as far as the coasts of the two seas.[e] 13 In the seventeenth year he led his forces against King Arphaxad and defeated him in battle. He routed the whole army of Arphaxad, his entire cavalry force, and all his chariots. 14 He occupied his towns, and, advancing on Ecbatana, he seized its towers, plundered its marketplaces, and reduced its former splendor to ruin. 15 He captured Arphaxad in the mountain regions of Ragau and ran him through with his spears, destroying him once and for all. 16 Then he returned to Nineveh with all who had joined forces with him, an immense horde of warriors. There he and his army rested and feasted for one hundred and twenty days.
The Western Campaign
Chapter 2
Council of War against the West. 1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was a conference in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, about following through on his threat of vengeance against the entire region.[f] 2 Summoning all of his ministers and nobles, he outlined to them his secret plan and asserted his determination to effect the total destruction of that entire area. 3 They then decreed that all those who had not responded to the king’s summons were to be put to death.
4 When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes,[g] the highest-ranking general in his army, and second only to him in power, and he said to him, 5 “Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: ‘Go forth from my presence and take with you men of unquestioned valor, one hundred and twenty thousand infantrymen and twelve thousand cavalry. 6 March against all the peoples of the west because they refused to comply with my command. 7 Advise them to have earth and water ready,[h] for I am moving against them in my wrath and I will cover the entire extent of their territory with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them to be plundered. 8 Their wounded will fill their ravines and wadis, and all of their rivers will be choked to overflowing with their dead. 9 I will send them away as exiles to the ends of the earth.
10 “ ‘Therefore, go ahead of me and seize all of their territory for me. Should they surrender to you, hold them for me until the time comes for their punishment. 11 As for those who resist, show them no mercy, but hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout the entire region. 12 For as I live,[i] and by my royal authority, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my power. 13 Be careful not to disobey a single word of your lord, but carry out fully what I have commanded you—and do so without delay.’ ”
14 Campaign of Holofernes. Leaving the presence of his lord, Holofernes summoned all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army. 15 In compliance with the orders of his lord, he mustered one hundred and twenty thousand picked troops and twelve thousand mounted archers, 16 and he organized them in the regular battle formation. 17 He took along a vast number of camels, donkeys, and mules to transport the baggage, and innumerable sheep, oxen, and goats for their food supply, 18 as well as ample rations for every man, and a great amount of gold and silver from the royal palace.
19 Then, in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, he set out with his whole army on the campaign to overrun the entire region to the west with their chariots, cavalry, and picked infantrymen. 20 Accompanying them was a motley crowd like a swarm of locusts or the dust particles of the earth—a multitude too numerous to count.
Devastation of the Fertile Crescent[j]
21 Stages of the Campaign. They set out from Nineveh, and after marching for three days they reached the plain of Bectileth. From Bectileth they moved ahead to encamp near the mountains that lie to the north of Upper Cilicia. 22 From there Holofernes advanced into the hill country with his entire force—infantry, cavalry, and chariots. 23 He ravaged Put and Lud and plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border of the desert south of Chaldea.
24 Then, following the Euphrates, he went through Mesopotamia and destroyed all the fortified cities along the Wadi Abron until he reached the sea. 25 He seized the territory of Cilicia and slaughtered everyone who offered him the slightest resistance. Then he proceeded to the southern borders of Japheth, facing Arabia. 26 He encircled the Midianites, set fire to their tents, and pillaged their sheepfolds. 27 Following that, he swooped down into the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest. He razed all their fields, destroyed their flocks and herds, sacked their towns, laid waste to their countryside, and slew all their young men by the sword.
28 Fear and dread of him seized all the inhabitants of the seacoast, those living in Sidon and Tyre and those located in Sur and Ocina as well as those found in Jamnia, while even the populations of Azotus and Ascalon were equally frightened of him.
Chapter 3
Capitulation of the West. 1 Therefore, they sent envoys to him to sue for peace in these words: 2 “We, the servants of the great king, Nebuchadnezzar, lie prostrate before you. Do with us as you wish. 3 Our dwellings, all our territory, and all our wheat fields and our flocks and herds and all our encampments are yours to do with as you please. 4 Our towns and their inhabitants are also at your service; come and deal with them as you see fit.”
5 After the envoys had been received by Holofernes and they told him all this, 6 he went down with his army to the seacoast and stationed garrisons in all the fortified towns, assigning picked men from them to serve as auxiliaries. 7 The people of these cities and all the inhabitants of the surrounding countryside welcomed him with garlands and dancing to the sound of tambourines.[k] 8 Despite this, he demolished all their sanctuaries and cut down their sacred groves, thereby carrying out his commission to destroy all the gods of the land so that all the nations would worship Nebuchadnezzar alone and that only he would be invoked as a god by people of every tongue and tribe. 9 Finally, Holofernes advanced toward Esdraelon, in the neighborhood of Dothan, facing the great ridge of Judea. 10 He encamped between Geba[l] and Scythopolis and remained there for an entire month as he replenished the necessary supplies for his forces.
Footnotes
- Judith 1:1 The author manipulates history, geography, and numbers, as in apocalyptic works, to impress the reader; in this gigantic and unequal combat, the fate of the party of God takes place.
- Judith 1:1 Nebuchadnezzar personifies the power and haughtiness of those who dominate nations and combat the People of God. The name Arphaxad, a person unknown to history, is taken from Gen 10:22; the dimensions of the fortifications are exaggerated so as to give the impression of something colossal. The forces of the Cheleoud probably refers to the Chaldeans. The peoples are listed by enumerating the biblical names from one end to the other of the Near East. With the collapse of the Median Empire (in fact it was absorbed by the Persian Empire), the whole power of paganism lies in the hand of a single king. The public rejoicing is on a par with those after similar victories (Est 1:3-8; Dan 5).
- Judith 1:1 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia (604–562 B.C.), was never called “king of Assyria” and did not reign at Nineveh, which had been destroyed in 612 B.C. by his father Nabopolassar. Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan) was founded by the Mede Deioces. Some scholars believe that the Book’s historical confusion (of which this is an example) is deliberate with the purpose of stamping the work as fiction.
- Judith 1:6 Hydaspes is probably the result of a confusion with the well-known Hydaspes in India; it could refer to the Choaspes River, which flowed through Susa, or the Ulai, which flowed past it. The Elamites were found in the eastern province of the Persian Empire (see 1 Mac 6:1).
- Judith 1:12 As far as the coasts of the two seas: an obscure expression that may mean between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean or between these two and the Red Sea.
- Judith 2:1 The date is symbolic because Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in his eighteenth year (see Jer 51:12, 29).
- Judith 2:4 Holofernes is a Persian name (as is Bagoas in Jud 12:11), and Artaxerxes III Ocho had two officers with those names. This indicates that in the author’s mind, this Persian king was also symbolized by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Judith 2:7 To have earth and water ready: a Persian way of speaking to indicate the provisions for troops that were moving through a country. In general, as we know from Greek historians, the Persians sought submission by pretending to offer earth and water.
- Judith 2:12 As I live: this phrase usually indicates an oath on God’s part (see Deut 32:40); thus, Nebuchadnezzar is putting himself on a par with divinity (see Jud 6:2). By my royal authority: literally, “by my hand”; after raising his hand against God and his people, Nebuchadnezzar is brought down by the “hand” of Judith (see Jud 9:9f; Isa 10:5-14).
- Judith 2:21 The forces of Holofernes arrive at the doors of Judea by outflanking the steppes of Syria from the north with a march that included a bizarre line of advance and stopping places, many of which are still unknown. This can only indicate that the author possessed little knowledge of local geography or had no interest in factual accuracy. The ultimate purpose of the conquistador is to demand from all the conquered peoples divine honors for his sovereign. Indeed, in Nebuchadnezzar, we see profiled the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the second century B.C. persecutor of the Jews, who sought to impose his cult on them (Dan 11:36-37). The Assyrian and Babylonian kings did not demand divine honors; it all started with Alexander the Great.
- Judith 3:7 This was the Greek manner of celebrating a victory, which reveals an author who was contemporary with the Hellenistic domination.
- Judith 3:10 Geba may refer to the mountain range called “Gelboe,” which had Scythopolis (the Greek name for Beth-shean mentioned in Jos 17:11) at its eastern end.
