Chapter Thirteen

1–3. Judith remains alone with the drunken Holofernes. 4–9. The slaying of Holofernes. 10–12. A successful departure from the enemy camp. 13–16. Arrival at Bethulia and the account of the deed. 17–20. The people’s exultation and Uzziah’s joy.

Judith 13:1. When it became late, his servants hastened to withdraw, and Bagoas dismissed those who attended upon his lord, and he shut the tent from without, and they went to bed, as all were worn out from the length of the feast. 1. “His servants hastened to withdraw, and Bagoas, dismissing those who attended upon his lord, shut the tent from without.” The servants mentioned here and “those who attended upon his lord,” apparently, are the same persons, not different. This is clear from the parallel passage in Jdt 6:10, where we read: “and Holofernes commanded his servants who stood in his tent to take Achior.”

Judith 13:2. In the tent was left only Judith with Holofernes, lying upon his bed, because he was overflowing with wine. Judith 13:3. Judith had commanded her maidservant to stand outside her sleeping chamber and to wait for her exit, as she did every day, saying that she would go out to pray. She said the same thing to Bagoas. 3. The order to her maidservant to stand outside her sleeping chamber and wait for her exit was given by Judith, of course, beforehand, before the feast began (Jdt 12:15), about which she thoughtfully warned Bagoas as well.

Judith 13:4. When all had withdrawn from her and no one remained in the chamber, either small or great, Judith stood by the bed of Holofernes and said in her heart: Lord, God of all power! Look upon my actions at this hour to the exaltation of Jerusalem, 4. “No one remained, neither small nor great”—Greek: άπο μικρού έως μεγάλου—“from small to great,” as this is translated further, Jdt 12:13 verse. “Said in her heart”—cf. 1 Sam 1:13: Hannah (mother of Samuel) spoke in her heart, but her lips moved, and her voice was not heard.” The Vulgate adds that Judith’s prayer was also accompanied by tears: cum lacrymis et labiorum motu in silentio.

Judith 13:5. for now is the time to defend Your inheritance and to accomplish my purpose, to strike down the enemies who have risen up against us. Judith 13:6. Then, going to the post at the head of the bed, she took his sword from it Judith 13:7. and, coming close to the bed, she seized him by the hair of his head and said: Lord, God of Israel! Give me strength in this day. 7. “Seized him by the hair of his head”—literally: “grasped by handfuls” (εδράζατο, from the root δράζ—“handful”), in order to strike more conveniently and surely.

Judith 13:8. And with all her might she struck his neck twice and cut off his head. Judith 13:9. Then she rolled his body off the bed and took down the curtain from the posts. Soon after she went out and gave Holofernes’ head to her maidservant, Judith 13:10. who placed it in her food bag, and both of them together went out as was their custom to pray. After passing through the camp, they went around the ravine, ascended the mountain of Bethulia, and proceeded to its gates. 9–10. “Rolling his body off the bed.”—From what follows (Jdt 14:15) we see that this body even remained at the threshold, where Judith had dragged and thrown it for greater shame and contempt, taking with her the head as a splendid trophy “of her victory.” “She took the curtain from the posts,” to wrap his head in it and conceal the blood oozing from it. “Soon after she went out.” Some delay in carrying out her deed was necessary for Judith, who, from the conceptions of those who had left her in the tent with Holofernes, could certainly not be expected to be released so quickly by him. Apparently, Judith managed to pass completely unnoticed by anyone, so that even Bagoas, when morning came, thought that Holofernes was still sleeping with Judith, and did not decide to look into the tent (Jdt 14:14-15). If the guards, perhaps, did see her exiting the camp, they looked at it calmly at this time, like her usual exit to pray, without any suspicion, especially since the feast at Holofernes was barely known to many, being attended only by a few trusted companions of Holofernes.

Judith 13:11. And Judith cried out from afar to those keeping the gates: Open, open the gates! For the Lord our God is with us, that He may still grant strength to Israel and victory over our enemies, as He granted it to us today. Judith 13:12. When the men of the city heard her voice, they hastened to go to the city gate and called together the elders of the city. Judith 13:13. And all ran out, from the smallest to the greatest, for her coming was unexpected to them, and, opening the gate, they received them, and kindling a fire for light, they surrounded them. 11–13. Deep night reigned over the land not only at the time when Judith acted in the tent and as long as she was passing through the camp—as people are accustomed to think, going to pray—but also at the moment when she was already far from the enemy and was approaching the gates of her native city. The nighttime explains why Judith cries out from afar to the guards at the city gates, that they open them and, recognizing her by her voice, do not take her for an enemy. Of course, the desire to share joyful feelings sooner with her countrymen (as well as fear of pursuit) had a not insignificant role here, especially since the procedure of opening the gates required the necessary calling and presence of the city elders. While the elders were informed and a multitude of people, whom the news of Judith’s arrival swept through with the speed of lightning, ran to the gates (“all—from the smallest to the greatest”), Judith was already at the gates. It was still so dark that they met her “kindling a fire for light.”

Judith 13:14. She spoke to them with a loud voice: Praise the Lord, praise, praise the Lord, for He has not withdrawn His mercy from the house of Israel, but this night He crushed our enemies by my hand. Judith 13:15. And, taking the head out of the bag, she showed it to them and said: Behold the head of Holofernes, commander of the Assyrian army, and behold the curtain in which he lay in his drunkenness, and the Lord struck him down by the hand of a woman. Judith 13:16. As the Lord lives, who has preserved me in the way on which I went! For my face deceived Holofernes for his destruction, but he committed no vile and shameful sin with me. 14–16. “Praise the Lord, praise, praise the Lord...”—expressions of the most rapturous joy and highest magnificence of what had transpired. “In this night (the Lord) crushed our enemies by my hand.” The death of Holofernes, Judith here (and above, Jdt 13:5 and cf. also verse 17) presents as the striking down of all the multitude of Israel’s enemies, who now, even with their superiority of force, could not continue the war, being consumed with shame and disgrace for their so ignominiously perished leader. The head of Holofernes in Judith’s hands and the curtain “in which he lay in his drunkenness”—hinted to the people at the possible terrible price for which Judith, apparently, could only gain such splendid trophies (the possibility of sacrificing chastity). Anticipating these suspicions, Judith solemnly assures with an oath that God preserved her unharmed in her chastity, and all her self-sacrifice was limited only to enduring the lustful glances of the lecher upon her face, the seduction by which brought him to his doom.

Judith 13:17. All the people were struck with great amazement; they bowed down and worshipped God and said with one accord: Blessed are You, our God, who have brought to nothing the enemies of Your people this day! 17. “All the people were struck with great amazement”—on the one hand—by the extraordinarily subtle and artful plan of Judith, on the other—by the fact that it was accomplished for her so easily and successfully, with all its extreme riskiness and boldness.

Judith 13:18. And Uzziah said to her: Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, blessed are you above all women on the earth, and blessed is the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who directed you to the crushing of the head of the leader of our enemies; 18. After the people, Uzziah praises God and blesses Judith specially, as the chief representative of the people, calling her “daughter,” showing a specially affectionate and friendly manner of address.

Judith 13:19. for your hope will not depart from the hearts of men who remember the power of God forever. 19. “For your hope will not depart from the hearts of men who remember the power of God forever,” that is, your hope in God, which so animated you in this wondrous deed, will never cease to be the object of living heartfelt grateful remembrance of all who treasure the memories of every manifestation of God’s power.

Judith 13:20. May God count this for you as an eternal honor and reward you with blessings for that you did not spare your life at the humiliation of our race, but came forward when we were falling, you who have walked rightly before our God. And all the people said: Amen, Amen! 20. “You did not spare your life at the humiliation of our race.”—The magnitude of the risk and the terrible danger truly made Judith’s deed truly heroic in not sparing her life, though good fortune and returned this life, voluntarily offered to death, to former safety and integrity. The people confirmed the blessing of Uzziah upon Judith with a concluding “Amen, Amen!”—as in other cases of similar importance, for instance, Jdt 15:10 (cf. also 1 Esd 9:47 and others).