Translation introduction to Judith

Translating Judith

Judith tells the story of a brave Israelite woman determined to remain faithful to her religion while saving her hometown from an invasion.
Cast of characters in the book of Judith

The following list of characters is the order in which they occur in the book of Judith.

Nebuchadnezzar — King of Assyria.
Arphaxad — King of the Medes, defeated by Nebuchadnezzar.
Holofernes — Assyrian general who lays siege to the Israelite city of Bethulia. The villain of the story.
Joakim — Israelite high priest in Jerusalem.
Achior — Ammonite military leader who cautions Holofernes about the Israelites. Holofernes sends him off to Bethulia, where Holofernes’ soldiers tie him up and leave him. When Holfernes is killed, Achior becomes a believer in the God of Israel.
Uzziah — A leader of the Israelite city of Bethulia, and spokesman for the other leaders.
Chabris and Charmis — Two elders of Bethulia.
Judith — Heroine of the story, a beautiful Israelite widow.
Judith’s maid — An unnamed woman who accompanies Judith on her adventures.
Bagoas — Eunuch serving as personal attendant to Holofernes.

Some characteristics of the book of Judith

Judith is a well-crafted narrative telling how a faithful Israelite woman single-handedly defeats the Assyrian army threatening her hometown of Bethulia. Judith is not introduced until chapter 8. The first seven chapters are a slow buildup to her appearing on the scene, at which time the action speeds up and the narrative gains interest.

The book seems to reinvent history. Nebuchadnezzar appears here as King of Assyria, while the man known to history was King of Babylonia a century later. His opponent, Arphaxad of Media, is unknown. The book speaks of the Jewish people having returned from exile (4.3), yet the Assyrians, and Babylonians as well, were threats to the Israelite population before the exile. The geography of the book is just as odd. Holofernes’ army takes only three days to march 300 miles to southeastern Asia Minor, and then he fights in areas associated with North Africa. After this he attacks Mesopotamia, and the next thing we know he is in Palestine (2.21-28).

The historical and geographical errors in the book are so obvious that scholars today believe they are deliberate. They are a device of the author to direct the reader’s attention away from past history and to the story itself. The town of Bethulia, center of the action, is completely unknown. All of this suggests that the characters and events in the book are symbolic. Judith’s symbolism is obvious. The name Judith is simply the feminine form of the word “Jew,” and it is clear that she represents the faith and resources of the Jewish people. The military threat to Bethulia probably represents any kind of threat to Jerusalem and to Jewish integrity. People who faithfully follow the Law of God can oppose such a threat. Bethulia probably is derived from Bethel, which means “house of God,” so it is an imaginary representation of Jerusalem or Judea.

Judith is by far the most developed character in the story. She is beautiful, she is cunning, she is resourceful, she is brave. She is faithful to God, to Jewish tradition, and to the memory of her husband. She is also deceptive and willing to use her sexuality as a weapon against her enemy. She is as profound a thinker as the wise men of Israel (8.11-23). She can pray like a prophet (chapter 9), sing like a psalmist (chapter 16) and act with the bloody violence of one of the judges (13.4-9). Her fidelity and valor put to shame the men who rule in Bethulia.

Holofernes, with his boastfulness, exemplifies how those who dare oppose God’s purposes are reduced to fools. Claiming to act for his god Nebuchadnezzar, he reduces most of the world known at the time to ruins. Finally he prepares for a climactic assault on Bethulia to destroy all the Jewish people. But he meets a bloody end at the hands of a single Israelite woman.

Binding the two parts of the book (chapters 1–7 without Judith and chapters 8–16 with her) is the character of Achior, the Ammonite leader who functions much like Balaam does in the book of Numbers. A non-Israelite, he respects Israel and warns Holofernes against ill-advised action. Holofernes turns him over to the Israelites so he can meet his doom along with them, but after Judith’s conquest he appears again as a witness to Israel and Israel’s God, even joining the community of Israel as one of them.

The circumstances of the writing of Judith

The author is unknown. Various dates have been suggested for the writing of the book, but opinion today is heavily in favor of a date in the first century B.C. In 9.8 Judith’s words seem to reflect the experience of the Jews with Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century. Customs referred to in 8.6 and 11.13 seem to suggest an even later origin in the first century B.C., when the tradition of the Pharisees was widely known. The political organization of Israel in Judith, involving a high priest working alongside a senate, also seems to speak for a date as late as the first century B.C. Judith is referred to by the Christian writer Clement of Rome about A.D. 90. Since Clement knows the book in its Greek translation, we must allow time after writing for the book to become known, be translated, and be circulated in translation. The first century B.C. is consistent with these observations. There is general agreement that the book was originally written in Hebrew, though some would argue for Aramaic. Hebrew idioms are often easily discerned behind the Greek translation. Most scholars would venture that Judith was written in Palestine, although there is not a great deal of evidence to help solve this question.

The Greek text of Judith is in good shape, with relatively few difficult textual problems.

Outline of contents

Introduction: Nebuchadnezzar (1.1-16)
Part I: Holofernes (2.1–7.32)
Nebuchadnezzar’s orders to Holofernes (2.1-13)
Holofernes carries out Nebuchadnezzar’s orders (2.14–3.10)
Israel prepares for war (4.1-15)
Holofernes’ questions (5.1-4)
Achior’s answer (5.5-21)
The war council’s response (5.22-24)
Holofernes’ response to Achior (6.1-9)
The Assyrians expel Achior (6.10-13)
Achior in Bethulia (6.14-21)
Holofernes lays siege to Bethulia (7.1-18)
Conditions in Bethulia (7.19-32)
Part II: Judith (8.1–16.25)
Judith introduced (8.1-8)
Judith confronts the elders of Bethulia (8.9-36)
Judith’s prayer (9.1-14)
Judith carries out her plans (10.1-23)
Holofernes welcomes Judith (11.1-4)
Judith explains her plans to Holofernes (11.5-19)
Holofernes praises Judith (11.20-23)
Judith carries out her plans (12.1-9)
Judith kills Holofernes (12.10–13.10a)
Judith welcomed back to Bethulia (13.10b-20)
Judith’s plan (14.1-5)
Achior’s conversion (14.6-10)
Judith’s plan is carried out (14.11–15.7)
Judith is celebrated as a heroine (15.8-13)
Judith’s song of praise (16.1-17)
Judith’s later life (16.18-25)

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:1

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh: Since reign means “rule,” in many languages these two clauses will be combined; for example, “King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over…” or, more simply, “Nebuchadnezzar ruled over….” Good News Translation‘s “was ruling over … from his capital city of Nineveh” is a helpful alternative (similarly Contemporary English Version). For “king” see Tob 1.2. For Nineveh and “capital city,” see Tob 1.3. For a discussion on city or “town,” see Tob 1.2.

Arphaxad, who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana may be translated in a similar way as the first part of the verse (see Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version). The Medes were the people of Media, an ancient kingdom located in the area of eastern Iraq and western Iran. Ecbatana was its capital city.

A long parenthetical statement in verses 2-4 complicates the sentence begun in verse 1. The main clause of this sentence does not come until verse 5. The structure of the whole sentence is as follows:

In the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
who ruled over the Assyrians in … Nineveh,
in the days of Arphaxad,
who ruled over the Medes in Ecbatana—

he is the king who
built walls …
made the walls …
built towers …
made its gates, which were …
so that his armies …

King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad….

This parenthesis plays a literary function that should be kept. The story of Judith is magnified in importance by being set in the context of world history. It is placed within events issuing from a colossal contest between two giants in the world: Nebuchadnezzar and Arphaxad. Nebuchadnezzar was well known to the readers, so they knew that he was king of Babylon (605-562 B.C.), and not king of Assyria. It may be the author’s clue to the reader that we are constructing our own world here. Arphaxad is not known to us and may not have been known to the writer’s audience, so he is identified. He is identified in terms of his powerful defenses, which later in the chapter Nebuchadnezzar will overcome. The power that overcomes these strong defenses will later fall victim to Judith’s wiles and faith in her God. The massive parenthesis describing Arphaxad’s might (verses 2-4) blocks the progress of the narrative. It is a literary forewarning of and preparation for the collision of military forces to follow.

Good News Translation approaches this parenthesis by putting verses 1-4 into one paragraph to identify the two kings. The initial information about the twelfth year is moved to verse 5 to begin a new paragraph, where the action begins. Other recent versions, such as New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and the translation by Gonzáles and Alonso-Schöckel, use another device. For them verse 1 begins with “It was the twelfth year….” This sets the stage. Verse 2 then begins a new sentence describing Arphaxad’s defenses. This keeps the block of material where the author placed it. Verse 5 (a new paragraph in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Gonzáles and Alonso-Schöckel) begins the action with an initiating expression. The literal “in those days” actually works quite well.

This long, complicated introduction can be compared to the similar beginning in the book of Esther.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:2 - 1:4

Stones:

• 3 cubits= 4½ feet= 1½ meters

• 6 cubits= 9 feet= 3 meters

Walls:

• 70 cubits= 105 feet= 35 meters

• 50 cubits= 75 feet= 25 meters

Towers:

• 100 cubits= 150 feet= 50 meters

• 60 cubits= 90 feet= 30 meters

Gates:

• 70 cubits= 105 feet= 35 meters

• 40 cubits= 60 feet= 20 meters

Built walls about Ecbatana with hewn stones means “used cut stones to build a wall around the city of Ecbatana.” In some languages translators will need to indicate that King Arphaxad didn’t do this work himself, but had workmen do it; for example, “King Arphaxad had them cut large stones and build a wall around Ecbatana.”

It is possible to reorder the clauses in verse 2 in a similar way to Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version as follows:

• King Arphaxad had them build a wall around the city of Ecbatana that was over 100 feet high and 75 feet thick. They built the wall with stones that they cut; each stone was 4 1/2 feet wide and 9 feet long.

Notice that Good News Translation uses Arabic numerals for the numbers, whereas Revised Standard Version and Contemporary English Version spell the numbers out. Translators should do what is most natural in their language.

At the gates he built towers: The text does not tell us how many gates there were or how many towers. Good News Translation indicates one tower at each gate, but the text does not say this. The author could well be thinking of two at each gate, one on either side. Towers were immense stone structures either built on the walls or, in this case, attached to the walls beside a gate. On these towers were protected places where archers could shoot down on the enemy soldiers. Many translators will need to use a descriptive phrase; for example, “high strong buildings beside each gate” (so also Tob 13.12).

Sixty cubits wide at the foundations may be rendered “with a base that was ninety feet wide” (Contemporary English Version) or “that was ninety feet [or, thirty meters] wide at the bottom.”

Gates … forty cubits wide means “gates … sixty feet [or, twenty meters] wide.” It is important that the information about the width of the gates be placed in conjunction with the following information about the army.

So that his armies could march out … and his infantry form their ranks may also be expressed as “wide enough that his soldiers could march out [of the city] in rows.” The author impresses us with the width of these city gates by telling us that the infantry, the foot soldiers, could march through in formation without breaking ranks.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:5

King Nebuchadnezzar made war against King Arphaxad: Good News Translation “went to war” (also Contemporary English Version) is preferable to made war, since this action takes place in Nebuchadnezzar’s twelfth year of rule, while it will not be until his seventeenth year (1.13) that the war is concluded. “Went to war” focuses on the beginning of the action and helps the reader over the difficulty at 1.13. This phrase may also be expressed as “went out to fight against.” If it sounds like Nebuchadnezzar is going alone, one may say “Nebuchadnezzar and his soldiers went to fight against….”

In the great plain which is on the borders of Ragae: The spelling of Ragae in Revised Standard Version and New American Bible is the traditional spelling in English. New Revised Standard Version and New English Bible use “Ragau,” which is closer to the Greek text used here. “Rages,” as the name appears in Good News Translation, standardizes it with the form used in Tobit. One must realize that the form “Rages” is the name of an ancient city, and not the English word of the same spelling. This is supposedly the same city Rages that is mentioned in the book of Tobit (see Tob 1.14). One difference is that Judith seems to be speaking more of a region than a city. Here we have a great plain … on the borders of Ragae. It sounds odd to have an expansive plain on the city limits. Enslin translates “a plain in which Ragau lies.” Verse 15 will speak of “the mountains of Ragae,” which again sounds more like a region. Nevertheless, most commentators assume that Ragae is a city, the same as mentioned in the book of Tobit. This city is now in ruins, a few miles from modern Teheran. From a practical standpoint, however, unless translators go out of their way to identify this place as a city (as Good News Translation), the reader will probably assume it to be a region. There is good authority for this assumption, so translators are urged to designate Ragae as a region or territory rather than a city. Great plain may also be expressed as “wide flat area” (so also Tob 5.6).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• In the twelfth year that King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over the Assyrians, he led his soldiers out to fight against King Arphaxad in the large plain on the borders of the region of Ragae.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:6

He was joined by: There are two serious ambiguities in the Greek text here. First, it is not clear who is meant by He. Is it Nebuchadnezzar (as seems most likely) or Arphaxad? Second, the Greek verb used here (literally, “they met him”) can refer to joining forces with him or to opposing him in battle. Most translations assume that the peoples named in verse 6 are allying themselves with Nebuchadnezzar against Arphaxad. Good News Translation and New English Bible assume the opposite. To make matters worse, the end of the verse is also ambiguous. The phrase translated joined the forces can mean “opposed the forces.” A noun form of this verb is used in 2.6, where it clearly indicates a hostile encounter. The most conservative course here is that Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, and Contemporary English Version are correct in assuming that the peoples mentioned here are joining Nebuchadnezzar against Arphaxad, and that the last clause is a summary statement, with Chaldeans representing Nebuchadnezzar’s forces. Contemporary English Version has a good introductory statement: “Many other nations sent their armies to help Nebuchadnezzar fight against Arphaxad, including….”

All the people of the hill country: The hill country probably refers to the Zagros Mountains of Iran, a high plateau situated midway between the city of Hamadan (ancient Ecbatana) to the northeast and Baghdad to the southwest. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version refer to hill country as “in/from the mountains.” One may therefore translate “all the people who were living in the mountains.”

All those who lived along the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Hydaspes: The Tigris and Euphrates are of course the principal rivers of Iraq. It is helpful to the reader to identify these as rivers (so Good News Translation). The Hydaspes is also a river, but it flows through India and Pakistan. Because of this, and because of different readings in the manuscripts at this point, some scholars believe the author intended a reference to the Choaspes River (modern name Karkheh), a tributary of the Tigris.

Arioch ruled the Elymaeans: King Arioch is otherwise unknown. The Elymaeans are presumably the people of “Elam,” a kingdom on the northeast shore of the Persian Gulf, in what is now southwestern Iran.

Forces of the Chaldeans: Good News Translation‘s “Chelodite alliance” reflects the Greek “sons of Cheleoud.” Such a name is otherwise unknown, and it probably refers to the Chaldeans, that is, the Babylonians, but here meaning the Assyrians. Nebuchadnezzar was in fact king of Babylonia, not Assyria; see the note on 1.1-5 above.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Many nations sent their soldiers to help King Nebuchadnezzar fight King Arphaxad, including people who lived in the mountains, those living along the Tigris, Euphrates, and Hydaspes rivers, as well as those who lived in the plain where King Arioch of Elam ruled. All these soldiers went with Nebuchadnezzar and his Chaldeans [or, Assyrians].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:7

The connector Then shows that once Nebuchadnezzar heard what Arphaxad was doing, he took action by “sending a message.” In some languages it may be appropriate to say, for example, “When King Nebuchadnezzar heard about this, he sent a message….”

Nebuchadnezzar … sent: Good News Translation supplies “a message” as the object of sent, but it does not make clear what the content of the message sent was. This is not given until verse 11, after nations of the Near East are listed in verses 7-10. The message was an invitation (New English Bible “summons”) to join Nebuchadnezzar in his campaign against Arphaxad. Translators would be correct in making this clear if needed. However, the implied object of sent is more likely “messengers” since they are mentioned in verse 11. Contemporary English Version goes in this direction with “Nebuchadnezzar sent messengers to ask the people of nearby regions and cities to join him in this battle. His messengers went to the….”

To all who lived in Persia: Nebuchadnezzar is making his appeal east and west. To the east, he invites “the Persians” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

All who lived in the west …: This clause summarizes the specific content of verses 7-10 from this point on. So one may translate “all the people who lived in regions west of Assyria, including….” All the following places and peoples would be west of Nebuchadnezzar. They specify places in modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt. Cilicia, later a Roman province, lay on the southeast coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), adjoining Syria. Damascus was, and is, the capital of Syria. Lebanon and Antilebanon refer to two parallel mountain ranges running in a north-south direction north of Israel, in the territory of the modern nation of Lebanon. The Lebanon range is the westernmost of the two. The seacoast refers to the eastern Mediterranean, so one may translate “the people who lived along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea” (Contemporary English Version).

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:8

Those among the nations …: The places named in verse 8 are not nations; “peoples” (New English Bible) or “those living in” is more accurate than Good News Translation “regions.” Carmel is the mountain jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea from northern Palestine. Gilead is a region east of the Jordan River. Upper Galilee refers to “northern Galilee,” which is to the northwest of the Sea of Galilee. The great plain of Esdraelon is another name for “Jezreel Valley.” It separates northern Palestine from the central part of the land, cutting across the central highlands in a northwest to southeast direction. It is really a valley, but it is a very broad one; no word suggesting a narrow pass between mountains would be appropriate. By the same token, no word suggesting broad unlimited expanses would be appropriate. In some languages a descriptive phrase may be used; for example, “the wide flat area between the mountains.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Judith 1:9 - 1:10

Samaria and its surrounding towns: The location here probably refers to the region between Galilee to the north and Judah to the south. Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version take it to refer to the ancient city by that name, with surrounding towns or “nearby towns.” The Greek simply says “its towns,” and most translations assume the reference is to the region of Samaria. Translators are urged to follow this interpretation. It will be helpful to begin a new sentence here; for example, “Nebuchadnezzar also asked the people from the region of Samaria….”

Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh: Some believe that Bethany does not refer to the New Testament site, but to a nearby area, since the manuscripts differ widely in the spelling of Bethany here. If Bethany is an error, it is certainly harmless, and most translations adopt it. In any case, Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh represent three localities on a line running from Jerusalem to Egypt.

River of Egypt: The author probably means the Wadi el-Arish, which separates Palestine and Egypt (compare 1 Kgs 8.65), although Good News Translation takes it to mean the Nile River and mentions it near the end of these two verses. Translators are urged to use “river of Egypt” or “Egypt River.”

Tahpanhes and Raamses and the whole land of Goshen: Tahpanhes (Jer 43.7) and Raamses (Exo 1.11) are two cities in the Nile River plain, which is the land of Goshen. “Rameses” is another spelling for Raamses.

Even beyond Tanis and Memphis: Tanis is sometimes identified with Rameses, but is probably a nearby city; certainly the author of Judith takes it to be separate. Memphis is a city further south, just below the Nile River plain.

As far as the borders of Ethiopia: The border between Egypt and Ethiopia was never well defined, but since the region just south of Egypt is today known as the Sudan (with Ethiopia itself further south), an older version of Good News Translation adjusts the geographical reference to “the Sudan border.” It should be noted that the author is tracing a north to south line on the map, from “Cilicia” down to Ethiopia. The conflict is to shake the whole world, east and west, north to south. It is possible to begin a new sentence with the final clause of verse 9 and translate as follows:

• His messengers went all the way to the Egyptian region of Goshen, including the cities of Tahpanes, Raamses, Tanis, and Memphis, until they reached the Sudan border [or, the border of Ethiopia].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.