Gripla - 01.01.2000, Page 85

THE BOOK OF JUDITH
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people show deference to her and, what is more, she goes on to outwit the en-
emy and commit deeds of undisputed bravery. This combination of virtue and
independence that so characterises Judith is likely to have gone down well
with abbesses and their subjects.
In addition to the qualities of its heroine the Book of Judith makes a very
entertaining read. This has long been recognised by scholars although the full
merits of the text and the ingenious structure of the narrative have been
brought more firmly to light in recent studies. Because Judith herself only en-
ters the story in its eighth chapter, the first seven chapters have often been re-
garded as peripheral and redundant, the work thus perceived as lacking in
balance (cf. e.g. Cowley 1913:242-267). Such arguments were refuted by
Toni Craven in her compositional study of the work which is based on the
Septuagint text. She argues that the first half of the story serves as a necessary
preparation for the events which unfold in the second half and also creates a
powerful contrast to it, both in terms of structure and theme (1983:58-59). In
Part I the figure of King Nebuchadnezzar (and Holofemes by proxy) domi-
nates the action and nothing seems to be able to stem the aggression of the
Assyrians, whereas in Part II it is Judith who is the catalyst for events and the
ultimate reversal of fortunes. According to Craven, the two halves of the story
are structured in an identical way, based on a three-part chiastic pattem (A-B-
C-B-A) (1983:60-64). The most significant parallel between the two parts is
the movement of characters between the two camps (element C). In Part I it
is Achior (a non-Jewish man) who is cast out by Holofemes and involuntarily
crosses over into Bethulia. In Part II Judith (a Jewish woman) willingly
makes the opposite joumey from Bethulia to the Assyrian camp. The symme-
try between the two parts is broken by the core event of the whole story:
Judith’s killing of Holofemes, which has no counterpart in Achior’s actions.
The story owes its success in no small measure to its protagonist. Judith is
a very complex heroine: she is regularly presented as a saint, yet she behaves
in a most unsaintly manner, lying to, seducing and killing Holofemes. Despite
her beauty and wealth she chooses to lead a secluded life, wear a sackcloth
and observe a regime of fasting and praying. But although she is a recluse and
a woman she is able to summon the elders of the community and give them a
dressing-down. She accomplishes, through her faith, wisdom and beauty and
with God’s help, what the Jewish leaders are incapable of: saving her people
from destmction. Her story is in that respect similar to the tale of David and
Goliath, another popular Old Testament legend, but Judith’s victory over
Holofemes is furthermore charged with sexual desire — inviting inter-
pretations which see it as an “exemplification of the perennial battle of the
sexes” (Dundes 1975:28, cf. Levine 1992, Stocker 1998). Some scholars have