Let my story go rachel sharansky danziger discusses her fathers release from soviet prison and the importance of passing down her own familys liberation story to her children this passover. Judith is included with the apocrypha in the king james version. The apocryphal book of judith is undoubtedly a jewish work, written by and intended for jews, and judith is portrayed as an ideal jewish heroine, as her very. Although the story is set in the babylonian period, the book of judith is thought to have originated at the time of the maccabees.
Ruth is a moabite woman who marries a judean immigrant named mahlon 1. Judith, book of the 1901 jewish encyclopedia bible. According to the jewish encyclopedia arzareth is, the name of the land beyond the great river, far away from the habitation of man, in which the ten tribes of israel will dwell, observing the laws of moses, until the time of the restoration, according to iv esdras xiii. The book of judith has a tragic setting that appealed to jewish patriots and it warned of the urgency of adhering to mosaic law, generally speaking, but what accounted for its enduring appeal was the drama of its narrative. Judith, whose name translates from the hebrew as jewess or praised, was a. The jewish womens archive documents jewish womens stories, elevates their voices, and inspires them to be agents of change. A tone of religious fervor and of intense patriotism runs through the narrative, and no opportunity of enforcing the claims of the jewish law is lost. Book of judith biblical literature britannica encyclopedia britannica. E53 1986 contains several sections describing the holocaust. Book of judith public encyclopedia services home page. Torrey, however, goes too far when he says see jewish encyclopedia, book of judith that the writer aimed at nothing more than to write a tale that would amuse. The word apocrypha means literally things hidden away. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from jewish texts and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha.
The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and. Encyclopedia judaica project gutenberg selfpublishing. What happens in judith, if it is meant as a historical book, might have happened during this time, since judith mentions that militia that attacked judith s city was syrian. The name judith is hebrew praised or jewess, the feminine form of judah. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and in the roman catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded by jews and protestants. The book contains numerous historical anachronisms, which is why many scholars. Two hebrew versions are known at present, a long one practically identical with the greek text, and a short one which is entirely different. Ruths name provides the title for the book of ruth, probably a piece of historical fiction set in the time of the judges. Both are quoted in the 1925 jewish encyclopedia and both are included in the 1917 jewish publications society translation of the tenach, i. While roman catholics and eastern churches included the book of judith as part of their bible, jews and protestants did not even though virtually every one of judith s sixteen chapters has references to god and prayer observances, while ruth and esther, which they did include in their bible, contain little or nothing about. Heroines of the jewish scriptures american bible society.
But both judith and tobit were recognized as canonical by the council of carthage 397 ad and by the council of trent 1545 ad. Many people refer to the apocrypha as if it is a clearly defined set of books. The book of judith is a parable, or perhaps the first historical novel according to jewish authorities, who do not place it among the writings of the tanakh or hebrew bible. The book of judith is included in the septuagint, which was translated into greek for the use of hellenized jews in alexandria. The book of judith is counted among the apocryphal books of the old testament. Judith is the name of one of the two hittite wives of esau in the book of genesis 26. The apocrypha are works writtencollected at the same time as most books of the bible but not included in the hebrew canon. A mostly comprehensive guide to judaism from the makers of unorthodox, a large coffee table book crams in just about everything you need to know about.
As of 2010 it had been published in two editions accompanied by a few revisions. Finally delcor observes connecting lines from the book of daniel to the book of judith 1967. Books of maccabees encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Arzareth the 1901 jewish encyclopedia bible encyclopedia. Reportedly, esaus two wives were a great deal of annoyance to his parents isaac and rebekah. The holidays are broken down into fun and easy to understand sections, with vivid. The persecution of antiochus epiphanes would provide a. After having devastated many countries, holofernes reached esdraelon, and encamped between geba and scythopolis to collect his forces. It covers diverse areas of the jewish world and civilization, including jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, language, scripture, and religious teachings. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded by jews and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha.
The book of judith has a dramatic setting that appealed to jewish patriots and it warned of the urgency of adhering to mosaic law, generally speaking, but what accounted for its enduring appeal was the drama of its narrative. It is described as another land lying a year and a half s journey beyond the river, i. Some assert that this book was written as a sequel to ezra and nehemiah. To turn its pages is to explore the wonder and excitement and awesome adventure of what it means to be a jew. Judith and the apocryphal books in the catholic encyclopedia. Nearing starvation, judith manages to wile her way into the enemys camp, indeed, the commanders tent. The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book of the christian bible. In that sense, the book of mormon could be called an apocryphal book. The book contains numerous historical anachronisms, which is why some scholars now accept it as nonhistorical. It is not clear whether the book of judith was originally written in hebrew or in greek.
This is the land to which the ten tribes were deported 2 esdras. The consensus of scholars is that the book of judith was written in the 2nd cent. It has been said that the book contains numerous historical, which is why many scholars now accept it as unreliable history. The fourth book of esdras took the latter view, which was adopted also by r. Though a tale of jewish patriotism written originally in hebrew, this book was never admitted into the hebrew canon, and the same applies to the book of tobit. Although it was likely written by a jew during the second temple period, there is no evidence that the book of judith was ever considered authoritative or a candidate for canonicity by any jewish group the masoretic text of the hebrew bible does not contain it, nor was it found among the dead sea scrolls or referred to in any early rabbinic literature. Judith s story is written in the book of judith which is codified as the fourth book of the apocrypha. The encyclopedia of jewish myth, magic and mysticism. At the siege of the jewish city of bethulia, a general named achior warned holofernes of the danger of attacking the jews. The name of the land beyond the great river, far away from the habitation of man, in which the ten tribes of israel will dwell, observing the laws of moses, until the time of the restoration, according to iv esd.
The book of judith is a deuterocanonical book, included in the septuagint and the catholic and eastern orthodox christian old testament of the bible, but excluded from the hebrew canon and assigned by protestants to the apocrypha. The encyclopaedia judaica is a 26volume englishlanguage encyclopedia of the jewish people and their faith, judaism. Entry for judith, book of the 1901 jewish encyclopedia one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia is a descriptive record of the history, religion and customs of the jewish people. According to the book of judith, holofernes is said to have been despatched by nebuchadnezzar with an army of 120,000 foot and 12,000 horse for the purpose of taking vengeance on all the earth judith ii. Unlike the other books of maccabees, the style is simple, straightforward and factual, with little effort to embellish the narrative or to interpret events. I really appreciate this book, as a stepping stone, for my boys to learn about, respect, and appreciate the jewish culture. Judith is the fourth book of the old testament apocrypha in those versions of the bible following the greek septuagint generally roman catholic and orthodox versions. His book with llewellyn, the encyclopedia of myth, magic, and mysticism, has been selected as a runner up in the 2007 national jewish book award, and received honorable mention in the jewish library association 2007 book awards. Judith, book of international standard bible encyclopedia. The book contains numerous historical anachronisms. The inclusion of decrees and letters does resemble the many items of official correspondence cited in 1 maccabees. Holocaust, jewish 1938 1945 reference and general collection materials in located in moodyjones library encyclopedias alpher, joseph. The story revolves around judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her jewish countrymen for not trusting.
Book of judith encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The story revolves on judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her jewish countrymen for not trusting god to deliver them from their. The book of judith second or early first century b. In modern usage, an apocryphal book is any book not part of the bible. The book of judith, found in the apocryphal literature of the church, is similar in scope, but set some 200 years earlier. The book of judith is a story written for household reading, while it may properly be classed as didactic, yet it is one of those popular tales in which the chief concern of the writer is with the telling of the story rather than with the pointing of a moral, and in which the wish to interest takes precedence even of the desire to instruct. Upon his death she becomes a childless widow who chooses to accompany her. The book contains numerous historical anachronisms, which is why many scholars now accept it as nonhistorical. Judith, book of international standard bible encyclopaedia. The persecution of antiochus epiphanes would provide a favorable background for this type of lit. Thanks to the support of our faithful financial partners, american bible society has been engaging people with the lifechanging message of gods word for nearly. In this case, nabuchodonosor the king of assyria besieges bethulia, a strategic city south of jerusalem.
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