Judith 15: What the Passage Says

The Chapter in a Sentence

The soldiers in the camp learn what has happened and run in every direction, and the men of Israel rush out after them. Ozias sends word through the region, and Israelites from Jerusalem, the hill country, Gilead, and Galilee join the attack and pursue the enemy past Damascus, while the people plunder the camp for thirty days. Joacim the high priest and the elders come from Jerusalem to bless Judith, who is given Holofernes's tent and belongings, and the women of Israel dance in her honor as she leads them, with the men following in their armor.

Claim by Claim

1. 15:1
   • Those who were in the tents heard.
   • They were astonished at what had been done.
2. 15:2
   • Fear and trembling fell upon them.
   • No man dared to remain in the sight of his neighbor.
   • They rushed out all together.
   • They fled into every path of the plain and of the hill country.
3. 15:3
   • Those who had camped in the hill country around Bethulia fled away.
   • The children of Israel, every warrior among them, rushed out upon them.
4. 15:4
   • Ozias sent to Betomasthem.
   • Ozias sent to Bebai.
   • Ozias sent to Chobai.
   • Ozias sent to Cola.
   • Ozias sent to all the borders of Israel.
   • Those sent were to tell the things that had been done.
   • Those sent were to say that all should rush out upon their enemies to destroy them.
5. 15:5
   • The children of Israel heard it.
   • They all fell upon the enemy with one accord.
   • They struck them down as far as Chobai.
   • Those from Jerusalem and from all the hill country also came.
   • Men had told them what things had been done in the camp of their enemies.
   • Those in Gilead and in Galilee pursued them with a great slaughter.
   • The pursuit continued until they had passed Damascus and its borders.
6. 15:6
   • The rest who dwelt at Bethulia fell upon the camp of Assur.
   • They plundered them.
   • They were greatly enriched.
7. 15:7
   • The children of Israel returned from the slaughter.
   • They took possession of what remained.
   • The villages and cities in the hill country and in the plain got many spoils.
   • The quantity of spoil was very great.
8. 15:8
   • Joacim was the high priest.
   • Joacim and the elders of the children of Israel who dwelt in Jerusalem came.
   • They came to behold the good things God had shown to Israel.
   • They came to see Judith.
   • They came to greet her.
9. 15:9
   • They came to her.
   • They blessed her with one accord.
   • They said to her that she is the exaltation of Jerusalem.
   • They said to her that she is the great glory of Israel.
   • They said to her that she is the great rejoicing of their nation.
10. 15:10
    • They said she had done all these things by her hand.
    • They said she had done much good to Israel.
    • They said God is pleased with it.
    • They pronounced her blessed by the Almighty Lord forever.
    • All the people said, So be it.
11. 15:11
    • The people plundered the camp for thirty days.
    • They gave Judith the tent of Holofernes.
    • They gave her all his silver vessels.
    • They gave her his beds.
    • They gave her his bowls.
    • They gave her all his furnishings.
    • She took them.
    • She laid them on her mule.
    • She made ready her carts.
    • She piled the goods on the carts.
12. 15:12
    • All the women of Israel ran together to see her.
    • They blessed her.
    • They made a dance among them for her.
    • She took branches in her hand.
    • She gave branches to the women who were with her.
13. 15:13
    • A garland of olive was put upon her and upon her maid who was with her.
    • She went before all the people in the dance.
    • She led all the women.
    • All the men of Israel followed in their armor.
    • They followed with garlands.
    • They followed with songs in their mouths.

Words Worth Explaining

Every language note in this chapter, gathered. These explain what a word meant, never what it means for the reader.

15:1

The tents are the Assyrian army's camp outside Bethulia. What the soldiers had just heard was that their commander Holofernes had been found dead in his own tent, beheaded by Judith during the night.

15:2

The King James says no man "durst abide in the sight of his neighbour." That means no one dared to stand still where another soldier could see him. The panic was so complete that each man just ran.

15:3

Bethulia is the Israelite hill town whose siege the book has been describing; taking it would have opened the mountain passes to the invading army. The site cannot be identified and may belong to the story rather than the map.

15:4

Ozias was the chief magistrate of Bethulia, its leading civil official. "Coasts" in the King James means borders or territory generally, not seashore, so "all the coasts of Israel" means the whole extent of the land. None of the four towns named here can be located with confidence today.

15:5

"Galaad" is the King James spelling, by way of Greek, of Gilead, the region east of the Jordan; Galilee is the north of the country. Damascus lies well beyond Israel's northern border, so the pursuit is described as running the whole length of the land and out the far side of it.

15:6

"Assur" is the Greek and King James form of Asshur, that is, Assyria; the camp of Assur is the Assyrian army's camp. "Spoiled" in the King James means plundered or stripped of goods, not ruined.

15:7

Spoils are the goods taken from a defeated enemy. By long custom the possessions of a routed army belonged to whoever seized them, which is why the outlying villages and cities join in rather than only the soldiers who did the fighting.

15:8

The high priest was the chief official of the temple in Jerusalem; the elders were heads of leading families who governed alongside him. "Salute" in the King James means simply to greet.

15:9

The King James calls Judith "the exaltation of Jerusalem." To exalt something is to lift it high. They mean she has brought the city honor and raised it out of danger.

15:10

"So be it" renders the Hebrew word amen, the formal answer by which a crowd took a blessing or an oath as its own.

15:11

Thirty days of stripping one camp is a way of stating how large the army had been. "Plate" in the King James means vessels of silver or gold, tableware rather than flat dishes, and "stuff" means household goods and furnishings, without any suggestion of junk.

15:12

Meeting returning victors with dancing and song was the customary public welcome for an army; compare Miriam and the women after the crossing of the sea, and the women who came out to meet Saul and David. The branches are for waving in the procession.

15:13

A wreath of olive was the Greek badge of a victor, the prize at athletic games and the ordinary ornament of a celebration, and the detail reflects the Greek-speaking world in which this book was written. The men follow in armor with wreaths and songs: this is a victory parade, not a march to battle.