THE BOOK OF JUDITH
Lesson 4
Chapters 6-7
Achior is Handed Over to the Israelites and
The Campaign Against Israel Begins With the Siege of Bethulia
Chapters 6-7
Achior, the Ammonite (whose name means "brother of light"), told General Holofernes about the greatness of the God of Israel (5:1-21) in three parts:
In his discourse, Achior did not refer to Israel's God by his divine name but referred to him as "God" or "God of heaven" (cf. Ezra 5:11-12). What Achior gives is a theological review of Israel's history similar to what appears in some of the Psalms (cf. 78; 105; 106; also cf. Neh 9:6-37). Holofernes responds to Achior's speech with his own in which he refers to Achior playing the role of a prophet (6:2). Then, he praises the divine power of Nebuchadnezzar, using typical prophetic language (cf. Is 44:6; 45:21; Ps 18:31). The reader now understands that this is not a struggle between the Israelites and Holofernes but between gods, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, the false god, and Yahweh, the True God of Israel.
Judith 6:1-13 ~ Achior is Handed Over to the Israelites
1 When the uproar of those crowding round the council had subsided, Holofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army, reprimanded Achior in front of the whole crowd of foreigners and Ammonites. 2 Achior, who do you think you are, you and the Ephraimite mercenaries, playing the prophet like this with us today, and trying to dissuade us from making war on the people of Israel? You claim their God will protect them. And who is God if not Nebuchadnezzar? He himself will display his power and wipe them off the face of the earth, and their God will certainly not save them. 3 But we, his servants, shall destroy them as easily as a single individual. They can never resist the strength of our cavalry. 4 We shall burn them all. Their mountains will be drunk with their blood and their plains filled with their corpses. Far from being able to resist us, every one of them will die; thus says King Nebuchadnezzar, lord of the whole world. For he has spoken, and his words will not prove empty. 5 As for you, Achior, you Ammonite mercenary, who in a rash moment said these words, you will not see my face again until the day when I have taken my revenge on this brood from Egypt. 6 And then the swords of my soldiers and the spears of my officers will pierce your sides. You will fall among their wounded, the moment I turn on Israel. 7 My servants will now take you into the hill-country and leave you near one of the towns in the passes; 8 you will not die, until you share their ruin. 9 No need to look so sad if you cherish the secret hope that they will not be captured! I have spoken; none of my words will prove idle.' 10 Holofernes having commanded his tent-orderlies to seize Achior, to take him to Bethulia and to hand him over to the Israelites, 11 the orderlies took him, escorted him out of the camp and across the plain, and then, making for the hill-country, reached the springs below Bethulia. 12 As soon as the men of the town sighted them, they snatched up their weapons, left the town and made for the mountain tops, while all the slingers pelted them with stones to prevent them from coming up. 13 However, they managed to take cover at the foot of the slope, where they bound Achior and left him lying at the bottom of the mountain and returned to their master.
Holofernes rebukes Achior in front of the entire crowd of foreign commanders, his own people, and traitorous Israelites descended from the tribe of Ephraim (verse 2). He apparently misunderstands the real question Achior has asked concerning risking the power of Israel's God. Neither Holofernes nor his attendants can envision a power greater than the material power of Nebuchadnezzar's army. The general makes a three-point response to Achior's recommendations:
10 Holofernes,
having commanded his tent-orderlies to seize Achior, to take him to Bethulia
and to hand him over to the Israelites, 11 the orderlies took him,
escorted him out of the camp and across the plain, and then, making for the
hill-country, reached the springs below Bethulia.
Bethulia is the home of Judith.
The text makes it clear that the town was north of Jerusalem near Betomesthaim,
opposite the plain of Esdraelon, also called the Jezreel plain, and near Dothan
(Jdt 4:6). A town named Bethulia has not been identified. "Beth" in Hebrew
means "place" or "house/dwelling." Betomesthaim is also an unidentified town. Dothan
(Jdt 3:9; 4:6; 7:3, 18) is a town in Ephraimite territory north of Samaria and
probably located at modern Tell Dotha. It is also mentioned in
Genesis 37 and
2 Kings 6:13.
12 As soon as the men of the town sighted them, they snatched up their weapons, left the town and made for the mountain tops, while all the slingers pelted them with stones to prevent them from coming up. 13 However, they managed to take cover at the foot of the slope, where they bound Achior and left him lying at the bottom of the mountain and returned to their master.
Holofernes's men carried out his judgment for Achior. They bound him and, avoiding the slings of the Israelites, left him where the fighting men of Bethulia could find him.
Judith 6:14-21 ~ The Israelites Take Charge of Achior
14 The Israelites then came down from their town, stopped by him, unbound him, and
took him to Bethulia, where they brought him before the chief men of the town,
15 who at that time were Uzziah son of Micah of the tribe of Simeon,
Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son of Melchiel. 16 These
summoned all the elders of the town. The young men and the women also hurried
to the assembly. Achior was made to stand with all the people surrounding him,
and Uzziah questioned him about what had happened. 17 He answered by
telling them what had been said at Holofernes' council, and what he himself had
said in the presence of the Assyrian leaders, and how Holofernes had bragged of
what he would do to the House of Israel. 18 At this the people fell
to the ground and worshipped God. 19 "Lord God of heaven," they
cried, "take notice of their arrogance and have pity on the humiliation of our
race. Look kindly today on those who are consecrated to you." 20 They
then spoke reassuringly to Achior and praised him warmly. 21 After
the assembly, Uzziah took him home and gave a banquet for the elders; all that
night they called on the God of Israel for help.
When the Israelites of Bethulia heard what Achior had to say, they treated him with kindness and realized that they had more reasons to appeal to God and repent of their sins.
... they brought him
before the chief men of the town, 15 who at that time were Uzziah
son of Micah of the tribe of Simeon, Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son
of Melchiel.
They brought Achior before
the three chief men of the town: Uzziah son of Micah is of the tribe of Simeon
(see Josh 19:1-9). In 9:2, we will learn that Judith is also of the tribe of
Simeon. The other two chief men are Chabris son of Gothoniel, and Charmis son
of Melchiel. They summoned all the town elders and a general assembly of the
people to hear what had happened in the enemy camp and Achior's role in
addressing Holofernes' camp. He also relayed to them how Holofernes had bragged
of what he would do to the House of Israel, which filled the people with
terror and caused them to call upon the "Lord God of Heaven" and beg for Him to
pity their people who were consecrated to Him. Achior is treated with kindness
and attends a banquet with Bethulia's elders.
20 They then
spoke reassuringly to Achior and praised him warmly. 21 After the
assembly, Uzziah took him home and gave a banquet for the elders; all that
night they called on the God of Israel for help.
The Old Covenant people were
generous in caring for the poor, widows, orphans, and especially the displaced
foreigner like Achior. See God's command in Deuteronomy 10:18, Psalm 146:9, and
Jeremiah 7:6. God commanded His people to love (Hebrew = ger) the
stranger (Hebrew = nekar; see Ruth 2:10), "for you were once strangers
in the land of Egypt" (Dt 10:19). This openness was present even before the
Mosaic covenantal laws when the Israelites accepted Caleb the son of Jephunneh
the Kenizzite (from a group possibly of Edomite or Canaanite origin) who joined
Israel, integrating into the tribe of Judah and becoming a hero of the Exodus
out of Egypt and conquest of the Promised Land. He was accepted, despite his
Gentile origins. Like Rabab of Jericho and Ruth the Moabite, Caleb was welcomed
into Israelite society (Num 13:6; 32:12;
Josh 14:6, 14).
It is why Ezekiel 47:21-22 commanded the Israelites to welcome foreigners into their company and
allot land for them: "You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and
for the aliens (Hebrew = gerim) who reside among you and have begotten
children among you. They shall be to you as citizens of Israel; with you they
shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel." This also
explains why Jesus continually sought to minister to the "other" and to make
"foreigners" the heroes of his parables, as he does with the Good Samaritan
(Luke 10:31-37) and the Sheep and the Goats (Mt 25:31-46), where Jesus
specifically welcomes into His kingdom those who welcomed a stranger (Greek = xenos).
II: The Siege of Bethulia
Judith 7:1-15 ~ The Campaign Against Israel Begins
1 The following day Holofernes issued orders to his
whole army and to the whole host of auxiliaries who had joined him, to break
camp and march on Bethulia, to occupy the mountain passes and so open the
campaign against the Israelites. 2 The troops broke camp that same
day. The actual fighting force numbered one hundred and twenty thousand
infantry and twelve thousand cavalry, not to mention the baggage train with the
vast number of men on foot concerned with that. 3 They penetrated
the valley in the neighborhood of Bethulia, near the spring, and deployed on a
wide front from Dothan to Balbaim and, in depth, from Bethulia to Cyamon, which
faces Esdraelon. 4 When the Israelites saw this horde, they were all
appalled and said to each other, "Now they will lick the whole country clean.
Not even the loftiest peaks, the gorges or the hills will be able to stand the
weight of them." 5 Each man snatched up his arms; they lit beacons
on their towers and spent the whole night on watch. 6 On the second
day Holofernes deployed his entire cavalry in sight of the Israelites in
Bethulia. 7 He reconnoitered the slopes leading up to the town,
located the water-points, seized them and posted pickets over them and returned
to the main body. 8 The chieftains of the sons of Esau, all the
leaders of the Moabites and the generals of the coastal district then came to
him and said, 9 "If our master will be pleased to listen to us, his
forces will not sustain a single wound. 10 These Israelites do not
rely so much on their spears as on the height of the mountains where they live.
And admittedly it is not at all easy to scale these heights of theirs."
11 "This being the case, master, avoid engaging them in a pitched battle and
then you will not lose a single man. 12 Stay in camp, keep all your
troops there too, while your servants seize the spring which rises at the foot
of the mountain, 13 since that is what provides the population of
Bethulia with their water supply. Thirst will then force them to surrender
their town. Meanwhile, we and our men will climb the nearest mountain tops and
form advance posts there to prevent anyone from leaving the town. 14 Hunger
will waste them, with their wives and children, and before the sword can reach them,
they will already be lying in the streets outside their houses. 15 And
you will make them pay dearly for their defiance and their refusal to meet you
peaceably."
The siege of Bethulia is shown in a series of scenes, alternating between the Assyrian army and the Israelites of Bethulia. First, Holofernes sets in motion a threefold plan:
The "auxiliaries" (verse 1) with the army may have been paid mercenaries. It was common for armies to employ mercenaries.
3 They penetrated the valley in the neighborhood
of Bethulia, near the spring, and deployed on a wide front from Dothan to
Balbaim and, in depth, from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces Esdraelon.
Esdraelon is the plain lying between Galilee on the
north and Samaria on the south. Dothan is a town of central Israel. It appears
in Judith 3:9; 4:6 and 7:3. It is identified with the modern Tell Dotha, 60
miles north of Jerusalem. The strategic valley mentioned in 7:3 and 17 could
refer to the Valley of Elah, a nearly 4-mile-long valley, which extends in a
broad arc from east to west and is an important corridor and borderland in
antiquity, forming a natural border between the territories of Philistia and
Judah, separating the cities of the coastal plain from those of the hill
country, including Jerusalem. It is one of the best-known valleys of the
Shephelah, the region of low foothills that separates Israel's southern coastal
plain from the Judean hill country and is named after the terebinth trees that
grow there. It is an exceptionally fertile region that was part of the
breadbasket of ancient Judah.
Balbaim and Cyamon are identified as key points in the layout of Holofernes' military camp. His army camped in the valley near Bethulia, beside a spring, and spread out in two directions from that point: in width from Dothan to Balbaim and in depth from Bethulia to Cyamon, which faces the Esdraelon (Jezreel) plain. This suggests the enemy's control over the surrounding area, placing the camp directly opposite the valley and giving them a vantage point and control over any movement in any direction, with the camp extending toward the northern edge of the valley and blocking routes into Bethulia. The enemy planned to deprive the people of Bethulia of water, hoping that thirst would cause them to surrender.
The response of the citizens of Bethulia is mixed (7:4-5). They are terrified by the size of the army that opposes them. Still, they continue to maintain communication with the nearby towns with signal fires. In the two remaining scenes (7:6-18, 19-32), describe the siege in more detail. The Assyrians seal off the approaches to Bethulia and seize the water sources.
Judith 7:16-32 ~ Bethulia' s Water Source Seized by
the Enemy
16 Their words pleased Holofernes as well
as all his officers, and he decided to do as they suggested. 17 Accordingly,
a troop of Moabites moved forward with a further five thousand Assyrians. They
penetrated the valley and seized the Israelites' waterpoints and springs.
18 Meanwhile the Edomites and Ammonites went and took up positions in the
highlands opposite Dothan, sending some of their men to the south-east opposite
Egrebel near Chous on the Wadi Mochmur. The rest of the Assyrian army took up
positions in the plain, covering every inch of the ground; their tents and
equipment made an immense encampment, so vast were their numbers. 19 The
Israelites called on the Lord their God, dispirited because the enemy had
surrounded them and cut all line of retreat. 20 For thirty-four days
the Assyrian army, infantry, chariots, cavalrymen, had them surrounded. Every
water-jar the inhabitants of Bethulia had was empty, 21 their
storage-wells were drying up; on no day could a man drink his fill, since their
water was rationed. 22 Their little children pined away, the women
and young men grew weak with thirst; they collapsed in the streets and gateways
of the town; they had no strength left. 23 Young men, women,
children, the whole people thronged clamoring round Uzziah and the chief men of
the town, shouting in the presence of the assembled elders, 24 "May
God be judge between you and us! For you have done us great harm, by not suing
for peace with the Assyrians. 25 And now there is no one to help us.
God has delivered us into their hands to be prostrated before them in thirst
and utter helplessness. 26 Call them in at once; hand the whole town
over to be sacked by Holofernes' men and all his army. 27 After all,
we should be much better off as their booty than we are now; no doubt we shall
be enslaved, but at least we shall be alive and not see our little ones dying
before our eyes or our wives and children perishing. 28 By heaven
and earth and by our God, the Lord of our fathers, who is punishing us for our
sins and the sins of our ancestors, we implore you to take this course now,
today." 29 Bitter lamentations rose from the whole assembly, and
they all cried loudly to the Lord God. 30 Then Uzziah spoke to them,
"Take heart, brothers! Let us hold out five days more. By then the Lord our God
will take pity on us, for he will not desert us altogether. 31 At
the end of this time, if no help is forthcoming, I shall do as you have said."
32 With that he dismissed the people to their various quarters. The
men went to man the walls and towers of the town, sending the women and
children home. The town was full of despondency.
The Edomites (sons of Esau), Moabites, and Ammonites are traditional enemies of Israel. They advise Holofernes not to attack but to wait until the people of Bethulia suffer from thirst and begin to feel helpless. It is midsummer, a time after the harvest (see 4:5), so the town is fully supplied with grain. However, the rainy season isn't until October so that thirst will be the Assyrian's greatest weapon.
The people of Bethulia begin to suffer (7:19-32). Water is rationed, but the people begin to suffer physically and emotionally as they begin to lose faith in God to protect them. Like the Israelites in the exodus out of Egypt and their wilderness trials, they begin to complain that it would be better to surrender to the enemy and live rather than to resist and die (compare 7:26-27 with Ex 16:2-3; Num 11:4-6; 14:2-4; 20:2-5). They begin to believe that they are suffering because God has delivered us into their hands to be prostrated before them in thirst and utter helplessness (verse 25), and He is punishing us for our sins and the sins of our ancestors (verse 28). Therefore, they began to believe that they must surrender to the enemy.
Then Uzziah addressed the people (verses 30-32), urging them to wait five days before surrendering. The five days suggested by Uzziah added to the thirty-four days of the siege (7:20) make a total of 39 days. Their deliverance will come between the fourth and fifth days of Uzziah's limit (see 12:10). Therefore, within forty days, the traditional length of testing Yahweh, God of Israel, will deliver His people! For a few examples of the significance of a forty-day period in Israel's history, see Moses's forty days on Mt. Sinai to receive the Law in Exodus 24:18, forty days the Israelite spies reconnoitered the land of Canaan in Numbers 13:25, Israel condemned to forty years in the wilderness and eating manna in Exodus 16:35, Numbers 14:27-35 and Deuteronomy 29:5, and Judith's forty mouths of mourning her husband in Judith 8:4. Also see the document, "The Significance of Numbers in Scripture."
These events reflect the dire situation in which the covenant people found themselves at the time of the Greek-Syrian invasion of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Seleucid kings in general. But it also sets the stage for Yahweh's wondrous action when He will intervene in an unexpected way to rescue His people, just as He also came to deliver them during the Exodus experience and journey to the Promised Land.
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