Book One: On the Sacred and Apocryphal Books
Chapter Twelve: On the Book of Judith
That the book of Judith has outstanding testimony from the first Synod of Nicea, the first and most famous of all the general Synods, is witnessed by St. Jerome in his preface to Judith. And lest perhaps Chemnitz say the book of Judith is holy but not of full authority for confirming dogmas of the faith, the words of St. Jerome need to be noted. For the most holy doctor asserts that among the Hebrew the book of Judith is numbered among the holy books which, however, are not suitable for approving dogmas of faith; then to this opinion of the Hebrews he opposes the authority of the Synod of Nicea; therefore on the evidence of Jerome the Synod of Nicea so retained the book of Judith in the number of the sacred books that it judged it suitable for confirming dogmas of the faith. In addition to this Julius Africanus bk.1 on the Parts of the Divine Law and Isidore bk.6 Etymologies ch.1 testify that the Church of Christ honors this book among the divine books and teaches it.
But there is against this book a certain very difficult objection. For it seems the history is altogether invented, since in ch.5 it is said to have happened after the return of the people from the Babylonian captivity, and yet in ch.1 it is said to have been at the time Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians fought against Arphaxat king of the Medes, who built Ecbatana, and these things do not cohere. For when the people returned from captivity the monarchy of the Assyrians had been overthrown and not Nabuchodonosor but Cyrus or Darius ruled over the Assyrians, Persians, and Medes.
This supreme difficulty has marvelously exercised the minds of erudite men, but there are two principal opinions. One is of those who want the history of Judith to have happened after the Babylonian captivity, some of whom refer it to the time of Cambyses whom they want Nabuchodonosor to be, as Eusebius in his Chronicle, Augustine City of God bk.18 ch.26, Bede in his book on the Six Ages, Lyranus on Judith bk.1, John Driedo on Ecclesiastical Scriptures and Dogmas bk.1 ch.2 par.2 and bk.3 ch.5 par.3. Some refer it to the time of Darius Hystaspes, as Gerard Mercator in his Chronology, and some others. Severus Sulpicius Sacred History bk.2 reckons it belongs to the time of Artaxerxes Ochus.
The second opinion is of others who teach that the history of Judith happened before the Babylonian captivity. But some of these refer it to the time of king Zedechiah, as Gilbert Genebard in the second book of his Chronology; others to the time of king Josiah, as John Benedict in his marginal notes to Judith ch.4.
But none of these opinions seems sufficiently probable, and indeed the first three are refuted by manifest reasons. First, Arphaxat, with whom Nabuchodonosor fought, built Ecbatana, Judith ch.1. But he who built Ecbatana, according to Herodotus bk.1 and Eusebius in his Chronicle, was Diocles V king of the Medes, who is very far distant from Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes and Ochus. Nor should one remove what Pliny bk.6 ch.14 writes, that Ecbatana was built by Seleucus, a long time after Diocles, or what Diodorus bk.2 ch.7 writes, that at the time of Arbax, fifth from whom was Diocles, Ecbatana already existed. For it can easily happen that that most ancient city was sometimes overthrown and was rebuilt, now by Diocles, now by Seleucus, now perhaps by some other.
Second, nowhere do we read, either in sacred or profane history, that the kings of the Persians were called Nabuchodonosor, but only the Babylonian kings. It was not Cambyses, then, or Darius who is that Nabuchodonosor of whom the history of Judith treats.
Third, Nabuchodonosor of whom the book of Judith treats ruled in Nineveh, Judith ch.1. But at the time of Cambyses and Darius and Ochus Nineveh did not exist, for Nabuchodonosor king of the Chaldeans had overthrown it in the first year of his reign, as Genebrard noted in his Chronicle, or at any rate Cyaxares king of the Medes overthrew it, as Herodotus bk.1 and Eusebius in his Chronicle wish. Certainly Nahum, who prophesied at the time of Ezekiel, openly predicted that the overthrow of Nineveh would shortly happen. See the commentary of St. Jerome. Add that the kings of the Persians did not rule in Nineveh but in Susa or Babylon, as can be learnt from the book of Daniel and of Esther and from all the profane histories.
Fourth Nabuchodonosor in the book of Judith tried to seize Cilicia, Damascus, and Palestine, Judith ch.1. But there was no reason for Cambyses and Darius to try that since they possessed those regions peaceably, as is clear from I Ezra chs.4 and 5.
Fifth, the children of Israel prepared themselves to fight against Nabuchodonosor, Judith ch.4. But at the time of Cambyses and Darius the children of Israel were not able to resist any kings of the Persians, to whom they were so subjected that at their will they began or desisted from building the temple, as is seen in I and II Ezra.
Sixth, at the time of Judith the high priest was Eliachim, who is also called Joachim, Judith chs.4 and 12. But at the time of Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes it was Jesus Josedech, as is plain from bk.2 and from Zachariah ch.3, and at the time of Ochus the high priest was Iaddus, who met Alexander the Great, or at any rate his father Jonathan, as is collected from II Ezra ch.12.
Seventh, the children of Israel were afraid that Nabuchodonosor would overthrow Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord, Judith ch.4. But at the time of Cambyses neither Jerusalem nor the temple existed, since they had been overthrown and burnt by the Chaldeans, and at the time of Darius Hystaspes the temple was indeed rebuilt but not the city of Jerusalem. Besides since on this Darius’ order the temple was rebuilt, I Ezra ch.6, how is it credible that the Jews feared that it would again by overthrown by him?
Eighth, Holofernes asked, Judith ch.5, who the people were who inhabited Judea, what its power was, who was king, what was its multitude. But certainly the king of the Persians and his princes could be ignorant of none of these things, since they had a little before sent the Jews away from themselves.
Ninth, the children of Israel, when they were preparing for war against Holofernes, surrounded their towns with walls through all Samaria up to Jericho, Judith ch.4. But at the time of Cambyses and Darius Jews were not living in Samaria but gentiles, as is contained in I Ezra ch.4, and the Jews were not able to surround Jerusalem itself with walls, so how much less all the towns?
Tenth, it is written at the end of the book of Judith that there was peace in Israel during the whole time Judith lived, and for many years afterwards, and Judith lived 105 years, as is said there. But from the thirteenth year of Ochus, when Sulpicius wants the war against Holofernes to have been waged, up to Ptolemy Lagus, who again fought the Jews, there are only 30 years; Judith then would have been only 80 or 90.
Eleventh, Nabuchodonosor, in the thirteenth year of his reign, waged war against the children of Israel, Judith ch.2. But Cambyses only reigned eight years, Herodotus bk.3; he was not then that Nabuchodonosor.
Twelfth, add the probable conjecture from the number of the ancestors of Judith herself. For in Judith ch.8 are numbered her fathers and grandfathers and other ancestors of Judith up to Simeon son of Ruben, or as the Greek codices seem to have more correctly, son of Israel, and there are only fifteen generations; but in I Ezra ch.7 are numbered the ancestors of Ezra, who flourished at the time of Cambyses and Darius, up to Aaron, and there are found seventeen generations, to whom if you add others up to Levi brother of Simeon, there will be twenty. Since therefore from the patriarch Jacob up to Judith there are many fewer generations than from the same Jacob up to Ezra, rightly do we conjecture that Judith was much older than Ezra who however, as we said, flourished especially at the time of Cambyses and Darius.
But now the other opinions, that refer the history of Judith to the times of Zedekiah or Josiah, are refuted by two reasons. The first reason is as follows. In Judith ch.5 we read that there was no one who vexed Israel in the whole period of Judith’s life and for many years afterwards. But Judith lived, as we read there to be 105, nor was she an old woman but a girl when she killed Holofernes, as is collected from the fact she is called a girl, Judith ch.12. Therefore there was peace in the land of Israel for 80 or 90 years. But from the beginning of the reign of Josiah up to the war that the king of Egypt brought upon Joachaz king of Juda there were only 30 years, 4 Kings ch.23, and from the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah up to the war that Nabuchodonosor waged there are only 9 years, 4 Kings ch.24. Therefore unless Judith, when she killed Holofernes, was about 80 or 100, what Scripture says cannot be true that in the whole time of her life and for many years after there was no one to perturb Israel.
The second reason is that at the time of Judith the high priest was Eliachim, who is also called Joachim, as is plain in Judith chs.4 and 15. But at the time of Josiah the high priest was Helkiah, 4 Kings ch.23, and at the time of Zedekiah it was Saraia, 4 Kings ch.25.
It seems to us then that one must say that the history of Judith happened in the time of Manasseh king of Judah, since at that time Diocles, who built Ecbatana, was ruling the Medes, on the evidence of Eusebius in his Chronicle, and him our Scripture calls Arphaxat. Again at that time the kings of the Assyrians were ruling in Nineveh, as is plain from 4 Kings 19 and from Tobit ch.1. But it is credible that he who is called Nabuchodonosor in the book of Judith, was by another name called Merodach Baladan, who was also king of Babylon. For after Sennacherib there ruled, at the end of the reign of Hezechiah, father of Manassah, Assar Addon, 4 Kings ch.19, and after Assar Addon ruled Merodach Baladan, of whom mention is made in 4 Kings ch.20 and Jeremiah 50 and Isaiah 39, who indeed was king of Babylon but transferred to himself also the kingdom of the Assyrians, and for that reason no mention is thereafter made in Scripture of the kings of the Assyrians but only of Babylon.
But he began to reign in the third year of Manasseh, as is probable and as we collect from conjectures (for we are able to get no sure beginning of his reign from any approved author), and therefore his thirteenth year, when he started war against the Jews under the leadership of Holofernes, coincided with the 16th year of Manasseh, which Manasseh he had taken a little before as a captive to Babylon.
Also at that time Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord existed, of which mention is made in the history of Judith ch.4. At that time too the high priest Eliachim was living, as is plain from the Chronicle of Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, who when enumerating the high priests of the Jews puts Eliachim between Sobonah, who was high priest in the time of Hezekiah, and Helkiah, who was high priest at the time of Josiah. But it is clear that between Hezekiah and Josiah came Manasseh; this also agrees with 4 Kings ch.19 where Eliachim is named among the chief priests, and it squares even more with the prophecy of Isaiah ch.22, where the deposition of the impure high priest Sobonah is predicted and the raising up of Eliachim in his place.
Further, it is easy in this way to find the time of that very long peace which existed in the whole time of Judith’s life, and thereafter for many years. For Manasseh was most wicked at the beginning of his reign and therefore by the permission of God he was conquered by the king of Babylon, who devastated the land of Judah, and led the king himself away bound to Babylon; however he then acknowledge his sin and, being returned to his fatherland, lived most peaceably, as is contained in 2 Chronicles ch.33.
From this captivity of Manasseh up to the reign of Joachaz son of Josiah there was supreme peace in the land of Judah. How long this time was is not indicated by Scripture, but 72 years are easily gathered. For Manasseh reigned 55 years, of which I take 39 for after his captivity. For it is clear that the captivity happened at the beginning of his reign, as Josephus also noted in Antiquities bk.10 ch.5, and, as we said a little before, the thirteenth year of the King of the Assyrians and Babylonians happened in the sixteenth year of Manasseh. To the 39 years must be added the two in which after Manasseh his son Ammon ruled, 4 Kings ch.21. Thus there will be 41 years. To these are added the 31 years in which after Ammon Josiah ruled, 4 Kings ch.22, and they will make 72 years.
Now this same time we will show was after the death of Holofernes up to the end of the life of Judith. For Judith lived to 105 (for thus must one understand what is said of the number of the years of Judith at the end of the book, as is more clearly taken from the Greek text), from which years must be taken away those which she lived before the killing of Holofernes, which I posit to have been 40. For although I cannot posit a definite time, since no author hands it down, yet it could be so. For at that age she could still be very beautiful, and to be judged a girl by the Assyrians because of her incredible beauty, especially because, as is said in Judith ch.10, the Lord bestowed on her, not without a new miracle, a certain outstanding splendor, so that she might appear to the eyes of all to have incredible beauty, although too some women naturally preserve their beauty of form so that although they are of great age yet they are judged to be young. Certainly Sarah at 65 or even 90 seemed so young and beautiful that wherever she went she was loved and seized by kings. See Genesis chs.12 and 20. So now if from 105 years 40 are taken away, 65 years of continuous peace are left up to the death of Judith, to which I add another seven, so that that also may be true which is added in the book of Judith, that after her death there was for many years no one who disturbed Israel, then we have the 72 years we were looking for.
You will say perhaps, if this story happened at the time of king Manasseh, why in the preparation for the war that is narrated in this book is no mention made of the king? Why is this whole business attributed to the high priest?
I reply that perhaps this war happened during the captivity of Manasseh, and therefore while the king was absent the business of the kingdom was looked after by the high priest; perhaps also no mention was made of the king because the war did not reach the city of Jerusalem itself where the king was.
But as to the fact that in Judith ch.4 it is said that the priest Eliachim wrote to all the Hebrews and then went round all Israel to exhort them to constancy, this is not to be marveled at. For even in the time of Ezekiel the same Eliachim, while he was not yet high priest, did many things in the name of the king, as is plain from 4 Kings ch.18, and Isaiah foretold, ch.22, that Eliachim would be as it were the father of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And then it is particularly credible that supreme and perilous business was carried out by the high priest, when the king had returned from captivity and was not thoroughly converted to God. For although it is not improbable that the war was waged while the king was captive, it yet seems more probable that it was waged after he had already returned.
But you will again object that it is collected from the fifth chapter of Judith that this war of Holofernes was waged against the Jews a little after the return from the Babylonian captivity, for thus do we read: “For also before these years, when they had departed from the way which God had given them so as to walk in it, they were exterminated in battles by many nations, and many of them were taken away captive to a land not their own. But now they returned to the Lord their God from their dispersion by which they had been dispersed, and were united and ascended all these mountains and again they possessed Jerusalem where was the Holy of Holies”.
I reply that this place is not to be understood of the Babylonian captivity but about various preceding afflictions. For if the discourse was about the Babylonian captivity the Jews would not be said to have been exterminated by many nations but by one, that is by the nation of the Chaldeans; nor would many be said to have been taken away captive but all of them would be; for the Babylonian captivity was general; for very few were left behind by Nabuchodonosor, and they themselves a little later fled into Egypt, 4 Kings ch.25. So their dispersion and desolation was very complete.
Therefore Scripture speaks of various afflictions of the people of the Jews which they suffered at various times from various nations, but especially about the last one which happened when Manasseh was captured; for then the whole region was devastated and the king himself with many others was captured and taken to Babylon; and many were dispersed and fled to many places. But as to what is added “but now they returned from their dispersion etc.” is understood either of the return of king Manasseh with his own people from Babylon, or (if this war was waged when the king was absent) it can be understood of return from the places they had reached in their flight, when the king of Assyria was wasting their region.
Nor should anyone raise the fact that in the Greek text there is added that the temple too was leveled with the ground when the Jews were dispersed. For those words seem spurious, since St. Jerome, who very faithfully translated this book from the Chaldean into Latin, put in his edition nothing about the overthrow of the temple. And perhaps this addition in the Greek text was the reason why so many very grave writers, Eusebius, Augustine, Sulpicius, Bede were deceived when placing the time of this history.
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