It tells of a Jewish widow, Judith, who uses her beauty and charm to kill an Assyrian general who has besieged her city, Bethulia. With this act, she saves nearby Jerusalem from total destruction. The name Judith (Hebrew: יְהוּדִית, Modern: Yəhūdīt, Tiberian: Yŭhūḏīṯ), meaning "praised" or "Jewess", [1] is the feminine form of Judah.

Understanding the Context

Like Sarah, the mother of Israel’s future (Gn 17:6), Judith’s beauty deceives foreigners, with the result that blessings redound to Israel (Gn 12:11–20). Her Hebrew name means “Jewish woman.” Her exploits captured the imagination of liturgists, artists, and writers through the centuries. The Council of Trent (1546) included Judith in the canon; thus it is one of the seven deuterocanonical books. Inner-biblical references are noteworthy: as God acted through Moses’ hand (Ex 10:21 – 22; 14:27 – 30), so God delivers “by the hand of a female,” Judith.

Key Insights

From the Hebrew name יְהוּדִית (Yehuḏiṯ) meaning "Jewish woman", feminine of יְהוּדִי (yehuḏi), ultimately referring to a person from the tribe of Judah. In the Old Testament Judith is one of the Hittite wives of Esau. This is also the name of the main character of the apocryphal Book of Judith. The life of Judith, Esau’s wife, brings important lessons about the consequences of our decisions. Judith belonged to a people who did not follow the customs or faith of the Israelites.

Final Thoughts

Who Was Judith, First Wife of Esau? - Bible - Bíblia Sagrada Online Who was Judith in the Bible? Judith was a beautiful, clever, cool-witted widow in the ancient town of Bethuliah. She was brave as a lion. When her town was besieged and death stared them all in the face, Judith hatched a plan to save herself and the townspeople. Read the second half of Robin Gallaher Branch’s study of Judith, in which she analyzes Judith’s extraordinary courage, Judith and her maid, her heritage and theology and her roles as prophetess and countrywoman.