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Audiobook edition · 1 h 27 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 54 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 54 pagesAbout this book
A town runs out of water, its leaders lose hope, and a widow prepares to enter the enemy camp.
In The Book of Judith, Holofernes brings Nebuchadnezzar’s army to the hill town of Bethulia. With its water cut off, the town faces surrender. Uzziah, its weary leader, gives the thirsty people a deadline. Judith, a devout widow, challenges the elders and begins a plan that places her among their enemies.
This ancient Jewish narrative moves from armies and royal demands to prayer, disguise, and deception. Judith takes her loyal maid into Holofernes’ camp, claiming to defect. The tale explores faith under pressure and courage beyond public office. Catholic and Orthodox traditions count it among deuterocanonical writings; others call it apocryphal.
What you’ll discover
- A town under siege Feel the pressure mount as Bethulia’s dwindling water brings its people close to surrender.
- A widow takes charge Meet Judith, whose disciplined faith becomes a challenge to the men leading her town.
- Inside the enemy camp Follow Judith and her maid into danger, where careful words matter as much as strength.
- Faith tested by fear Explore the clash between Judith’s trust and the elders’ desperate deadline for surrender.
- More than strict history Discover a tale that bends historical facts to explore power, devotion, and unexpected courage.
Who will love it
For readers who love tales of siege and cunning, a small people facing an empire, and heroines who act when leaders hesitate.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An angry king sends his general west
- The army marches and Judea prepares to resist
- A foreign counselor tells the truth and pays
- Thirst, not the sword, breaks Bethulia
- A widow tells the elders they are wrong
- She prays, dresses, and walks into the camp
- Faith here means acting, not waiting
- A told tale built to teach and endure
Who’s who
- JudithA widow of Bethulia, wealthy, devout, and beautiful, who rejects the elders' deadline and offers herself as the means of her people's rescue.
- HolofernesChief captain of the Assyrian army, sent by his king to punish the western lands, who is confident that no god can stop him.
- NabuchodonosorThe angry king of the Assyrians at Nineveh, who swears to take revenge on every nation that ignored his call.
- OziasA ruler of Bethulia who, pressed by his thirsty people, promises to surrender the city after five more days.
- AchiorCommander of the Ammonites, who tells Holofernes the history of Israel and is sent to share the fate of Bethulia.
- BagoasThe eunuch who manages Holofernes' household and is sent to bring Judith to his lord's banquet.
- JoacimThe high priest in Jerusalem, who orders the hill towns to hold the narrow passes against the Assyrians.
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The Book of Judith
by Attributed to Various Jewish authors
A widow dresses up and leaves a thirsty, besieged town to enter the enemy army's camp.
ChallengingUnder 2 hours to readItaliano
Excellent
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In short
What would you do if your town had run out of water, and a vast army sat in the valley below? In the Book of Judith, the leaders of a small hill town swear to wait five days for God to act and then to surrender.
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Listen freeOr hold it in print: paperback, hardcover or large print, at costFrom the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An angry king sends his general west
The story opens with a king who cannot bear to be ignored. Nabuchodonosor rules the Assyrians from Nineveh. He goes to war with Arphaxad, king of the Medes, and wins. He kills Arphaxad in the mountains.
During that war, the king asked the western lands to join him in battle. Peoples from Cilicia and Damascus to the borders of Egypt sent his messengers home in disgrace. They did not fear him. In their eyes he was only one man. That insult is the seed of everything that follows.
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A widow dresses up and leaves a thirsty, besieged town to enter the enemy army's camp.
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Details
- Language
- Italiano
- Listening time
- 1 h 27 min
- Level
- Challenging
- Paperback
- 54 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Hardcover
- 54 pages · 6 × 9 in
- Large print paperback
- 80 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
- Large print hardcover
- 80 pages · 8.5 × 11 in
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Cite this edition
The Book of Judith. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-judith.
The book of Judith. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-judith (Original work published ca. 100 B.C.E.)
The Book of Judith. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-judith.
@book{anonymous2026book,
title = {The Book of Judith},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/loa-judith},
note = {First published ca. 100 BCE}
}
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What is the Book of Judith about?
It tells how a widow named Judith saves the hill town of Bethulia when an Assyrian army led by Holofernes cuts off its water. She confronts the town's leaders, prays, and goes into the enemy camp with a plan.
Is the Book of Judith a true story?
Most scholars read it as historical fiction. It calls Nabuchodonosor king of the Assyrians in Nineveh, and its places and dates do not match other sources. It is usually dated to the second century BCE.
Why is the Book of Judith not in the Hebrew Bible or many Protestant Bibles?
It was part of the Greek Septuagint and is counted as scripture by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Rabbinic Judaism did not include it in the Hebrew canon, and Protestants place it among the apocrypha.
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