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champion Heb. i; see 1 Sam. xvii. 51. Syr. "their mighty ones" (an obvious error).

sons of the Titans.] The Gk. viol Tirávov may represent Heb. 7; see 2 Sam. xxi. 16, 18. In 2 Sam. v. 18 the valley of Rephaim is called in the LXX. the valley of the Titans; and so in the Hexapla, 2 Sam. xxiii. 13. The Heb. Rephaim is generally rendered riyavres in LXX. But possibly the original term here was ; see Gen. vi. 4 ; Num. xiii. 33. At all events, the name of an aboriginal race of Canaanites traditionally remembered as giants is here used poetically, by the figure called Antonomasia, for the general notion of giants. Cf. also Deut. i. 28; ii. 11; iii. 11; ix. 2. Syr. nor did one of the sons of the strong

smite him.

high giants.] Gk. ὑψηλοὶ Γίγαντες. The Heb. might be either D, Gen. xiv. 5, Josh. xii. 4; or D, Gen. vi. 4, x. 8, 9. Syr. "men who were tall in stature." Cf. also Num. xiii. 32; Deut. i. 28; Isa. xlv. 14.

but Judith the daughter of Merari.] Compare Deborah's direct mention of herself, Judg. v. 7, 12, 15.

".of Israel ) ܐܟܘܗܝ(

ointment.] The word pupioμòs, properly "anointing,' is only found here and in Athenaeus (p. 547). Codd. 19, 108, 249 substitute the common term púp. For and read she, before anointed.

in a tire.] See ch. x. 3. The "linen garment" would be a costly one, like that of Tamar, 2 Sam. xiii. 18.

9. Her sandals ravished his eyes.] So the Syr. and Vulg. The nouns in the Gk. are singular (19, 108, 76, al. eyes). The Hebrew ladies paid much attention to the adornment of the foot. Cf. Isa. iii. 18; Ezek. xvi. 9; ch. x. 4 supr.; Cant. vii. 1, iv. 9. The verb may have been 7, rapuit, Judg. xxi. 21. So Syr. ; Vulg. rapuerunt.

took his mind prisoner.] Gk. xμaλwτiσe x auтoù. Cf. Judg. v. 12 (= nay, captivum duxit). The yux (?) was the seat of feeling.

and the fauchion (ch. xiii. 6) passed through his neck.] The conjunction should be transferred to the former line. The concise brevity with which the decisive issue is stated is far more effective than any conceivable amplification would have been.

10. The Persians . . . the Medes.] Mentioned as types of strong and warlike peoples; or as the most remote of nations.

Of

course, it is assumed that there were Persian and Median contingents in the Assyrian army. The priority in time, which belongs to the Medes, is here neglected, and the usual order of the names, preserved even in the Book of Daniel, is reversed — another indication of the lateness of our work. The Medes are not mentioned in the Assyrian records earlier than the reign of Shalmaneser II. (accessit B.C. 860).

The Assyrian empire was finally overthrown by the combined forces of the Medes and Babylonians, circ. 607 B.C. See Schrader, * Keilinschriften,' &c. p. 358 sqq. The Persian power was, as is well known, posterior to that of the Medes, having been founded by Cyrus, who overthrew Astyages, or Astuvegu, the Mede, circ. 536 B.C. See Hdt. i. 96-128; and the Annals of Nabûnáḥid, the last king of Babylon. Our author makes free and somewhat uncritical use of the great names of antiquity. He and his contemporaries knew little of their exact historical relations. Notwithstanding, his fervid patriotism and strong faith inspired him to sing a noble hymn, not unworthy to rank with the ancient psalms of his people.

Verse 10 again reminds us of that great Song of Moses which was the prototype and model of all future lyric poetry among the Hebrews. Cf. Exod. xv. 14 599.: "The peoples heard, they were afraid :

Sorrow took hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

Then the dukes of Edom were amazed; The mighty men of Moab-trembling took hold upon them;

All the inhabitants of Canaan melted away." quaked.] pisav, Jer. ii. 12; Job iv. 15. Vulg. borruerunt.

were daunted.] Fritzsche edits éppáxŋσav (Codd. ii. 55). The other MSS. have érapáXenoav, were troubled. Cod. 58 omits. So Old Lat. and Vulg. The verb páσow occurred ch. ix. 8 (cf. Jer. xxiii. 33, 39); and is suitable here, a strong term being required to correspond to eppiέav. “The Medes were dashed down" (perculsi animo, metu fracti). So we speak of courage being dashed. Syr. OLLI, fracti sunt. Hardiness is páros or Bápros (Codd. 19, 108, 23, al.). Cf. Job xvii. 9, eapoos (= PEN, robur).

11. Verses 11, 12 are wanting in Cod. 58. My afflicted... my weak ones, i.e. my op

lifted up their voices, but they were overthrown.

12 The sons of the damsels have pierced them through, and wounded them as fugitives' children: they

pressed and helpless people. See ch. ix. 11 for both terms (raneivos-dober@r). Shouted for joy is nλáλa§av = : Josh. vi. 20; Ps. xlvii. 1. Cried aloud-3ónσav-is required by the parallelism. So Codd. 19, 23, 52, 55, 64, 74, al., Syr., and Old Lat. The common épo3nonoav is called by Fritzsche "eine ganz gedankenlose Correctur, durch eronenσav veranlasst.”

but they were astonished.] Better, affrighted, terrified (Tow). Cf. Job xxxii. 15; Amos iii. 6; 1 Chron. xxviii. 20. The subject is the Assyrians, who were panic-stricken when they heard the glad shout of the Israelites. Cf. 1 Sam. iv. 5-7. Codd. 19, 108, 23, 55, read onσav, they were worsted; x 248, ἐπτοήσαν, which is simply a correction to avoid the abrupt change of the subject. Syr. and they fell.

these lifted up their voices.] Rather, they. The subject is still the Assyrians. They also shouted, but it was a cry of fear. Render, They lifted up their voice, and were overthrosun (Syr. broken). Codd. 19, 108, and my enemies that They lifted up their voice refers to the were put to fight; cf. ch. xv. 3. This suggests Israelites. The Old Lat. has the peculiar reading, Turbata sunt tunc omnia castra Assur, et ululaverunt humiles mei, et exclamaverunt aegrotantes in siti, et exclamaverunt voce sua et convertit aquam; the Vulg., Tunc ululaverunt castra Assyriorum, quando apparuerunt bumiles mei, arescentes in siti. Cf. Isa. xli. 17.

12. The sons of the damsels.] ni Kopariov, ancilla: Ruth ii. 8, 22, 23. "Sons of handmaids" means slaves, vernulae. The Assyrians regarded the Israelites as rebellious serfs: ch. xiv. 13, 18. Judith turns the edge of their taunt against themselves. The slaves are their victors. In 1 Sam. xx. 30, Saul in his wrath addresses Jonathan as vie kopariwv avtoμodovvτwv, son of runaway handmaids! Fritzsche explains: "Sons of maidens, of young weak women: thus, weak youngsters." Badwell's imbelles atque delicati, and Volkmar's Mädchen - Gleiche, are similar. Grotius: "modo geniti; ex novis nuptis.”

pierced them through.] KaTEKEVINσ = κατεκέντησαν 1797; Jer. li. 4. (égekévt. Codd 19, 108 = 7,1 Chron. x. 4.)

IT

as fugitives children.] is raidas avroμολούντων. But 19, 108, αὐτομολοῦντας. So Syr. and Old Lat. and Vulg. The Israelites

between the power and the love of God is like the prophetic, “Thus saith the high and holy One," &c., Isa. lvii. 15.

16. For all sacrifice, &c.] Lit. : Because a small thing is every sacrifice for a smell of sweet odour, And a very small thing is all fat for a whole offering unto thee; But he that feareth the Lord is great continually (μέγας διαπαντός).

The verse assigns a reason for the last statement in v. 15. It seems to say: Not the "whole burnt offerings and sacrifices," which are the outward tokens of fearing Him, but the worshipper himself is the great, the priceless object, in the sight of God. He does not value the sacrifices for their own sakes, but for what they signify-the devotion of him who offers them. The writer does not mean at all to disparage the sacrificial system. He has already laid the utmost stress upon Judith's punctilious observance of the legal traditions of piety. Cf. Isa. xl. 16; Ps. li. 16-19: and for the sacrificial terms, Gen. viii. 21; Lev. viii. 20, xvii. 6. Codd. 19, 108 read: "Because small and great (neut.) thou madest, every sacrifice for a smell of sweet odour and all fat for whole

burnt offering are as small as may be; but he," &c. Cf. Ps. 1. 8 sqq.

66

=

.עם :

17. the nations.] The Ovn or "heathen." My kindred' = my people: yévos in the day of judgment.] Cf. Joel ii. 1, Cf. Joel ii. 1, iii. 11 sqq.; Mal. iii. 1.

in putting fire and worms in their flesh.] A reminiscence of Isa. lxvi. 24: "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men that rebelled against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Corpses on the battle-field would soon decompose in the hot East. They were burnt to get rid of them and their offensiveness. Burning instead of burial was considered a great dishonour. See Josh. vii. 25; Amos ii. 1. Grotius explains: "Morbis eos vexabit diuturnis, qualis est febris éKTIKη et verminatio. Haec addita videntur post mortem Antiochi." See 2 Macc. ix. 9, 18.

and they shall feel them, and weep for ever.] The Gkis καὶ κλαύσονται ἐν αἰσθήσει ἕως αἰῶνος. The Vulg. ut urantur et sentiant usque in sempiternum seems to imply a reading Kaúσovтa; and so the Syr. and they shall be

up against my kindred! the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh; and they shall feel them, and weep for

ever.

burnt through wickedness for ever. It is evident that the thought of the writer extends beyond the visible scene, and that under a figure of speech, already current in his day, he is referring to the penal woes of the world to come. So Ecclus. vii. 17: "Humble thy soul greatly; for the vengeance of the ungodly is fire and worms." Cf. Mark ix. 48; Dan. xii. 2. Enoch ciii. 8: "And into the darkness and into the meshes and into the burning flame will your spirit go at the great judgment; and the great judgment will be for all generations to eternity. Woe to you, for ye have no peace." Also ch. xc. 26: "And I saw at that time that a similar gulf was opened in the middle of the earth, full of fire, and they brought those blinded sheep, and all were judged and found guilty, and were thrown into that fiery gulf, and burned; and this gulf was to the right of that house” (i.e. in the Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem). See Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch,' pp. 64 and 76. In his Book of Enoch' (Introd. p. 39) Prof. Schodde remarks: "The condemnation of the sinners is eternal (ch. v. 5, 6; x. 12; xii. 4, 5; xxii. 11 sqq.), and consists of burning (x. 14) in a pool of fire (x. 6, xc. 24, &c.) ; or fiery abyss (x. 13, XC. 25, &C.); or in prison (x. 13); or in a fiery oven (xcviii. 3); or in hell (xcix. 11).” (Hell is Sheol.) The most probable theory about the origin of the Book of Enoch is that it was written during the Maccabean period to cheer the Chasidim, or patriotic party, in their life-and-death struggle for freedom. See also 2 Esdr. viii. 59; ix. 9–12 ; Targum of Jonathan, Gen. iii. 24; Rosh Hashanah, 17 A (a passage which asserts that the wicked are judged in Gehenna unto generations of generations, and cites Isa. lxvi. 24. The opinion of the Rabbis was not, however, uniform on the subject of the duration of hell's torments).

Cod. 58 concludes the psalm thus: ovaì dè ἔθνη παράνομα ἐπανιστάμενα γένει μου. Κύριος παντοκράτωρ ἐκδικᾷ αὐτοὺς, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ekdikýσei avtoús. Syr.:

"Woe to the people that riseth up against my people!

The Almighty Lord will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment;

He will take vengeance on them and will visit them ;

And he will give their flesh to the fire and to

18 Now as soon as they entered into Jerusalem, they worshipped the Lord; and as soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, and their free offerings, and their gifts.

19 Judith also dedicated all the stuff of Holofernes, which the people had given her, and gave the canopy, which she had taken out of his bedchamber, for a gift unto the Lord.

20 So the people continued feasting in Jerusalem before the sanctuary for the space of three months, and Judith remained with them.

18. Now as soon as they entered... they worshipped.] Cod. 58 and Syr.: "And it came to pass when she entered... she (Syr. they) worshipped."

purified.] Scil. propter caedem (Castell).

See Num. xxxi. 19 sqq.; 1 Chron. xv. 12; 2 Chron. xxx. 3, 17-20.

their free (will) offerings.] See Num. xxix. 39; 1 Chron. xxix. 6 sqq. Cod. 58 and Syr. omit and their gifts: see ch. iv. 14; Lev. xxiii. 38.

19. which she had taken.] The common reading aßev aurn is evidently wrong. Fritzsche edits avr, "for herself," from Codd. ii. iii. x., but remarks "malim avr." Vulg. well: "quod ipsa sustulerat."

for a gift unto the Lord.] eis ávábnua (Codd. iii. x. 58, 19, 55, al. ávábeμa) To be (iii. 58, 19, 64, al., Syr. kupiw). The LXX. renders D, res Deo devota, by this term: e.g. Lev. xxvii. 28, 29. So Syr. Cf. Luke xxi. 5.

20. the sanctuary.] τὰ ἅγια, “the holy places;" the temple with its two chambers, and the buildings of the precincts.

for the space of three months.] This seems much too long for likelihood. The Syr. says: a month of days. Cf. the 120 days of banqueting in ch. i. 16. In Esth. ix. 21, the yearly festival is of two days' duration (14th and 15th Adar). The 13th Adar was the "Yom Niqanor" or Nicanor's Day: see Macc. vii. 47 sqq. and 2 Macc. xv. 36; Joseph. Ant.' xii. 17. Solomon's double feast of Tabernacles and of the Dedication lasted fourteen days: 2 Chron. vii. 9. The festivities of David's coronation at Hebron occupied three days: 1 Chron. xii. 39. Lastly, according to 1 Macc. iv. 56, Judas "kept the dedication of the altar eight days."

6

21 After this time every one returned to his own inheritance, and Judith went to Bethulia, and remained in her own possession, and was in her time honourable in all the country.

22 And many desired her, but none knew her all the days of her life, after that Manasses her husband was dead, and was gathered to his people.

23 But she increased more and more in honour, and waxed old in her husband's house, being an hundred and five years old, and made her maid free; so she died in Bethulia:

his own inheritance.] Syr. each to his own tent. So Old Lat. Cod. 58, τὰ σκηνώματα avтoû.

in her osun possession.] ἐπὶ τῆς ὑπάρξεως avrĥs, upon her property = wasthy; cf. Dan. xi. 13, 24, 28: ch. viii. 7 supra-kaì ἔμενεν ἐπ' αὐτῶν. Syr. omits and remained, and gives to the house of her possession. 58. Syr. also omits in her time. The Gk. is κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν αὐτῆς, i.e. as long as she lived.

So

22. many desired her, 'c.] I.e. as Badwell explained: "multos procos habuit." Judith

maintained her honourable widowhood to the

last. Cf. Luke ii. 36, 37; 1 Tim. iii. 2.

and was gathered, &c.] See Gen. xxv. 8. Codd. 58, 106, and Syr. and Vulg. omit. Wolff considers this verse the original end of the book.

23. But she increased more and more in bonour.] The Gk. is curious: κаì ν πроβαίνουσα μεγάλη σφόδρα. It predicates increasing years rather than honour. Προβαίνειν, scil. Tλkia: cf. Luke i. 7, ii. 36; Gen. xviii. 11. The term is further defined here by μeyáλŋ in the sense of "old," grandis, Heb.

The reading of Cod. 58 seems preferable: κаì проßαív. ¿yévеto μey. σp., and advancing (in days) she became very old. Syr. and acc. as she was going on, she was increasing indeed (in dignity), until she had increased exceedingly. Vulg. Erat autem diebus festis procedens cum magna gloria: i.e. on festivals she would appear in public, with great éclat. Old Lat. et procedente tempore clara facta est.

an hundred and five years.] In the Greek this depends immediately on the verb eynpaσev, as an accusative of limitation.