Judith Book Of Judith

Judith’s Real Character Women can be heroes the same as men as seen by the book of Judith. Judith is an important religious figure for the Jewish community. Her name is the female version of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The book of Judith is a fictional tale written to inspire the Jewish community. The writer of the book of Judith portrays Judith as a female instead of as a male in order to draw connections between her and the Jewish community. Both were seen as feeble, but overcame. Judith is similar to both Deborah and Jael. She is similar to them because of her take charge ways and the respect she enjoyed from the community. The story of Judith supports the cultural values of the Jewish community of the time because she fits the qualities of the ideal woman and is rewarded for such.

When Judith first interacts with the warriors she tells then she is there to give away the Israelites’ secrets and weaknesses. One of the only things the Assyrians notice about her is her good looks. “When the men heard her words, and observed her face-- she was in their eyes marvelously beautiful” (Judith 10:14). Because of her beauty the Assyrians never consider the fact that she may be lying. At the meeting of Holofernes and Judith, Holofernes believes that Judith is afraid and needs protection (Judith 11:1). He emphasizes the fact that she is a woman, meaning that she must be afraid to be away from her people and need protection. Both the warriors and Holofernes underestimate her abilities because of her beauty and her being female. This underestimation and arrogance ultimately leads to their