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Context No. 1136 of 4322 · Judith

Context · Reflection

Judith 14:11-19: in context

11But as soon as the morning arose, they hanged the head of Holofernes upon the wall, and every man took up his weapons, and they went forth by bands to the ascents of the mountain. 12But when the children of Asshur saw them, they sent word to their leaders, and they went to their captains and tribunes, and to every one of their rulers. 13They came to Holofernes’ tent, and said to him that was over all that he had, “Wake our lord up, now, for the slaves have been bold to come down against us to battle, that they may be utterly destroyed.” 14Bagoas went in, and knocked at the outer door of the tent; for he supposed that Holofernes was sleeping with Judith. 15But when no one answered, he opened it, went into the bedchamber, and found him cast upon the threshold dead; and his head had been taken from him. 16He cried with a loud voice, with weeping, groaning, and shouting, and tore his garments. 17He entered into the tent where Judith lodged, and he didn’t find her. He leaped out to the people, and cried aloud, 18“The slaves have dealt treacherously! One woman of the Hebrews has brought shame upon the house of King Nebuchadnezzar; for, behold, Holofernes lies upon the ground, and his head is not on him!” 19But when the rulers of the army of Asshur heard this, they tore their tunics, and their souls were troubled exceedingly. There were cries and an exceedingly great noise in the midst of the camp.

At dawn the Israelites of Bethulia hang the head of Holofernes on the wall and march out as if to attack. The Assyrians, seeing them, go to rouse their general. Bagoas, his attendant, knocks at the tent, assuming Holofernes is still inside with the Hebrew woman, and when no one answers, he goes in and finds the great commander sprawled dead on the floor, his head gone. He tears his clothes and cries out to the whole camp: the slaves have betrayed us; one Hebrew woman has brought shame on the house of Nebuchadnezzar; Holofernes lies headless on the ground. The army dissolves into panic.

The scene freezes on a single image: the servant standing over the headless body of the man who had terrified nations. Holofernes had commanded a vast army, humiliated kings, threatened to wipe out God's people, and now he lies dead on the floor of his own tent, killed in the night by one widow. The great man's power, which had seemed absolute, is exposed as utterly fragile; he could not even protect his own head. There is a recurring truth in scripture that the proud and violent, however unstoppable they appear, are hollow before God, brought down at the moment of their apparent triumph. Bagoas expected to find his master sleeping in comfort and found him a corpse; the whole imposing machine of Assyrian power collapses the instant its head is gone. It is a picture of how quickly what looks invincible can fall when God moves against it, often through the least likely instrument. The tyrant who meant to devour a people is discovered, by his own servant, undone. What terrifies the world is not as solid as it looks, and God has a way of toppling it through the small and overlooked.

What proud, seemingly unstoppable thing looms over me, and can I trust that, like Holofernes found headless in his tent, it is more fragile before God than it appears?

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