What sequence and claims does Judith Chapter 15 record?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The Assyrian army flees in disorder, and Israel pursues with trumpet and shout. Ozias sends messages and other cities send armed youths in pursuit; those remaining in Bethulia gather spoils. The delegation blesses Judith, the people award Holofernes’s peculiar goods to her, and thirty days are scarcely sufficient to gather the spoils.

Chapter breakdown

When news spread throughout the Assyrian camp that Holofernes had been beheaded, all courage and strategic counsel deserted the army. Overcome by trembling and panic, the soldiers sought only self-preservation, abandoning their equipment and fleeing in silence along field paths and mountain tracks without speaking to one another. Observing their disorganized flight, the Israelites advanced in pursuit with sounding trumpets and unified shouts. Because the fleeing Assyrians lacked central coordination and scattered in disorder, Israel's cohesive army overwhelmed all detachments encountered along their retreat.

Ozias dispatched couriers to cities and districts across all Israel. Every town responded by sending chosen armed youths after the fleeing enemy, cutting them down with the sword as far as the outer borders of their territory. Meanwhile, the residents remaining in Bethulia entered the abandoned Assyrian encampment, stripping it of its abundant baggage and supplies. When the pursuing warriors returned to Bethulia, they brought an uncountable wealth of captured livestock, pack animals, and movable goods, enriching the population from the least to the greatest.

Hearing of the deliverance, Joachim the high priest journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethulia accompanied by the elders of the city to see Judith. When she came out to meet them, the delegation blessed her with one voice, proclaiming her the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, and the honor of their nation. The delegation declared that her heart had been strengthened by God because she acted with fortitude and preserved strict chastity after her husband's death, pronouncing that the Lord's hand had fortified her and that she would be blessed forever, to which all the people responded with solemn assent. The collection of spoils required so much work that thirty days were scarcely sufficient. The community awarded Judith all the personal property of Holofernes, including his gold, silver, robes, precious gems, and household furnishings, and the entire populace joined in joyful celebration with instruments and harps.

The story inside

Opening conditions: The Assyrian army flees in disorder, and Israel pursues with trumpet and shout. Development: Ozias sends messages and other cities send armed youths in pursuit; those remaining in Bethulia gather spoils. Chapter ending: The delegation blesses Judith, the people award Holofernes’s peculiar goods to her, and thirty days are scarcely sufficient to gather the spoils.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The Assyrian army flees in disorder, and Israel pursues with trumpet and shout.
2
Ozias sends messages and other cities send armed youths in pursuit; those remaining in Bethulia gather spoils.
3
The delegation blesses Judith, the people award Holofernes’s peculiar goods to her, and thirty days are scarcely sufficient to gather the spoils.

Test your recall

Which events are narrated, and which statements belong to the named speakers?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 52870–52872
15:4. And because the Assyrians were not united together, they went without order in their flight; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body, defeated all that they could find.
Lines 52893–52900
15:10. And when she was come out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people: 15:11. For thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever.