What does Judith Chapter 4 record?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

The people occupy heights, wall towns and store corn, and Eliachim orders watches at narrow mountain ways. The people fast and pray; priests put on haircloth, prostrate little children and cover the altar. Eliachim recalls Moses and Amalec and urges perseverance; the people continue prayer and sacrifice in haircloth and ashes.

Chapter breakdown

When the children of Israel residing in the land of Judah heard of the widespread devastation wrought by Holofernes, dread and horror seized their minds lest he inflict upon Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord the same destruction he had visited upon other nations and their sanctuaries. In response, they dispatched messengers throughout all Samaria as far as Jericho, seizing the summits of the mountains, fortifying their settlements with walls, and amassing grain reserves for war. The high priest Eliachim wrote to all the inhabitants facing Esdrelon opposite the great plain near Dothain, and to all communities controlling transit routes, instructing them to occupy the mountain ascents leading to Jerusalem and maintain strict watch where the mountain passes narrowed. The children of Israel obeyed all the instructions commanded by Eliachim the priest of the Lord.

The entire population cried to the Lord with great earnestness, humbling their souls with fastings and prayers alongside their wives. The priests put on haircloths, caused little children to lie prostrate before the temple of the Lord, and draped the sacred altar itself in haircloth. With one accord, they pleaded with the Lord God of Israel that their children might not become a prey, their wives be carried off into captivity, their cities razed, their holy things profaned, or their nation made a reproach to the Gentiles.

Eliachim the high priest traveled throughout all Israel, exhorting the people to persevere in fasting and prayer before the sight of the Lord. He reminded them how Moses the servant of the Lord defeated Amalek—who trusted in his own power, armies, shields, chariots, and horsemen—not through sword combat, but through holy prayer, assuring them that all enemies of Israel would likewise fall if they remained steadfast in this sacred discipline. Moved by his words, the people continued in prayer before the Lord, such that even the priests offering holocausts ministered at the altar girded in haircloth with ashes upon their heads, beseeching God with their whole heart to visit His people Israel.

The story inside

Context and action: The people occupy heights, wall towns and store corn, and Eliachim orders watches at narrow mountain ways. Response: The people fast and pray; priests put on haircloth, prostrate little children and cover the altar. Recorded continuation: Eliachim recalls Moses and Amalec and urges perseverance; the people continue prayer and sacrifice in haircloth and ashes.

Lessons worth keeping

1
The people occupy heights, wall towns and store corn, and Eliachim orders watches at narrow mountain ways.
2
The people fast and pray; priests put on haircloth, prostrate little children and cover the altar.
3
Eliachim recalls Moses and Amalec and urges perseverance; the people continue prayer and sacrifice in haircloth and ashes.

Test your recall

What precedent does Eliachim use to urge perseverance in prayer?

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 51836–51841
4:5. And Eliachim the priest wrote to all that were over against Esdrelon, which faceth the great plain near Dothain, and to all by whom there might be a passage of way, that they should take possession of the ascents of the mountains, by which there might be any way to Jerusalem, and should keep watch where the way was narrow between the mountains.
Lines 51850–51853
4:8. And the priests put on haircloths, and they caused the little children to lie prostrate before the temple of the Lord, and the altar of the Lord they covered with haircloth.
Lines 51866–51869
4:12. Remember Moses the servant of the Lord overcame Amalec that trusted in his own strength, and in his power, and in his army, and in his shields, and in his chariots, and in his horsemen, not by fighting with the sword, but by holy prayers: