Preparing for military action: Judith’s purificatory washing in Judith 12:7

Joseph Scales

doi:10.1163/15685330-00001143

Preparing for military action: Judith’s purificatory washing in Judith 12:7

Joseph Scales

Theology and Religion

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Abstract

In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Judith, the eponymous heroine departs from the Assyrian camp in order to bathe and pray over three successive nights. Judith’s bath has been interpreted as a ritual bath which achieves purification. Scholars have offered various reasons for Judith’s purificatory wash, but none fully account for all the details of this episode. This paper discusses the proposed solutions and offers a new suggestion to account for Judith’s bath; Judith bathes to prepare herself for the assassination of Holofernes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	687-703
Number of pages	17
Journal	Vetus Testamentum
Volume	71
Issue number	4-5
Early online date	26 Apr 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-00001143
Publication status	Published - Oct 2021

Keywords

Judith
Purity
Bathing
Prayer
Warfare
Literature and Literary Theory
Linguistics and Language
Religious studies
History
Language and Linguistics

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10.1163/15685330-00001143Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

[15685330 - Vetus Testamentum] Preparing for Military Action_ Judith’s Purificatory Washing in Judith 12_7Final published version, 1.58 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

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Preparing for military action: Judith’s purificatory washing in Judith 12:7

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