The Sword of Judith

The Sword of Judith
Author: Kevin R. Brine
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2010
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1906924155

The Book of Judith tells the story of a fictitious Jewish woman beheading the general of the most powerful imaginable army to free her people. The parabolic story was set as an example of how God will help the righteous. Judith's heroic action not only became a validating charter myth of Judaism itself but has also been appropriated by many Christian and secular groupings, and has been an inspiration for numerous literary texts and works of art. It continues to exercise its power over artists, authors and academics and is becoming a major field of research in its own right. The Sword of Judith is the first multidisciplinary collection of essays to discuss representations of Judith throughout the centuries. It transforms our understanding across a wide range of disciplines. The collection includes new archival source studies, the translation of unpublished manuscripts, the translation of texts unavailable in English, and Judith images and music.

The Canon of Scripture

The Canon of Scripture
Author: F. F. Bruce
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2018-12-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830852123

How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture remains an issue of debate. Adept in both Old and New Testament studies, F. F. Bruce brings the wisdom of a lifetime of reflection and biblical interpretation to bear in addressing the criteria of canonicity, the canon within the canon, and canonical criticism.

Judith

Judith
Author: Carey A. Moore
Publisher: Anchor Bible
Total Pages: 324
Release: 1985
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Moving and inspirational thoughts on what aging means (and can mean) to all of us. A warm, caring book that shows how to make the later years a source of hope.

National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States

National Directory for the Formation, Ministry, and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States
Author: Catholic Church. National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Bishops' Committee on the Permanent Diaconate
Publisher: USCCB Publishing
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781574553680

The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.

Judith

Judith
Author: Lawrence M. Wills
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2019-11-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506463827

Judith tells the story of a beautiful Jewish woman who enters the tent of an invading general, gets him drunk, and then slices off his head, thus saving her village and Jerusalem. This short novella was somewhat surprisingly included in the early Christian versions of the Old Testament and has played an important role in the Western tradition ever since. This commentary provides a detailed analysis of the text's composition and its meaning in its original historical context, and thoroughly surveys the history of Judith scholarship. Lawrence M. Wills not only considers Judith's relation to earlier biblical texts--how the author played upon previous biblical motifs and interpreted important biblical passages--but also addresses the rise of Judith and other Jewish novellas in the context of ancient Near Eastern and Greek literature, as well as their relation to cross-cultural folk motifs. Because of the popularity of Judith in art and culture, this volume also addresses the book's history of interpretation in paintings, sculpture, music, drama, and literature. A number of images of artistic depictions of Judith are included and discussed in detail.

Judith

Judith
Author: Leslie Moise
Publisher: Pearlsong Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2013-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1597190764

In the ancient Middle East a pious, wealthy young widow risks her life to save her town from a besieging army. Judith is a finalist in the 2015 International Book Awards. "The apocryphal Book of Judith is considered by some to be fiction, its actual historical truth in doubt," Publishers Weekly says. "But the chutzpah of its heroine and its message of fidelity to God arouse both admiration and inspiration. Moise (Love is the Thread: A Knitting Friendship), a folklore specialist, evokes the heroine's side of this ancient parable. Extensive research into the period when events in the story of Judith occurred, around 350-100 BCE, allows her to include abundant detail regarding the customs, clothing, and domestic arrangements of Hebrew villagers; behaviors of Assyrian warriors; and, in particular, perceptions and treatment of women. Faithful widow Judith, grieving and childless, befriends the Assyrian defector Achior, whose message from Nebuchadnezzar's general, Holofernes, to Judith's village of Bethulia is 'Surrender or die.' As Holofernes lays siege to the village, Judith receives visions from God and pleas from her friends to help save the village. In danger of rape and death, she overcomes fear through faith and ritual, with the support of her maid, Abra; Achior; and the general's slave. Her defeat of Holofernes forms the satisfying climax of this occasionally slow-moving but always well-imaged novel."

The Books and the Life of Judith of Flanders

The Books and the Life of Judith of Flanders
Author: Mary Dockray-Miller
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2016-12-05
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1351893777

In the first full-length study of Judith of Flanders (c. 1032-1094), Mary Dockray-Miller provides a narrative of Judith’s life through analysis of the books and art objects she commissioned and collected. Organizing her book chronologically by Judith’s marriages and commissions, Dockray-Miller argues that Judith consciously and successfully deployed patronage to support her political and marital maneuverings in the eleventh-century European political theater. During her marriage to Tostig Godwinson, Earl of Northumbria, she commissioned at least four Gospel books for herself in addition to the numerous art objects that she gave to English churches as part of her devotional practices. The multiple treasures Judith donated to Weingarten Abbey while she was married to Welf of Bavaria culminated in the posthumous gift of the relic of the Holy Blood, still celebrated as the Abbey’s most important holding. Lavishly illustrated with never before published full-color reproductions from Monte Cassino MS 437 and Fulda Landesbibliothek MS Aa.21, The Books and the Life of Judith of Flanders features English translations of relevant excerpts from the Vita Oswinii and De Translatione Sanguinis Christi. Dockray-Miller’s book is a fascinating account of this intriguing woman who successfully negotiated the pitfalls of being on the losing side of both the Norman Conquest and the Investiture Controversy.

Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs, and Judith

Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs, and Judith
Author: Lisa M. Wolfe
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1606085204

This lively commentary encompasses four major books focusing on women in the Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha. Each section in the volume addresses the biblical text in detail, and draws connections from the world of ancient audiences to that of present-day readers. Wolfe's research is motivated by the usual inquiries of biblical scholarship, as well as the questions raised by the many church Bible study groups she has taught. Clergy and laity, students and scholars will benefit from these contemporarily relevant reflections on Ruth, Esther, Song of Songs and Judith. Ruth: The foreign widow who sneaks onto the nighttime threshing floor to find survival for herself and her devastated mother-in-law. Esther: The Jewish orphan-turned-queen who turns Persian banqueting on its head in an effort to defend her people. Song of Songs: The proud and alluring lover who claims her sexuality as her own and joyfully shares it with her beloved. Judith: The pious and beautiful widow who lets the enemy commander's appetite become his downfall in order to save her besieged city. This volume is an opportunity to engage these women's suspense-filled stories, which have sustained faith communities since ancient times. ________ Lisa Wolfe is also the author of a DVD Bible study series "Uppity Women of the Bible" (Living the Questions, 2010), which is a companion to this book.To purchase a copy of the DVD series, please visit the following link at Living the Questions: http://www.livingthequestions.com/xcart/home.php?cat=461