Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Achior the leader of Ammon advises Holofernes to inquire whether the Jews have sinned against their God; for if so, they can easily be conquered by him; otherwise, with their God protecting them, they are unconquerable. Therefore the nobles of Holofernes condemn Achior to death.
Vulgate Text: Judith 5:1-29
1. It was reported to Holofernes, the chief of the Assyrian army, that the children of Israel had prepared themselves to resist, and had blocked the mountain passes, 2. and he burned with excessive fury in great anger, and called all the princes of Moab and the leaders of Ammon, 3. and said to them: Tell me who this people is that occupies the mountains: and what kind, and how great are their cities: what also is their strength, or what is their number, or who is the king of their army, 4. and why above all who dwell in the East, have these despised us and not come out to meet us, to receive us in peace? 5. Then Achior, the leader of all the children of Ammon, answering said: If you deign to listen, my lord, I will speak the truth before you about this people who dwell in the mountains, and no false word shall come from my mouth. 6. This people is descended from the Chaldeans. 7. They first dwelt in Mesopotamia because they did not wish to follow the gods of their fathers who were in the land of the Chaldeans. 8. Abandoning therefore the ceremonies of their fathers, which were in a multitude of gods, 9. they worshipped the one God of heaven, who commanded them to go out from there and dwell in Haran. And when famine covered all the land, they went down into Egypt, and there for four hundred years they multiplied so that their host could not be numbered. 10. And when the king of Egypt oppressed them and enslaved them in building his cities with clay and brick, they cried out to their Lord, and He struck all the land of Egypt with various plagues. 11. And when the Egyptians cast them out, and the plague ceased from them, and they wished again to seize them and bring them back to their service, 12. as they fled, the God of heaven opened the sea, so that the waters solidified on both sides like a wall, and they crossed the bottom of the sea, walking on dry foot. 13. In which place, when the innumerable army of the Egyptians pursued them, they were so covered with waters that not one remained to report the event to posterity. 14. Coming forth from the Red Sea, they occupied the deserts of Mount Sinai, in which no man could ever dwell, nor did any son of man find rest. 15. There bitter springs were made sweet for them to drink, and for forty years they obtained provisions from heaven. 16. Wherever they entered without bow or arrow, without shield or sword, their God fought for them and conquered. 17. And there was none who triumphed over this people, except when they departed from the worship of the Lord their God. 18. But whenever they worshipped another god besides their own, they were given over to plunder, to the sword, and to reproach. 19. But whenever they repented of having departed from the worship of their God, the God of heaven gave them the strength to resist. 20. Finally they overthrew the king of the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Perizzites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Amorites, and all the mighty in Heshbon, and they themselves possessed their lands and cities: 21. and as long as they did not sin in the sight of their God, good things were with them: for their God hates iniquity. 22. For some years ago, when they had departed from the way which God had given them to walk in, they were exterminated in battles by many nations, and very many of them were carried captive into a land not their own. 23. But recently, returning to the Lord their God, from the dispersion in which they were scattered, they were reunited, and ascended all these mountains, and again possess Jerusalem, where their holy things are. 24. Now therefore, my lord, inquire: if there is any iniquity of theirs in the sight of their God, let us go up against them, because their God will certainly deliver them to you, and they will be subjugated under the yoke of your power. 25. But if there is no offense of this people before their God, we will not be able to resist them: because their God will defend them: and we shall be a reproach to all the earth. 26. And it came to pass, when Achior had ceased speaking these words, all the nobles of Holofernes were angered, and they plotted to kill him, saying to one another: 27. Who is this man who says the children of Israel can resist King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies, men unarmed, without strength, and without skill in the art of war? 28. Therefore let Achior know that he deceives us: let us go up into the mountains, and when their mighty men are captured, then he will be pierced with the sword along with them, 29. so that every nation may know that Nebuchadnezzar is the god of the earth, and besides him there is no other.
Verse 1: The Children of Israel Had Prepared Themselves to Resist
1. THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD PREPARED THEMSELVES TO RESIST. — The Greek adds: And they had placed obstacles in the plains, that is, hindrances, such as hidden ditches, caltrops, and sharp stakes, into which the Assyrians, passing carelessly, would fall or stumble.
Verse 3: Tell Me Who This People Is
3. AND HE SAID TO THEM: TELL ME WHO THIS PEOPLE IS? — From this it is again gathered that these things did not happen under Manasseh, but under Xerxes. For under Manasseh, and from Manasseh and the chief Jews who were captive, the Babylonians and Assyrians had sufficiently learned who and of what character the Jewish people were. Hence those who hold that these things happened under Manasseh say that this questioning by Holofernes is not that of one who is ignorant, but of one who is marveling and indignant, and despising the Jews as worthless.
Verse 4: And Why Above All Who Dwell in the East
4. AND WHY ABOVE ALL WHO DWELL IN THE EAST. — The Greek has: in the West.
Verse 5: Then Achior the Leader of the Children of Ammon
5. THEN ACHIOR THE LEADER OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF AMMON. — Serarius includes the Edomites under the children of Ammon. For since they were brothers of the Jews (Jacob, the ancestor of the Jews, was brother of Esau, or Edom, the ancestor of the Edomites), when they wished to attack them, they called themselves Ammonites, not Edomites, lest they be publicly blamed for attacking their brothers. Hence in II Paralipomenon XX, 4, it says: 'The children of Moab gathered, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, against Jehoshaphat.' Where you see the Ammonites distinguished from the children of Ammon. Where the book of traditions says: 'By Ammonites he means the Edomites, who out of respect for their ancestral name did not wish to take up arms against Israel in their own dress, but disguised themselves in the garb of the Ammonites.'
Verse 6: This People Is Descended From the Chaldeans
6. THIS PEOPLE IS DESCENDED FROM THE CHALDEANS, — because God led Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, out of Ur of the Chaldeans, Genesis XI, 31.
Verse 9: They Went Down Into Egypt
9. THEY WENT DOWN INTO EGYPT, AND THERE FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS THEY MULTIPLIED. — Count these 400 years from the departure of Abraham from Chaldea and Haran: for otherwise the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt for only 215 years, as I showed in Exodus XII, 40.
Verse 13: They Were Covered With Waters
13. THEY WERE COVERED WITH WATERS, — Pharaoh with all his men. Achior recounts the miracles by which God led the Hebrews from Egypt into Canaan, all of which I explained in Exodus.
Verse 17: There Was None Who Triumphed Over This People
17. AND THERE WAS NONE WHO TRIUMPHED OVER THIS PEOPLE, EXCEPT WHEN THEY DEPARTED FROM THE WORSHIP OF THE LORD THEIR GOD. — Learn here to serve God: for thus God will make you unconquerable and superior to all enemies. But if you do not, He will allow you to be subjugated and trampled by anyone. Let cities and kingdoms learn the same, and their kings and princes. Hear the weighty maxims of two Fathers on this subject: one is St. Jerome, epistle 48: 'By our sins, he says, the barbarians are strong; by our vices the Roman army is put to flight.' The other is St. Ambrose, sermon 85: 'Destruction is brought upon a city only because of the sins of its citizens. Cease to sin, and the city will not perish.' Therefore nations that sin should fear God's vengeance and destruction: but those that do not sin should hope for security and happiness.
Verse 22: When They Had Departed From the Way
22. FOR SOME YEARS AGO, WHEN THEY HAD DEPARTED FROM THE WAY (religion and law) WHICH GOD HAD GIVEN THEM, etc., THEY WERE CARRIED CAPTIVE. — By Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon, which was the most famous, universal, and properly twelve-fold captivity, from which they returned under Cyrus. But such was not the one that happened under Manasseh; for that was not universal. And the other captivity of the ten tribes carried out under Hezekiah by Shalmaneser was likewise not universal, because it was not of all the tribes, namely the twelve, but only of ten. Moreover, that was permanent, because the Israelites never returned from it.
The Greek adds: And the temple of their God was made level with the pavement. Vatablus says, leveled to the ground, because it was burned by the Chaldeans. From this it is clear that these things happened after the destruction of Jerusalem. But Bellarmine, Serarius and others, who hold that these events occurred before the destruction, reply that these words were inserted by someone into the Greek text, since they are absent from the Latin, and therefore should be given little weight. Others reply that Manasseh by his idolatry had despised, cast down, and profaned the temple, and indeed had demolished it in many places and practically leveled it to the ground.
Verse 25: We Will Not Be Able to Resist Them
25. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RESIST THEM, BECAUSE THEIR GOD WILL DEFEND THEM. — Now, 'if God is for us, who is against us?' Romans chapter VIII. These words stirred Holofernes' anger, so that he condemned Achior to death, because he recognized no God except Nebuchadnezzar.
SO THAT EVERY NATION MAY KNOW THAT NEBUCHADNEZZAR IS THE GOD OF THE EARTH. — Rightly 'of the earth,' because he has no authority or power over heaven, nor does his power extend beyond the earth. Therefore he falsely wishes to be God. For God rules both heaven and earth. Why then are you proud and mad, O little worm of the earth, and challenge the God of heaven to a duel, to deprive Him of His divinity and cast Him down? Wisely Tertullian says, Apology XL: 'Be religious toward God, you who wish Him to be favorable to the Emperor. Cease to believe in or worship another god, and thus also to call him god, who needs a God.'