Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
The Assyrians, having heard of the slaying of Holofernes, are slaughtered as they flee by the pursuing Hebrews, who plunder the camp loaded with spoils for thirty days and enrich themselves: Judith is blessed by Joacim the High Priest and the whole people, and is enriched with all that had belonged to Holofernes.
Vulgate Text: Judith 15:1-15
1. And when the entire army heard that Holofernes had been beheaded, courage and counsel fled from them, and, shaken by trembling and fear alone, they took refuge in flight, 2. so that no one spoke with his neighbor, but with bowed heads, abandoning everything, they hastened to escape the Hebrews, whom they heard were coming armed against them, fleeing through the ways of the fields and the paths of the hills. 3. So the children of Israel, seeing them fleeing, followed them. They went down sounding trumpets and shouting behind them. 4. And since the Assyrians were not gathered together, they fled headlong: but the children of Israel, pursuing in one body, cut down all whom they could find. 5. So Ozias sent messengers through all the cities and regions of Israel. 6. Therefore every region and every city sent their chosen armed youth after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword until they reached the farthest extent of their borders. 7. And the rest who were in Bethulia entered the camp of the Assyrians, and carried off the spoil that the fleeing Assyrians had left behind, and were laden exceedingly. 8. And those who returned as victors to Bethulia brought with them all that had been theirs, so that there was no numbering the cattle, the beasts of burden, and all their movable goods, so that from the least to the greatest all became rich from their plunder. 9. Now Joacim the high priest came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his priests, to see Judith. 10. And when she had come out to him, they blessed her all with one voice, saying: You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honor of our people: 11. because you have acted manfully, and your heart was strengthened, because you loved chastity, and after your husband, you knew no other man: therefore the hand of the Lord strengthened you, and therefore you shall be blessed forever. 12. And all the people said: So be it, so be it. 13. And for thirty days, the spoils of the Assyrians were scarcely collected by the people of Israel. 14. Moreover, all things that were proved to have been the personal possessions of Holofernes, they gave to Judith in gold, and silver, and garments, and gems, and every kind of furnishing, and all things were delivered to her by the people. 15. And all the people rejoiced with the women, and virgins, and young men, with organs and harps.
Verse 1: Courage and Counsel Fled From Them
1. COURAGE AND COUNSEL FLED FROM THEM, AND, SHAKEN BY TREMBLING AND FEAR ALONE, THEY TOOK REFUGE IN FLIGHT — both because they saw their commander Holofernes with his head cut off; and because God took from them their wits and counsel, so that, being as it were out of their minds, they did not know what they should do. For otherwise, if they had been in possession of their faculties, they would have appointed another leader for themselves, who would have compelled the few citizens of Bethulia to surrender; and also because God sent upon them a panic terror, so that, with their commander slain, they thought they themselves would likewise be slain by the Hebrews. Therefore they threw themselves headlong into flight: and so, as they fled, they were cut down by the few pursuing and trumpeting Hebrews, just as a hundred thousand Midianites were slain by Gideon's three hundred soldiers, Judges 7.
Verse 4: They Cut Down All
4. THEY CUT DOWN ALL — killing some, wounding others, maiming still others, etc. For the Hebrew word chalas signifies all these things.
Verse 7: Laden
7. LADEN — that is, loaded with spoils. Some think it should be read "honestati" (enriched), that is, they were made wealthy, as the Greek has it: for honestas in Scripture often signifies riches, and honestare means the same as to enrich.
Verse 9: Joacim the High Priest Came From Jerusalem
9. NOW JOACIM THE HIGH PRIEST CAME FROM JERUSALEM TO BETHULIA WITH ALL HIS PRIESTS (in Greek: with the Jerusalem senate, perhaps with the Sanhedrin council, which was the supreme body, containing 70 eminent senators), TO SEE JUDITH — and to bless her and to congratulate her on so great a victory.
Verse 10: You Are the Glory of Jerusalem
10. AND WHEN SHE HAD COME OUT TO HIM, THEY ALL BLESSED HER WITH ONE VOICE, SAYING: YOU ARE THE GLORY OF JERUSALEM, YOU ARE THE JOY OF ISRAEL, YOU ARE THE HONOR (the distinction and glory) OF OUR PEOPLE. — In Greek: You are the sublimity of Israel, you are the great exultation of Israel, you are the great boast of our race. Vatablus: You are the excellency of the Jerusalemites, you are the great joy of the Israelites, you are the illustrious boast of our race — as if to say: By freeing Jerusalem from Holofernes, you conferred upon it great glory: by defending the Israelites, already consumed with fear and grief, from the same, you instilled in them immense joy and, as it were, a new life: you won for your entire people a great name and honor among all nations, who upon hearing of this deed of yours will be astounded and say: "So great a deed was led by a woman."
Allegorically, Judith was a type of the Blessed Virgin. For She is the exultation, the glory and beauty, not only of Jerusalem, but of the whole world; not only of Israel, but of all nations; not only of the Synagogue, but of the entire Church. Whence Blessed Gregory Nazianzen in his Tragedy, Christ Suffering, addresses Her thus: "O Queen, O Lady, O good of the human race, Be ever a friend to mortals, And my greatest salvation in every place." Cyril of Alexandria, homily Against Nestorius: "Let praise be to You, O holy Mother of God; for You are the precious pearl of the whole world, You are the inextinguishable lamp, the crown of virginity, the scepter of the orthodox faith." St. Chrysostom, in his homily On the Mother of God, greets Her thus: "Hail, O Mother, O heaven, O throne of our Church, its glory, beauty, and firmament." St. Ephrem, in his sermon On the Praises of the Virgin, calls Her "the sole hope of the Fathers, the glory of the Prophets, the herald of the Apostles, the honor of the Martyrs, the joy of the Saints, and the light of the most approved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the ornament of Aaron, the splendor of Moses, the fleece of Gideon and the assembly of Hierarchs, and the crown of all Saints and virgins, an immeasurable brightness and an inaccessible splendor." Damascene, Oration 1 On the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin: "O daughter worthy of God," he says, "the ornament of women, the glory of the human race, You are the everlasting delight of the Patriarchs, the perennial exultation of the Prophets."
Verse 11: Because You Acted Manfully
11. BECAUSE YOU ACTED MANFULLY (as a heroine, a woman above women, indeed as a man surpassing all men) AND YOUR HEART WAS STRENGTHENED, BECAUSE YOU LOVED CHASTITY. — Chastity, therefore, was the cause of Judith's fortitude, and this firstly because chastity strengthens the body and mind. Whence in ancient times athletes about to compete in the Olympic games kept themselves entirely chaste, so as to bring unimpaired strength to the contest, 1 Corinthians 9:24. For lust pours out and exhausts the noblest spirits, and therefore strength and vigor. Secondly, because God customarily gives this reward of fortitude to the chaste, and He absolutely gave it to Judith — fortitude, I say, both of body and of mind for daring great things: for God, who is the purest Spirit, singularly loves purity and chastity, and destines the pure and chaste, as being like Himself, for great things. Hear St. Jerome, in his preface to Judith: "Receive Judith the widow as an example of chastity, and with triumphal praise proclaim her with perpetual acclamations. For He gave her as a model not only for women but also for men — He who, as the rewarder of her chastity, bestowed upon her such virtue that she conquered the one unconquered by all men, and overcame the one insurmountable."
Thirdly, because it was fitting that the lustful Holofernes should be overcome by the chaste Judith, so that chastity might triumph over lust. Whence Prudentius in his Psychomachia elegantly depicts chastity dueling with lust through Judith triumphing over Holofernes thus: "After the Assyrian bedchamber, and the severed neck of Holofernes Was washed, dripping with lustful blood; And stern Judith spurned the jeweled couch of the adulterous general, And quelled his uncertain frenzies with the sword: The woman bearing a famous trophy from the foe With unfaltering hand, my heavenly avenger, bold."
Moreover, the chastity of Judith was extraordinary, and therefore she merited this extraordinary reward and trophy. For she was a wealthy widow in the flower of youth, without children, as will be seen in the following chapter, verse 28, beautiful, honored, and glorious on account of so great a victory: therefore even all the leaders and princes sought her as a bride: but she, a lover of chastity, despised all these things and remained celibate until death; therefore she triumphed more nobly and gloriously over the flesh and the world than over Holofernes. Hear St. Ambrose, in his book On Widows: "Nor was she puffed up by these successes, she to whom it was certainly permitted to rejoice and exult; by the right of victory she retained the duty of widowhood; but despising all who sought her hand in marriage, she put aside the garment of joy and resumed that of widowhood; nor did she love the adornments of her triumphs, esteeming those triumphs to be better by which the vices of the body are conquered than those by which enemies are overcome."
Verse 14: All the People Rejoiced
14. AND ALL THE PEOPLE REJOICED WITH THE WOMEN, AND VIRGINS, AND YOUNG MEN, WITH ORGANS AND HARPS. — The Greek has more fully: And every woman of Israel ran together to see her, and they formed a chorus from among themselves; and she took thyrsi in her hands, and gave them to the women who were with her, and they adorned themselves with olive, both she and those with her. And she led all the people in the dance, leading all the women, and every man of Israel followed, armed, with garlands and hymns on their lips. Instead of "they were crowned," the Complutensian edition has, "they crowned her with a crown of olive," that is, of olive branches. Thyrsi are branches of palms, citrus trees, etc. Hear Josephus, Antiquities 13, chapter 21: "Among the Jews, the law requires everyone at the Feast of Tabernacles to carry thyrsi (branches) of palms and citrus trees." The Gentiles dedicated thyrsi to Bacchus. Among them, a thyrsus was a staff dressed with foliage, especially of vine, which they brandished in the rites of Bacchus, or a garland of the same. Whence Virgil in the Eclogues: "Daphnis established the custom of bringing thyrsi to Bacchus, And of intertwining flexible staffs with soft leaves." There by "flexible staffs" he means thyrsi. Whence the proverb: "Many thyrsus-bearers, but few true Bacchuses to be seen." For Bacchus was a thyrsus-bearer. Hence also Tacitus says: Messalina, he says, shaking a thyrsus with flowing hair. And Diodorus writes that Dionysus had women armed with thyrsi in his army. Macrobius also says that Father Liber (Bacchus) holds a thyrsus, which is a hidden weapon, or a pointed staff, whose point is concealed by encircling ivy.
This you may rightly apply to Judith, who drew the scimitar of Holofernes against himself; and so she killed him, drunk as he was, like a Bacchus, and triumphed over drunkenness and drunkards. She therefore deserved a thyrsus crown, and she wore the one she deserved, having snatched it from Bacchus himself, that is, from the drunken Holofernes.
Note that this solemn triumphal procession and pageant was given and renewed annually for Judith with a great retinue of men and women, as will be shown in the following chapter, verse 27.