Itinerary for Initial meeting on November 11 at 7 PM :
1- Gilman will open the meeting at 11-11-21 @ 7PM
2- Platform for the meeting will be on first meeting will be on Face Book Messenger…
3- We will discuss future meetings to be held on “Google meet”
4- Meeting day and time for the future..
5- Structure of the meeting for the future…
1) Books to begin with : Suggestions:
2) #45 The Acts of John
3) 46 The Acropryphon of John …… or The Secret Book of John
4) #77 The vision of Paul
5) #14 The Epistle of Barnabas
6- Round table discussion on “The book of Judith “
The Introduction to Judith
Judith, the character from whom the book takes its name, is not mentioned in the story’s first half (1:1–7:32). In the opening chapters, God’s divine sovereignty over Israel comes into direct conflict with Nebuchadnezzar’s political sovereignty over all the nations of the western world. Holofernes, commander-in-chief of the Assyrian armies of Nebuchadnezzar (which is thought to be impossible historically since Nebuchadnezzar is a Babylonian), leads a massive force in a punitive campaign against his western vassal nations—including Israel—who refused to send auxiliary forces against the Medes. The people of Israel block his retaliatory advancement against all the nations of the west at their little town of Bethulia (related to Hebrew for “virgin”), which strategically guards his route of access to Jerusalem. Despite the warning of Achior the Ammonite that the Jews cannot be conquered unless they sin against their God, Holofernes lays siege to Bethulia, cutting off its water supply. After thirty-four days, the exhausted Bethulians are ready to surrender, even though it will mean worship of Nebuchadnezzar (3:8). Uzziah, their town magistrate, urges a compromise to give God five additional days to deliver them, temporarily postponing what seems inevitable apostasy, slavery, and destruction of the Jerusalem sanctuary… The story ends with the seduction and subsequent beheading of Holofernes by very beautiful Judith. As his head was displayed on the gates of the city the army fled in terror seeing that the God of the Israelites was most terrible indeed…
Referring to Jesus as the Word, John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1–3).
God revealed himself in and through Jesus Christ.
In fact, the New Testament authors consistently claim that the God revealed in the Old Testament is not the same God who is now revealing himself in and through Jesus Christ.
Old Testament vs. the New Testament
One common way this belief is stated is to claim that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath, whereas the God of the New Testament is a God of love. While on the surface this claim may seem plausible, a closer look at the Bible shows it is seriously mistaken.
The God who pours out his wrath against sin in the Old Testament is the same God who will inflict the vengeance of eternal punishment on those who do not believe in his Son Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:5–10).
At the same time, the God who in the New Testament is described as loving the world enough to send his Son for their salvation (John 3:16) is the same God who revealed himself to Moses as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7).
What does the Book of Judith teach us?
Judith is a remarkable character for several reasons. She is known for her wisdom and for having her heart in the right place. ... Their lives depend on us” (The Book of Judith 8:24). When the elders respond by telling Judith that they must stay their course, she decides to take matters into her own hands.. Judith is the only biblical woman who asks God to make her a good liar. In Jdt 9:10 and again in 9:13, she petitions God for “deceitful words” that will wound those who have planned cruelties against the Jerusalem Temple and their homeland.
When her prayer is finished (Jdt 9:14), Judith dresses beautifully, “to entice the eyes of all the men who might see her” (10:4). Taking ritually pure foods to eat (10:5), she and her maid go out that night to the camp of the enemy. She meets the Assyrian patrol and tells her first lie when she says, “I am a daughter of the Hebrews, but I am fleeing from them, for they are about to be handed over to you to be devoured. I am on my way to see Holofernes the commander of your army, to give him a true report” (10:12–13). Her words and beauty greatly excite the soldiers who choose one hundred men from their ranks to assist her to the tent of Holofernes (10:14–17).
Facts :
The author of the Book of Judith is unknown but it believed that it was written by Judith herself…
The Book of Judith (second or early first century BCE) is an imaginative, highly fictionalized romance that entertains as it edifies. From a literary perspective, the book is an artistic masterpiece of historical fiction... Numerous correspondences between the two halves of the story provide elegant compositional symmetries. The Book of Judith is a story of balance and counterbalance that makes the point that God’s people have all they need to survive if they rely wholeheartedly on the covenant.
BUT…
No one attacked the Israelites during or in the time after Judith's life. However, this isn't reflected in the historical record in fact, a lot of Judith's story isn't.
We estimated that our story began in 593 BCE because it was the 12th year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule.
Well the great city of Nineveh had already been destroyed in 612 BCE…. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. So when it fell so did the Empire and who destroyed it. It was Nebuchadnezzar himself
because he was a Babylonian king and the Assyrians were actually his arch enemies and he had just destroyed their capital… later when Holofernes seeks to attack Jerusalem. Well in reality Nebuchadnezzar had already been besieging Jerusalem for the past two years and Bethulia Judith's town; ?
No one really remembers where Bethulia was and it's only mentioned in this story… as for the ending where the Jews live happily ever after …Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians actually destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BCE and Ended the kingdom of Judah pretty much the opposite of what the story describes. Perhaps because of that the book of Judith wasn't included in Jewish Holy Scripture.
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