Changes

It was at this time that Judith beheaded Holofernes, the Assyrian army was dismayed and they fled. Judith 14:18–15:2. "''no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith or for a long time after her death.''" Judith 16:25. The Book of Jeremiah does say the Chaldeans suddenly withdrew. Jeremiah 37:5. It is a fact that the same year, in 589, [http://biblehub.com/topical/p/pharaoh_hophra.htm Pharaoh Hophra / Apries] began his 19-year reign in Egypt (589–570 B.C.). At the beginning of his reign he tried to drive the Babylonian army away from its siege of Jerusalem,<ref name=Hophra>"Hophra", ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', p. 781.</ref> and it suddenly withdrew. Jeremiah 37:4-15; 46:17. Jeremiah was afterward imprisoned while the city was at peace, when he attempted to depart to visit his relatives.

It was at this time that Judith beheaded Holofernes, the Assyrian army was dismayed and they fled. Judith 14:18–15:2. "''no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith or for a long time after her death.''" Judith 16:25. The Book of Jeremiah does say the Chaldeans suddenly withdrew. Jeremiah 37:5. It is a fact that the same year, in 589, [http://biblehub.com/topical/p/pharaoh_hophra.htm Pharaoh Hophra / Apries] began his 19-year reign in Egypt (589–570 B.C.). At the beginning of his reign he tried to drive the Babylonian army away from its siege of Jerusalem,<ref name=Hophra>"Hophra", ''Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', p. 781.</ref> and it suddenly withdrew. Jeremiah 37:4-15; 46:17. Jeremiah was afterward imprisoned while the city was at peace, when he attempted to depart to visit his relatives.

From these historical facts, and the centuries-old tradition that the Book of Judith relates a genuinely historical event, it appears that the person of Judith herself can be set within this particular time of history, 589 B.C.. Historians, however, have no certainty that she existed, outside the testimony of the Bible. Since Judith 16:25 states that "''no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith or for a long time after her death''", and yet, at this time, only two years later, in 587 B.C., when Jerusalem was taken, the Temple was burned and the people led off into exile, the assertion in verse 25 has no historical basis and does not represent what actually happened to Jerusalem, but contradicts the historical reality of the cpativity and the Exile.

From these historical facts, and the centuries-old tradition that the Book of Judith relates a genuinely historical event, it appears that the person of Judith herself can be set within this particular time of history, 589 B.C.. Historians, however, have no certainty that she existed, outside the testimony of the Bible. Since Judith 16:25 states that "''no one ever again spread terror among the people of Israel in the days of Judith or for a long time after her death''", and yet, at this time, only two years later, in 587 B.C., when Jerusalem was taken, the Temple was burned and the people led off into exile, the assertion in verse 25 has no historical basis and does not represent what actually happened to Jerusalem, but contradicts the historical reality of the captivity and the Exile.

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