Judith Chapter 12 Summary - Key Points & Themes

Read Judith Chapter 12 Summary

Judith refuses food from Holofernes' table and keeps to her own provisions, swearing they will last until the Lord has done his work by her hand. For three days she goes out each night to the valley of Bethulia, washes at a spring and prays. On the fourth day Holofernes holds a feast for his own servants and sends the eunuch Bagoas to bring her, ashamed to let such a woman go without having her company. Judith dresses in all her finery and eats what her maid has prepared, and Holofernes, overcome with desire, drinks more wine than ever before.

Characters in This Chapter

Judith

Devout widow of Bethulia who rebukes the elders and beheads Holofernes

Holofernes

Assyrian general who besieges Bethulia and is killed by Judith

Places in This Chapter

Nineveh

Capital from which Nabuchodonosor rules and sends Holofernes to conquer the west

Jerusalem

City whose temple Bethulia's resistance protects, where the people give thanks and Judith dedicates the spoil

Dothan

Dothaim, near Bethulia, where the Assyrian army spreads its camp to besiege the town

Bethulia

Besieged hill town of Judith, saved when she kills Holofernes; its site is uncertain

Position in Book

The Campaign of NabuchodonosorChapters 1-3

Bethulia Under SiegeChapters 4-7

Judith's Rebuke and PrayerChapters 8-9

In the Enemy CampChapters 10-12

Judith, adorned, wins Holofernes' trust with a double-edged speech, keeps her food laws and her prayer, and is invited to his feast.

The Night of DeliveranceChapters 13

The Assyrian RoutChapters 14-15

Judith's Song and Last YearsChapters 16