S. Van Den Eynde, «Crying to God Prayer and Plot in the Book of Judith», Vol. 85 (2004) 217-231
If prayers are defined as communication in which prayers receive a response from God, this implies that they have a function as regards the plot of a story. As a test case, the impact of praying on the plot as well as the characterisation in the book of Judith (containing 21 references to praying) is analysed. The specific characterisation of God through prayer affects the plot. Apart from their importance for characterisation and plot, the prayers in Judith contribute in their own way to the development of its main theme: who is truly God, Nebuchadnezzar or YHWH?
224 S. Van Den Eynde
God to guide her way (Jdt 12,8), to act through her and to give her
strength (Jdt 13,4-5.7). That Judith indeed kills Holofernes and escapes
suggests, moreover, that her prayers are heard.
d) Prayers of blessing and praise (Jdt 13,17; Jdt 16)
When the people of Bethulia learn what has happened, they bless
God. By this prayer, the people acknowledge that God acted through
Judith, which is explicitly confirmed by the ensuing words of Uzziah.
As far as the plot is concerned, this recognition of both God as the
saviour of his people and Judith as the woman through whom God
acted, paves the way to the definite destruction of the hostile army.
Because of the appreciation of what she has done, Judith gets the
authority to develop her military strategy, and because of the
recognition of God’s acting through her, the people of Judea gets
courage and dares to act and they indeed manage to defeat the enemy.
By singing the song of victory, Judith not only confirms the real
development of the events (God acted through the hand of a woman),
but also predicts that God will act in the future as he did in the (past
and) present (Jdt 16,17).
3. Prayer and characterisation
a) The prayers of Jdt 4–8
The prayers of the people in Jdt 4–5 characterise both the people
and their God (15) as being in a relationship with one another: the
‘people of Israel, living in Judea’ (Jdt 4,1), pray to ‘the God of Israel’
(Jdt 4,12). Moreover, the unity of action of the people is emphasised:
all over the country men take part in the preparations for war, and cry
to God. In Jerusalem, the whole people is identified as all the men,
women, children, and they all cry out to God, one of mind. The
example of the people concerning the prayer as well as the wearing of
sackcloth is taken up by the priests as well.
The people are characterised in contrast to the enemy, who are men
confident in their own strength (Jdt 2,5), whereas the people, despite
all their efforts to defend themselves, ultimately trust in the power of
their God. Contrary to Holofernes’ idea that power is based upon
military strength (cf. Jdt 5,3; 9,7), the people of Israel is portrayed as
relying upon their God, whose strength is that of the powerless.
The content of the prayers reveal the fear as well as the hope of the
(15) For prayer as part of the characterisation, see BALENTINE, Prayer, 48-118.