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?
230 S. Van Den Eynde
her people are about to sin, and suggests that at that moment God’s
anger will come over them so that Holofernes may defeat them, which
moment will be revealed to her in prayer. Yet, all along her actions
keep up to her faith as expressed in her prayer: that the true God to be
served is the God of the powerless, whom the people of Israel serves.
In her extensive prayer, Judith explicitly mentions in what the
might of this God exists and in what it does not: “thou art the Lord
who crushest wars; the Lord is thy name. Break their strength by thy
might … for thy power depends not upon numbers, nor thy might upon
men of strength; for thou art God of the lowly, helper of the oppressed,
upholder of the weak, protector of the forlorn, saviour of those without
hope†(Jdt 9,7-8.11). Of this line of thought, that with God strength is
not based upon military power but on the God of the powerless, the
prayers of the people are an important part.
The final song, which can be read as an assessment of all the
events, again proclaims this God whose strength does not rely on
military force or physical strength (not on giants or Titans, Jdt 16,7) ,
but is revealed ‘through the hand of a woman’.
*
**
If praying implies the idea that God hears the prayer, prayer
influences the plot. This basic hypothesis was confirmed by our
analysis of the book of Judith. Moreover, it became clear that
characterisation and plot are closely linked in this regard. Exactly
because God is portrayed as a partial God one may expect this God to
act when his people under attack cry unto him for help. By praying, a
character also indicates in which deity he/she believes. Since the book
of Judith contains two candidates for the title of ‘true god’, the people
of Israel resist Nebuchadnezzar’s claim by praying. Prayer thus
becomes resistance.
This result of our analysis raises new research questions. Which
rules are to be taken into account for a prayer to become a
performative action? Which conventions, circumstances, characters,
procedures, etc. play a role in turning a discourse into performative
speech? In how far do those rules also apply for other discursive text-
elements? If prayer is more than words spoken, if it is action, then the
theory of ‘performative speech’(18) could be helpful for elucidating the
(18) As formulated by J.L. AUSTIN, How to Do Things with Words (eds. J.O.
URMSON – M. SBISÀ) (Oxford – New York, NY 21962).