ABSTRACT
Exegetical studies of the text of Judith have tried to keep pace with its periparetic heroine. At first, like Judith on her roof, they were located in the relatively ratified atmosphere of historical investigation. Then, just as Judith summoned the Bethulian leaders, so convincing works have called upon predominant forms of literary analysis. And, like Judith trodding that dangerous path to the foreign camp, recent examinations have made forays into the alien territories of feminism, psychoanalysis, and folklore studies. Regardless of the approach, however, Judith the character is usually identified as a representation of or as a metaphor for the community of faith. Although her name, widowhood, chastity, beauty, and righteousness suggest the traditional representation of Israel, the text’s association of these traits with an independent woman and with sexuality subverts the metaphoric connection between character and androcentrically determined community. This paper explores how Judith the Jew/ess (loudith) both sustains and threatens corporate determination as well as how that threat is averted through her reinscription into Israelite society.
