Judit

[Judit. With Head, Heart, and Hand] Judit of Bethulia – much has been written about this woman. She has been the subject of numerous retellings, dramas, paintings, and pieces of music. Judith is regarded as a classic femme fatale who causes a man to lose his head – metaphorically and in a real sense. She beheads the enemy general Holofernes and thus becomes the savior of Israel, single-handedly putting an entire enemy army to flight. The story of Judit is only found in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and is therefore classified as apocryphal in the Protestant tradition. Her story is still moving today. Judit from Bethulia – is it all too good to be true? In fact, this tradition is a legend. But one from which there is much to learn about female strength, courage, and trust in God in a hostile world – and about the work of God, who acts in unusual ways in history to save his people from destruction.