The Book of Judith in the Context of the Greek Literature
By (author) Beatrice Perego
An exploration of the relationship between the biblical book of Judith and Greek literature
The book of Judith has a typically biblical background, as evidenced by the description of the characters, the construction of some scenes, and the message conveyed by the tale. The biblical models are woven together, referring to one another and suggesting a clear Jewish cultural matrix for this book; moreover, the citations from the biblical text confirm this reading. However, many narrative elements are exceptional with respect to this biblical background and rather show significant affinities with Classical and Hellenistic Greek literature. A dense interweaving of biblical motifs and those proper to Greek literature can be observed in the book of Judith. Indeed, the book of Judith has often been approached with priority consideration of the Jewish context in which it would have been conceived. This tendency depended on the fact that for a long time there was no doubt as to the existence of a Hebrew or Aramaic Vorlage for this book, despite the absence of any trace of it. In the light of these premises, the present volume aims to analyze the most significant points of contact between the biblical book of Judith and Greek literature. To this end, it gathers literary topoi as well as specific vocabulary and particular syntagmas through which one may recognize resonances with Classical and Hellenistic Greek literature. The literary and cultural origins of the author of the book of Judith and its readers are investigated, evaluating the text of Judith as a Hellenistic phenomenon, with reference to language and culture.
- By (author) Perego, Beatrice
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