Глава 12

1–9. Three days in the camp of Holofernes. 10–20. Feast with the invitation of Judith. Judith.12:1 And he ordered her to be brought to where his silver vessels were kept, and ordered her to eat the food from his table and drink his wine. 1. “Where his silver vessels were kept...”, i.e. into the dining room, for which these vessels were also a rich decoration. Judith 12:2 But Judith said, I will not eat this, lest there be a temptation, but let them give me what was brought with me. 2. It is worth noting here the wise caution of Judith in explaining the reasons for Holofernes’s refusal to eat. She avoids revealing her dislike for the food of the pagans, as unclean from the point of view of the later Jew, and transfers the center of gravity to the type of food itself, forbidden by God in the Jewish law. This should have further strengthened confidence in Judith, who had just explained her flight from the Jews precisely by zeal for the law, which was in danger of a similar violation by tasting the sacred, inviolable. Judith.12:3 Holofernes said to her: And when what is with you is exhausted, where will we get something to give you the like of it? For among us there is none of your kind. 3. “There is no one among us from your family,” that is, who could obtain lawful food and be able to prepare it for Judith according to her tastes and beliefs. Judith 12:4 Judith answered him, May your soul live, my lord; Your servant will not lose what is with me before the Lord completes with my hand what He has determined. 4. “Long may your soul live, my lord!” - a special kind of oath, strengthened by the power of wishing health to the one before whom they swear and whom they want to see as an indispensable witness to the fulfillment of what is confirmed by this oath. “Your servant will not lose what is with me before the Lord completes with my hand what He has determined.” With such a skillful ambiguous expression, Judith designates the very object or content of the oath, dispelling Holofernes’s last doubts. What is also remarkable here is the confidence with which Judith interprets the work she has conceived as the work of the direct hand and determination of God. Obviously, only a true chosen one and messenger of God can speak and act like this, no matter how one speculates about the intentions of her historian, who gave such an edifying and fascinating story about her. Judith.12:5 And the servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent, and she slept until midnight; and stood before the morning watch 5. “The servants of Holofernes brought her into the tent” - it was probably a completely special, unoccupied tent, not far from the tent of Holofernes (cf. Judith. 14:17). The latter is confirmed by the fact that the bodyguards of Holofernes were also the bodyguards of Judith (v. 7). Judith 12:6 And she sent to say to Holofernes: May my lord command that your servant be allowed to go out to pray. 6. “May my lord command that your servant be allowed to go out to pray.” Judith made this request earlier to Holofernes - Judith. 11:17: “let your servant go out into the valley at night to pray to God,” and an important explanation is indicated for both these exits and the prayers themselves: “He (God) will reveal to me when they (the Jews) commit their crime” (cf. Judith. 11:13–15). “To your servant,” “to your servant” are the essence of expressions not only of the most respectful politeness, but also of real dependence, which finds its pleasure in the generosity and good intentions of being a “master” in relation to this slave. Judith.12:7 Holofernes ordered his bodyguards not to interfere with her. And she stayed in the camp for three days, and at night she went out into the valley of Vetilui and washed herself at the source of water near the camp. 7. “I washed myself at the source of water near the camp” - to cleanse myself from the inevitable touches of the pagans and pagans, which violated the purity of the Jew, according to his views. Judith 12:8 And as she went out, she prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, that He would direct her way to the deliverance of the sons of His people. 8. “When I went out, I prayed,” i.e. emerging from the water of the source that served for her ablutions. Judith 12:9 Upon her return, she remained clean in the tent, and in the evening they brought her food. Judith.12:10 On the fourth day Holofernes held a feast for his servants alone and did not invite any of those assigned to the services to serve. 10. To the feast arranged for Judith, Holofernes invited “only his servants and did not invite any of those assigned to the services to serve,” i.e. invited only the closest, highest persons of his retinue, and excluded officials assigned to affairs (προς ταίς χρείαις) from participating in the feast. This was done, obviously, because a large company of guests and numerous witnesses would be completely inconvenient for achieving his unclean plans for Judith, whom he decided to take possession of. Judith 12:11 And he said to the eunuch Bago, who was in charge of all that he had, Go and persuade the Hebrew woman that is with you to come to us and eat and drink with us: 11. The name of the eunuch - Vagoy (Βαγώας) - Persian - is quite often found in the designation of the name of eunuchs. “Convince the Jewish woman you have” – i.e. under your protection and care. Judith 12:12 We are ashamed to leave such a wife without talking to her; she will ridicule us if we do not invite her. 12. “We are ashamed to leave such a wife without talking to her; she will ridicule us if we do not invite her.” By justifying the invitation of Judith to Vagoy with such an obvious stretch, Holofernes either wanted to disguise from Vagoy and others his real intention in relation to Judith, or simply suggested to Vagoy in what delicate form he should make the invitation to Judith, so as not to puzzle her too much and avoid the need to use obvious violence against her. Judith.12:13 Vahoy, leaving Holofernes, came to her and said: Do not refuse, beautiful young woman, to come to my master, to accept honor before him and drink wine with us in joy and be on this day as one of the daughters of the sons of Asshur, who are coming to the house of Nebuchadnezzar. 13. Vagoem’s invitation to Judith is indeed made in rather delicate terms, although quite transparently hinting at what Judith can expect (“to be... like one of the daughters of the sons of Asshur who are coming to the house of Nebuchadnezzar”). Judith 12:14 Judith said to him, Who am I to rebuke my master? I will hasten to do everything that pleases my master, and this will serve as my consolation until the day of my death. 14. For Judith’s own purposes, nothing could be better and more desirable than the invitation made to her, and she could well express her joy at this invitation and complete readiness for everything, showing an appearance of weak resistance, as if out of a desire to observe at least a shadow of feminine modesty and delicacy: “Who am I to contradict my master?” Some interpreters, however, also understood Judith’s answer differently, meaning by the Greek κύριος the Lord God (“I will hasten to do everything that pleases my lord” - my Lord) and adding to the word “all” the limitation “as far as it is consistent with my honor and duty”; however, there is no need for this distortion of the words of Judith; she could well have said as she said it, without promising anything - moreover, what was really part of her plans and, ambiguously for Holofernes, meant to be her “consolation” “until the day of her death.” Judith 12:15 She arose and dressed herself in clothing and all the ornaments of a woman; and her maid came and spread the carpets for her on the ground in front of Holofernes, which she received from Vagoi for constant use, so that she could eat while reclining on them. Judith 12:16 Then Judith came and sat down. Holofernes's heart moved towards her, and his soul was agitated: he strongly wanted to get along with her and was looking for an opportunity to seduce her from the very day he saw her. 16. “His (Holofernes) soul was agitated”: the soul here is like the seat of sensuality, voluptuousness. Judith 12:17 And Holofernes said to her, Drink and be merry with us. Judith 12:18 And Judith said, I will drink, sir, because today my life has increased in me more than in all the days since I was born. 18. “Today my life has been magnified in me more than in all the days since I was born.” Surprisingly subtle ambiguity, combining in itself all the ambiguity - different and diametrically opposed for the speaker and the listener. For Holofernes, these pompously flattering words were unequivocal, promising him the successful achievement of his lustful desires. For Judith, these words were unambiguous, expressing her solemn confidence in the imminent death of Holofernes and the deliverance of the Jews from him by her hand. Judith 12:19 And she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared. Judith.12:20 And Holofernes admired her and drank a lot of wine, more than he had ever drunk before, not even on one day since his birth. 19–20. “And she took and ate and drank before him what her maid had prepared.” Thus, Judith remains at the feast with the same strictness in relation to food. But Holofernes forgets all caution and, flattered by the imaginary victory of Judith’s heart, gets drunk like “never before, not on a single day of birth.”