Глава 7

1–7. Holofernes approaches Bethulia and besieges it. 8–18. On the advice of military leaders, in order to avoid the needless loss of soldiers, the city is cut off from the sources that fed it. 19–22. Disasters from thirst. 23–29. The people's demand to surrender the city. 30–32. Uzziah's last effort to defend him. Judith.7:1 The next day Holofernes ordered all his army and all his people who had come to his aid to approach Bethulia, occupy the heights of the mountainous country and begin war against the children of Israel. Judith 7:2 And on the same day all their mighty men rose up: their army consisted of one hundred and seventy thousand warriors, foot soldiers, and twelve thousand horsemen, besides the baggage train and the footmen who were with them, and these were also a great multitude. 2. The number of troops according to different lists is indicated differently: sometimes 170,000, sometimes 172,000, sometimes 120,000; the last figure is also indicated in a parallel place in the book itself - Judith. 2:15 art. The same fluctuation in numbers appears in the calculation of horsemen - according to some lists 12,000, according to others even 22,000. Judith.7:3 Having stopped in a valley near Bethului at a spring, they stretched in width from Dophaim to Velphem, and in length from Bethului to Kiamon, which lies opposite Esdrilon. 3. In addition to those already mentioned, we encounter a new name for the area - “Kiamon” - Κυαμώνος. By this Kiamon, some researchers meant Heb. ???, mentioned in 1 Kings. 4:12; others indicated the modern village of Kumieh, or Jamon, corresponding to this area. Judith 7:4 When the children of Israel saw their multitude, they were greatly troubled, and each one said to his neighbor, Now they will devastate the whole earth, and neither the high mountains, nor the valleys, nor the hills will bear their weight. Judith 7:5 And they each took their weapons of war and lit fires on their towers, and they kept watch all that night. Judith.7:6 The next day Holofernes brought out all his cavalry before the children of Israel who were at Bethulia, Judith.7:7 examined the sunrises of their city, went around and occupied the springs of their waters and, cordoning them off with men of war, returned to his people. 7. The “sources of water” mentioned here, bypassed and occupied by Holofernes, apparently were not of significant importance for the Vetiluians, who used water from another source flowing from the base of their mountains, to which Holofernes and his companions soon drew the attention. This last source contained the salvation and destruction of the fortress, which, being cut off from it, was supposed to fall without any casualties from the enemy (vv. 8–15). Judith 7:8 But all the leaders of the sons of Esau, and all the leaders of the people of Moab, and all the commanders of the seaside, came to him and said: 8. The “Sons of Esau” - the Edomites who lived on the border of Palestine and their neighboring Moabites - have long been the most hostile peoples towards the Israelites. In this place they show themselves as true to themselves as possible and invent such an insidious and powerful means to satisfy their racial malice and revenge against Israel. In verses 17–18, the “sons of Ammon” are also named as accomplices of the insidious plan of the Edomites and Moabites - the Ammonites, who fully shared the feelings of the former towards the Jews and, undoubtedly, deserved to share with them the sad glory of inventing and implementing an inhumanly cruel and barbarously insidious plan. Judith 7:9 Hear the word, our lord, so that there is no loss in your army. Judith 7:10 This people of the children of Israel do not rely on their spears, but on the heights of their mountains where they live, because it is not convenient to climb to the tops of their mountains. Judith 7:11 Therefore, lord, do not fight with him as in ordinary war, and not a single man will fall from your people. Judith 7:12 Thou shalt remain in thy camp, that thou mayest preserve every man in thy army, and let thy servants take possession of the fountain of water which floweth out of the foot of the mountain; Judith.7:13 For from there all the inhabitants of Bethulia take water, and thirst will destroy them, and they will surrender their city; and we and our people will ascend to the nearby peaks of the mountains and position ourselves on them as guards, so that not a single person leaves the city. Judith 7:14 And they shall suffer with hunger, and their wives and their children, and before the sword touches them they shall fall in the streets of their habitation; Judith 7:15 And you will repay them with evil because they rebelled and did not greet you with peace. Judith.7:16 These words pleased Holofernes and all his servants, and he decided to do as they said. Judith 7:17 And the army of the children of Ammon, and with them the five thousand children of Asshur, set out in the valley, and took possession of the waters and the fountains of the waters of the children of Israel. Judith 7:18 And the children of Esau and the children of Ammon went up and occupied the hill country opposite Dophaim, and sent a part of them south and east against Ecreville, which is near Hus, which stands by the brook Mochmur; the rest of the Assyrian army settled down on the plain and covered the entire face of the earth: their tents and carts with many people stretched out over a very large space. 18. "Ecreville" is the name of the area, Greek. Ἐκρεβήλ, as well as A κραβήλ – mentioned by Josephus in the “Jewish War” III, 3, 5 – Akrabah (Ακραβαττά) by Eusebius and Jerome – Acrabi, which lay 3 hours east of Neapolis on the road to Jordan and Jericho. From this Acrabi the entire monarchy of Akrabitan in the middle part of Palestine takes its name. "Khus" - Greek. Χους, otherwise Χουσί, or also Ούζ, Vet. lat. Chus – some people read here not entirely successfully – χουσεί – Kutei-Samaritans. More closely to the truth, others have explained this reading from Χουρίς, bringing the latter closer to the current Dshurish. "Mokhmur" (stream name), Greek. Μοχμούρ, Vet. lat. Machur, by code. Germ. 15. Pochor is probably the current Wadi Makhfurijeh. Judith 7:19 The children of Israel cried out to the Lord their God, because they were disheartened, since all their enemies had surrounded them, and they could not flee from them. 19. The bleakness and misery of the situation of the Vetiluians, deprived of water and exhausted from one of the most terrible torments - thirst, was brought to the extreme limits of despair by the impenetrable blockade of the fortress by the hordes of Holofernes, who surrounded it with a continuous iron ring. The small reserves of water in cisterns and reservoirs were bound to be depleted quickly, despite the most careful savings. Somehow we managed to survive the 34 disastrous days of the siege; the further existence of the fortress became critical to the last degree. The death of everyone from mortal thirst or the surrender of the city was inevitable. And - as there is nothing stronger than the thirst for life, the besieged decided to choose the latter and urgently demanded the surrender of the city from the commanders. Judith 7:20 The whole army of Assyria stood around them, footmen, chariots, and their cavalry, for thirty-four days; all the inhabitants of Bethulia had run out of water, Judith 7:21 The cisterns were empty, and not one day could they drink enough water, because they were given water to drink by measure. Judith 7:22 And their children and their wives and their young men became sad, and faint with thirst they fell in the streets of the city and in the passages of the gates, and there was no strength in them any more. Judith 7:23 Then all the people gathered together to Uzziah and to the leaders of the city, young men, wives and children, and with a loud cry they said to all the elders: Judith 7:24 God judge between us and you; you have done us a great injustice, because you did not offer peace to the sons of Assur; Judith 7:25 And now we have no helper: God has given us into their hands to destroy us with thirst and great destruction. 25. “God delivered us into their hands in order to destroy us with thirst and great destruction...” - the last sentence (subordinate clause) should more naturally be placed in close dependence not on the main “God betrayed”, but on “into their hands”, so that these hands would destroy... etc. The matter of the inhuman destruction of the Israelites by thirst, thus, seems more the work of human hands, and only a matter of permission on the part of God. Judith.7:26 Invite them now and give the whole city to be plundered by the people of Holofernes and all his army, Judith 7:27 For it is better for us to be plundered by them: although we will be their slaves, our soul will live, and our eyes will not see the death of our babies and our wives and children who part with their souls. Judith 7:28 We call heaven and earth as witnesses before you, our God and the Lord of our fathers, who punishes us for our sins and the sins of our fathers, that he may do according to these words this day. 28. “May (the Lord) do according to these words on this day.” The Greek text gives a different expression of this thought - instead of the affirmative “let him do it” - the negative one ' ίνα μή ποιήση (“let him not do it”). The latter, apparently, is more consistent with what follows (Article 27), which foreshadows a particularly disastrous fate for the “babies, wives and children” of the city in the event of further persistence of its leaders in the unequal struggle. The whole thought in this case receives more precisely the following meaning: “let not (the Lord) do according to these words (otherwise: “due to these fears”) on this day,” i.e. “May he not allow us and our dear babies, wives and children to perish.” Judith 7:29 And with one accord they lifted up a great cry in the midst of the congregation, and cried aloud unto the Lord God. Judith 7:30 Uzziah said to them: Do not be discouraged, brothers! let us endure five more days, in which the Lord our God will turn His mercy upon us, for He will not leave us completely. 30. Uzziah’s request not to lose heart and to endure another 5 days in the hope of God’s mercy was promptly inspired by the hope that during these last 5 days, perhaps, it would be possible to somehow persuade the Lord to take pity on the unfortunate, and He would send rain (Judith. 8:31), which would fill the reservoirs, and would not only prevent terrible death from thirst, but would also make further resistance possible fortresses Judith 7:31 But if they pass by and no help comes to us, I will do as you say. 31. From what follows we learn that Uzziah’s promise to surrender the city after 5 days (in case of disappointment in his last hopes for help) was not simple, but sworn (Judith. 8:9, v. 30). Judith rightly exposes in this an excess of the rights of the boss and a great sin before God, who was, as it were, challenged by such an oath, and an attempt was expressed to limit His unlimited power and subordinate it to narrow human considerations and conditions. Judith 7:32 And he sent the people away into his camp, and they went up against the walls and towers of their city, and sent the wives and children to their homes; and in great sorrow they remained in the city.