The Under-read Book of Judith: A Story of Courage, Loyalty and Its Relevance Today

I was hesitant to post this since it has nothing to do with higher education or athletics. It's about the lesser known Book of Judith instead. But Lent is just a few days away, and this book spoke to me enough that I wanted to share it anyway. Consider this a bonus piece.

Did you know the Catholic Bible includes seven books not found in Protestant Bibles? Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees, plus additional material within Esther and Daniel that Protestant Bibles don't include. These texts tell stories of family bonds and powerful prayers, gripping tales of reconciliation, miraculous demonstrations of God's power, the kind of thing that offers a timeless window into an enduring way of life. I went to Catholic school for eight years, and I'd still never heard most of these stories until I listened to Ascension Press's "Bible in a Year" podcast last year.

The Book of Judith is one of my favorites, even though almost nobody reads it. It's an inspiring, heroic story about faith, justice, loyalty, and love of country. Judith is a Jewish widow who uses her wit and her beauty to outwit Holofernes, the Assyrian general trying to destroy her people. With courage and total trust in God, she walks straight into his camp during a banquet, and manages to cut off his head with a sword hidden under her clothes while he's in a drunken sleep. It's not a subtle story. But it's a real demonstration of courage, resilience, and trust that God delivers justice for His people.

This book isn't part of the canon accepted by most Christian denominations, partly because of real doubts about its historical authenticity. Some of it looks like it was added later, and there are open questions about whether the events actually happened as told. It's best read as moral teaching rather than literal history, which honestly doesn't make it any less worth reading.

Chapters 7 and 8 tell how Judith saves her people through deception and courage, showing the strategy she uses to gain access to Holofernes' tent and the power of facing adversity head on with real faith. Chapters 13 through 16 tell what happens after: Holofernes is found dead, the Assyrian camp descends into panic without their general, and the Israelites, who'd been preparing, rush out and rout the leaderless army in battle. The book ends with a prayer praising God for His protection and guidance through the whole ordeal, which says a lot about how powerful real faith can be.

Judith's prayer in chapter 9 reminds us that God doesn't just stand by while we struggle, He actively leads and protects. She says of God, "Thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a savior of them that are without hope." In times of real struggle, that's exactly the kind of strength worth leaning on, not distant sympathy, but active help for people who feel like they have nothing left.

Later, in chapter 11, we see Judith's steady courage on full display as she walks straight into danger, trusting that God has already equipped her for whatever's ahead. No matter what stands in front of us, physical or spiritual, that's the posture worth holding onto: firm, because the source of the victory was never really ours to begin with.

After she's done what she came to do, the elders of her people bless her: "Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth." That single moment captures what faith in action actually looks like. Even when the odds are completely stacked against you, you can choose to stand firm and trust God to work through you. Judith's courage is proof that obedience and faith can move something as big as the outcome of a war.

The Book of Judith isn't just an old story sitting in a Bible nobody reads. It speaks straight into how we live now. Its themes of courage, justice, and faithfulness haven't aged a day. Judith pushes us to actually lean on God's wisdom when we're making hard calls, to stand for what's right even when it costs something, and to stay faithful when circumstances get difficult. There's real, practical encouragement in this book for anyone navigating conflict, facing something hard, or just trying to live out their faith with a little more boldness.