The Book of Judith has aroused a great deal of scholarly interest in the last few decades.This volume, the first full length commentary on Judith to appear in over 25 years, includes a new translation and a detailed verse-by-verse commentary, which touches upon philological, literary, and historical questions. The extensive introduction discusses the work's date and historical background, and looks closely at the controversial question of the book's original language. Biblical influences on the book's setting, characters, plot, and language are investigated, and the heroine, Judith is viewed against the background of biblical women (and men). The influence of classical Greek writers such as Herodotus and Ctesias on the work is noted, as are the interesting differences between the Septuagint and Vulgate versions of Judith.
Deborah Levine Gera, Hebräische Universität Jerusalem, Israel.
"Insgesamt liegt mit Deborah Geras Kommentar ein weiterführender und kundiger Kommentar zum Buch Judit in englischer Sprache vor, den zu konsultieren sich lohnt."
Barbara Schmitz in: Biblische Notizen. Neue Folge 172 (2017) 145
"Für alle möglichen Einzelfragen [...] ist der Kommentar von DG eine wahre Schatzgrube: für grammatische und stilistische Besonderheiten und Feinheiten und bemerkenswerte Hapaxlegomena, für mögliche hebräische Äquivalente zu den bewusst die Septuaginta nachahmenden Wendungen (von DG oft "biblical" genannt) des griechischen Textes, besonders in den Erzählpartien, ebenso wie für Namen, Figuren und Situationen mit größerer oder geringerer Ähnlichkeit in der älteren biblischen, frühjüdischen, griechischen und altorientalischen Literatur. DG hat das Verständnis des Buches Judit erheblich vorangebracht."
Helmut Engel in: Biblica 96,3/2015
"This wealth, both of the Book of Judith and of the process of its preservation, adoption, and reworking centuries later, emanates from each and every page of this new translation and commentary, the meticulous work of an outstanding scholar, Professor Deborah Levine Gera, who devoted many years to their preparation.
Enriching this edition's seven introductory chapters and commentary are Gera's mastery of fifth-to-fourth-century B.C.E. Greek literature [...]; her familiarity with ancient royal inscriptions; her conversance with biblical studies; and her firm grasp of non-canonical Second Temple period literature. [...] Gera has consulted nearly every study written directly on Judith [...]. Nor can we overlook Gera's expertise in Classical Greek, her mastery of Biblical Hebrew, and of the language that bridges the two: Septuagint Greek. These qualifications enable her not only to move easily between languages but also underpin the broad perspective that governs her suggested emendations and accurate rendition of the text into English."
Cana Werman in: Scripta Classica Israelica XXXIV/2015
