The Western Campaign
Chapter 2
Council of War against the West. 1 In the eighteenth year, on the twenty-second day of the first month, there was a conference in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, about following through on his threat of vengeance against the entire region.[a] 2 Summoning all of his ministers and nobles, he outlined to them his secret plan and asserted his determination to effect the total destruction of that entire area. 3 They then decreed that all those who had not responded to the king’s summons were to be put to death.
4 When he had completed his plan, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, summoned Holofernes,[b] the highest-ranking general in his army, and second only to him in power, and he said to him, 5 “Thus says the great king, the lord of all the earth: ‘Go forth from my presence and take with you men of unquestioned valor, one hundred and twenty thousand infantrymen and twelve thousand cavalry. 6 March against all the peoples of the west because they refused to comply with my command. 7 Advise them to have earth and water ready,[c] for I am moving against them in my wrath and I will cover the entire extent of their territory with the feet of my soldiers, to whom I will deliver them to be plundered. 8 Their wounded will fill their ravines and wadis, and all of their rivers will be choked to overflowing with their dead. 9 I will send them away as exiles to the ends of the earth.
10 “ ‘Therefore, go ahead of me and seize all of their territory for me. Should they surrender to you, hold them for me until the time comes for their punishment. 11 As for those who resist, show them no mercy, but hand them over to slaughter and plunder throughout the entire region. 12 For as I live,[d] and by my royal authority, what I have spoken I will accomplish by my power. 13 Be careful not to disobey a single word of your lord, but carry out fully what I have commanded you—and do so without delay.’ ”
14 Campaign of Holofernes. Leaving the presence of his lord, Holofernes summoned all the commanders, generals, and officers of the Assyrian army. 15 In compliance with the orders of his lord, he mustered one hundred and twenty thousand picked troops and twelve thousand mounted archers, 16 and he organized them in the regular battle formation. 17 He took along a vast number of camels, donkeys, and mules to transport the baggage, and innumerable sheep, oxen, and goats for their food supply, 18 as well as ample rations for every man, and a great amount of gold and silver from the royal palace.
19 Then, in advance of King Nebuchadnezzar, he set out with his whole army on the campaign to overrun the entire region to the west with their chariots, cavalry, and picked infantrymen. 20 Accompanying them was a motley crowd like a swarm of locusts or the dust particles of the earth—a multitude too numerous to count.
Devastation of the Fertile Crescent[e]
21 Stages of the Campaign. They set out from Nineveh, and after marching for three days they reached the plain of Bectileth. From Bectileth they moved ahead to encamp near the mountains that lie to the north of Upper Cilicia. 22 From there Holofernes advanced into the hill country with his entire force—infantry, cavalry, and chariots. 23 He ravaged Put and Lud and plundered all the Rassisites and the Ishmaelites on the border of the desert south of Chaldea.
24 Then, following the Euphrates, he went through Mesopotamia and destroyed all the fortified cities along the Wadi Abron until he reached the sea. 25 He seized the territory of Cilicia and slaughtered everyone who offered him the slightest resistance. Then he proceeded to the southern borders of Japheth, facing Arabia. 26 He encircled the Midianites, set fire to their tents, and pillaged their sheepfolds. 27 Following that, he swooped down into the plain of Damascus at the time of the wheat harvest. He razed all their fields, destroyed their flocks and herds, sacked their towns, laid waste to their countryside, and slew all their young men by the sword.
28 Fear and dread of him seized all the inhabitants of the seacoast, those living in Sidon and Tyre and those located in Sur and Ocina as well as those found in Jamnia, while even the populations of Azotus and Ascalon were equally frightened of him.
Footnotes
- Judith 2:1 The date is symbolic because Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in his eighteenth year (see Jer 51:12, 29).
- Judith 2:4 Holofernes is a Persian name (as is Bagoas in Jud 12:11), and Artaxerxes III Ocho had two officers with those names. This indicates that in the author’s mind, this Persian king was also symbolized by Nebuchadnezzar.
- Judith 2:7 To have earth and water ready: a Persian way of speaking to indicate the provisions for troops that were moving through a country. In general, as we know from Greek historians, the Persians sought submission by pretending to offer earth and water.
- Judith 2:12 As I live: this phrase usually indicates an oath on God’s part (see Deut 32:40); thus, Nebuchadnezzar is putting himself on a par with divinity (see Jud 6:2). By my royal authority: literally, “by my hand”; after raising his hand against God and his people, Nebuchadnezzar is brought down by the “hand” of Judith (see Jud 9:9f; Isa 10:5-14).
- Judith 2:21 The forces of Holofernes arrive at the doors of Judea by outflanking the steppes of Syria from the north with a march that included a bizarre line of advance and stopping places, many of which are still unknown. This can only indicate that the author possessed little knowledge of local geography or had no interest in factual accuracy. The ultimate purpose of the conquistador is to demand from all the conquered peoples divine honors for his sovereign. Indeed, in Nebuchadnezzar, we see profiled the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the second century B.C. persecutor of the Jews, who sought to impose his cult on them (Dan 11:36-37). The Assyrian and Babylonian kings did not demand divine honors; it all started with Alexander the Great.