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Judith 13 echoes Genesis 14, using the blessing spoken by Melchizedek to Abram after his military victory. This connects Judith with Abram as a divinely aided savior and gives Uzziah’s words the same authority as Melchizedek’s priestly blessing.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 14:19
Hebrew Bible
17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). 18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) 19 He blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 Worthy of praise is the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Judith 13:18
Deuterocanon
17 All the people were exceedingly amazed, and bowed themselves, and worshiped God, and said with one accord, “Blessed are you, O our God, who have this day humiliated the enemies of your people.” 18 Ozias said to her, “Blessed are you, daughter, in the sight of the Most High God, above all the women upon the earth; and blessed is the Lord God, who created the heavens and the earth, who directed you to cut off the head of the prince of our enemies. 19 For your hope will not depart from the heart of men that remember the strength of God forever.
Date: 100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Uzziah’s words here are virtually a citation of the words pronounced by Melchizedek to Abram, in a similar context, when Abram returns from vanquishing Chedorlaomer and his allies. Compare Gen 14:19 ...This deliberate echo of Genesis 14, with its unusual wording, assimilates Judith to the victorious Abram, while lending Uzziah the aura of the king and priest Melchizedek ..."
Deborah Levine Gera, Judith (Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014), 408.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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