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David and Judith each use the enemy's own sword to behead a fearsome military champion threatening Israel. The Greek text of 1 Samuel 17 and Judith 13 uses the same phrase for the act of decapitation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
1 Samuel 17:51
Hebrew Bible
50 David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. 51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s sword, drew it from its sheath, and after killing him, he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away. 52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his tent.
Judith 13:8
Deuterocanon
6 She went up to the bedpost near Holofernes' head, and took down his sword that hung there. 7 She came close to his bed, took hold of the hair of his head, and said, "Give me strength today, O Lord God of Israel!" 8 Then she struck his neck twice with all her might, and cut off his head. 9 Next she rolled his body off the bed and pulled down the canopy from the posts. Soon afterward she went out and gave Holofernes' head to her maid, 10 who placed it in her food bag. Then the two of them went out together, as they were accustomed to do for prayer. They passed through the camp, circled around the valley, and went up the mountain to Bethulia, and came to its gates.
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Notes and References
"... Moreover, Judith's use of Holofernes' weapon to decapitate him echoes David's use of Goliath's sword to behead him. Indeed, the same phrase occurs in the Septuagint 1 Samuel 17:51 and Judith 13:8: "he/she cut off his head" (ἀφεῖλεν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ). Finally, the taking of Holofernes' severed head to hang on the wall of Bethulia (Judith 14:1) recalls David's act of bringing Goliath's head to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 17:54). ..."
* 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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