Now I’ve finished reading the book of Judith, I can give my opinion.

At first I was rather horrified at the power and gore. It kinda frightened me thinking of the world back then and how it was more stark and intense. Kings could have any numbers of people slaughtered. The victors looted and destroyed the conquered, killing any of them, taking others captive. And the whole book is about the war the Assyrian King waged and his revenge on those countries who didn’t support him in his war.

Anyway, it is an Ester-like story that you may wish to read. Again, a good tale at the least, God’s word more importantly. I think there is agreement that these books were always biblical, but had been removed by… well, let me ask AI:

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For the “7 books” (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees), the simple answer is: yes— they existed and were used as Scripture by many early Jewish and Christian communities before later groups finalized different Old Testament canons.

What changed was which canon each tradition adopted, not whether those books existed.

Before “removal” (early centuries): These books were included in the Greek Old Testament tradition (the Septuagint), and they were commonly read and treated as authoritative in the early church.
Later (Reformation era): Protestants (notably beginning with the approach taken by Martin Luther and the broader Reformation) adopted a different Old Testament canon than the one used in Catholic/Orthodox Bibles, so these books were no longer included.
So they were always “around,” but they were not universally treated the same way everywhere until different churches standardized their canons.

A strong point from this reading was it answered questions I had. And it’s just good supporting information that clarifies the Bible. And so why remove these books or not include them? It’s hard to tell you what it answered for me without spoiling the ending of the book, which, for me would be a deterrent in reading it - I like a surprise. eyebrow So let me see if I can use the spoiler function on this forum.


The strong point is that it brought to my mind the question, is it seen as good for a woman to kill if it saves her people. Asking AI to see if any other woman kills someone.

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What happens (Judges 4):

Israel is being oppressed by King Jabin of Hazor, whose commander is Sisera.
Sisera’s army is defeated, and Sisera escapes on foot.
Sisera runs to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber (there’s an alliance/relationship between Heber’s family and Jabin).
Jael welcomes Sisera, gives him milk when he asks for water, and then (while he’s asleep) kills him by driving a tent peg through his temple.

I asked AI, Was Jael lauded or condemned?

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Jael was lauded.

In Judges 5 (the Song of Deborah), she’s specifically praised for killing Sisera and is celebrated as part of God’s deliverance of Israel (Judges 5:24–27).