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Verse 6
Theosis · English Bible
Judith

Judith 5

Old TestamentTheosis · English Bible

1Then was it declared to Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, that the children of Israel had prepared for war, and had shut up the passages of the hill country, and had fortified all the tops of the high hills, and had laid impediments in the champaign countries: 2wherewith he was very angry, and called all the princes of Moab, and the captains of Ammon, and all the governors of the sea coast, 3and he said unto them, Tell me now, ye sons of Chanaan, who this people is, that dwelleth in the hill country, and what are the cities that they inhabit, and what is the multitude of their army, and wherein is their power and strength, and what king is set over them, or captain of their army; 4and why have they determined not to come and meet me, more than all the inhabitants of the west? 5Then said Achior, the captain of all the sons of Ammon, Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of thy servant, and I will declare unto thee the truth concerning this people, which dwelleth near thee, and inhabiteth the hill countries: and there shall no lie come out of the mouth of thy servant. 6This people are descended of the Chaldeans: 7and they sojourned heretofore in Mesopotamia, because they would not follow the gods of their fathers, which were in the land of Chaldea. 8For they left the way of their ancestors, and worshipped the God of heaven, the God whom they knew: so they cast them out from the face of their gods, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days. 9Then their God commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go into the land of Chanaan: where they dwelt, and were increased with gold and silver, and with very much cattle. 10But when a famine covered all the land of Chanaan, they went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, while they were nourished, and became there a great multitude, so that one could not number their nation. 11Therefore the king of Egypt rose up against them, and dealt subtilly with them, and brought them low with labouring in brick, and made them slaves. 12Then they cried unto their God, and he smote all the land of Egypt with incurable plagues: so the Egyptians cast them out of their sight. 13And God dried the Red sea before them, 14and brought them to mount Sina, and Cades-Barne, and cast forth all that dwelt in the wilderness. 15So they dwelt in the land of the Amorites, and they destroyed by their strength all them of Esebon, and passing over Jordan they possessed all the hill country. 16And they cast forth before them the Chanaanite, the Pherezite, the Jebusite, and the Sychemite, and all the Gergesites, and they dwelt in that country many days. 17And whilst they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because the God that hateth iniquity was with them. 18But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were led captives into a land that was not their's, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by the enemies. 19But now are they returned to their God, and are come up from the places where they were scattered, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country; for it was desolate. 20Now therefore, my lord and governor, if there be any error in this people, and they sin against their God, let us consider that this shall be their ruin, and let us go up, and we shall overcome them. 21But if there be no iniquity in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and we become a reproach before all the world. 22And when Achior had finished these sayings, all the people standing round about the tent murmured, and the chief men of Holofernes, and all that dwelt by the sea side, and in Moab, spake that he should kill him. 23For, say they, we will not be afraid of the face of the children of Israel: for, lo, it is a people that have no strength nor power for a strong battle. 24Now therefore, lord Holofernes, we will go up, and they shall be a prey to be devoured of all thine army.

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Judith 5:6

Dimitri of Rostov

Dimitri of Rostov17th century

George Kedrin describes how Abraham's trust in God originated. At the age of twenty-four, he recognized the true God who resides in the heavens, is omnipresent, and oversees all creation, and he began to worship Him. Abraham understood the Creator through the visible world, having been taught by his ancestors to observe celestial phenomena, discern the movements of stars, and comprehend the nature of the earth and sea. His family possessed great knowledge, as his father Terah, grandfather Nahor, and great-grandfather Serug were well-versed in this wisdom. However, their intellect led them astray, for they failed to grasp the reality of the true God, instead serving their own creations—namely, idols. Blessed Abraham, in his youth, contemplated the lofty and the humble, pondering the origins of all that he saw: who was responsible for creation, sustenance, motion, and governance of everything? On one clear night, as he gazed at the star-filled sky, he began to question these truths, and in that moment, divine enlightenment illuminated his heart. According to Kedrin, a heavenly messenger acted as his guide. Such a distinguished student deserved such guidance. As he came to a deep understanding of the one true God and developed faith in Him, Abraham sought to lead his father and siblings towards this same recognition of God, but he was met with resistance. He found no one among them who shared his faith, save for his beloved wife Sarah, who equally believed alongside him, and together they prayed to the one true God.

By the time he reached sixty years of age, Abraham realized he could not persuade anyone to abandon idol worship, and his zeal for God intensified. One night, he stealthily set fire to the temple of the idols. When the flames engulfed the temple, his brothers awoke and rushed in to save the idols. In the chaos, Arran, who was especially devoted to the idols, entered the burning temple and suffered severe burns, resulting in his death. It is recounted that Arran was the first to die before his parents, an unprecedented occurrence, for no son had died before his father prior to that. This story is mentioned in the large Moscow Sobornik in a ‘Word about court and a serpent,’ attributed to John Chrysostom. The Chaldeans are said to have grown angry with Abraham for destroying their idols and attempted to throw him into the flames, yet he emerged unharmed by the power of God. When Terah, Abraham's father, witnessed this miraculous event, he was astonished, came to acknowledge the true God, and turned away from idols, beginning to serve the one true God alongside Abraham.

Subsequently, Abraham experienced a vision from God, who commanded him to leave his homeland, as the holy first martyr Stephen recounted to the Jewish assembly: "Men, brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said unto him, Depart from thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, and go into the land which I will show thee" (Acts 7:2-3). Upon receiving this divine directive, Abraham persuaded his father Terah to leave the idolatrous city due to the harassment they faced from its citizens, who despised Terah’s righteous worship of God. Therefore, Terah departed from the land of the Chaldeans, leaving Ur of the Chaldeans with his son Abraham, grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his granddaughter Sarah, Abraham's wife, with the intent of reaching the land of Canaan (Nahor stayed behind in Chaldea among the idolaters). Upon arriving in Haran, Terah chose to settle there. The Ammonite governor Ahior later remarked to the commander of the Assyrian forces, "These men are of the tribe of the Chaldeans who once lived in Mesopotamia; and since they rejected the gods of their forebears, who resided in the land of the Chaldeans, they forsook their ancestral polytheism and chose to dwell alone in Canaan." Terah did not make it to Canaan, settling instead in Haran, where he passed away at the age of two hundred and five. Nahor arrived in Haran during his father’s final moments and, along with Abraham, buried Terah. Afterward, Nahor remained in Haran with his household, yet neither he nor his descendants renounced idol worship, as evidenced by his grandson Laban’s later actions.