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Verse 9
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 5:9

Dimitri of Rostov

Dimitri of Rostov17th century

George Kedrin describes how Abraham's trust in God began. At the age of twenty-four, he recognized the one true God, who resides in the heavens, is omnipresent, and sustains all creation. He adored this God, acknowledging Him through the visible world, as he was guided by his ancestors to observe celestial movements, understand the nature of the earth and sea, and study the wisdom of the Chaldeans, in which his father Farrah, grandfather Nahor, and great-grandfather Seruch were proficient. However, despite their wisdom, they were unable to grasp the reality of the Creator, choosing instead to worship the products of their own hands—idols.

Blessed Abraham, even in his youth, looked around thoughtfully at the created order and sought to understand its origins: who was responsible for its creation, sustenance, motion, and governance? One night, while gazing at the starry sky, he pondered its source, and in that moment, the light of divine understanding illuminated his heart. Additionally, as Kedrin recounts, an angel of the Lord instructed him, and such a disciple was truly deserving of such guidance. As he acquired knowledge of the one true God and developed faith in Him, he endeavored to lead his father and siblings toward the same understanding, yet found no companionship in faith among them, save for his loving wife Sarah, who shared his belief, and together they prayed to the true God.

Upon reaching his sixtieth year, seeing no hope of turning others from idol worship, Abraham's zeal for God intensified. He arose at night and secretly ignited the idol temple. As the flames engulfed the temple, his brothers awoke and rushed in to save the idols. Arran, who tended to them with particular care, entered the blazing temple and suffered severe burns, ultimately leading to his death. It is noted that Arran was the first to die before his parents, a tragic occurrence in the lineage that had previously been unheard of.

The narrative from the great Moscow Sobornik, in the ‘Word about court and a serpent,’ attributed to John Chrysostom, recounts that the Chaldeans, enraged by Abraham’s act of destruction, cast him into the fire, yet he emerged unharmed through divine intervention. Witnessing this miracle, Abraham's father Farrah recognized the true God, rejected the idols, and began to serve the one true God alongside Abraham. Subsequently, Abraham experienced a divine revelation where God commanded him to leave his homeland. As the holy first martyr Stephen proclaimed, “Men, brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Harran, 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 urged his father Farrah to abandon their idolatrous city, as they faced persecution from the citizens who despised Farrah's devotion to God. Farrah left the land of the Chaldeans, departing from Ur with his son Abraham, his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarah, intending to journey to Canaan (Nahor stayed in Chaldea among the idolaters). Upon reaching Harran, Farrah settled there, as mentioned by the Ammonian governor Ahior to the commander of the Assyrian forces: “These men are of the tribe of the Chaldeans, who formerly dwelt in Mesopotamia; and because they did not want to follow the gods of their fathers, who dwelt in the land of the Chaldeans, but forsook the ranks of their fathers in the multitude of gods that were, and dwelt in Canaan alone.” Farrah, aged and weary, did not reach Canaan and passed away in Harran at two hundred and five years old. Nahor arrived in Harran as his father was dying and, alongside Abraham, laid Farrah to rest. Nahor then made Harran his residence with his family, yet neither he nor his lineage renounced idol worship, as evidenced later by his grandson Laban’s idolatry.