Bethulia
E520301
Bethulia is a fictional fortified town in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, depicted as the strategic site where Judith saves Israel by beheading the Assyrian general Holofernes.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Bethulia (as sign of deliverance, in the narrative) | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
biblical location
ⓘ
fictional town ⓘ fortified town ⓘ |
| appearsIn |
Book of Judith
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
deuterocanonical Book of Judith NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithCharacter |
Holofernes
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Judith NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithEvent | Judith beheading Holofernes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithTheme |
deliverance of Israel
ⓘ
divine salvation ⓘ faith and courage ⓘ |
| canonicalStatus |
apocryphal in most Protestant traditions
ⓘ
deuterocanonical in Catholic and Orthodox canons ⓘ |
| defendedBy | Israelites NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedAs |
fortified town
ⓘ
strategic site ⓘ |
| functionInStory |
setting for Judith’s heroism
ⓘ
symbol of Israel under threat ⓘ |
| hasFortifications |
city walls
ⓘ
gates ⓘ |
| hasUncertainGeographicalIdentification |
often compared with Shechem
ⓘ
sometimes linked to Bethel ⓘ sometimes linked to Meselieh near Dothan ⓘ |
| languageOfName | Hebrew ⓘ |
| literaryCategory | Second Temple Jewish literature setting ⓘ |
| locatedInTextualUniverse | land of Israel NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mentionedIn |
Judith 10
ⓘ
Judith 13 ⓘ Judith 4 ⓘ Judith 6 ⓘ Judith 7 ⓘ Judith 8 ⓘ |
| nameEtymologyHypothesis | possibly derived from Hebrew root for "virgin" or "maiden" ⓘ |
| narrativeCrisis | inhabitants consider surrender because of thirst ⓘ |
| religiousTradition |
Christianity
ⓘ
Judaism ⓘ |
| roleInNarrative |
place where Judith saves Israel
ⓘ
site of Assyrian siege ⓘ |
| savedBy | Judith’s assassination of Holofernes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| strategicFeature | controls access routes into the hill country of Judea in the narrative ⓘ |
| studiedInField |
biblical studies
ⓘ
literary criticism of biblical narratives ⓘ |
| textualStatus |
fictional
ⓘ
not securely identified with a historical town ⓘ |
| threatenedBy |
Assyrian army
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Holofernes NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| waterSupplySituation | suffers from water shortage during siege ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Bethulia (as sign of deliverance, in the narrative)