In Acts 9:36-43, Tabitha’s name is both transliterated from Aramaic (Tabitha) and translated into Greek (Dorcas). Because both names mean “deer” and this episode follows Peter’s healing of Aeneas, Tabitha’s name can be read as an allusion to Virgil’s Dido, juxtaposing the expansion of the kingdom of God with that of Rome. Virgil’s Aeneid characterizes Dido as a deer and Aeneas as her hunter. Luke initiates the expansion of the kingdom of God by emphasizing its compassion for marginalized individuals (in contrast to Roman disregard). Whereas Rome leaves women dead in the wake of its progression, the agents of the kingdom of God bring women back to life.
In this article, I argue that Judith can be read as imitating book 9 of Homer’s Odyssey, the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus the Cyclops, in a way that compliments its use of other literary models (e.g., Genesis 34; Judges 4–5; 1 Kingdoms 17; and Homer, Iliad 14). Such an imitation can be read as reinforcing the narrative’s explicit themes, especially that of violent opposition to foreign invaders, and as contributing to its characterizations of Judith (who compares favorably to Odysseus) and Holofernes (who is stigmatized by association with Polyphemus). In the process, I situate Judith among other imitations of Odyssey 9 in antiquity and observe how especially Jewish writings in the Hellenistic and Roman eras appear to use it as a resource for opposing foreign subjugation, including to Greek empires. Accordingly, Judith further attests to the participation of Jews in the contestation over the Greek canonical past.
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