2009•Acta Patristica et ByzantinaRequires access
An interpretation of the rhetorical power of the genre of Judith : Septuagint research article
Elma Cornelius
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Abstract
The book of Judith is pure fiction, not historically true, meant to be humorous. Does this mean that Judith is a comedy? ''Comedy'' is defined and the book of Judith is studied to answer this question. Nelson (1990) shows how different elements contribute to the genre of comedy. The following questions are answered to interpret the genre of the book of Judith: is the story reality or fantasy, is the social inequality between sexes used to create humour, is death described as a triumph, is there a rogue and trickster in the story, what are the characteristics of the hero in the story, how do the style and language of the text contribute to the genre? Finally the rhetorical power of the genre of the book of Judith is discussed.