No need any longer for biblical commentators to seek for the era of the
Book of Judith drama - whether considered fully or only partially historical - late,
during the Maccabean era. For one of the main characters in the Book of Judith,
Achior, re-appears in the Vulgate
version of the Book of Tobit as Tobit’s own nephew, otherwise known as Ahikar (Tobit 1:21-22 GNT). Achior and his own nephew, Nabath, will attend
the joyous wedding of Tobit’s son, Tobias (= holy Job, see our site: http://bookofjob-amaic.blogspot.com.au/),
at Nineveh (Tobit 11:20): “…. veneruntque Achior et Nabath consobrini
Tobiae gaudentes …”. (“And
Achior and Nabath the kinsmen of Tobias came, rejoicing”).
Now the era of the Book of Tobit spans the neo-Assyrian period of “Shalmaneser”
(V), “Sennacherib” and “Esarhaddon”, with the latter two kings only being
relevant for Achior/ Ahikar (1:21-22):
[The Assyrian
king] Esarhaddon … put Ahikar, my brother Anael’s son, in charge of all the
financial affairs of the empire. This was actually the
second time Ahikar was appointed to this position, for when Sennacherib was
emperor of Assyria, Ahikar had been wine steward, treasurer, and accountant,
and had been in charge of the official seal. Since Ahikar was my nephew, he put
in a good word for me with the emperor ….
The defeat of
the massive Assyrian army, the central drama of the Book of Judith, occurred
during the reign of Sennacherib, not Esarhaddon.
For more on all
of this, see our:
Ahikar Part
One: As a Young Officer for Assyria
Ahikar Part
Two: As a Convert to Yahwism
