volume 13, issue 2, 2021, pages 215-235

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsCLZY3755
Published online: 2021-12-01
Published in print: 2021-12-30

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to offer a new and alternative interpretation of σκάνδαλα in the phrase ἔθηκαν ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις σκάνδαλα (Jdt 5:1). Usually, the Greek word is explained as an indication of either the physical barriers or traps which were laid in the fields for the enemy. According to our analysis, the term σκάνδαλα refers rather to the conditions of the fields after the harvest, concretely to no crops being found in the fields by the enemy. Our semifigurative interpretation of the word is supported by the arguments from the Judith narrative as well as from other biblical and non-biblical writings. By transferring the harvested crops from the fields and storing them in safe places in the mountains, the Israelites foraged provisions for the war as they were instructed (4:5). By doing so, however, they cut off the enemy from the supplies which he counted upon and from the opportunity to endanger the Israelites by pillaging their crops, creating thus an unexpected obstacle for him. The so-called “evacuation” of the crops was one of the effective defensive methods in the ancient world to hinder the march of the enemy or to terminate a siege.