Jonah, Tobit, Judith

Irene Nowell, OSB, is a Benedictine of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, where she has lived for almost sixty years. An accomplished theologian and biblical scholar, Nowell is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association and the author of Numbers (of the New Collegeville Bible Commentary); Sing a New Song: The Psalms in the Sunday Lectionary; Women in the Old Testament; and Pleading, Cursing, Praising; all published by Liturgical Press. She is also a member of the editorial board of Give Us This Day (Liturgical Press).

In her new Collegeville commentary on Jonah, Tobit and Judith, Irene Nowell beautifully brings these three wonderful stories to life. With great sensitivity and thoughtfulness, this commentary explores the challenges facing the many male and female characters, their differing deeds and prayers, and the corresponding help they receive from God. A very accessible and well-written work, most highly recommended for Bible study.Mark S. Smith, professor of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at New York University, and author of the Exodus Collegeville Bible Commentary and How Human is God? Seven Questions about God and Humanity in the Bible (Liturgical Press)

• CONTENTS Abbreviations    6THE BOOK OF JONAHIntroduction    7Text and Commentary    9Jonah’s Disobedience and Flight (Jonah 1)    9Jonah’s Prayer (Jonah 2)    11Jonah’s Obedience and the Ninevites’ Repentance (Jonah 3)    13Jonah’s Anger and God’s Reproof (Jonah 4)    15THE BOOK OF TOBITIntroduction    18Text and Commentary    22Tobit’s Virtue and Courage (Tobit 1)    22Tobit’s Blindness (Tobit 2)    26Tobit and Sarah Pray for Death; God’s Answer (Tobit 3)    28Tobit’s Instruction to Tobiah (Tobit 4)    32The Angel Raphael (Tobit 5)    35The Journey and Raphael’s Instructions (Tobit 6)    38Raguel’s House: Arrival and Marriage (Tobit 7)    41 Resolution: Demon Expelled, Wedding Feast, Money Recovered (Tobit 8–9)    43Parents’ Anxiety; Departure from Ecbatana (Tobit 10)    46Homeward Journey and Healing (Tobit 11)    48Raphael’s Identity (Tobit 12)    50Tobit’s Song of Praise (Tobit 13)    52Epilogue (Tobit 14)    54THE BOOK OF JUDITHIntroduction    57Text and Commentary    60Nebuchadnezzar’s Victory against Arphaxad (Judith 1)    60Revenge against the West and Holofernes’s Campaigns (Judith 2)    62Submission of Vassal Nations and Israel’s Preparation for War (Judith 3–4)    65Achior in the Assyrian War Council (Judith 5)    67Response to Achior and His Arrival in Bethulia (Judith 6)    70The Siege of Bethulia (Judith 7)    72Arrival of Judith and Her Response to the Crisis (Judith 8)    75The Prayer of Judith (Judith 9)    78Judith and Her Maid Go Out to War (Judith 10)    80Judith and Holofernes (Judith 11)    82Judith in the Assyrian Camp and at Holofernes’s Tent (Judith 12)    85Judith Beheads Holofernes and Returns to Bethulia (Judith 13)    87The People’s Victory over the Enemy (Judith 14)    91Celebration of Victory; Praise of Judith (Judith 15)    93 Judith’s Thanksgiving Song (Judith 16:1-17)    95Happily Ever After (Judith 16:18-25)    98Review Aids and Discussion Topics    100Index of Citations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church    103Map    104