Truth Concealed
The Crux Interpretum for Deception in Tobit and Judith
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22037693 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joshua Joel Spoelstra (0000-0001-5702-1046, Stellenbosch University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 40-54 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Early Christian History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2222-582X • E-ISSN: 2471-4054 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/2222582x.2025.2584962 |
| OpenAlex | W4416407327 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 36 |
In the books of Judith and Tobit, a main character repeatedly employs deception as they interact with other players in the respective compositions. This deception is expressed in half-lies, part-truths, and intentional misdirection or double meaning. Since the prohibition against false testimony is one of the laws of the Decalogue, it is problematic that Judith, the paragon of piety and virtue, and Raphael, one of the seven archangels of God disguised as an Israelite, interact in this manner. This religio-ethical tension is the focus of this article which argues that each Jewish novella contains an imbedded hermeneutical key which contextually deciphers said deceptive conduct; moreover, each crux interpretum is provided by the character who functions in the mendacious guise. Through a literary analysis of Jewish novellas in general and the relevant passages specifically and through a cultural analysis of exilic and diasporic contexts, Jewish identity negotiation during the Second Temple period is constructed. In the end, a well-rounded understanding of the religio-ethical tensions in Tobit and Judith are extrapolated, yet not completely assuaged; indeed, for tensions in hagiography to mirror one’s own (communal) existence is probably intentional and to be appreciated
Deception · Self-deception · Tobit model · Truth telling · Caribbean and African Literature and Culture · Forgiveness and Related Behaviors · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism
The Construct of Identity in Hellenistic Judaism
Defining All-Israel in Chronicles
Novellas for Diverting Jewish Urban Businessmen or Channels of Priestly Knowledge
Personification of empire and Israel and the role of appearance and speech in the Judith story
Judith
Identity and Territory
Jewish Novellas in a Greek and Roman Age
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |