Holofernes

Holofernes (also spelled Olofernes) was the Assyrian general of Nebuchadnezzar described in the deuterocanonical Book of Judith as commanding the army that invaded the western lands, besieged the Israelite city of Bethulia, and was killed by the Jewish widow Judith. According to the narrative, Judith gained access to Holofernes's camp under the pretense of providing intelligence against her own people, was entertained at his banquet, and when he had drunk himself to sleep, beheaded him with his own sword and carried his head back to Bethulia — a deed that routed the Assyrian army. The story has been compared to the earlier accounts of Jael and Sisera (Judges 4:17–22) and celebrates a woman as God's instrument for national deliverance.

Holofernes appears only in the Book of Judith and has no corroborated historical identification, adding to the scholarly consensus that the book is a theological narrative rather than historical chronicle. The name may be a Graecized form of a Persian or Old Iranian name. The story's canonical status varies: Judith is deuterocanonical in Catholic and Orthodox traditions but is not in the Protestant or Jewish biblical canons.