Definitions for HOLOFERNES
ˌhɒl əˈfɜr niz, ˌhoʊ lə-holofernes

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Holofernesnoun

   (Apocrypha) the Assyrian general who was decapitated by the biblical heroine Judith

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Holofernes

   In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes (Ancient Greek: Ὀλοφέρνης; Hebrew: הולופרנס) was an invading Assyrian general known for having been beheaded by Judith, a Hebrew widow who entered his camp and beheaded him while he was drunk. Holofernes had been dispatched by Nebuchadnezzar to take vengeance on Israel, which had withheld assistance in his most recent war. Having occupied every country along the coastline, Holofernes destroyed all worship of gods other than Nebuchadnezzar. Holofernes was warned against attacking the Jewish people by Achior, the leader of the Ammonites; however, despite the advice he laid siege to the city of Bethulia, commonly believed to be Meselieh. The city almost fell to the invading army; Holofernes' advance stopped the water supply to Bethulia, leading to its people encouraging their rulers to give in to Holofernes' demands. The leaders vowed to surrender if no help arrived within five days. Bethulia was saved by Judith, a Hebrew widow, who entered the camp of Holofernes, seduced him, and got him drunk before beheading him. Judith returned to Bethulia with the severed head of Holofernes, having defeated the army. Hebrew versions of the tale in the Megillat Antiochus and the Chronicles of Jerahmeel identify "Holofernes" as Nicanor; the Greek version used "Holofernes" as deliberately cryptic substitute, similarly using "Nebuchadnezzar" for Antiochus. Holofernes is depicted in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Monk's Tale in The Canterbury Tales, and in Dante's Purgatorio (where Holofernes is to be found on the Terrace of Pride as an example of "pride cast down", XII.58–60). As a painter's subject he offers the chance to contrast the flesh and jewels of a beautiful, festively attired woman with the grisly head of the victim, a deuterocanonical parallel to the Yael sequence in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament vignette of Salome with the head of John the Baptist.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. holofernes

   Holofernes is a character from the deuterocanonical Book of Judith in the Old Testament of the Bible. He is an Assyrian general who is assassinated by Judith, a beautiful Jewish widow. The story has been a popular subject in art and literature. Additionally, Holofernes is also a character in William Shakespeare's play "Love's Labour's Lost," known for his pedantic and pompous language.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Holofernes

   In the deuterocanonical Book of Judith, Holofernes was an invading general of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar dispatched Holofernes to take vengeance on the nations of the west that had withheld their assistance to his reign. Holofernes occupied all the nations along the sea coast and destroyed all the gods of the nations, so that all nations would worship Nebuchadnezzar alone. Holofernes was warned by Achior, the leader of the children of Ammon, against attacking the Jewish people. Holofernes and his followers were angered by Achior. They rebuked him, insisting that there was no god other than Nebuchadnezzar. The general laid siege to Bethulia, commonly believed to be Meselieh, and the city almost surrendered. Holofernes' advance stopped the water supply to Bethulia. The people lost heart and encouraged Ozias and their rulers to give way. The leaders vowed to surrender if no help arrived within five days. Bethulia was saved by Judith, a beautiful Hebrew widow who entered Holofernes's camp and seduced him. Judith then beheaded Holofernes while he was drunk. She returned to Bethulia with the severed head, and the Hebrews defeated the enemy. Hebrew versions of the tale in the Megillat Antiochus and the Chronicles of Jerahmeel identify "Holoferenes" as Nicanor whence the name "Holofernes" in the Greek version would be a deliberately cryptic name similar to the use of "Nebuchadnezzar" for Antiochus.

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Holofernes

   the Assyrian general whom the Jewish Judith, entering his camp as it invested her native place, slew with her own hand, and bore his head as a trophy back to the town.

Matched Categories

1. • Apocrypha
   • General

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

1. [["1867","1"],["1875","1"],["1905","1"],["1910","5"],["1922","4"],["1927","1"],["1928","1"],["1933","1"],["1943","1"],["1944","1"],["1947","1"],["1948","2"],["1950","1"],["1957","2"],["1958","1"],["1959","3"],["1963","148"],["1964","1"],["1965","14"],["1966","2"],["1967","1"],["1970","3"],["1971","11"],["1972","27"],["1973","2"],["1974","1"],["1976","7"],["1977","1"],["1978","3"],["1980","3"],["1982","1"],["1983","3"],["1984","1"],["1985","137"],["1986","3"],["1987","4"],["1988","2"],["1989","2"],["1990","1"],["1991","1"],["1992","1"],["1993","2"],["1994","3"],["1995","1"],["1997","2"],["1998","2"],["1999","3"],["2000","4"],["2001","2"],["2002","2"],["2003","5"],["2004","5"],["2005","16"],["2006","3"],["2007","9"],["2008","14"]]

How to pronounce HOLOFERNES?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say HOLOFERNES in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of HOLOFERNES in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of HOLOFERNES in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=HOLOFERNES
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holofernes
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=HOLOFERNES
5. ^ The Nuttall Encyclopedia
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12342/pg12342-images.html#Holofernes
6. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=HOLOFERNES