220 S. Van Den Eynde them, and, since this is a petition, is willing to interfere and grant their request. The actual effect of these prayers on the plot is clear: God hears their prayer (Jdt 4,13). Actually, this is the only direct action of God mentioned in the whole book. The formulation of this verse reminds one of Exod 2,24-25, and Exod 3,7. In the exodus story, God’s hearing and seeing involves delivering his people and sending Moses to make that happen. The intertextuality (10) suggests that God again will deliver his people by sending someone to lead them. The readers will consequently interpret the deliverance of the people through Judith’s actions in a similar way as God’s delivering of the people by sending Moses. That the characters of the story do not know of God’s reaction (11), has an effect on the plot as well. The people keep on fasting and offering, the priests keep on praying (Jdt 4,15). Since they do not realise they are being heard, the people of Bethulia eventually even come to the conclusion that this situation of military crisis must be God’s punishment for their sins and those of their fathers (Jdt 7,28) (12) and they want to surrender. The conclusion of the people contrasts with that of their opponent Achior in Jdt 5. Achior advises against attacking Bethulia if the people did not sin against their God, since this God will avenge them. In order to make his point, he recalls the events in Egypt. The prayers of the people had a clear effect upon the events: God struck Egypt with plagues (Jdt 5,12). It is part of the irony in the book, that the enemy Achior displays more confidence in the possible effect of the prayers of Israel than the Israelites do. For despite the repeated prayers of the inhabitants of Bethulia (Jdt 6,19; 7,19.29) and those of their leaders (10) Other references to the Exodus and wilderness stories, are: the image of horses and riders as symbol of power, the “Lord who crushes war” (Jdt 7,9; 16,2; Exod 15,3[LXX]), the plagues in Egypt (Jdt 5,11-12), the acknowledgement of YHWH as the ultimate goal of the deliverance of Israel (see Jdt 9,14; Exod 6,7; 7,5; 8,18; 9,14; etc.), and the stories about Massa and Meriba (Exod 17; Numb 20; Jdt 7,23ff). For this last aspect, see J.H. VAN HENTEN, “Judith as Alternative Leader. A Rereading of Judith 7-13”, A Feminist Companion to Esther, Judith and Susanna (ed. A. BRENNER) (The Feminist Companion to the Bible 7; Sheffield 1995) 224-252. (11) Even Judith, who trusts till the end that God will save his people, seems to be unaware that God already heard their prayer. See 8,17: “he will hear us if it pleases him”. (12) As remarked by T. CRAVEN, “‘From Where Will My Help Come?’ Women and Prayer in the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books”, Worship and the Hebrew Bible (ed. M.P. GRAHAM) (JSOTSS 284; Sheffield 1999) 95-109, 105.