Abstract: As a book compiled in the Hebrew Apocrypha, Judith stands out with its unique significance among the miscellaneous Hebrew works during the Second Temple Period. From the perspective of isolated reading, historical authenticity is unwaveringly implied by means of the narration of the characters, scenes and events in the text; yet when closely examined under the context of the Hebrew history, the historical settings established by those narrative factors cease to claim such historical credibility. By wittingly framing narration settings with the historical factors, the author of Judith does not intend to indicate his historical fallacies, nor does he purposefully remind the readers of the fictitious nature of Judith. Under the Hellenistic context of the completion of Judith, it can be concluded that the historical factors are intentionally displaced and reorganized by the author,in order to stage a “literarily-authentic” history setting to present a metaphorical narration of the contemporary. Such a narrative analysis will hopefully deepen the interpretation of the unique significance of Hebrew literature in the Second Temple Period under the context of Hellenistic era.

Key words: Judith, historical authenticity, literary fiction, Hellenistic era, metaphor and interpretation