The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women

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Toni Craven

Toni Craven is the I. Wiley and Elizabeth M. Briscoe Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University. She received a B.A. from the University of Maryland, an M.A. from Andover Newton Theological School and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Articles by this author

Judith, dressed in Renaissance clothing, holds a sword in one hand and the head of Holofernes in the other.

Judith: Apocrypha

The apocryphal book of Judith tells the story of an Assyrian invasion of Israel, led by a man named Holofernes. Judith, a widow in a besieged Israelite town, seduces and murders Holofernes, securing victory for Israel.

Martyred Mother with seven sons (2MACC): Apocrypha

Following the passage of King Antiochus IV’s laws prohibiting the practice of Judaism, an unnamed mother leads a family through martyrdom.

Martyred mother with seven sons (4MACC): Apocrypha

4 Maccabees is a philosophical retelling of 2 Maccabees, intended to inspire Jews by the martyred mother’s actions to accept the supremacy of devout reason.