He followed the Euphrates and passed through Mesopotamia: Surprise! Now we find Holofernes east of the Euphrates River! Or do we? Does he “cross” the river (Good News Translation) or “follow” it (Revised Standard Version with a footnote for the other option)? The Greek verb can mean either, but “follow” is more probable. We have to allow that the author’s hold on geography is as loose as his hold on history, but surely he knew where the Euphrates was! If we assume Holofernes is following the Euphrates, we can at least imagine him coming down from Cilicia into Mesopotamia, doing his destructive work in the western part of the land. Mesopotamia is a name applied to the land between the Euphrates River and the Tigris River, running parallel to it on the east. It is roughly modern Iraq.

Destroyed all the hilltop cities along the brook Abron, as far as the sea: Abron is unknown, but the cities mentioned there are properly described as “walled” (Good News Translation) or “fortified,” not as hilltop cities. The sea probably refers to the Persian Gulf if Holofernes followed the Euphrates. Good News Translation is fond of identifying the precise body of water meant by the sea (and it usually means the Mediterranean), but here it wisely decides to leave the matter alone.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.