Encyclopedia entry · Person
Achior
Curator's research file
Subject · person
Achior
Identity
- Name meaning
- *brother of light* (Heb. akhi-or) — though the figure is non-Israelite
Family
- Parent(s)
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- Spouse
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- Children
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- Tribe / people
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Era & origin
- Era
- Narrative setting c. 6th century BC; book composed later
- Region
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- Contemporary of
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Role
- Role
- Ammonite captain in the deuterocanonical book of Judith · Convert to the God of Israel
- Notable for
- Achior is a major figure in the deuterocanonical book of Judith — an Ammonite captain in the army of Holofernes, the Assyrian general besieging the Jewish city of Bethulia.
Network
- Referenced by
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- Voices
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Achior is a major figure in the deuterocanonical book of Judith — an Ammonite captain in the army of Holofernes, the Assyrian general besieging the Jewish city of Bethulia. Asked by Holofernes who these Jews are and why they resist, Achior gives a long, accurate summary of Israel's history from Abraham to the exile and warns that as long as the Jews are faithful to their God, they cannot be overcome (Judith 5:5-21). Holofernes is furious; Achior is bound and left to be killed by the besieged Jews.
The Jews of Bethulia take him in, and when Judith returns with Holofernes's head, Achior recognizes the God of Israel as the true God, believes, is circumcised, and is joined to the house of Israel unto this day (Judith 14:10). His confession is the theological climax of the book — a Gentile witness to Israel's God preserved within Israel's deliverance narrative.
The book of Judith is reckoned as deuterocanonical by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as apocryphal by Protestant traditions. Readers on the Protestant canon will not find Judith in the canon picker.
Source · AI-drafted from standard reference works on Second Temple Jewish literature — verify before publication.