On hearing about the situation facing the town, using courage she rebukes the leaders of the town for testing God, then explaining how this is a test from God, about suffering and faith, similar to those faced by Abraham and Jacob. She is confident that God would come to their rescue if they are faithful people, and that God would act through them when required. The theme of the story is that Israel will prosper provided it can avoid sin (Deut 30: 15-20). Her courage is shown by the fact that Judith is the only person, a woman no less, who will confront the enemy, single-handedly. Before heading out to the enemy, Judith prays for strength and is confident that God will come to their aid, because she, (if not the people of the city) are faithful. She also refers to the terrible things that have played against women in previous wars. In the same prayer she asks God "By the deceit of my lips" (9:10) to "crush their arrogance by the hand of a woman" (9:10). (We get a sense of the actions of what will happen next.) In the camp of the enemy, each night she follows the dietary laws2 (12:2), eating the food she prepared even before entering the camp, and prays (12:8). This was usually done early each morning before dawn, allowing her to bathe and purify herself. .
Courage again is shown when Judith beheads Holofernes using his own sword, without any self-doubt. To add insult to injury his head is to be hung from the parapet and publicly shamed. It was considered very shameful for a warrior to be killed by the hand of a woman3 as their culture was based on values of honor and shame, this would be the ultimate insult for the Assyrians. On the other side her dealings with Holofernes, are filled with irony and double meaning. This person lies, deceives and uses her beauty to defeat the enemy. Conversations with Holofernes contain sexual undertones and full of irony, using her beauty in order to achieve the end goal.