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Bible Overview is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Bible study. Each month we feature a book of the Bible (in order) by Bible scholar and lecturer, Mary Jane Chaignot.
This month we will look at the second of three additions to the book of Daniel. This one is called, “Susanna.” There are two main versions of this story: one was written by Theodotion, a Hellenistic Jewish scholar who translated the Old Testament into Greek perhaps as late as 180-190CE; the other is the LXX. There are significant differences between them and most scholars assume that Theodotion tweaked what had been written in the LXX. No one, however, has come up with a plausible reason for why he might have done that. We will be using his translation. If you want to read some of the history previous to this selection, you can find the earlier books in our archives.
The Bible Time-Line is another quick reference for locating individuals or specific books. We encourage readers to share their Bible study success stories on this site. Email us at overview@biblewise.com to be included on next month's site.
Daniel and Susanna
The story of Susanna is a classic “courtroom drama,” without the courtroom. It takes place in Babylon. As the heroine of the story, Susanna is described as a beautiful and devout woman. She was the daughter of Hilkiah and raised according to the law of Moses. She was married to Joakim, a very wealthy Jew, who lived in a house with a fine garden. In fact, their house was so majestic that it was used as a meeting place for Jews. Indeed, two elders, who had been appointed as judges, used it as their courtroom. Each, independently, lusted after Susanna.
It was Susanna’s practice to walk alone in the garden every day after the morning activities, and these two judges soon looked forward to spying on her there. One day, they both returned to the garden after their work had been finished and ran into each other. Finally, they confessed their true intentions and were delighted to find they shared the same desires. At that point, they hatched a plan to seduce her. Day after day, they hid in the garden biding their time. It all came together one particularly hot day when Susanna wanted to bathe in the garden. Her maids readied the bath and then shut the garden doors so no one could see her. As soon as the maids left, the two judges ran to her, told her how much they wanted her, and asked her to “yield” to them. They knew she had few choices. If she refused, they were quick to say they would accuse her of meeting a young man in the garden, which would explain why she had asked her maids to leave.
Susanna lamented her situation. Yielding to them would be sinning against God; not yielding would be tantamount to signing her death warrant. She chose the latter, hoping they would be merciful. They weren’t.
Everyone was shocked to hear their accusations, but because her accusers were men and respected judges, no one questioned their motives. Susanna was immediately condemned to death. She cried out to God proclaiming her innocence, but no one listened to her – except God. God inspired Daniel to get involved, and he suggested they interrogate the two judges separately. They were each asked “Under which tree did you see them together?” The first man said it was a mastic (“clove”) tree, which is a small evergreen. Daniel said God would “cleave” him in two. The other man said it was a “yew” tree, which is very large. Daniel said God would “hew” him down. Upon hearing this discrepancy, the people knew their witness was untrue. They shouted for joy and praised God for saving those who trust in him.
Susanna was released and the men were put to death for giving false evidence against their neighbor. Susanna’s family (who had been shut out of the proceedings) rejoiced and gladly welcomed her home. Daniel was seen as a great man among all his people.
Based on this story, Theodotion put it at the beginning of Daniel’s career as a way of introducing him. This is not without some problems, however. According to this story, Daniel would have been part of the community in Babylon, whereas chapter 1 of Daniel begins with his deportation to Babylon. It also changes the focus from Susanna being wrongly accused to the wisdom of Daniel. Perhaps for these reasons, the Vulgate, which is based on the LXX, includes this chapter at the end of the book of Daniel with an asterisk, saying it was not part of the original book. That allows it to remain independent from the Daniel stories. Since it is quite similar to other folk tales regarding Daniel, scholars have wondered why it was excluded from Jewish texts. The most obvious answer is that it never was a Jewish text; it originated in Greek. This is given credence by the use of puns between the trees and the sentence pronounced by Daniel – most translate the first tree as “clove…cleave.” The second would be “yew…hew.” This was the standard thought until recently. Now, scholars think there could have been a Semitic background for these words. Another answer seems to derive from the treatment of the false witnesses. True, some Deuteronomic texts (see Deut. 19:18-19) suggest false witnesses should be punished with the same fate as those who had been erroneously accused – in this case, adultery would have been punishable by death. By the third century, BCE, however, the standards for execution required a third party to step forward saying they had been with the accused in some other location and, thus, the accuser could not have witnessed whatever he had testified to seeing. This would ensure that the accuser had deliberately lied rather than making an honest mistake. Some think such subtleties of law are too advanced for this folk tale, but it does highlight the perils of having two witnesses conspire to give false testimony and thereby force the courts to condemn innocent people. Notwithstanding the contradictions between the information in this story and what is known from the canonical Daniel, maybe the best reason stems from the fact that in this story, elders are portrayed very badly. Bottom line: elders decide what is or is not canonical.
Even though the facts of the story are very plausible, few modern scholars think it is historical. Of course that hasn’t prevented scholars from trying to attempt to identify the two judges. Some argue that the wicked judges are the adulterous prophets, Ahab and Zedekiah, named by Jeremiah in 29:21-23. There is no way to either prove or disprove this, so recently most scholars have dropped the idea.
It is easy to see, however, why this story has maintained its appeal through the ages. It follows the genre of “an innocent woman falsely accused” that is saved by “the wisdom and intelligence of a young judge.” The name of this judge was Daniel, but it really could have been anyone. Daniel is not essential to the details of the story. It also gives a glimpse of Jewish life during the exile. Some scholars are surprised that a Jew could have risen to such wealth in so short a time, but admit that such a possibility exists. It is also noteworthy that the Jews were, to some extent, self-governing and adherents of the Law of Moses. The secular aspects of the story are compelling – judges gone bad, lusting after their neighbor’s wife, speaking lies, and being caught and punished for them. Nonetheless, Susanna’s prayer of lament, decision to remain chaste, and prayer for deliverance also speak to the hope and holiness of the Jewish people who embodied the wisdom tradition of Israel. The story highlights the importance of remaining loyal to God even when falsely accused by those entrusted as elders of the tradition. God’s deliverance affirms that God will not allow injustice to have the last word against those who are faithful to him. Indeed, God will intervene on their behalf. Needless to say, the story of Susanna hemmed in by her accusers and threatened with death has often been used as a fitting image for the struggles of the early church hemmed in by their accusers and threatened with death by pagans and Jews alike.
These verses can be divided into five sections: 1:1-4 -- Introduction; 1:5-27 – Susanna is Falsely Accused; 1:28-43 – The Trial and Outcome; 1:44-62 – Conviction of the Judges; 1:63-64 -- Conclusion |
