The Book of Susanna

Susanna (/suːˈzænə/ soo-ZAN-ə; Hebrew: שׁוֹשַׁנָּה, Modern: Shoshána, Tiberian: Šōšannā, lit. 'Lily'), also called Susanna and the Elders, is a narrative included in the Book of Daniel (as chapter 13) by the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is one of the additions to Daniel, placed in the Apocrypha by Protestants, with Anabaptists, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists regarding it as non-canonical but useful for purposes of edification.[1][2][3] The text is not included in the Jewish Tanakh and is not mentioned in early Jewish literature,[4] although it does appear to have been part of the original Septuagint from the 2nd century BC,[5] and was revised by Theodotion, a Hellenistic Jewish redactor of the Septuagint text (c. AD 150).

Summary

A fair Hebrew wife named Susanna bathes privately (having sent her attendants away) in her locked and walled garden. Two elders, having previously said goodbye to each other, bump into each other again when they spy on her bathing. The two men realize they both lust for Susanna. When she makes her way back to her house, they accost her, demanding she have sexual intercourse with them. When she refuses, they have her arrested, claiming that the reason she sent her maids away was to be alone as she was having intercourse with a young man under a tree.

She refuses to be blackmailed and is arrested and about to be put to death for adultery when the young Daniel interrupts the proceedings, shouting that the elders should be interrogated to prevent the death of an innocent.

After being separated, the two men are cross-examined in detail about what they saw and contradict each other about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover. In the Greek text, the names of the trees cited by the elders form puns with the sentences given by Daniel. The first says they were under a mastic tree (ὑπο σχίνον, hypo schinon), and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to cut (σχίσει, schisei) him in two. The second says they were under an evergreen oak tree (ὑπο πρίνον, hypo prinon), and Daniel says that an angel stands ready to saw (πρίσαι, prisai) him in two.

The great difference in size between a mastic and an oak makes the elders' lie plain to all the observers. The false accusers are put to death, and virtue triumphs.

Date and textual history

Part of the Septuagint text of the Susanna story as preserved in Papyrus 967 (3rd century).

The Greek text survives in two versions. The received version is due to Theodotion; this has superseded the original Septuagint version, which survives only in Syriac translation, in Papyrus 967 (3rd century AD), and exceptionally in a single medieval manuscript, known as Codex Chisianus 88. The Greek puns in the texts have been cited by some as proof that the text never existed in Hebrew or Aramaic,[6] but other researchers have suggested pairs of words for trees and cutting that sound similar enough to suppose that they could have been used in an original.[7] The Anchor Bible uses "yew" and "hew", and "clove" and "cleave", to get this effect in English.

Sextus Julius Africanus did not regard the story as canonical. Jerome (347–420), while translating the Vulgate, treated this section as a non-canonical fable.[8] In his introduction, he indicated that Susanna was an apocryphal addition because it was not present in the Hebrew text of Daniel. Origen received the story as part of the 'divine books' and censured 'wicked presbyters' who did not recognize its authenticity (Hom Lev 1.3.), remarking that the story was commonly read in the early Church (Letter to Africanus); and claimed the two Elders who had accused Susanna were the false prophets Ahab ben Kolaiah and Zedekiah ben Masseiah, who 'committed adultery with their neighbors' wives' and were executed by king Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 29:21-23); he also noted the story's absence in the Hebrew text, observing (in Epistola ad Africanum) that it was "hidden" by the Jews in some fashion. Origen's claim is reminiscent of Justin Martyr's charge that Jewish scribes 'removed' certain verses from their Scriptures (Dialogue with Trypho: C.71-3). Although omitted from Jewish scripture, the story of Susanna is acknowledged to have been part of Jewish tradition in the Second Temple period.[9]

Depictions in art

The story is portrayed on the Lothair Crystal, an engraved rock crystal made in the Lotharingia region of northwest Europe in the mid 9th century, and is in the British Museum.[10]

The story was frequently painted from about 1470. Susanna is the subject of paintings by many artists, including (but not limited to) Lorenzo Lotto (Susanna and the Elders, 1517), Guido Reni, Rubens, Van Dyck (Susanna and the Elders), Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Tiepolo, and Artemisia Gentileschi (Susanna and the Elders, 1610). Some treatments, especially in the Baroque period, emphasize the drama, others concentrate on the nude; a 19th-century version by Francesco Hayez (National Gallery, London) has no elders visible at all.[11] The Uruguayan painter Juan Manuel Blanes also painted two versions of the story, most notably one where the two voyeurs are not in sight, and Susanna looks to her right with a concerned expression on her face.

In 1681 Alessandro Stradella wrote an oratorio in two parts La Susanna for Francesco II, Duke of Modena, based upon the story.

In 1749, George Frideric Handel wrote an English-language oratorio Susanna.

Susanna (and not Peter Quince) is the subject of the 1915 poem Peter Quince at the Clavier by Wallace Stevens, which has been set to music by the American composer Dominic Argento and by the Canadian Gerald Berg.

American artist Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975) painted a modern Susanna in 1938, for the de Young Museum in San Francisco. He consciously included pubic hair, unlike the statue-like images of classical art. The fable was set during the Great Depression, and Benton included himself as one of the voyeurs.

The Belgian writer Marnix Gijsen borrows elements of the story in his first novel Het boek van Joachim van Babylon, 1947.

Pablo Picasso, too, rendered the subject in the mid-twentieth century, depicting Susanna much as he depicts his other less abstract reclining nudes. The elders are depicted as paintings hanging on the wall behind her. The picture, painted in 1955, is part of the permanent collection at the Museo Picasso Málaga.

The American opera Susannah by Carlisle Floyd, which takes place in the American South of the 20th century, is also inspired by this story, with the addition of a traveling preacher who seduces Susannah.[12]

Shakespeare refers to this biblical episode in the trial scene of The Merchant of Venice, where Shylock praises Portia as being "A second Daniel" because of her sound judgments, a compliment then taken up by Gratiano when she rules against Shylock. (Note that this story is not part of the Hebrew Book of Daniel, however it is included in the Septuagint, meaning that Shylock should probably be familiar with it.) Shakespeare is assumed to have named his eldest daughter after the biblical character.

The story is also repeated in the One Thousand and One Nights under the name The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders.[13]

• Selected works
• Susannah and the Elders by Massimo Stanzione. Städel
• Susannah and the Elders by Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari (late Baroque). The Walters Art Museum.
• Susanna and the Elders by Alessandro Allori
• Susannah and the Elders, Jan Matsys, The Phoebus Foundation
• Susanna and Elders, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld in Die Bibel in Bildern
• Trial of Susanna, 1860 woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld in Die Bibel in Bildern

Further reading

• Budge, Wallis (1910). "Also the Explanation of Apa John, Archbishop of Constantinople, Concerning Susanna." . Coptic homilies in the dialect of Upper Egypt. Longmans and Co.
• Knecht, Friedrich Justus (1910). "Daniel saves Susanna" . A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. B. Herder.
• Gigot, Francis (1908). "Book of Daniel" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

References

1. Geisler, Norman L.; MacKenzie, Ralph E. (1995). Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences. Baker Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-8010-3875-4. Lutherans and Anglicans used it only for ethical / devotional matters but did not consider it authoritative in matters of faith.
2. Dyck, Cornelius J.; Martin, Dennis D. (1955). The Mennonite Encyclopedia: A-C. Mennonite Brethren Publishing House. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-8361-1119-4.
3. Kirwan, Peter (16 April 2015). Shakespeare and the Idea of Apocrypha: Negotiating the Boundaries of the Dramatic Canon. Cambridge University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-316-30053-4.
4. "Jewishencyclopedia.com". Jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
5. New American Bible (Revised Edition), Footnote a.
6. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Dunn, James D. G., 1939–, Rogerson, J. W. (John William), 1935–. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans. 2003. p. 805. ISBN 9780802837110. OCLC 53059839.
7. Ball, Rev. Charles James (1888). The Holy Bible, According to the Authorized Version (A. D. 1611), with an Explanatory and Critical Commentary and a Revision of the Translation: Apocrypha, Volume 2. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. p. 324. ISBN 9781276924047. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
8. Knights of Columbus Catholic Truth Committee (1908). The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church. Encyclopedia Press. p. 626. "Although the deutero-canonical portions of Daniel seem to contain anachronisms, they should not be treated – as was done by St. Jerome – as mere fables"
9. Simkovich, Malka (2016). "The Tale of Susanna: A Story about Daniel - TheTorah.com". www.thetorah.com. Retrieved 5 April 2022. The stories in the Hebrew Bible about Daniel preserved in Daniel 1–6 are only a portion of the tales that were circulating about Daniel in Second Temple times. Some of these stories were eventually included the Apocrypha, a name used to refer to books in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Bible, which were not included in the Masoretic Text. One such story about Daniel is the book of Susanna, which appears in two slightly different versions: the Old Greek version, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and the version of Theodotion, who produced a slightly different Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible in the second century C.E. In Theodotion's version, Susanna served as the introduction to the book of Daniel.
10. British Museum. "Lothair Crystal". Collection online. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
11. "Susanna at her Bath, 1850, Francesco Hayez". Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
12. Eyer, Ronald (Winter 1956–1957). "Carlisle Floyd's Susannah". Tempo. 42 (42): 7–11. doi:10.1017/S0040298200043709. JSTOR 942914. S2CID 144987051.
13. The Devout Woman and the Two Wicked Elders

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1. The Book of Susanna, Apocrypha. KJV. Alexander Scourby SYC. Audio & Text - 2025.

https://youtu.be/eMafLr54SjA?si=7K9f0oEPVjdIj1tB

2. The Book of Susanna. Christopher Glyn. Audio & Text - 2022.

https://youtu.be/5e8iKDgdbCI?si=aAoG0NvZCZR1zwg4

3. The righteous woman who faced  wicked judges. The story of Susanna. Abiding in Christ. Audio & Text - 2025.

https://youtu.be/_rnnbRirTqo?si=ccSM-sulbKYqghXS

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NRSVUE

Susanna's Beauty Attracts Two Elders

1 There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. 2 He married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. 3 Her parents were righteous and had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. 4 Joakim was very rich and had a fine garden adjoining his house; the Jews used to come to him because he was the most honored of them all.

5 That year two elders from the people were appointed as judges. Concerning them the Lord had said: "Wickedness came forth from Babylon, from elders who were judges, who were supposed to govern the people." 6 These men were frequently at Joakim's house, and all who had a case to be tried came to them there.

7 When the people left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband's garden to walk. 8 Every day the two elders used to see her, going in and walking about, and they began to lust for her. 9 They suppressed their consciences and turned away their eyes from looking to heaven or remembering their duty to administer justice. 10 Both were overwhelmed with passion for her, but they did not tell each other of their distress, 11 for they were ashamed to disclose their lustful desire to have intercourse with her. 12 Day after day they watched eagerly to see her.

13 One day they said to each other, "Let us go home, for it is time for lunch." So they both left and parted from each other. 14 But turning back, they met again, and when each pressed the other for the reason, they confessed their lust. Then together they arranged for a time when they could find her alone.

The Elders Threaten Susanna

15 Once, while they were watching for an opportune day, she went in as before with only two maids and wished to bathe in the garden, for it was a hot day. 16 No one was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. 17 She said to her maids, "Bring me olive oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors so that I can bathe." 18 They did as she told them: they shut the doors of the garden and went out by the side doors to bring what they had been commanded; they did not see the elders because they were hiding.

19 When the maids had gone out, the two elders got up and ran to her. 20 They said, "Look, the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us. We are burning with desire for you, so give your consent, and lie with us. 21 If you refuse, we will testify against you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away."

22 Susanna groaned and said, "I am completely trapped. For if I do this, it will mean death for me; if I do not, I cannot escape your hands. 23 I choose not to do it; I will fall into your hands rather than sin in the sight of the Lord."

24 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted against her. 25 And one of them ran and opened the garden doors. 26 When the people in the house heard the shouting in the garden, they rushed in at the side door to see what had happened to her. 27 And when the elders told their story, the servants felt very much ashamed, for nothing like this had ever been said about Susanna.

The Elders Testify against Susanna

28 The next day, when the people gathered at the house of her husband Joakim, the two elders came, full of their wicked plot to have Susanna put to death. In the presence of the people they said, 29 "Send for Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim." 30 So they sent for her. And she came with her parents, her children, and all her relatives.

31 Now Susanna was a woman of great refinement and beautiful in appearance. 32 As she was veiled, the scoundrels ordered her to be unveiled, so that they might feast their eyes on her beauty. 33 Those who were with her and all who saw her were weeping.

34 Then the two elders stood up before the people and laid their hands on her head. 35 Through her tears she looked up toward heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord. 36 The elders said, "While we were walking in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids. 37 Then a young man who was hiding there came to her and was intimate with her. 38 We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran to them. 39 Although we saw him have intercourse with her, we could not hold the man because he was stronger than we, and he opened the doors and got away. 40 We did, however, seize this woman and asked who the young man was, 41 but she would not tell us. These things we testify."

Because they were elders of the people and judges, the assembly believed them and condemned her to death.

42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said, "O eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they come to be; 43 you know that these men have given false evidence against me. And now I am to die, though I have done none of the wicked things that they have charged against me!"

44 The Lord heard her cry. 45 Just as she was being led off to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young man named Daniel, 46 and he shouted with a loud voice, "I want no part in shedding this woman's blood!"

Daniel Rescues Susanna

47 All the people turned to him and asked, "What is this you are saying?" 48 Taking his stand among them he said, "Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to condemn a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? 49 Return to court, for these men have given false evidence against her."

50 So all the people hurried back. And the rest of the[a] elders said to him, "Come, sit among us and inform us, for God has given you the standing of an elder." 51 Daniel said to them, "Separate them far from each other, and I will examine them."

52 When they were separated from each other, he summoned one of them and said to him, "You old relic of wicked days, your sins have now come home, which you have committed in the past, 53 pronouncing unjust judgments, condemning the innocent and acquitting the guilty, though the Lord said, 'You shall not put an innocent and righteous person to death.' 54 Now then, if you really saw this woman, tell me this: Under what tree did you see them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "Under a mastic tree."[b] 55 And Daniel said, "Very well! This lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God has received the sentence from God and will immediately cut[c] you in two."

56 Then, putting him to one side, he ordered them to bring the other. And he said to him, "You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has beguiled you and lust has perverted your heart. 57 This is how you have been treating the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you through fear, but a daughter of Judah would not tolerate your wickedness. 58 Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?" He answered, "Under an evergreen oak."[d] 59 Daniel said to him, "Very well! This lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to split[e] you in two, so as to destroy you both."

60 Then the whole assembly raised a great shout and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him. 61 And they took action against the two elders because out of their own mouths Daniel had convicted them of bearing false witness; they did to them as they had wickedly planned to do to their neighbor. 62 Acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was spared that day.

63 Hilkiah and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, and so did her husband Joakim and all her relatives, because she was found innocent of a shameful deed. 64 And from that day onward Daniel had a great reputation among the people.

Footnotes

1. 50 Gk lacks rest of the
2. 54 The Greek words for mastic tree and cut are similar
3. 55 The Greek words for mastic tree and cut are similar
4. 58 The Greek words for evergreen oak and split are similar
5. 59 The Greek words for evergreen oak and split are similar

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