HarperCollins Study Bible

by Harold W. Attridge

  66 Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, probably an addition to the hymn here, since in this verse the orderly structure is disrupted.

  SUSANNA

  (Chapter 13 of the Greek Version of Daniel)

  MANY STORIES AND VISIONS CONCERNING DANIEL, similar to the ones now contained in the OT book, circulated in ancient Judaism in the Second Temple period; fragments of some of these have been found at Qumran. Susanna and Bel and the Dragon are two such entertaining short stories that probably circulated independently and were later inserted into the book of Daniel. Theodotion’s version of the OT places Susanna at the beginning of Daniel in order to introduce Daniel as a young man, while the Septuagint and Vulgate versions place Susanna at the end with Bel and the Dragon. The purpose of adding these two stories to the previously existing book was perhaps to bring it more in line with the novelistic literature of the period such as Tobit, Judith, and Esther (especially with its Greek additions).

  Susanna and Bel and the Dragon are best read as edifying fictions; no real historical account is intended in either case. They are examples of a commonplace in Jewish literature, the persecution and vindication of the righteous hero or heroine (cf. Gen 37–50; Esther; Dan 3; 6; Wis 2–5). Susanna differs from Dan 1–6 and Bel and the Dragon (as well as Gen 37–50 and Esther) in that the action does not take place in the highest court in the land, but in the local, self-governing Jewish court.

  Traditional folk motifs, such as the upright woman who is falsely accused of being promiscuous and the young boy who steps forward to render a just verdict, are reflected in the story. Susanna is also one of the first detective stories of world literature, or better, one of the first “courtroom dramas.” It cannot be dated precisely but was probably composed between the third and first centuries BCE. The Greek text translated here is from Theodotion’s version; the Septuagint version is quite different in a number of places (see note on v. 32). [LAWRENCE WILLS]

  Susanna’s Beauty Attracts Two Elders

  1There was a man living in Babylon whose name was Joakim. 2He married the daughter of Hilkiah, named Susanna, a very beautiful woman and one who feared the Lord. 3Her parents were righteous, and had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. 4Joakim 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.

  5That 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.” 6These men were frequently at Joakim’s house, and all who had a case to be tried came to them there.

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

  13One 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. 14But 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 Attempt to Seduce Susanna

  15Once, 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. 16No one was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. 17She said to her maids, “Bring me olive oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors so that I can bathe.” 18They 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.

  19When the maids had gone out, the two elders got up and ran to her. 20They 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. 21If you refuse, we will testify against you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away.”

  22Susanna 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. 23I choose not to do it; I will fall into your hands, rather than sin in the sight of the Lord.”

  24Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the two elders shouted against her. 25And one of them ran and opened the garden doors. 26When 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. 27And 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

  28The 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.” 30So they sent for her. And she came with her parents, her children, and all her relatives.

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

  34Then the two elders stood up before the people and laid their hands on her head. 35Through her tears she looked up toward Heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord. 36The 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. 37Then a young man, who was hiding there, came to her and lay with her. 38We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran to them. 39Although we saw them embracing, we could not hold the man, because he was stronger than we, and he opened the doors and got away. 40We did, however, seize this woman and asked who the young man was, 41but 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.

  42Then 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; 43you 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!”

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

  Daniel Rescues Susanna

  47All the people turned to him and asked, “What is this you are saying?” 48Taking 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? 49Return to court, for these men have given false evidence against her.”

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

  52When 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, 53pronouncing unjust judgments, condemning the innocent and acquitting the guilty, though the Lord said, ‘You shall not put an innocent and righteous person to death.’ 54Now 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 55And 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
cutc you in two.”

  56Then, 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. 57This 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. 58Now then, tell me: Under what tree did you catch them being intimate with each other?” He answered, “Under an evergreen oak.”d 59Daniel said to him, “Very well! This lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God is waiting with his sword to splite you in two, so as to destroy you both.”

  60Then the whole assembly raised a great shout and blessed God, who saves those who hope in him. 61And 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. 62Acting in accordance with the law of Moses, they put them to death. Thus innocent blood was spared that day.

  63Hilkiah 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. 64And from that day onward Daniel had a great reputation among the people.

  * * *

  a Gk lacks rest of the

  b The Greek words for mastic tree and cut are similar, thus forming an ironic wordplay

  c The Greek words for mastic tree and cut are similar, thus forming an ironic wordplay

  d The Greek words for evergreen oak and split are similar, thus forming an ironic wordplay

  e The Greek words for evergreen oak and split are similar, thus forming an ironic wordplay

  1–14 Calm setting of the story and introduction of a threat to Susanna.

  1 Since the story introduces the young man Daniel, the time must be during the exile. It is difficult to imagine Jews living lives of such genteel wealth during the exile in Babylon, but cf. Jer 29.4–7 and, from a much later period, 2 Esd 3.2. This story may reflect the actual social conditions of some Jews of a later century. Joakim, in Hebrew “the Lord will establish.” This figure is not to be identified either with the Joakim of Jdt 4.6; 15.8 or with Jehoiachin in 2 Kings 24.15.

  2 Hilkiah, in Hebrew “the Lord is my portion,” a common priestly name. Susanna, in Hebrew “lily.” A very beautiful woman…the Lord. Cf. Tob 6.12; Jdt 8.7–8; Esth 2.7, 20 (according to the Greek translation).

  5 The quotation is unknown, but cf. Jer 23.14–15; 29.20–23.

  9 Heaven, i.e., God.

  15–27 The attempted coercion of Susanna.

  17 Olive oil, used as a cosmetic and sometimes perfumed with myrrh to make fragrant ointments; cf. Esth 2.12; Ps 104.15.

  21 Was with you, here a euphemism for sexual intercourse; merely being alone with a young man would not warrant death (cf. v. 37).

  22 According to Mosaic law the punishment for adultery was death (Lev 20.10; Deut 22.22).

  23 I choose not to do it. Central to many such Jewish stories is a moment of decision; cf. Gen 39.9.

  28–46 The trial of Susanna.

  32 The narrative presumes that a woman of position would be veiled in public; unveiling her face would violate her modesty. In the Septuagint version of Susanna, however, she is evidently stripped and exposed to the gaze of the crowd, a ritual punishment for adulterous women attested in Jewish law. Cf. Ezek 16.37–39; Hos 2.3–10; Mishnah Sota 1.5–6.

  34 The gesture of laying hands on the head was used in various solemn rituals (cf. Gen 48.14; Lev 16.21; Num 8.10), but here it signifies the witnesses’ role in testifying to a capital offense before the community carries out the execution (cf. Lev 24.14).

  42–43 Susanna, who has trusted in the Lord (v. 35), testifies on her own behalf before God as a higher judge. She accuses the elders of bearing false witness, a violation of Jewish law (Deut 19.16–21). Her prayer for intercession, though quite short, is similar to the prayers of Jdt 9.2–14; Add Esth 14.3–19.

  44–46 God as judge hears her testimony and inspires Daniel to come to her defense as a legal advocate. The holy spirit may be the spirit of prophecy, but it is associated with wisdom as well (cf. Dan 4.8, 18; 5.11–12; 6.3).

  47–64 Vindication of Susanna.

  48 Cross-examination of the two witnesses has been wrongly omitted (Deut 19.15–20).

  53 See Ex 23.7.

  56 The wicked elder is associated with the sexual sins of Canaan (Gen 9.20–27; Lev 18.24–28).

  57 Daughters of Israel, daughter of Judah. Jews traced their descent through southern Judahites, not northern Israelites.

  61–62 The punishment for bearing false witness is the same as the one that would have been applied to the charge falsely brought, in this case, death.

  BEL AND THE DRAGON

  (Chapter 14 of the Greek Version of Daniel)

  BEL AND THE DRAGON is found at the end of the book of Daniel in the Greek version as another story of Daniel’s experiences in the great royal courts of the ancient Near East. Here Daniel serves the benevolent King Cyrus of Persia; conquered Babylonians are Daniel’s competitors within the court. The two parts of Bel and the Dragon (vv. 1–22, 23–42) are composed of narratives that depict the folly of revering idols; they may have circulated independently before being added to Daniel. During the postexilic period, when Jews regularly encountered those who worshiped representations of various kinds, the theme of the parody of idols was developed into a literary commonplace (Pss 115.4–8; 135.15–18; Isa 40.18–20; 44.9–20; 46.6–7; Jer 10.3–9; Hab 2.18–19; Wis 13.1–15.17; Letter of Jeremiah). Daniel’s uncovering of wrongdoing is similar to his courtroom heroics in Susanna. The entertaining motifs that begin Bel and the Dragon are given a more dramatic turn, however; the angry Babylonians force the king to throw Daniel into the lions’ den. Daniel’s fall from a position of honor and the threat to his life together with his vindication and restoration at the end are similar in plot outline to Dan 3 and 6 and also to Susanna, Gen 37–50, and Esther (see Introduction to Susanna).

  Although Dan 6 and Bel and the Dragon evidently share a common history (the method of execution in both is to be thrown into a den of lions), it is unclear whether either is directly dependent on the other. Bel and the Dragon is more fantastic and miraculous than Dan 6—perhaps even whimsical—but in two details Bel and the Dragon is more realistic: the succession of kings here is correct (“Darius the Mede” of Dan 5.31; 6.28 is unhistorical), and the use of the signet ring here is more logical and better integrated into the narrative (cf. Dan 6.17).

  Bel and the Dragon, like Susanna, was probably composed between the third and first centuries BCE. [LAWRENCE WILLS]

  Daniel and the Priests of Bel

  1When King Astyages was laid to rest with his ancestors, Cyrus the Persian succeeded to his kingdom. 2Daniel was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his Friends.

  3Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel, and every day they provided for it twelve bushels of choice flour and forty sheep and six measuresa of wine. 4The king revered it and went every day to worship it. But Daniel worshiped his own God.

  So the king said to him, “Why do you not worship Bel?” 5He answered, “Because I do not revere idols made with hands, but the living God, who created heaven and earth and has dominion over all living creatures.”

  6The king said to him, “Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?” 7And Daniel laughed, and said, “Do not be deceived, O king, for this thing is only clay inside and bronze outside, and it never ate or drank anything.”

  8Then the king was angry and called the priests of Belb and said to them, “If you do not tell me who is eating these provisions, you shall die. 9But if you prove that Bel is eating them, Daniel shall die, because he has spoken blasphemy against Bel.” Daniel said to the king, “Let it be done as you have said.”

  10Now there were seventy priests of Bel, besides their wives and children. So the k
ing went with Daniel into the temple of Bel. 11The priests of Bel said, “See, we are now going outside; you yourself, O king, set out the food and prepare the wine, and shut the door and seal it with your signet. 12When you return in the morning, if you do not find that Bel has eaten it all, we will die; otherwise Daniel will, who is telling lies about us.” 13They were unconcerned, for beneath the table they had made a hidden entrance, through which they used to go in regularly and consume the provisions. 14After they had gone out, the king set out the food for Bel. Then Daniel ordered his servants to bring ashes, and they scattered them throughout the whole temple in the presence of the king alone. Then they went out, shut the door and sealed it with the king’s signet, and departed. 15During the night the priests came as usual, with their wives and children, and they ate and drank everything.

  16Early in the morning the king rose and came, and Daniel with him. 17The king said, “Are the seals unbroken, Daniel?” He answered, “They are unbroken, O king.” 18As soon as the doors were opened, the king looked at the table, and shouted in a loud voice, “You are great, O Bel, and in you there is no deceit at all!”

  19But Daniel laughed and restrained the king from going in. “Look at the floor,” he said, “and notice whose footprints these are.” 20The king said, “I see the footprints of men and women and children.”

  21Then the king was enraged, and he arrested the priests and their wives and children. They showed him the secret doors through which they used to enter to consume what was on the table. 22Therefore the king put them to death, and gave Bel over to Daniel, who destroyed it and its temple.