Susanna Resisted the Elders: A Re-Reading of Daniel 13

A couple of years ago I began reading The Priests for Biblical Equality translation of the Bible. Not only does it forge an egalitarian lens for the Old and New Testaments, it also weaves the apocryphal writings into my devotion time. I grew up low church evangelical (Assemblies of God), assuming the apocrypha could not be a medium for God’s voice. So, I was delighted to discover Daniel 13 recently, where God showed me a woman named Susanna. I’d like to introduce Susanna to you, or if you know her, to help you see her from a different viewpoint.

Like Ruth and Esther and the woman of Proverbs 31, Susanna embodies an ideal Jewish woman who follows the law and ethics. However, Susanna also resists evil leaders who try to victimize her.

Susanna and the Elders is likely an addition to the book of Daniel, but the story was included in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) in the 2nd century B.C. The early church used the Septuagint as their Bible, so Susanna would have inspired the women leaders of the church who also dealt with injustice.

The Story

It goes like this: Susanna, beautiful and noble wife of Joakim, is lusted after by two Jewish elders, men who had been appointed as judges. They plot to trap her into consenting to have sex with them, as she bathes in her private garden. If she refuses them, they will threaten to accuse her of being with a young man in the garden.

When the men attempt to carry out their scheme, she resists by screaming (in Theodotian’s version) and refusing (in another earlier one). When others investigate, the elders state they caught Susanna with a paramour. Without further evidence, the group gets ready to stone her. At this point, Daniel intervenes with prophetic knowledge of Susanna’s innocence, and with a saving strategy.

He interviews each elder separately about where Susanna’s suspected sin took place, and each man states it was a different tree. When the group sees that they have been lied to by the elders, they punish the men in the same manner that Susanna would have suffered. Daniel, in the end, is the true judge.

Susanna’s Saving Power

So, is Susanna the star of Daniel 13, or is Daniel? Scholar Malka Salkovich says, “Susanna is in some ways the protagonist of this story, but only Daniel is depicted as the hero whom the reader is meant to admire and emulate.” Though I see her point, I believe this story became a part of the Septuagint because of Susanna as much as Daniel. In Theodotian’s second century A.D. version, the story serves as the introduction to Daniel.

Daniel himself seems inspired by Susanna, so much so that he becomes willing to confront two community leaders. She is physically beautiful, but that’s not what saves her. Susanna’s strong devotion to Yahweh expressed in her poignant prayer assists Daniel in becoming a vehicle of salvation.

A Closer Look at Susanna

There are at least three aspects of Susanna that need attention to make this story truly her own:

1) Susanna was unusually well-educated. The author of Daniel 13 states: “She was god-fearing, for her parents were worthy people, and had instructed their daughter in the law of Moses” (Daniel 13:2,3).

How usual was it for women to learn the Torah at that time? Religious leaders saw it as neither required nor appropriate for women to be taught the law of Moses, according to halakhic rule. However, interestingly, the author of this story assumed that readers would appreciate that Susanna’s parents chose to train her according to the Torah.

2) With a sure knowledge of God and the law, Susanna found meaning and even personal power in her situation even as a victim. She first faced her seemingly hopeless situation, saying, “’I am completely trapped. For if I do this, it will mean death for me; if I do not, I cannot escape your hands.’” (Susanna 22–23; NRSV).  Yet after contemplating her plight, she said, “’I choose not to do it; I will fall into your hands [their trap of false accusation], rather than sin in the sight of the Lord [as they were giving her a choice about sex with them].’”

Though she could have consented to sex with the men, this would have been “death” for her, she rightly knew, death to her spirit though no one else would have known. She wasn’t choosing to die physically due to the false accusation, however, not without a fight. So, “she cried out…as loud as she could” (v. 23). This last action reflected her knowledge of the law, says Dr. Malka Zeiger Simkovich. It was others hearing her scream which might save her according to Deut. 22:24. Ultimately, though, her power emerged in aligning with Yahweh against the judges.

3) Susanna’s relationship to Yahweh led to Daniel’s intervention. Her prayer reminds us of the psalms of David: “’O eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they come to be; 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!’” (Susanna 42–43; NRSV).

Directly after this prayer, Yahweh stirs up Daniel’s spirit, and he cries out, “I want no part in shedding this woman’s blood!” Upon the people’s questioning, he exclaims, “’Are you such fools, O Israelites, as to condemn a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts? Return to court, for these men have given false evidence against her.’” (Susanna 46, 48, 49; NRSV).

Note the boldness of Daniel in calling the Israelites “fools”–even without hard evidence in Susanna’s favor. We will see this later from Jesus in his own confrontations with the religious of his day (Matt. 23:17). Perhaps Jesus, too, was inspired by Daniel 13.

Faith Saves

Though Daniel does the saving of Susanna because he is the person with more power, we can view Susanna rightly when we see the strength of her love for God and of the truth of her own innocence. I believe Jesus would agree with this way of seeing Susanna, as he so often attributed a woman’s salvation and healing to her own faith when he says, “Your faith has saved you.” (Mark 5:34; Matt. 9:22; Luke 8:48). He could have pointed to Himself every time, but instead, He offered praise to the healed believer, whether male or female.

In the same way, Susanna’s faith saved her, and seen in this light, a new/ancient heroine emerges from the annals of Bible history.