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Susanna
is falsely charged with adultery but is delivered by the prophet
Daniel.
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Susanna, the wife of
the wealthy and influential Joakim, inspires lust in two Jewish elders who
come often to Joakim's house. The elders plot to find her alone and entice
her to sleep with them; should she refuse, they threaten to tell everyone
that they caught her committing adultery with a younger man. Despite
the threat, Susanna refuses their advances and so the elders accuse her,
and after a brief trial she is found guilty and sentenced to death. On the
way to her execution, Daniel appears, shouting that she is indeed innocent,
and demands a chance to examine the elders again. Daniel shows that they
are lying by demanding that they name the tree under which they allegedly
found Susanna and the young man. Since they are unable to agree, Susanna
is exonerated and the two elders are executed in her place. This story appears
in Daniel chapter 13 in Roman
Catholic Bibles. |
