|
by
Doug Ward |
Like many readers, I enjoy a good legal thriller. Courtroom dramas where the
innocent are vindicated and the guilty are brought to
justice have been known to keep me up way past my bedtime.
The
roots of the legal thriller go back further than we might think. Long before
John Grisham and Erle Stanley Gardner there was the story of Susanna, which
appears as a chapter in the Greek version of the biblical book of Daniel. In
English, one can find Susanna in the New Revised Standard Version, the Common
English Bible, or any other translation that includes what Protestants know as the Old Testament Apocrypha.
The
story takes place in the sixth century BC in the community of Jewish exiles in
Babylon. Susanna, "a very beautiful woman and one who feared the
Lord" (verse 1), is the wife of the wealthy and honorable Joakim. Their
home is also the seat of the local Jewish court, and so the judges in that
court end up spending a lot of time there.
Trouble
arises when two judges come to lust after Susanna when they regularly see her
walking in the garden next to her home. One day Susanna goes to the garden
alone to bathe, not realizing that the judges are hiding there. The two men
accost her, threatening to accuse her of committing adultery if she will not
sleep with them.
When
Susanna refuses, the men follow through on their threat. They accuse her, and
she is put on trial for adultery. Based on the false testimony of the two
corrupt judges, she is convicted and sentenced to death.
Susanna
then prays for rescue. In response to her prayer, God prompts the young prophet
Daniel to call for further investigation of the witnesses. Separating the two
judges, he asks each one individually the same question: Under what tree in the
garden did you see Susanna committing adultery?
When
the witnesses name two different types of trees, it is clear that false
testimony has been given. The two judges are exposed as perjurers and given the
punishment that they had planned for Susanna, while Daniel's reputation for
wisdom grows.
The
story of Susanna takes just a few minutes to read, but it packs lots of
suspense into a short narrative, qualifying as a "protothriller."
Before Perry Mason and Matlock, there was Daniel the prophet.
Historically
the tale gives us a glimpse of life among the Jewish exiles in Babylon,
suggesting that the Babylonians granted them a fair amount of autonomy in
conducting their affairs. It also highlights important legal principles with
biblical roots, like the need to examine witnesses carefully and give
appropriate penalties for perjury (see Deuteronomy 19:15-21). Finally,
Susanna's story reminds us of the power of prayer and the fact that God is the
supreme judge who will ensure that justice ultimately is done.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 19 Aug 2025, 15:51.
