The story of Susanna

The story of Susanna ("Lily") is one of the books of the Protestant Apocrypha, entitled in some manuscripts "The Judgment of Daniel". There are no early Jewish references to the book.
If you take a look in the Hebrew Scriptures you will see that there are 12 chapters in The Book of Daniel.However, in the Old Testament you will see that there are 13 chapters in The Book of Daniel. The additional chapter tells the story of a woman called Susanna, and is set in Babylon.

According to the story, Susanna, the wife of Joakim, was a beautiful and pious woman. One day, she took a bath in her garden and two Jewish elders appointed as judges watched her.

After watching her they asked her to sleep with them. Susanna, who was a god fearing and pious woman, refused. To get back at her they accuse her of adultery with a young man in her garden, and on the basis of their false testimony she is condemned to death. At this point the young Daniel intervenes, claiming that the two accusers have not been cross examined properly. Under his examination, they disagree about the tree under which Susanna supposedly met her lover: one stating that the alleged transgression occurred beneath a mastic tree, the other under an oak.

At the end of the book, Susanna is exonerated and the two elders are put to death.

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Hebrew    Transcription Translation
שׁוֹשַׁנָּה        šôšannāh    shoshana
אַלּוֹן           'alôn            Oak
זִכָּה           zikkāh         exonerate
אֵלָה           'ēlāh           Tree(mastic)
אָדוּק           'ādûq         Pious
נִאוּף           Ni'ûp          Adultery

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