SUSANNA
What, precisely, is the evidence against the acceptance of Susanna as authentic Scripture by the early Church? Precisely nothing. Not a single Father wrote against it. The only evidences I found against Susanna are the letter from Africanus (asking for instruction) and the comments from Jerome (who does not argue for its exclusion).
Every canon list includes it. One cannot use canon lists to prove that the early Church accepted only the Jewish canon and not Susanna. Even if (despite the Jewish Study Bible’s view) one could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Jewish canon was entirely fixed and certain at the time of Christ, there is still no evidence that the early Christians held to only that canon. All the evidence there is shows they accepted Susanna as well.
Of course, translations of canon lists say Daniel. Earlier, I noted the evidence for translating Daniel as “Daniel [and Susanna]” for all the canon lists. And given that all the Fathers we know of supported Susanna (without a single exception) there is also no evidence that anonymous lists and groups were not referencing the Daniel that included Susanna.
There are also two canon lists that are specific about the size of Daniel:
From 349 AD, a “Stichometric list” in the Codex Claromontanus: “Verses of the Holy Scriptures……Daniel 1600.” [1] Sixteen hundred verses (in Latin) is the same as Job on the same list, yet in Protestant Bibles, Daniel is much shorter than Job (16 vs. 30 pages in my 1611 KJV). So, while I cannot myself count up Latin verses, I have to believe that this listing is of the Catholic version of Daniel and, thus, Susanna.
From 360 AD, the Cheltenham (or Mommsen) List: “Daniel 1350 lines.”[2] Those 1350 lines (in Latin) make up almost 80% the size of Job on the same list (1700 lines), yet in Protestant Bibles, Daniel is much shorter than Job (16 vs. 30 pages in my 1611 KJV). This indicates the Catholic version of Daniel, and thus, Susanna.
Meanwhile, the Fathers wrote so much about Susanna that it overwhelms the one short chapter of text. Multiple sermons and ancient Biblical commentaries discuss it line-by-line. To save space, I just give the sermons and commentaries a single mention here at the beginning, which is unfortunately misleading but it cannot be helped:
A full sermon from Pseudo-Chrysostom (i.e., an authentic homily from 400 AD, originally thought to have been given by John Chrysostom, but no one knows who actually gave it).[3]
Chromatius’ Sermon 35 (407 AD)—I will give you this one (we only have pieces of it) as a Postscript immediately after Susanna.
Hippolytus (235 AD), a full, line-by-line commentary.[4] As noted above, he tells us in his comments on Verse 8 that “These things the rulers of the Jews wish now to expunge from the book, and assert that these things did not happen in Babylon, because they are ashamed of what was done then by the elders.” In his later comments he adds: “12…For up to the present time both the Gentiles and the Jews of the circumcision watch and busy themselves with the dealings of the Church, desiring to suborn false witnesses against us” and “22. …Now it is in our power also to apprehend the real meaning of all that befell Susannah. For you may find this also fulfilled in the present condition of the Church. For when the two peoples conspire to destroy any of the saints, they watch for a fit time, and enter the house of God while all there are praying and praising God, and seize some of them, and carry them off, and keep hold of them, saying, Come, consent with us, and worship our Gods; and if not, we will bear witness against you. And when they refuse, they drag them before the court and accuse them of acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, and condemn them to death.”[5]
Origen wrote a Bible commentary on Susanna.
Jerome translated Origen and layered his own comments on top.[6] Again Jerome acknowledges it as Scripture, but with plenty of indications that he probably wanted to get rid of it. In fact, the English translation of the last sentence of verse 54 seems to read as if Jerome wants proof before he accepts it as Scripture, but his earlier comments (and the wording of his response to Rufinus) indicate that he accepts it. Even his wording (“if … then we too are of necessity forced to agree”) seems to indicate that he wants some other folks to be the “cover” he could hide behind—i.e., he has elected to not go out on a limb over Susanna. In any event, here are his key statements, for canonical purposes:
Verse 3. … This verse should be used as a testimony
Verse 8. … For the sake of pleasing those people who seek out Scriptural precedent for everything we do, it would not be inappropriate to seize upon this passage …
Verse 24. … And so for this reason the Scripture did not attribute a great voice to the outcry of the elders,
Verse 45. … By this language it is shown that the Holy Spirit did not then enter into Daniel, but rather that He was already within him,
Verse 46. … the Holy Spirit was roused up within him and dictated to the boy what he should say … And if there is any place in Holy Scripture where the voice of a sinner is called great, it has (yet) to be noted.
Verses 54 ff. … Since the Hebrews reject the story of Susanna, asserting that it is not contained in the Book of Daniel, we ought to investigate carefully the names of the trees … But if no such derivation can be found, then we too are of necessity forced to agree with the verdict of those who claim that this chapter was originally composed in Greek, because it contains Greek etymology not found in Hebrew. But if anyone can show that the derivation … is valid in Hebrew, then we may accept this scripture also as canonical.
Earlier, I quoted what Rufinus, Jerome, Origen, and Africanus had to say in their discussions about Susanna; in addition, Eusebius cites Origen’s letter on Susanna with approval but without actually citing to Susanna itself.
And even though only a few sermons and homilies were preserved for us to read, Susanna was read as Scripture and preached upon innumerable times in every single Christian Church for at least 400 years after Christ. We know that occurred because it was Daniel. The churches read Daniel and preached upon it, so they did on Susanna, as well.
Even without all the forgoing, you will still see plenty of references to Susanna as full Scripture below, although only a small fraction of the 499 citations from early Fathers noted at www.biblindex.org/citation_biblique/search.
So how do the 499 citations compare to “canonical” Daniel? Susanna is the fifth-most cited chapter of the 14 chapters of Daniel (including the other “additional” Apocrypha chapter of Daniel). Susanna is cited twice as much as five chapters, and very nearly twice as much as a sixth. Susanna holds up very well, and even more so given the contents of the chapters cited more (and how important they are to Christian beliefs). Of course, that is no surprise, since everyone accepted it as part of Daniel and thus full canonical Scripture.
| Chapter | Cites | Content |
| 3 | 1071 | Nebuchadnezzar’s dream |
| 7 | 761 | 4 beasts; “one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven…” |
| 9 | 708 | prophecy of the 70 weeks |
| 2 | 609 | Nebuchadnezzar’s dream |
| 13 | 499 | Susanna |
| 6 | 329 | Daniel in the lions’ den |
| 1 | 322 | The Jews in the exile |
| 4 | 278 | Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, continued |
| 10 | 254 | A theology of history |
| 11 | 241 | A theology of history, continued |
| 12 | 226 | A theology of history, continued |
| 8 | 225 | The ram and the he-goat |
| 14 | 225 | Bel and the Dragon |
| 5 | 198 | The writing on the wall |
The first full citation to Susanna is from Irenaeus in 180 AD (70 years before Origen wrote his letter): “hear those words, to be found in Daniel the prophet: O you seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you, and lust perverted your heart. You that are waxen old in wicked days, now your sins which you have committed aforetime have come to light; for you have pronounced false judgments, and have been accustomed to condemn the innocent, and to let the guilty go free, albeit the Lord says, The innocent and the righteous shall you not slay.”[7]
At the other end of the time scale, 450 AD is 200 years after Africanus sent his letter to Origen touching off that exchange. And what has happened in the 200 intervening years?
Nothing. In 450, Susanna is still canonical Scripture to everyone. It has even been 50 years since Jerome and Rufinus feuded over Rufinus’ mistaken belief that Jerome had removed Susanna—and still, everyone accepts Susanna.
As noted above, I have never been able to determine who first called for Susanna to be removed, which canon list first excludes it, which Bibles exclude it, etc. From my research, it was not before 450 AD. As I write this, our man Gallagher has announced an upcoming book: The Apocrypha through History: The Canonical Reception of the Deuterocanonical Literature, which I will probably buy and read with interest, even at the $130 price tag. It might answer my question (it is focused on the entire 2000-year history), but at only 288 pages (Seriously? For $130?), it probably will not.[8]
Otherwise, I know my own personal Gutenberg Bible has Susanna as part of Daniel, and that was printed (1454) before the Reformation began.[9]
Finally, there is a significant swath of literature on the canonicity of Susanna that I do not address: whether the Rabbis excluded it because it is the story of a woman fighting off sexual abuse from two Jewish leaders. Other than the preceding mention, that is just not part of my topic, interesting as it is.
However, there is also a related issue: whether the Rabbis excluded it because it is a story of the (alleged) rot and corruption within the Jewish leadership. Susanna resists the oppression of her own people and shows considerable spiritual tenacity against corrupt Elders who wield all the power and attempt to inflict injustice—and even martyrdom—upon her. That parallel to the early Christians as they suffered persecution was not lost on the early Fathers and was, perhaps, not lost on the Rabbis either. As Origen wrote:
… they hid from the knowledge of the people as many of the passages which contained any scandal against the elders, rulers, and judges, as they could, some of which have been preserved in uncanonical writings (Apocrypha). … they who had the reputation of wisdom, and the rulers and elders, took away from the people every passage which might bring them into discredit among the people. We need not wonder, then, if this history of the evil device of the licentious elders against Susanna is true, but was concealed and removed from the Scriptures by men themselves not very far removed from the counsel of these elders.[10]
The Jewish Study Bible notes other aspects of the discussion, which may have reinforced this concern over respect for the Jewish leaders and their decisions: “because prefigurations of Jesus and Christian resurrection were seen in Daniel by the early church, the rabbinic tradition hesitated to embrace the visions of Daniel.” p. 1637.
Susanna: Annotated
1:1 There dwelt a man in Babylon, called Joacim: 1:2 And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Chelcias, a very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord.
Cyprian 249 AD Ad Quirinum Bk 3 Intro, Ch. 20: …you asked me to gather out for your instruction from the Holy Scriptures … I have done what you wished. …I have collected certain precepts of the Lord, and divine teachings … Also in Daniel: There was a man dwelling in Babylon whose name was Joachim; and he took a wife by name Susanna, the daughter of Helchias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared the Lord. And her parents were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses…. www.newadvent.org/fathers/050712c.htm
Chromatius 407 AD Sermon 24.2.6: In the church there are three models of chastity that everybody must imitate: Joseph, Susanna and Mary. May men imitate Joseph, women Susanna and the virgin Mary. [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not online.
Augustine 430 AD Sermon 196, 2 All the models of salvation have been set before our eyes;… If you are looking for an example of married chastity, you have Susanna; if of widowed, you have Anna; if of virginal, you have Mary. [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
Augustine 430 AD Sermon 96, 10: After all, it’s not the case that Anna will be there and Susanna won’t be there [in Heaven]. [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
1:3 Her parents also were righteous, and taught their daughter according to the law of Moses.
Augustine 430 AD On Holy Virginity 19: whereby, both by sure reason and authority of holy Scriptures, we both discover that marriage is not a sin, and yet equal it not to the good either of virginal or even of widowed chastity. Some forsooth by aiming at virginity, have thought marriage hateful even as adultery: but others, by defending marriage, would have the excellence of perpetual continence to deserve nothing more than married chastity; as though either the good of Susanna be the lowering of Mary: or the greater good of Mary ought to be the condemnation of Susanna. www.newadvent.org/fathers/1310.htm.
1:4 Now Joacim was a great rich man, and had a fair garden joining unto his house: and to him resorted the Jews; because he was more honourable than all others. 1:5 The same year were appointed two of the ancients of the people to be judges, such as the Lord spake of, that wickedness came from Babylon from ancient judges, who seemed to govern the people.
Gregory of Nazianzus 362 AD Oration 2, 64: Passing by the elders in the book of Daniel; for it is better to pass them by, together with the Lord’s righteous sentence and declaration concerning them, that wickedness came from Babylon from ancient judges. www.newadvent.org/fathers/310202.htm.
1:6 These kept much at Joacim’s house: and all that had any suits in law came unto them. 1:7 Now when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went into her husband’s garden to walk.
Ambrose 398 AD On Widows 4, 24: Let us remember then how Mary, how Anna, and how Susanna are spoken of. But since not only must we celebrate their praises but also follow their manner of life, let us remember where Susanna, and Anna, and Mary are found, and observe how each is spoken of with her special commendation, and where each is mentioned, she that is married in the garden, the widow in the temple, the virgin in her secret chamber. www.newadvent.org/fathers/3408.htm.
Ambrose 397 AD On Virgins, Book 1, 9, 45 ….Take, then, O Virgin, the wings of the Spirit, …if you wish to attain to Christ: …His appearance is as that of a cedar of Lebanon, … For its beginning is from heaven, its ending on earth, and it produces fruit very close to heaven. Search diligently for so precious a flower, … 45. It loves to grow in gardens, in which Susanna, while walking, found it, and was ready to die rather than it should be violated. www.newadvent.org/fathers/34071.htm.
1:8 And the two elders saw her going in every day, and walking; so that their lust was inflamed toward her. 1:9 And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments.
Origen 253 AD Commentary on John 28.32.34: we will quote the words of Daniel about the lawless elders who lusted after Susanna. The words are as follows: “And they perverted their own mind and turned their eyes away that they might not look to heaven or remember just judgments.”… [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not available online.
1:10 And albeit they both were wounded with her love, yet durst not one shew another his grief. 1:11 For they were ashamed to declare their lust, that they desired to have to do with her. 1:12 Yet they watched diligently from day to day to see her. 1:13 And the one said to the other, Let us now go home: for it is dinner time. 1:14 So when they were gone out, they parted the one from the other, and turning back again they came to the same place; and after that they had asked one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust: then appointed they a time both together, when they might find her alone. 1:15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit time, she went in as before with two maids only, and she was desirous to wash herself in the garden: for it was hot. 1:16 And there was no body there save the two elders, that had hid themselves, and watched her. 1:17 Then she said to her maids, Bring me oil and washing balls, and shut the garden doors, that I may wash me. 1:18 And they did as she bade them, and shut the garden doors, and went out themselves at privy doors to fetch the things that she had commanded them: but they saw not the elders, because they were hid. 1:19 Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders rose up, and ran unto her, saying, 1:20 Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us, and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie with us. 1:21 If thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a young man was with thee: and therefore thou didst send away thy maids from thee.
Augustine 430 AD Homilies on the Gospel of John, Homily 36, 10: The chaste Susanna was harried by two false witnesses. … Thus, to prove the point, when Susanna, a chaste woman and faithful wife, was being harried by two false witnesses, the Trinity sustained her in her conscience, in secret; in secret the Trinity raised up for her one witness, Daniel, and he confounded the two witnesses. [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
1:22 Then Susanna sighed, and said, I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death unto me: and if I do it not I cannot escape your hands.
Methodius 311 AD Banquet of the Ten Virgins, 11, 2: Cited along with Genesis (Japheth) without qualification: Seeing the great beauty of Susanna, the two Judges, maddened with desire, said, O dear lady, we have come desiring secret intercourse with you; but she with tremulous cries said:— www.newadvent.org/fathers/062311.htm.
Augustine 430 AD On the Sermon on the Mount, Book 2, 9, 32: …the heretics who are opposed to the Old Testament, not understanding this, think that the brand of ignorance, as it were, is to be placed upon Him of whom it is said, The Lord your God tempts you: … 32. Here, therefore, the prayer is not, that we should not be tempted, but that we should not be brought into temptation: … Susanna was tempted, but she was not led or brought into temptation; and many others of both sexes: but Job most of all, … www.newadvent.org/fathers/16012.htm.
1:23 It is better for me to fall into your hands, and not do it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord.
Origen 253 AD Commentary on Leviticus, Homily 1, 1: But it is time for us to use the words of the holy Susanna against these wicked presbyters, which indeed those who deny the story of Susanna excise from the list of divine books. But we both receive it and aptly use it against them when it says, “Everywhere there is distress for me.” For if I shall agree with you to follow the letter of the law, “it will mean death for me”; but if I will not agree, “I will not escape from your hands. But it is better for me to fall into your hands without resistance than to sin in the sight of the Lord.” Not online.
1:24 With that Susanna cried with a loud voice: and the two elders cried out against her. 1:25 Then ran the one, and opened the garden door. 1:26 So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the privy door, to see what was done unto her. 1:27 But when the elders had declared their matter, the servants were greatly ashamed: for there was never such a report made of Susanna.
Augustine 430 AD On Holy Virginity 20: And now so often as married chastity is by truth of holy Scripture justified against such as bring calumnies and charges against marriage, so often is Susanna by the Holy Spirit defended against false witnesses,… Is it not now a milder charge, to charge Susanna, not with marriage, but with adultery itself, than to charge the doctrine of the Apostle with falsehood? What in so great peril could we do, were it not as sure and plain that chaste marriage ought not to be condemned, as it is sure and plain that holy Scripture cannot lie? www.newadvent.org/fathers/1310.htm.
1:28 And it came to pass the next day, when the people were assembled to her husband Joacim, the two elders came also full of mischievous imagination against Susanna to put her to death; 1:29 And said before the people, Send for Susanna, the daughter of Chelcias, Joacim’s wife. And so they sent. 1:30 So she came with her father and mother, her children, and all her kindred. 1:31 Now Susanna was a very delicate woman, and beauteous to behold. 1:32 And these wicked men commanded to uncover her face, (for she was covered) that they might be filled with her beauty.
Tertullian 201 AD The Chaplet, 4: If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive Scripture injunction, you will find none. … If Susanna also, who was subjected to unveiling on her trial, furnishes an argument for the veiling of women, I can say here also, the veil was a voluntary thing… www.newadvent.org/fathers/0304.htm.
1:33 Therefore her friends and all that saw her wept. 1:34 Then the two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and laid their hands upon her head. 1:35 And she weeping looked up toward heaven: for her heart trusted in the Lord.
Origen 253 AD Commentary on John 28.32.34: we will quote the words of Daniel about the lawless elders who lusted after Susanna. … These words should be taken along with the following remarks made about Susanna, “But she, weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord.” [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not online.
Ambrose 397 AD Duty of the Clergy 1, 18, 68: [teaching of Sacred writings, per 1, 1, 3] Susanna was silent in danger, and thought the loss of modesty was worse than loss of life…. www.newadvent.org/fathers/34011.htm.
Ambrose 397 AD Duty of the Clergy 1, 3, 9: [teaching of Sacred writings, per 1, 1, 3] For there is also an active silence, such as Susanna’s was, who did more by keeping silence than if she had spoken. …Yea, the Lord Himself in the Gospel worked out in silence the salvation of men. www.newadvent.org/fathers/34011.htm.
Ambrose 397 AD Duty of the Clergy 3, 14, 90: [teaching of Sacred writings, per 1, 1, 3] Holy Susanna, too, when threatened with the fear of false witness, seeing herself hard pressed on one side by danger, on the other by disgrace, preferred to avoid disgrace by a virtuous death rather than to endure and live a shameful life in the desire to save herself. www.newadvent.org/fathers/34013.htm.
Augustine 430 AD Sermon 156, 15: Cited along with Romans, Matthew, etc. without qualification: This is a cry of the heart, not of the mouth, not of the lips; it makes itself heard inside, it makes itself heard in God’s ears. Her mouth closed, her lips not moving, Susanna cried out with these words…[Dn 13:35]…. [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
1:36 And the elders said, As we walked in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the garden doors, and sent the maids away. 1:37 Then a young man, who there was hid, came unto her, and lay with her. 1:38 Then we that stood in a corner of the garden, seeing this wickedness, ran unto them. 1:39 And when we saw them together, the man we could not hold: for he was stronger than we, and opened the door, and leaped out. 1:40 But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us: these things do we testify. 1:41 Then the assembly believed them as those that were the elders and judges of the people: so they condemned her to death.
Cyril of Jerusalem 386 AD Catechetical Lecture 16, 31: …29 And if further a man peruse all the books of the Prophets, both of the Twelve, and of the others, he will find many testimonies concerning the Holy Ghost… 31. The chaste Susanna was condemned as a wanton; …We bring this forward as a testimony; for this is not the season for expounding. … 32. And indeed it were easy to collect very many texts out of the Old Testament, and to discourse more largely concerning the Holy Ghost. www.newadvent.org/fathers/310116.htm
1:42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, O everlasting God, that knowest the secrets, and knowest all things before they be:
Athanasius 373 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 12 …where the sacred writers say, ‘Who exists before the ages,’ and ‘By whom He made the ages,’ they thereby as clearly preach the eternal and everlasting being of the Son, even while they are designating God Himself. Thus, if … Susanna said, ‘O Everlasting God’ … who has so little sense as to doubt of the eternity of the Son? www.newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm.
Athanasius 373 AD Four Discourses against the Arians 1, 13 … it is equally plain from what follows that the Arian phrases ‘He was not,’ and ‘before’ and ‘when,’ are in the same Scriptures predicated of creatures. … And in Daniel, ‘Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said, O everlasting God, that know the secrets, and know all things before they be.’ www.newadvent.org/fathers/28161.htm.
Augustine 430 AD Exposition of Psalm 35, 16 And My prayer shall return into Mine Own Bosom. In the bosom of this verse is plainly a great depth …where Susanna prayed, and her voice, though it was not heard by men, yet by God was heard… www.newadvent.org/fathers/1801035.htm.
Augustine 430 AD Exposition on Psalm 3, 4: With my voice have I cried unto the Lord; that is, not with the voice of the body, which is drawn out with the sound of the reverberation of the air; but with the voice of the heart, which to men speaks not, but with God sounds as a cry. By this voice Susanna was heard…www.newadvent.org/fathers/1801003.htm.
Augustine 430 AD Letter 140, 28: Moses from the Egyptians, Rahab from the destruction of the city, Susanna from the false witnesses,… and other fathers who cried out, and they were saved… [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
Epiphanius 403 AD Panarion, Section 2, Heresy 30, Ebionites 9, 2: “God knoweth all things before they be,” as scripture says. Not available online.
Hilary of Poitiers 368 AD On the Trinity Book 4, 8: …7. …refute their vain and pestilent teaching by the witness of the evangelists and apostles. … 8. … They say that the Father has prescience of all things, as the blessed Susanna says, O eternal God, that know secrets, and know all things before they be … www.newadvent.org/fathers/330204.htm.
Origen 253 AD Homilies on Genesis 8.8 … God knew, and it was not hidden from him, since it is he “who has known all things before they come to pass.”‘ But these things are written on account of you, because you too indeed have believed in God… [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not available online.
1:43 Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me, and, behold, I must die; whereas I never did such things as these men have maliciously invented against me.
Origen 253 AD Commentary on Genesis, in Eusebius Preparation of the Gospel, Book 6, 11: But if it is necessary to prove this from Scripture also, the prophecies are full of examples of this kind, and so also is the description by Susanna of God as knowing all things before they come to pass, where she speaks as follows: “O God, the Eternal, the discerner of secrets, that knowest all things before they be, Thou understandest that these have borne false witness against me.” www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_pe_06_book6.htm.
1:44 And the Lord heard her voice. 1:45 Therefore when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young youth whose name was Daniel:
Ambrose 397 AD On the Holy Spirit, Book 3, 6, 39: [God] judges in a prophet… 39. Daniel also, unless he had received the Spirit of God, would never have been able to discover that lustful adultery, that fraudulent lie. For when Susanna, assailed by the conspiracy of the elders, saw that the mind of the people was moved by consideration for the old men, and destitute of all help, alone among men, conscious of her chastity she prayed God to judge; it is written: The Lord heard her voice, when she was being led to be put to death, and the Lord raised up the Holy Spirit of a young youth, whose name was Daniel. And so according to the grace of the Holy Spirit received by him, he discovered the varying evidence of the treacherous, for it was none other than the operation of divine power, that his voice should make them whose inward feelings were concealed to be known…. www.newadvent.org/fathers/34023.htm.
1:46 Who cried with a loud voice,I am clear from the blood of this woman.
Matthew 27:24 (When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.)
“A judge declares himself innocent of this one’s blood. Finding the people insistent upon crucifixion, Pilate publicly declared his innocence: “I am innocent of the blood of this one”. Daniel had made the same declaration: “I am innocent of the blood of this one”. In the entire Bible only two persons, Daniel and Pilate, uttered this statement, and they did so publicly, immediately after a trial in which a falsely accused innocent had been condemned to death. It is the typological likeness between the persons being judged, Susanna and Christ, that made it fitting for Matthew to report Pilate’s words as echoing Daniel’s: Daniel’s words: ᾽Αθῷός ἐγὼἀπὸτoῦαἵματoς ταύτης. Pilate’s words: ᾽Αθῷός εἰμι ἀπὸτoῦαἵματoς τoύτoυ. As far as I have seen, no modern vernacular translation of the Bible conveys Matthew’s quotation from Daniel: only in the Greek is this parallel made …” Tkacz, Catherine Brown: Susanna as a Type of Christ, Studies in Iconography 20 (pp. 101-153) Western Michigan University, 1999
Augustine 430 AD Sermon 318, 2: You all know how Susanna struggled against sin to the point of shedding her blood… [Per The Works of Saint Augustine, A Translation for the 21st Century] Not available online.
1:47 Then all the people turned them toward him, and said, What mean these words that thou hast spoken? 1:48 So he standing in the midst of them said, Are ye such fools, ye sons of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel? 1:49 Return again to the place of judgment: for they have borne false witness against her.
Apostolic Constitutions 400 AD Book 2, 51: For the Lord by Daniel delivered Susanna from the hand of the ungodly, but condemned to the fire those elders who were guilty of her blood, and reproaches you by him, saying: Are you so foolish, you children of Israel? Without examination, and without knowing the truth, have you condemned a daughter of Israel? Return again to the place of judgment, for these men have borne false witness against her.” www.newadvent.org/fathers/07152.htm.
1:50 Wherefore all the people turned again in haste, and the elders said unto him, Come, sit down among us, and shew it us, seeing God hath given thee the honour of an elder. 1:51 Then said Daniel unto them, Put these two aside one far from another, and I will examine them. 1:52 So when they were put asunder one from another, he called one of them, and said unto him, O thou that art waxen old in wickedness, now thy sins which thou hast committed aforetime are come to light. 1:53 For thou hast pronounced false judgment and hast condemned the innocent and hast let the guilty go free; albeit the Lord saith, The innocent and righteous shalt thou not slay.
Irenaeus 180 AD Against Heresy IV, 26, 3 …they shall hear those words, to be found in Daniel the prophet: … You that are waxen old in wicked days, now your sins which you have committed aforetime have come to light; for you have pronounced false judgments, and have been accustomed to condemn the innocent, and to let the guilty go free, albeit the Lord says, The innocent and the righteous shall you not slay. www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103426.htm
Ambrose 397 AD On Virgins, Book 2, 4, 27 Listen, you holy virgins, to the miracles of the martyr….28. … she did not forget what she had read. Daniel, said she, had gone to see the punishment of Susanna, and alone pronounced her guiltless, whom the people had condemned… www.newadvent.org/fathers/34072.htm.
1:54 Now then, if thou hast seen her, tell me, Under what tree sawest thou them companying together? Who answered, Under a mastick tree. 1:55 And Daniel said, Very well; thou hast lied against thine own head; for even now the angel of God hath received the sentence of God to cut thee in two.
Augustine 430 AD Tractate on the Gospel of John 36, 10 (John 8:15-18): Have two or three witnesses, — the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In short, when Susanna, the chaste woman and faithful wife, was pressed by two false witnesses, the Trinity supported her in her conscience and in secret: that Trinity raised up from secrecy one witness, Daniel, and convicted the two. www.newadvent.org/fathers/1701036.htm
1:56 So he put him aside, and commanded to bring the other, and said unto him, O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thine heart.
Irenaeus 180 AD Against Heresy IV, 26, 3 …they shall hear those words, to be found in Daniel the prophet: O you seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you, and lust perverted your heart. www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103426.htm
Origen 253 AD Commentary on the Gospel of John 20.32-33, 41, 43, 45 …But just as some are seed of Abraham, so others are really “seed of Canaan, not of Judah,” as Daniel says… [Per Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture] Not online.
1:57 Thus have ye dealt with the daughters of Israel, and they for fear companied with you: but the daughter of Juda would not abide your wickedness. 1:58 Now therefore tell me, Under what tree didst thou take them companying together? Who answered, Under an holm tree. 1:59 Then said Daniel unto him, Well; thou hast also lied against thine own head: for the angel of God waiteth with the sword to cut thee in two, that he may destroy you. 1:60 With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and praised God, who saveth them that trust in him.
Augustine 430 AD Sermon 46 on the New Testament, 10: Let not the virgin say, I shall alone be there [Heaven]. For Mary shall not be there alone but the widow Anna shall be there also. Let not the woman which has an husband say, The widow will be there, not I; for it is not that Anna will be there, and Susanna not be there. www.newadvent.org/fathers/160346.htm
1:61 And they arose against the two elders, for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth: 1:62 And according to the law of Moses they did unto them in such sort as they maliciously intended to do to their neighbour: and they put them to death. Thus the innocent blood was saved the same day. 1:63 Therefore Chelcias and his wife praised God for their daughter Susanna, with Joacim her husband, and all the kindred, because there was no dishonesty found in her. 1:64 From that day forth was Daniel had in great reputation in the sight of the people.
Sulpitius Severus 420 AD Sacred History 2, 1: (Ch 1, 1:) I address myself to give a condensed account of those things which are set forth in the sacred Scriptures from the beginning of the world … (Ch 2,1:) The times of the captivity have been rendered illustrious by the predictions and deeds of the prophets, and especially by the remarkable persistency of Daniel in upholding the law, and by the deliverance of Susanna through the divine wisdom, as well as by the other things which it accomplished, and which we shall now relate in their order… About the same time, Susanna, the wife of a certain man called Joachis… Susanna was acquitted; and the elders, who had brought the innocent into danger, were condemned to death.
www.newadvent.org/fathers/35052.htm.
Postscript to Susanna: A Sermon from Chromatius of Aquileia
Chromatius of Aquileia: Sermons and Tractates on Matthew, a translation from Thomas P. Scheck, explains how important Chromatius (Bishop of Aquileia) was to Jerome, Rufinus, and the canon:
Several of Jerome’s translations of Scripture … and commentaries … are indebted to Chromatius’s insistence and monetary support. A number of contemporary figures, including Augustine and Rufinus, were disturbed by Jerome’s interest in Hebrew philology and his translation work based on the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. They tried to dissuade him from Hebrew studies and even accused him of Judaizing … In striking contrast with these critics, Chromatius belonged to the limited circle of Jerome’s friends who understood his motives, applauded his principles, and encouraged his efforts in translating and expounding the Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
Yet, simultaneously, the magnanimous and scholarly Chromatius was also a lifelong friend and supporter of Rufinus … when the friendship between Rufinus and Jerome was ruptured … Chromatius maintained his friendship with both men and did his best to reconcile them. It is noteworthy that a number of Chromatius’s Sermons and Tractates emphasize the importance of fraternal charity and unanimity! Additionally, Chromatius even commissioned Rufinus with the task of translating … and he became the dedicatee of these works. … Rufinus says further that he defers entirely to Chromatius’s judgment in assessing the quality of Origen’s offering. …
His Sermon 35 was dedicated to that day’s Scripture reading—Susanna:
In today’s reading that you have heard [dearly beloved], the story of the most noble woman Susanna was read to us, who has offered to us a model of chastity and an example of purity. To be sure, she was lovely in appearance, but lovelier in character. For with her the beauty of soul surpassed that of body; for the body’s beauty is temporary, but the soul’s beauty is eternal. For she was not adorned with bodily necklaces, nor did she have earrings on her body, nor rings, nor pearls, but she was filled within with every ornament of the virtues. For in place of earrings she had the divine words, in place of a ring she had comely faith, in place of pearls she had the precious works by which daily she beautified the appearance of her mind and soul.
Using this example among others, the blessed apostle Paul exhorts the women and says, “Finally, let women be holy, adorning themselves not with plaited hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly attire, but preserving chastity with good works” [1 Tim 2:9-10; cf. 1 Pet 3:3- 5]. …Therefore if you desire to please God, follow the example of Susanna: be chaste, be modest, be of virtuous character, be a worker of justice, and you will be sufficiently beautiful, and not only to God but also precious to men. For this beauty usually pleases faithful husbands as well, if he finds in his wife beautiful actions and comeliness of mind….
Susanna, then, for the sake of purity, even despised death. For she is denounced by two ruined elders, she is accused as if guilty and condemned as an adulteress [see Dan 13:41]. But the holy and admirable woman preferred to submit to death with her purity intact than to live with a bad conscience. But when she was being led to death, God stirred up the holy spirit of the boy Daniel, who is called “desirable to God” [see Dan 9:23; 10:11], who both made known Susanna’s innocence and revealed the false accusation of her accusers [see Dan 13:44-59]. Whence it came about that the innocent Susanna was set free before the just judgment of God and the elderly falsely accusing adulterers perished by a deserved death. The king of Babylon roasted them in fire on account of the iniquity that they committed in Israel, and because they were committing adultery with the wives of their own citizens [see Dan 13:62].
Therefore Susanna has prefigured the church, namely by the example of purity and modesty, since she remained in the paradise of Christ by faith and by the manner of her life [see Dan 13:4, 7], just as all the faithful in the church strive to please Christ, their God and head, by the purity of their character, the holiness of good works, right faith, firm hope, and perfect love. Finally, chastity and modesty are aided by fasting. For we fast to this end, not merely to abstain from food, but to separate ourselves from all the vices of the flesh, namely, from bodily lust, from concupiscence of soul, from depraved thoughts, from hatred and ill will, from detraction and murmuring, from fury and wrath, from all vices and sins together. But merely to abstain from food is not fasting. That is why, when we fast, we ought especially to abstain from vices, lest it be said to us by the Lord through the prophet, “That is not the sort of fast I have chosen, says the Lord…” [Isa 58:5].
Postscript: Chromatius as Data
Chromatius is an interesting data point, since he was something of a bridge between Rufinus and Jerome (friends who became nasty enemies[11]), as well as between Jerome’s view of the Hebrew canon and the view of the rest of the Church. So the book itself is another data set that I decided to analyze.
In the midst of commenting on Matthew, Chromatius referred to Apocrypha 64 times.[12] Fifty-nine times (more than 90%) he specifically calls them Scripture, Prophecy, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, etc. He never refers to any Apocrypha as “Ecclesiastical” or “only to be read” or any such. He clearly had no problem citing to Apocrypha to confirm doctrine. He sees the Apocrypha as prophecies fulfilled by the Gospel, and he explains much of the Gospel by reference to the Apocrypha. He cites to Susanna, Judith,[13] Baruch, Tobit, 2 Maccabees, Sirach, and Wisdom—all the Apocrypha except 1 Maccabees.
Of the 59 Tractates (each covering a piece of Matthew Chapters 1-18, but several chapters of that sequence from Matthew are missing from the Tractates we still have), 26 of them cite to Apocrypha, involving 11 of the 15 chapters of Matthew that Chromatius covers. Only a handful of the citations are to duplicate passages of Apocrypha. Sirach is, by far, the most-cited Book, with 38 citations (all full quotations). Of those 38, they come from 18 different chapters of Sirach and represent 36 different pieces of Sirach, since only two are duplicates of other quotations he also used elsewhere.
He would seem to have been a man who knew the Apocrypha well and saw them as full Scripture (and we know from Rufinus that the Apocrypha were read as part of the liturgy in Chromatius’ Episcopal See of Aquileia).[14] He used them often and at a considerable rate, selecting quotes from all over the texts, etc.
Backing that up is the fact that it was he who insisted upon (and even paid for) Jerome’s translation of Tobit. Otherwise, it is not clear why he would waste Jerome’s time and talent (and Chromatius’ own money) on “books that are not Scripture” when there was still more Scripture to cover.
And Chromatius was one of the Bishops who supported Jerome, although even they would come to have a falling out.
[1] www.bible-researcher.com/claromontanus.html
[2] www.bible-researcher.com/cheltenham.html
[3] www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/alcock-ps-chrysostom-de-susanna-2018.pdf
[4] www.newadvent.org/fathers/0502.htm
[5] In addition, Hippolytus’s commentary also ties Susanna’s story in with another Apocrypha, Tobit: Verse 55, (“For even now the angel of God….”): Hippolytus says: “He shows also, that when Susannah prayed to God, and was heard, the angel was sent then to help her, just as was the case in the instance of Tobias and Sara. For when they prayed, the supplication of both of them was heard in the same day and the same hour, and the angel Raphael was sent to heal them both.”
[6] www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_daniel_02_text.htm (Susanna being Chapter 13).
[7] Against Heresy IV, 26, 3 (www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103426.htm), quoting from Susanna (Daniel Ch. 13) 48-53.
[8] Amazon says that the book will be available in late July 2025: www.a.co/d/ccF36Lh
[9] Some people claim that my Gutenberg is not an original but only a modern copy. But by using the time-honored technique of never double checking things I want to believe, it remains my deeply cherished belief that I own a true Gutenberg.
[10] www.newadvent.org/fathers/0414.htm
[11] Rufinus and Jerome were rather prickly fellows, to put it mildly. See their mutual attacks on each other, and many other Fathers, at www.newadvent.org/fathers/2709.htm and www.newadvent.org/fathers/2710.htm.
[12] Counting his entire sermon on Susanna as only one citation. Many of the other citations will appear below.
[13] The reference to Judith is personal to her and not the book: “…prefigured in saints of past times. For the most holy Judith, …” I view that as sufficient to say Chromatius saw Judith as Scripture, but for the data set on the Book of Judith, I considered it only a citation to Judith made along with other citations to Scripture without qualifying that Judith was, somehow, different from the Scriptures. As always, make up your own mind about such things.
[14] Commentary on the Apostles’ Creed 38 www.newadvent.org/fathers/2711.htm
