Texts in Conversation
The Christian theologian Irenaeus quotes the Greek Susanna, using it to criticize elders who serve unjustly. Irenaeus attributes the quote to Daniel, showing how early Christian tradition considered it a part of that book.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Susanna 1:56
Deuterocanon
51 Then Daniel said to them, “Put them far apart from each other, and I will examine them.” 52 So when they were put apart one from another, he called one of them, and said to him, “O you who have become old in wickedness, now your sins which you committed before have come back, 53 in pronouncing unjust judgment, condemning the innocent, and letting the guilty go free; although the Lord says, ‘You shall not kill the innocent and righteous.’ 54 Now then, if you saw her, tell me, under which tree did you see them being intimate together?” He answered, “Under a mastic tree.” 55 And Daniel said, “You have certainly lied against your own head; for even now the angel of God has received the sentence of God and will cut you in two.” 56 So he put him aside, and commanded to bring the other, and said to him, “O you offspring of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty has deceived you, and lust has perverted your heart. 57 Thus you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, and they were intimate with you out of fear; but the daughter of Judah would not tolerate your wickedness.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 4.26.3
Early Christian
3 Those, however, who are believed to be presbyters by many, but serve their own lusts, and, do not place the fear of God supreme in their hearts, but conduct themselves with contempt towards others, and are puffed up with the pride of holding the chief seat, and work evil deeds in secret, saying, No man sees us, shall be convicted by the Word, who does not judge after outward appearance (secundum gloriam), nor looks upon the countenance, but the heart; and 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. 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. Of whom also did the Lord say: But if the evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delays his coming, and shall begin to smite the man-servants and maidens, and to eat and drink and be drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day that he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
Date: 175-190 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Internal evidence appears to shew that both these stories originally had a separate circulation; Susanna does not form a suitable prologue to Dan. i. 2, for v. 6 introduces Daniel as a person hitherto unknown to the reader; and the position of Bel as an epilogue to the prophetic portion of the book is still less appropriate. From the Fathers, however, it is clear that in the earliest Christian copies of the LXX. both Susanna and Bel formed a part of Daniel, to which they are ascribed by Irenaeus and Tertullian, and implicitly by Hippolytus. The remarkable letter of Julius Africanus to Origen which throws doubt on the genuineness of Susanna, calling attention to indications of its Greek origin, forms a solitary exception to the general view; even Origen labours to maintain their canonicity. Iren. iv. 26. 3 "et audient eas quae sunt a Daniele propheta voces" (Sus. 56, 52 f.), iv. 5. 2 "quem et Daniel propheta ... annuntiavit" (Bel 4 f., 25). Tert. de idololatria, 18 (Bel 4 f.). ...”
Swete, Henry Barclay
An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek: With an Appendix Containing the Letter of Aristeas
(p. 260) Cambridge University Press, 1900
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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