Week 3 Story: The Trial of Susa
In Babylon, there was a man named Susa. He was a rich and powerful man but he feared the Lord. He took a wife named Johanna.
Susa's house was of great wealth and contained a grand chamber for all the housemaids and a nearby garden. Each day after dinner, Susa retreated to the garden to bathe.
Often the housemaids would see Susa walking into the garden and ask to accompany him to bathe for Susa was very handsome. Susa would allow the housemaids to come with him into the garden and he would lie with them.
One evening, Susa threw a large feast for the Elders of Babylon and their wives. Two of the wives in particular noticed how handsome Susa was and felt great desire for him. Following the meal, Susa headed off towards the garden to bathe. The two wives followed him and watched with lust as he bathed in the garden. They were ashamed of their desire for Susa but continued to watch.
As their eyes watched with lust, the women talked among themselves and decided to enter the garden in hopes that Susa would lie with them.
So the wives entered the garden and shut the door. They confessed to Susa that they had great desire for him and asked that he lie with them. Susa refused the women because he had no desire for the wives of other men. He knew to lie with them would be sin.
The women persisted and threatened that they would scream for their husbands and tell them that Susa had tried to lie with them if he did not consent to lying with the women. Susa thought it would be better to be falsely accused than to sin by lying with the women, so again, he refused.
The Elder's wives took off their clothes so that they were naked and cried out for help. The housemaids rushed to their aid and then retrieved their husbands. The wives told the Elder's that Susa had lured them into the garden, shut the door, and taken off their clothes as he intended to lie with them.
Enraged the Elder's called Susa before the assembly to accuse him of sleeping with their wives. Susa told them how their wives had come to him and that he had refused to lie to them. Susa demanded that he be able to examine the women for they would be proven liars. The assembly then called for the wives to be examined.
Susa asked the first wife, to tell the assembly how he had lured the women into the garden.
"We were tired and you had promised us a place to lie down," the first wife answered.
Susa then examined the second wife and asked her how he had lured the women into the garden.
"We were thirsty and you had promised us your finest wine to drink," the second wife recalled.
At this, it was clear to the assembly that the women had borne false witness against Susa and ordered that the wives be put to death. Susa thanked the Lord for clearing his name and rewarding his righteousness.
Following that day, Susa received many blessings from the Lord and was known all throughout Babylon.
Author's Note: This story is inspired by the story of Susanna contained in the apocryphal version of Daniel. In the original story, Susanna is the wife of a rich man and she is cornered by two elders in a garden who wish to lie with her. She refuses to consent because it is sin and is then convicted in front of an assembly because the elders claimed they caught her lying with another young man who was not her husband. Susanna then cries out to the Lord and is acquitted when Daniel proves the Elders to be liars. I reversed the gender of the characters in my retelling to highlight the differences in gender roles at the time.
Story of Susanna; from the apocryphal book of Daniel, KJV
Susa's house was of great wealth and contained a grand chamber for all the housemaids and a nearby garden. Each day after dinner, Susa retreated to the garden to bathe.
Often the housemaids would see Susa walking into the garden and ask to accompany him to bathe for Susa was very handsome. Susa would allow the housemaids to come with him into the garden and he would lie with them.
One evening, Susa threw a large feast for the Elders of Babylon and their wives. Two of the wives in particular noticed how handsome Susa was and felt great desire for him. Following the meal, Susa headed off towards the garden to bathe. The two wives followed him and watched with lust as he bathed in the garden. They were ashamed of their desire for Susa but continued to watch.
Feast of Susa (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
So the wives entered the garden and shut the door. They confessed to Susa that they had great desire for him and asked that he lie with them. Susa refused the women because he had no desire for the wives of other men. He knew to lie with them would be sin.
The women persisted and threatened that they would scream for their husbands and tell them that Susa had tried to lie with them if he did not consent to lying with the women. Susa thought it would be better to be falsely accused than to sin by lying with the women, so again, he refused.
The Elder's wives took off their clothes so that they were naked and cried out for help. The housemaids rushed to their aid and then retrieved their husbands. The wives told the Elder's that Susa had lured them into the garden, shut the door, and taken off their clothes as he intended to lie with them.
Enraged the Elder's called Susa before the assembly to accuse him of sleeping with their wives. Susa told them how their wives had come to him and that he had refused to lie to them. Susa demanded that he be able to examine the women for they would be proven liars. The assembly then called for the wives to be examined.
Susa asked the first wife, to tell the assembly how he had lured the women into the garden.
"We were tired and you had promised us a place to lie down," the first wife answered.
Susa then examined the second wife and asked her how he had lured the women into the garden.
"We were thirsty and you had promised us your finest wine to drink," the second wife recalled.
At this, it was clear to the assembly that the women had borne false witness against Susa and ordered that the wives be put to death. Susa thanked the Lord for clearing his name and rewarding his righteousness.
Following that day, Susa received many blessings from the Lord and was known all throughout Babylon.
Author's Note: This story is inspired by the story of Susanna contained in the apocryphal version of Daniel. In the original story, Susanna is the wife of a rich man and she is cornered by two elders in a garden who wish to lie with her. She refuses to consent because it is sin and is then convicted in front of an assembly because the elders claimed they caught her lying with another young man who was not her husband. Susanna then cries out to the Lord and is acquitted when Daniel proves the Elders to be liars. I reversed the gender of the characters in my retelling to highlight the differences in gender roles at the time.
Story of Susanna; from the apocryphal book of Daniel, KJV
Hi Hannah! I thought your story was really interesting, especially when I read your author's note. It was a cool idea to switch up the gender roles of the story. I haven't read the story that you're referencing, but it sounds very interesting and stressful to read. I wonder what would have happened if Susa was convicted? Would he have been put to death like the women, or would he just be put in jail?
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteYour story was very interesting to read. I didn't read the original so I was going through this for the first time. I really like the gender swap. I am exploring this for my storybook this semester. I noticed a few grammatical errors but not many - "he did not consent to [lie]with the women." - "He knew to lie with them would be [a] sin."
I enjoyed reading your story and can't wait to read more!
Hi Hannah! I really liked reading your story. I haven't read the original story but once I read your author's note, I found it even more interesting that you did a gender swap. One part I found really interesting was the part where the two women are threatening him to lie with them otherwise they will scream for their husbands. Up til the point where he refuses one last time, I thought he would actually go along with it when he was threatened so I was pleasantly surprised about his refusal. Overall, I think your story was really good! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI am not familiar with this original story. However, your author's note really helped plug me into your perspective, compared with the author's perspective. I loved how you reversed the roles in your retelling. Viewed by society, oftentimes I feel like adultery for women is viewed differently than when men do this. The character development of Susa shows his great dignity of accused of something falso, rather than giving into the temptation and following along.