Readings:
Daniel 13-14
Tobit 2-3

Daniel 13-14

Chapter 13 contains a story that only survives in the Greek translation of the Old Testament although most scholars agree that it was likely originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic. It tells the story of Susana and the two men who attempted to blackmail her. They were in a position of authority and began to lust after the beauty of the wife of the leader of the Jewish exiles. Instead of putting fleeting thoughts out of their minds, they allowed them to marinate and fester until it went from noticing her beauty, to obsessing over her, to plotting to have their way with her, and when that failed they finally settled on having her out to death.

Daniel, who is a young man at the time of this event, is aroused by God to speak up in defense of the falsely accused Susana. He cries out that he will not stand by idly and demands they continue with a cross examination. So he does what any good investigator does, he separates the witnesses and interviews them one at a time to compare their version of events. Unsurprisingly, they don’t match up and he exposes their plot to violate Susanna what is completely innocent of any wrongdoing.

After they’re exposed and led away to be executed, the people cried out that God saves those who trust in him. This is exactly what Susanna did when she was presented with their offer to accuse her if she didn’t sleep with them. She chose to take her chances by refuses them and throwing herself at the mercy and protection of God.

Chapter 14 contains two stories, that like the previous one, are not still extant in Hebrew or Aramaic. These two stories show Daniel using his wisdom to expose the folly of idol worship and also shows they’re not real living gods like the God of Israel.

The second story is of a dragon that was also worshiped by the people and the king, and the king rightly points out that this is a living creature and not a lifeless statue. But he makes an improper assessment of this creature, probably some sort of large reptile, that it is a god. Daniel exposes it by feeding it cakes that expand in its stomach killing the animal and showing it’s not an immortal god. For this he’s again thrown in a lions den.

Tobit 2-3

Tobit sits down for to feast in celebration of Pentecost, which is surprising to some when they find out it is also a Jewish holiday, but he feels guilty for the lavish spread that he has, and thinks there may be some other Israelites who don’t have a feast on this holiday. He sends his son out to find someone to share his bounty with, and this sets off a chain of events that are devastating for Tobit.

His returns to say he found a fellow Jew to share the meal with, but this man has been murdered and left in the streets. Tobit rushes out and carries the man’s body to a place where it won’t be seen and after sundown he’ll bury it. His appetite is ruined and he goes home to eat a sad meal rather than a feast, and then remembers the prophecy from Amos.

The reason Tobit sleeps outside is that due to handling a dead body that was not his immediate relative, he is now unclean and so sleeps in the open and that’s how the bird droppings gets into his eye. I’m really not sure what kind of illness or injury this causes, it may be that God made him blind like how he made John the Baptist’s father mute, and that Tobit just assumes it’s due to the birds. Or it was some disease or parasites in the droppings.

So now that he’s crippled by this sudden blindness his wife has to support the family, and it doesn’t seem like Tobit is taking it well or is too happy about it. It actually brings him so low that he prays for death from God.

Immediately the narrative shifts to Ecbatana, an important city in the Median province of Persia. The woman here, named Sarah, is also struggling in exile and is a relative of Tobit and Tobias. She has had seven husbands, but they’ve all been killed by a demon on their respective wedding nights. Some people say this is the basis of the story where the Sadducees ask Jesus about the woman who married seven times.

Sarah prays for death at the same time as Tobit does hundreds of miles away. God hears both of them and sends Gabriel to answer their prayers to end their suffering, but not in the way they thought.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
Malachi 1-2
Tobit 4-5