In Babylon there lived a man named Jehoiachin whose wife Susanna was known for her beauty and her devotion to God. Her parents had raised her according to the Torah of Moses, and she feared the Lord above all things. According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, Jehoiachin's house had a beautiful garden where Susanna would bathe, and two newly appointed judges came daily to the house to render judgment for the people.
Both judges saw Susanna and burned with desire. At first each hid his obsession from the other. But when the crowds departed, the two men lingered, confessed their lust to each other, and conspired to trap her. One day, when Susanna entered the garden with her maidservants, the judges hid among the trees. After the maids left, the two men confronted her: submit, or they would publicly testify that they had caught her with a young man. Susanna chose her honor. "I would rather fall into your trap than sin against God," she said.
The judges brought their false accusation before the assembly. The people believed them, because they were elders of the community. Susanna was condemned to death. As she was led away, she cried out to God, and God heard her prayer. He sent a young man named Daniel, who stopped the procession and declared the verdict unjust.
Daniel separated the two elders and interrogated them individually. "Under what tree did you find her?" he asked the first. "Under a terebinth," the man answered. Daniel dismissed him. The second elder said, "Under a trellis of the vine." Their stories did not match, and Daniel pointed out that neither tree existed in the garden. The assembly realized the judges had invented the entire accusation. The two corrupt elders were executed with the same punishment they had plotted against Susanna. From that day, Daniel's wisdom was recognized by all the people of Judah.