Tales from the Apocrypha
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The Greek word apokryptein means "to hide away". The Apocrypha are "hidden" books, books of the Old Testament left out from the Protestant Old Testament, but included in Catholic canon. The apocrypha contain a few tales whose echoes linger in folk tales still. - TK
Susanna in the Bath
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| Peter Paul Rubens. Susannah and the Elders. 1607 |
AT THE time of Daniel, Susanna was the beautiful wife of a prominent man in the city of Babylon. She was faithful to her husband and of a righteous character. One hot afternoon Susanna decided to bathe in the pool inside a walled garden on her husband's large estate. She had her maids close the doors to the garden and sent them to get her toiletries.
The estate was the meeting place for Jewish leaders and magistrates who held court there daily till noon. Two important elders who often came to the estate were obsessed with Susanna's beauty. Each secretly harboured lustful thoughts in his heart and they both decided -independently of one another - to sneak back to the garden to get a glimpse of Susanna after all the other officials had gone home. Catching one another in the same deceptive act, they conspired together to force Susanna to be with them.
On the afternoon that Susanna decided to bathe, the two wicked elders were hiding in the garden. As soon as the maids closed the garden doors to fetch her things, the elders rushed on Susanna and threatened to testify that they caught her committing adultery with a young man if she would not consent to have sex with them both.
Susanna did not give in to them but called for help. At once, the two elders also began calling for help and opened the garden door. They explained to the horrified servants that they caught Susanna with a young man who fled when they tried to detain him. Next day Susanna was summoned to the court, and the elders told their fabricated story. Though Susanna was known to be of flawless character, no one could doubt the testimony of the two honorable elders, and Susanna was sentenced to death. Susanna prayed to God for deliverance.
Daniel entered the scene and was permitted to cross-examine the two elders in defense of Susanna. Having one of the wicked elders removed from the court, Daniel asked the first elder under what kind of tree the adulterous act was committed. On asking the same question of the second elder it was discovered that their testimonies did not agree. Susanna was acquitted and the two wicked elders were put to death instead. And Daniel was recognized as a wise and godly man.
- Very old men may or may not have flawless memories. It depends.
The Book of Tobit
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| An angel interferes. |
TOBIT was a pious, devout man who had, with his family, been taken captive to Ninevah. Through a series of misfortunes Tobit lost his property, his position and even his eyesight. Feeling he was nearing life's end, he decided to send his son, Tobias, to a distant city where, in a more prosperous time, he had left money in the care of a friend. He instructed Tobias to collect the money and come home.
A travelling companion was hired to accompany the young Tobias on his way. Unknown to Tobit and his family, the companion turned out to be the angel Raphael disguised as a man named Azarias. Tobias and the angel set out on their journey, and Tobias' dog accompanied them.
While they stopped at a stream along the way, a large fish attacked Tobias who then caught it and hauled it to the riverbank. The angel instructed Tobias to take the fish's heart and liver and gall. The hired companion proved very knowledgeable and explained that smoke made from burning the liver and heart of the fish would drive away evil spirits. Moreover, the gall was useful for healing blindness.
As they neared the city of Ecbatana, Raphael told Tobias he was about to marry a young woman (introduced to the reader earlier in the story). Sarah, a young kinswoman to Tobias, was in a sad state of affairs because the demon Asmodeus, who desired her, had successively strangled each of Sarah's seven husbands on their wedding night before the marriages could be consummated. This made Tobias uneasy, but the angel assured him that smoke made from burning the heart and liver of the fish would drive the evil demon far away.
In the course of the narrative things turned out just as the angel Raphael had indicated. Tobias married Sarah, drove away the demon, inherited half of her father's wealth, secured Tobits money from the distant city and journeyed home.
Tobias was sorely missed by Tobit and his wife, Anna, who were distressed because of Tobias' unusually long absence. There was a touching reunion when Tobias did return. Tobias applied gall from the fish to his father'ed eyes who then received his sight. When Tobit attempted to pay Azarias, Raphael revealed to all of them his angelic nature, exhorted them to righteous living and ascended into heaven before their eyes.
- This tale conforms to a major fairy tale plot (motive) against evil.
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