Susanna - framing the minds and views of people

Abstract

This article analyses the story of Susanna by combining features of editorial and narrative critique as well as new insights on body and space in the field of linguistics. Furthermore, it is postulated that the Susanna narrative must be read in a reciprocal relationship to the entire Greek Daniel. Accordingly, it is put forward that the narrative of Susanna is utilised as part of a larger narrative structure. With this larger Greek Daniel narrative, a new worldview is created that opposes the worldviews of the ancient Near Eastern people. According to the new worldview the God of Israel is not bound to religious or cultural perceptions. Different bodily and spatial features are exploited to construct this new worldview. The story of Susanna is utilised as technique to influence the reader in rethinking their worldviews.