Biblical fiction seems to be on the rise and readers will find nothing better in the genre than bestselling hunts interpretation of the biblical book of esther. I think we can all agree that the book of esther doesnt belong in the bible. But the jewish rabbis called it also the volume of esther, or simply the volume megillah to distinguish it from the other four volumes megilloth, written on separate rolls, which were read in the synagogues on certain feast days. Two things are recorded in this chapter, which were working towards the deliverance of the jews from hamans conspiracy. Furthermore, the book of esther is fond of reversals of fortune that strike parity between the jews and their neighbors or foes, and eventually reveal the jews appointed destiny.
They are an invaluable eyewitness to a momentous turning point in judaism, christianity, and western. And let the king appoint commissioners in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins. It relates how once upon a time, in the persian period, a terrible danger to the jews was averted by natural circumstances, without any visible divine intervention. Antisemitism in the book of esther the bible as literature. Esther starts by being an insignificant individual in the persian empire, but queen vashtis demotion is esther s promotion to the throne. May 21, 20 it is up to mordecais niece esther to win the affection of the king, unmask hamans treachery and save the jewish people. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. Book of esther simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Esther told the king that mordecai was related to her, and from then on mordecai was allowed to enter the kings presence. The advancement of esther to be queen instead of vashti. The book of esther is a hodgepodge of different genres. The book takes its name from the beautiful, orphaned jewess. This book would outline hitlers belief system and plans to rise to power in germany. Josephuss paraphrase of the esther story in the antiquities of the jews, book ii chapter 6, also in greek, may be considered a third greek account, or interpretation, written somewhat later in the first century ce, about a century after the. Josephuss paraphrase of the esther story in the antiquities of the jews, book ii chapter 6, also in greek, may be considered a third greek account, or interpretation, written somewhat later in the first century ce, about a century after the septuaginta greek translation of the bibleand the. Esther 8 good news translation gnt the jews are told to fight back. Esther 2 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. We are told this was in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible.
Antisemitism in the book of esther in the year 1925 an autobiographical book called mein kampf was released by a political activist named adolf hitler. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Today, that query may not loom quite as large in america, but it definitely does in many other places throughout the world the middle east, burma, the congoand about a dozen or more other places. Hadassah was her given jewish name, but she went by esther.
It is the only biblical book that portrays antisemitism, and itself has been the subject of criticism with antisemitic overtones. Some bible scholars feel that the persian king, ahasuerus in the book, is xerxes the great. This book has a record of the feast of purim and commemorates what the jews indicate is the deliverance of the jewish nation by god using esther. Josephus statement at the end of his version, that the jews still keep the festival of purim, is. But the most likely opinion, and that which is approved by josephus, the septuagint, and the. Heh, its from the book of the greatest stories ever told. After these things, when the wrath of king ahasuerus subsided, he remembered vashti. His complete writings, books, and antiquities were translated by william whiston. She was the nonpracticing jewish heroine of the story and an orphan raised by her cousin mordecai. As the days of feasting draw to a close, he summons his wife, vashti, to show off her beauty by appearing wearing only her crown. They are good if we recognize where they came from and if we treat them the way the designer intended them to be treated. They werent volunteering for a wonderful opportunity. In the book of esther, it is evident that the author wanted to highlight how divine intervention of god works specifically as it applies to the israelites. Esther, the jewish queen of persia geni family tree.
We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. Wall, in his late posthumous critical notes upon all the other hebrew books of the old testament, gives none upon the canticles, or upon esther, and seems thereby to give up this book, as well as he gives up the canticles, as indefensible. As mentioned, according to the book, esther was a jewish queen and wife of the persian king who is known as ahasuerus, however in many translations his name is already shown as xerxes. For centuries josephus works were more widely read in europe than any book other than the bible. Esther is the jewish maiden who became queen of persia and rescued her people from a murderous plot to annihilate them.
Josephus, the jewish historian, says that the jewish scriptures were written from the time of moses until artaxerxes, whom josephus identifies as the ahasuerus in the book of esther against apion 1. In this it is similar to many other old testament books e. Excess and extravagance are repeated ideas in the book of esther. Join facebook to connect with esther joseph and others you may know. The general opinion of almost all commentators on the holy scriptures makes mardochai the writer of it. Writer and date the writer did not identify himself in the text. The mention of mordecai and his benevolence in esther 10. He took esther as the new persian queen, not knowing she was an israelite. Add to that a flavor of steampunk youve likely never tried before, blend it all up but keep it kosher. Some rabbinic circles also affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 5 b.
The canonical book of esther undoubtedly presents the oldest extant form of the esther story. You want to open your bible, if you will, to the book of esther. The views of modern scholars are significant in so far as the views of modern scholars are significant in any topic an encyclopedia should endeavour to. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings, and. Esther in the lxx and in josephus louis feldman 1970. The following is an excellent synopsis of the entire book of esther. At that time king xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of susa. It is probable that it was part of hiding her jewish identity at the command of mordecai. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Her name in hebrew is hadassah bdb 2, which means myrtle 2. Josephus affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 4.
Josephus affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 4 3. This is what happened during the time of xerxes, the xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from india to cush. She cried and pleaded with him to overturn the evil of haman the agagite and his plan against the jews. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. Full text of the book of esther in the light of history. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem.
Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish. Therefore, josephus understood esther to be the last book to be written in the jewish canon. The book of esther is an historical incident that occurred during the days of jewish captivity in babylon. Some rabbinic circles also affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 5. A book s canonicity, whether or not it should be accepted as holy scripture, is an extremely important issue for each book of the bible. Hadassah is a teenager when she is captured by ruffians while on her way to jerusalem with her betrothed, binyamin. But while the characters might resemble a fairy tale, the book of esther depicts actual events that shaped jewish history and instituted the festival of purim. Flavius josephus was a famous jewish historian, priest, and scholar. The book of esther belongs to ketuvim writings, which is the third division of the tanakh the hebrew bible. Each year at purim, jews read the book of esther with much fanfare, and with waving of the noisemakers called groggers to drown out the villains name. As with most of the ot writings the author of the book of esther esther meaning star is not mentioned. Esther s story is retold by josephus in book 11, chapter 6 of the jewish antiquities. Constable title the title of this book comes from its principal character, esther. Seeking ancient wisdom, i opened a biblical book in which women were also treated as objects.
Esther is the heroine of the book of esther, one of the texts from the bible. At the conclusion of seven days of feasting, the king called queen vashti to appear before him. In times of oppression the jews found comfort in this narrative, for it presented an example of sudden divine salvation in the days of distress esth. Later when king xerxes fury had subsided, he remembered vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. Her story is recorded in the old testament book bearing her name. It doesnt follow the bible narrative exactly, but the producers let you know that before the movie begins. The book of esther tells us that haman was a grand vizier, or prime minister for the persian king xerxes or ahasuerus. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. The old testament book of nehemiah takes place during a time of exile and captivity for the jewish people. What i see in the bible, especially in the book of psalms, which is a book of gratitude for the created world, is a recognition that all good things on earth are gods, every good gift is from above. The audio recording of the book of esther from the revised new world translation of the holy scriptures is now available on jw. Has always been esteemed canonical, both by jews and christians, though certain additions to it, found in some versions and manuscripts, are apocryphal. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible.
During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. May 02, 2020 the book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. Well, i am greatly challenged, on some occasions, in all honesty, as you well know, to get through one verse. Myrtle branches are carried in procession during the feast of booths. Other sources ascribe the book of esther to ezra or nehemiah. This site is dedicated to the works of the jewish historian flavius josephus 37 ce circa 100 ce. Ester, born hadassah, is the heroine of the biblical scroll of esther. Evangelicals love esther and think trump is like her the. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. The jewish historian josephus names mordecai as author of the book.
The topic of canonicity there are some books in the bible that had a hard time getting there. Since purim is not a holiday ordained by moses in the first five books of the bible, scholars have wondered if jews of ancient time indeed observed it annually. Why did queen vashti refuse to appear before xerxes. The book of esther provides one possible answer to that question, tough cookie though it is. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. Esther 8 gnt the jews are told to fight back that bible. It is up to mordecais niece esther to win the affection of the king, unmask hamans treachery and save the jewish people. Then the kings servants who attended him said, let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. Political teachings of the book of esther 9789657052068. Hegai was a eunuch, a castrated male, who was in charge of the harem of virgins in the persian kings. Esther 1, new international version niv the bible app. Based upon the book of esther, this delightful retelling emphasizes the. Then the kings personal attendants proposed, let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king.
The book of esther was read at the feast of purim to commemorate the great deliverance of the jewish nation brought about by god through esther. The gathering together of a harem for king ahasuerus. And this is in our continuing series on 12 unlikely. The communitys origins are obscure, but popular lore believes that it consists of the descendants of survivors of a ship wrecked on the konkan coast of india. According to jewish tradition, haman was a direct offspring of agag, king of the amalekites 1 samuel 15. Some miscellaneous matters respecting the face of the land. Esther s family, the the author and her family belong to the beneisrael jewish community, which was traditionally based in western india mainly in gujurat and maharastra. We have watched this book of esther movie many times. Subsequent to esther, ezra leads a second return to the land of israel about 20 to 30 years later in 458 bc under artaxerxes ezra 7.
It is probably that following their fathers death, these ten sons commanded his armies which attacked the jews. The book of esther film searching for book of esther 61 found 344 total alternate case. While principally josephus simply rephrases the biblical book of esther, there are interesting differences that reflect a combination of at least two written versions of the story circulating in josephus time, and which also include certain interpretive additions, unknown in any of our surviving sources, which could represent the opinions of rabbis of the time or josephus himself. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian empire, ruling over 127 provinces. Esther becomes queen after these things, when the anger of king ahasuerus had abated, he remembered vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. The traditional view of the book of esther is significant to mention, because it is the traditional view held by millions of believers over several millennia as to the nature of the book.
Even though you may not see god in your daily circumstances, trust him and follow his plan. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. The rabbis stated that the reason for this is their importance. He excelled in his studies of jewish law and studied with the sadducees, pharisees, and the essenes, eventually aligning himself with the pharisees. You and i are able to read this story in our bibles, with the help of the holy spirit, because of the faithfulness of god, and the brave, obedient cooperation of esther. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide. This term is symbolic among the jews for peace and joy zech. Prophecies in the book of esther hatikva ministries. Esther a2 classic bible study guide 2 introduction the book of esther is a graphic narrative, which relates how gods people were preserved from ruin during the fifth century b. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. But hamans plans include something horrible for mordecai and his people. In the days of ahasuerus many suppose this king to have been darius hystaspes, for his kingdom was thus vast, and he subdued india, as herodotus reports.
In our sceptical age, we should expect such a story to be held. Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival purim. Its very enjoyable, especially if you love history and romance. The book of esther is about a jewish girl adopted by her uncle, mordecai, after her parents died. Josephus believed that the book of esther was reli gious and added gods name in many places. The book of esther first was accepted into the canon of accepted books through jerome and the catholic church, about 400 a. Find link is a tool written by edward betts longer titles found. It was written after the death of king xerxes esth. Different bible translations may use xerxes or ahasuerus, but they technically refer to the same individual, and. Natural childbirth the swiss way paperback may 1, 1979.
In the hebrew bible and the septuagint the book of esther bears only the word esther as title. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. The book of esther a survey of the content of the book of esther theme. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. God is able to use unlikely individuals to further his purpose and kingdom. Most scholars today agree that the kjv ahasuerus was the xerxes who reigned 486 b. Xerxes, the persian king, rejected his wife queen vashti, and fell in love with esther at a beauty contest. Josephus records there were four hundred girls brought to the palace and esther was the most beautiful of all the rest, and that the grace of her countenance drew the eyes of the spectators principally upon her antiquities of the jews, book 11, chapter 6, 199. A eunuch, hegai, facilitated esther s rise to the position of queen of persia.
The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. Today we are beginning a new studya new expository sermon serieson the book of esther. According to the talmud, it was a redaction by the great assembly of an original text by mordecai. The megillat esther book of esther became the last of the 24 books of the tanakh to be canonized by the sages of the great assembly. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. And this morning i made it through a whole chapter, and tonight well take a whole book. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. The book of esther this book takes its name from queen esther, whose history is here recorded. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Esther 2 niv bible later when king xerxes fury had. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. Full text of the book of esther in the light of history see other formats. Esther s hebrew name may have had a similar sound to the.
In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti. The book of esther begins with a description of king xerxes or ahasuerus of persia celebrating with the leading men of his kingdom. The new testament canon is a much easier subject to discuss than the old because we know a lot more about how. Josephus writes that four hundred such virgins were added to the harem in this way. The book of esther constitutes a piece of literature emanating from the jewish communities of antiquity, which tells the mainly fictional story of a young jewish. According to recent research the book of esther was written in the middle of the 4th century bce during the reign of artaxerxes iii. The book of esther may remind you of a classic, once upon a time childrens story with a wealthy king, his beautiful queen, and an evil villain.
Esther 2 nrsv esther becomes queen after these bible. The jewish feast of purim celebrates this particular deliverance of the jews. In this fascinating account, nehemiah, the jewish cupbearer to the persian king artaxerxes 1, successfully petitions to take a group back to jerusalem to rebuild the city walls after hearing they are in disrepair. Josephus s paraphrase of the esther story in the antiquities of the jews, book ii chapter 6, also in greek, may be considered a third greek account, or interpretation, written somewhat later in the first century ce, about a century after the septuaginta greek translation of the bibleand the third version, a shorter narrative known as the alpha text. In esther 9, the names of the 10 sons are listed, each name larger than the text size of the rest of the book. He asserts that josephus has made a number of changes which would render his work more attractive to his greek readers and which would defend the jewish people against anti.
69 488 1055 416 400 874 241 959 337 181 1232 309 900 437 1010 261 363 155 621 317 913 821 969 424 1230 1062 495 528 1064 1091 656 727 276 249