Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I (died 465 BCE) but traditionally equated with Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II. As his epithet ''Agagite'' indicates, Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Some commentators interpret this descent to be symbolic, due to his similar personality. Retrieved 13 February 2017 Etymology and meaning of the name The name has been equated with the Persian name ''Omanes''Encyclopaedia Judaica CD-ROM Edition 1.0 1997, ''Haman'' ( peo, 𐎡𐎶𐎴𐎡𐏁, ) recorded by Greek historians. Several etymologies have been proposed for it: it has been associated with the Persian word , meaning "illustrious" (naming dictionaries typically list it as meaning "magnificent"); with the sacred drink Haoma; or with the Persian name Vohu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Esther Denouncing Haman
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty. Ahasuerus' grand vizier, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman. Consequently, Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed, and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman's eradication plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead, as royal edicts (including the order for eradication issued by Haman) cannot be revoked under Persian law. Her story provides the traditional explanation for the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty. Ahasuerus' grand vizier, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman. Consequently, Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed, and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman's eradication plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead, as royal edicts (including the order for eradication issued by Haman) cannot be revoked under Persian law. Her story provides the traditional explanation for the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Book Of Esther
The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish ''Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the five Scrolls () in the Hebrew Bible and later became part of the Christian Old Testament. The book 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 of her people. The story forms the core of the Jewish festival of Purim, during which it is read aloud twice: once in the evening and again the following morning. The books of Esther and Song of Songs are the only books in the Hebrew Bible that do not mention God. Setting and structure Setting The biblical Book of Esther is set in the Persian capital of Susa (''Shushan'') in the third year of the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus. The name ''Ahasuerus'' is equivalent to ''Xerxes'' (both deriving f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mordechai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical account Mordecai resided in Susa (Shushan or Shoushan),Esther 2:5–6 of the Bible (New International Version): : Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who has been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah. the metropolis of Persia (now Iran). He adopted his orphaned cousin (Esther 2:7), Hadassah (Esther), whom he brought up as if she were his own daughter. When "young virgins" were sought, she was taken into the presence of King Ahasuerus and was made queen in the place of the exiled queen Vashti. Subsequently, Mordecai discovered a plot of the king's chamberlains ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Rembrandt - Haman Begging The Mercy Of Esther
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history.Gombrich, p. 420. Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of style and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes and animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch art (especially Dutch painting), whilst antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was prolific and innovative. This era gave rise to important new genres. Like many artists of the Dutch Golden Age, such ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Agag
Agag (; he, אֲגַג ''ʾĂgāg'') is a Northwest Semitic name or title applied to a biblical king. It has been suggested that "Agag" was a dynastic name of the kings of Amalek, just as Pharaoh was used as a dynastic name for the ancient Egyptians. The etymology is uncertain, according to John L. McKenzie (1995), while Cox (1884) suggested "High." In the Torah, the expression "Its king higher than Agag, and its kingdom exalted" was uttered by Balaam in Numbers 24:7, in his third prophetic utterance, to describe a king of Israel who would be higher than the king of Amalek. This is understood to mean that Israel's king would take a higher position than even Amalek himself, and would exercise a wider authority. The writer uses an allusion to the literal significance of the word "Agag", meaning "high", to convey that the king of Israel would be "higher than High". A characteristic trait of biblical poetry is to use puns. Agag also refers to the Amalekite king who survived King ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Zeresh
Zeresh (Hebrew: זֶרֶשׁ) was the wife of Haman the Agagite who is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Esther. Zeresh advised her husband to prepare a high gallows (50 cubits) and to hang Mordecai on it ( Esther 5:14). However, she later advised Haman that he would not be able to win against Mordecai (Esther 6:12-13). Their plans were soon reversed when King Ahasuerus ordered Haman to be hanged on the same gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10). Ten sons of Haman (and possibly of Zeresh) were later killed in fighting, and Ahasuerus Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh'';; fa, اخشورش, Axšoreš; fa, label=New Persian, خشایار, Xašāyār; grc, Ξέρξης, Xérxēs. grc, label=Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος, Asouḗros, in the Septuagint; la, Assuerus ... had their bodies hanged on the same gallows that their father was hanged on(Esther 9:7-14). Zeresh's fate is not recorded. {{Authority control Book of Esther W ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Amalekites
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the territories of Amalek, which they inhabited. Etymology In some rabbinical interpretations, Amalek is etymologised as , 'a people who lick (blood)', but most specialists regard the origin to be unknown. Amalekites in the Hebrew Bible According to the Bible, Amalek was the son of Eliphaz (himself the son of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites) and Eliphaz's concubine Timna. Timna was a Horite and sister of Lotan. Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau", from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him. The Amalekites () were considered to be Amalek's descendants through the genealogy of Esau. In the oracle of Balaam, Amalek was called the 'first of the nations'. One modern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Amalek
Amalek (; he, עֲמָלֵק, , ar, عماليق ) was a nation described in the Hebrew Bible as a staunch enemy of the Israelites. The name "Amalek" can refer to the nation's founder, a grandson of Esau; his descendants, the Amalekites; or the territories of Amalek, which they inhabited. Etymology In some rabbinical interpretations, Amalek is etymologised as , 'a people who lick (blood)', but most specialists regard the origin to be unknown. Amalekites in the Hebrew Bible According to the Bible, Amalek was the son of Eliphaz (himself the son of Esau, ancestor of the Edomites) and Eliphaz's concubine Timna. Timna was a Horite and sister of Lotan. Amalek is described as the "chief of Amalek" among the "chiefs of the sons of Esau", from which it is surmised that he ruled a clan or territory named after him. The Amalekites () were considered to be Amalek's descendants through the genealogy of Esau. In the oracle of Balaam, Amalek was called the 'first of the nations'. One modern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ahasuerus
Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh'';; fa, اخشورش, Axšoreš; fa, label=New Persian, خشایار, Xašāyār; grc, Ξέρξης, Xérxēs. grc, label=Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος, Asouḗros, in the Septuagint; la, Assuerus in the Vulgate) is a name applied in the Hebrew Bible to three rulers and to a Babylonian official (or Median king) in the ''Book of Tobit''. Etymology The Hebrew form is believed to have derived from the Old Persian name of Xerxes I, ''Xšayāršā'' ( 'king of all male; Hero among Kings'). That became Babylonian ''Aḥšiyaršu'' (, ''aḫ-ši-ia-ar-šu'') and then ''Akšiwaršu'' (, ''ak-ši-i-wa6-ar-šu'') and was borrowed into Hebrew as ''Ăḥašwêrôš'' and thence into Latin as ''Ahasuerus'', the form traditionally used in English Bibles. The Persian name was independently rendered in Ancient Greek as ''Xérxēs''. Many newer English translations and paraphrases of the Bible have used the name Xerxes. Biblical references B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Agagite
The term Agagite is used in the Book of Esther as a description of Haman. The term is understood to be an ethnonym although nothing is known with certainty about the people designated by the name. According to Cheyne and Black, this term is used to label Haman, figuratively, as a "descendant" of Agag, the enemy of Israel and king of the Amalekites.Cheyne and Black (1899), ''Encyclopaedia Biblica,'' entry for "Agagite./ref> "Haman, as an Amalekite, is opposed to Mordecai, the descendant of Kish (Esth r2:5) ... The meaning is that there is an internecine struggle between the Jews and their enemies, like that between Saul and Agag of old." With this understanding, the Greek translator rendered the term "Macedonian." A well known Midrashic explanation of the term relates it to King Agag of the Amalekites whereby it is viewed as meaning either a literal descendant of Agag or a symbolic term for an antisemite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostilit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Persian Jews
Persian Jews or Iranian Jews ( fa, یهودیان ایرانی, ''yahudiān-e-Irāni''; he, יהודים פרסים ''Yəhūdīm Parsīm'') are the descendants of Jews who were historically associated with the Persian Empire, whose successor state is Iran. The biblical books of Book of Esther, Esther, Book of Isaiah, Isaiah, Book of Daniel, Daniel, Book of Ezra, Ezra, and Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah contain references to the lives and experiences of Jews who lived in Achaemenid Empire, Persia. Dating back to biblical times, Iranian Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and most History of the Jews in Iran, historically significant Jewish communities. Jews have had a History of the Jews in Iran, continuous presence in Iran since the time of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus invaded Babylon and freed the Jews from the Babylonian captivity. Today, the vast majority of Iranian Jews in Israel, Persian Jews live in Israel and the United States, especially in Los Ange ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |