Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

Megillah Megillah ( he, מגילה, scroll) may refer to: Bible *The Book of Esther (''Megillat Esther''), read on the Jewish holiday of Purim *The Five Megillot *Megillat Antiochus Rabbinic literature *Tractate Megillah in the Talmud. *Megillat Taanit, ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

). It is one of the five Scrolls () in the Hebrew Bible and later became part of the Christian

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

. The book relates the story of a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

woman in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

, born as Hadassah but known as

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 chose ...

, who becomes queen of Persia and thwarts a

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

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 In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

.

Setting and structure

Setting

The biblical Book of Esther is set in the Persian capital of

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

(''Shushan'') in the third year of the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus. The name ''Ahasuerus'' is equivalent to ''Xerxes'' (both deriving from the Persian ''Khshayārsha''), and Ahasuerus is usually identified in modern sources as Xerxes I, who ruled between 486 and 465 BCE, as it is to this monarch that the events described in Esther are thought to fit the most closely. Assuming that Ahasuerus is indeed Xerxes I, the events described in Esther began around the years 483–82 BCE, and concluded in March 473 BCE. Classical sources such as

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

, the Jewish commentary '' Esther Rabbah'' and the Christian theologian

Bar-Hebraeus Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional prim ...

,E.A.W. Budge, ''The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus'', Gorgias Press, reprint 2003 as well as the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

translation of Esther, instead identify Ahasuerus as either Artaxerxes I (reigned 465 to 424 BCE) or

Artaxerxes II Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...

(reigned 404 to 358 BCE). On his accession, however, Artaxerxes II lost Egypt to pharaoh Amyrtaeus, after which it was no longer part of the Persian empire. In his ''Historia Scholastica'' Petrus Comestor identified Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) as

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

(358–338 BCE) who reconquered Egypt.

Structure

The Book of Esther consists of an introduction (or exposition) in chapters 1 and 2; the main action (complication and resolution) in chapters 3 to 9:19; and a conclusion in 9:20–10:3. The plot is structured around banquets (Heb. מִשְׁתֶּה, ''mishteh''), a word that occurs twenty times in Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Hebrew bible. This is appropriate given that Esther describes the origin of a Jewish feast, the feast of Purim, but Purim itself is not the subject and no individual feast in the book is commemorated by Purim. The book's theme, rather, is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events: the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. In literary criticism such a reversal is termed " peripety", and while on one level its use in Esther is simply a literary or aesthetic device, on another it is structural to the author's theme, suggesting that the power of God is at work behind human events.

Summary

King Ahasuerus, ruler of the Persian Empire, holds a lavish 180-day banquet, initially for his court and dignitaries and afterwards a seven-day banquet for all inhabitants of the capital city, Shushan (Esther 1:1–9). On the seventh day of the latter banquet, Ahasuerus orders the queen, Vashti, to display her beauty before the guests by coming before them wearing her crown (1:10–11). She refuses, infuriating Ahasuerus, who on the advice of his counselors removes her from her position as an example to other women who might be emboldened to disobey their husbands (1:12–19). A decree follows that "every man should bear rule in his own house" (1:20–22). Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 129

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 129

Ahasuerus then makes arrangements to choose a new queen from a selection of beautiful young women from throughout the empire (2:1–4). Among these women is a Jewish orphan named

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 chose ...

, who was raised by her cousin or uncle, Mordecai (2:5–7). She finds favour in the King's eyes, and is crowned his new queen, but does not reveal her Jewish heritage (2:8–20). Shortly afterwards, Mordecai discovers a plot by two courtiers, Bigthan and Teresh, to assassinate Ahasuerus. The conspirators are apprehended and hanged, and Mordecai's service to the King is recorded (2:21–23). Ahasuerus appoints Haman as his

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

(3:1). Mordecai, who sits at the palace gates, falls into Haman's disfavour, as he refuses to bow down to him (3:2–5). Haman discovers that Mordecai refuses to bow on account of his Jewishness, and in revenge plots to kill not just Mordecai, but all the Jews in the empire (3:6). He obtains Ahasuerus' permission to execute this plan, against payment of ten thousand

talent Talent has two principal meanings: * Talent (measurement), an ancient unit of mass and value * Talent (skill), a group of aptitudes useful for some activities; talents may refer to aptitudes themselves or to possessors of those talents Talent ma ...

s of silver, and casts lots ("purim") to choose the date on which to do this the thirteenth of the month of Adar (3:7–12). A royal decree is issued throughout the kingdom to slay all Jews on that date. (3:13–15). When Mordecai discovers the plan, he goes into mourning and implores Esther to intercede with the King (4:1–5). But she is afraid to present herself to the King unsummoned, an offense punishable by death (4:6–12). Instead, she directs Mordecai to have all Jews fast for three days for her, and vows to fast as well (4:15–16.). On the third day she goes to Ahasuerus, who stretches out his sceptre to her to indicate that she is not to be punished (5:1–2). She invites him to a feast in the company of Haman (5:3–5). During the feast, she asks them to attend a further feast the next evening (5:6–8). Meanwhile, Haman is again offended by Mordecai and, at his wife's suggestion, has a

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

built to hang him (5:9–14). That night, Ahasuerus cannot sleep, and orders the court records be read to him (6:1). He is reminded that Mordecai interceded in the previous plot against his life, and discovers that Mordecai never received any recognition (6:2–3). Just then, Haman appears to request the King's permission to hang Mordecai, but before he can make this request, Ahasuerus asks Haman what should be done for the man that the King wishes to honour (6:4–6). Assuming that the King is referring to Haman himself, Haman suggests that the man be dressed in the King's royal robes and crown and led around on the King's royal horse, while a herald calls: "See how the King honours a man he wishes to reward!" (6:7–9). To his surprise and horror, the King instructs Haman to do so to Mordecai (6:10–11). Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 130

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 130

Immediately after, Ahasuerus and Haman attend Esther's second banquet. The King promises to grant her any request, and she reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, including herself (7:1–6). Overcome by rage, Ahasuerus leaves the room; meanwhile Haman stays behind and begs Esther for his life, falling upon her in desperation (7:7). The King returns in at this very moment and thinks Haman is assaulting the queen; this makes him angrier and he orders Haman hanged on the very gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai (7:8–10). Unable to annul a formal royal decree, the King instead adds to it, permitting the Jews to join together and destroy any and all of those seeking to kill them (8:1–14). On 13 Adar, Haman's ten sons and 500 other men are killed in Shushan (9:1–12). Upon hearing of this Esther requests it be repeated the next day, whereupon 300 more men are killed (9:13–15). Over 75,000 people are killed by the Jews, who are careful to take no plunder (9:16–17). Mordecai and Esther send letters throughout the provinces instituting an annual commemoration of the Jewish people's redemption, in a holiday called Purim (lots) (9:20–28). Ahasuerus remains very powerful and continues his reign, with Mordecai assuming a prominent position in his court (10:1–3).

Authorship and date

The ''Megillat Esther'' (Book of Esther) became the last of the 24 books of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Great Assembly. According to the Talmud, it was a redaction by the Great Assembly of an original text by Mordecai. It is usually dated to the 4th century BCE. The Greek book of Esther, included in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

, is a retelling of the events of the Hebrew Book of Esther rather than a translation and records additional traditions which do not appear in the traditional Hebrew version, in particular the identification of Ahasuerus with

Artaxerxes Artaxerxes may refer to: The throne name of several Achaemenid rulers of the 1st Persian Empire: * Artaxerxes I of Persia (died 425 BC), Artaxerxes I Longimanus, ''r.'' 466–425 BC, son and successor of Xerxes I * Artaxerxes II of Persia (436 ...

and details of various letters. It is dated around the late 2nd to early 1st century BCE. The Coptic and Ethiopic versions of Esther are translations of the Greek rather than the Hebrew Esther. A Latin version of Esther was produced by

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

for the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus&nbs ...

. It translates the Hebrew Esther but interpolates translations of the Greek Esther where the latter provides additional material. Predating the Vulgate, however, the ''Vetus Latina'' ("Old Latin") was apparently translated from a different Greek version not included in the Septuagint. Several Aramaic targums of Esther were produced in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, of which three survive – the '' Targum Rishon'' ("First Targum" or 1TgEsth) and '' Targum Sheni'' ("Second Targum" or 2TgEsth)Prof. Michael Sokoloff, ''The Targums to the Book of Esther'', Bar-Ilan University 's Parashat Hashavua Study Center, Parashat Tezaveh/Zakhor 5764 March 6, 2004S. Kaufman, ''Cal Targum Texts, Text base and variants'', The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion dated c. 500–1000 CE, which include additional legends relating to Purim, and the ''Targum Shelishi'' ("Third Targum" or 3TgEsth), which Berliner and Goshen-Gottstein argued was the ur-Targum from which the others had been expanded, but which others consider only a late recension of the same. 3TgEsth is the most manuscript-stable of the three, and by far the most literal.

Historicity

The apparent historical difficulties, the internal inconsistencies, the pronounced symmetry of themes and events, the plenitude of quoted dialogue, and the gross exaggeration in the reporting of numbers (involving time, money, and people) all point to Esther as a work of fiction, its vivid characters (except for Xerxes) being the product of the author's creative imagination. There is no reference to known historical events in the story; a general consensus, though this consensus has been challenged, has maintained that the narrative of ''Esther'' was invented in order to provide an aetiology for Purim, and the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to a fictionalized Xerxes I, who ruled the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

between 486 and 465 BCE. As noted by biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan, the book contains specific details regarding certain subject matter (for example, Persian rule) which are historically inaccurate. For example, Coogan discusses an inaccuracy regarding the age of Esther's cousin (or, according to others, uncle) Mordecai.Coogan, Michael David, ''A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 396.Sidnie White Crawford, "Esther", in ''The New Interpreters Study Bible New Revised Standard Version'' with the Apocrypha, ed. Walter J. Harrison and Donald Senior (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 689–90. In Esther 2:5–6, either Mordecai or his great-grandfather Kish is identified as having been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar II in 597 BCE: "Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah". If this refers to Mordecai, he would have had to live over a century to have witnessed the events described in the Book of Esther. However, the verse may be read as referring not to Mordecai's exile to Babylon, but to his great-grandfather Kish's exile. In her article "The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling", biblical scholar Adele Berlin discusses the reasoning behind scholarly concern about the historicity of Esther. Much of this debate relates to the importance of distinguishing history and fiction within biblical texts, as Berlin argues, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the history of the Israelite people. Adele Berlin, "The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling", '' Journal of Biblical Literature'' 120, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 3–14. Berlin quotes a series of scholars who suggest that the author of Esther did not mean for the book to be considered as a historical writing, but intentionally wrote it to be a historical novella. The genre of novellas under which Esther falls was common during both the Persian and

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

s to which scholars have dated the book of Esther. However, there are certain elements of the book of Esther that are historically accurate. The story told in the book of Esther takes place during the rule of Ahasuerus, who amongst others has been identified as the 5th-century Persian king Xerxes I (reigned 486–465 BCE). The author also displays an accurate knowledge of Persian customs and palaces. However, according to Coogan, considerable historical inaccuracies remain throughout the text, supporting the view that the book of Esther is to be read as a historical novella which tells a story describing historical events but is not necessarily historical fact.

Historical reading

The Feast of Esther - Jan Lievens - Google Cultural Institute

Those arguing in favour of a historical reading of Esther most commonly identify Ahasuerus with Xerxes I (ruled 486–465 BCE), although in the past it was often assumed that he was

Artaxerxes II Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...

(ruled 405–359 BCE). The

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

''Ahasuerus'' (''ʔaḥašwērōš'') is most likely derived from Persian ''Xšayārša'', the origin of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''Xerxes''. The Greek historian

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...

wrote that Xerxes sought his

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

after being defeated in the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...

. He makes no reference to individual members of the harem except for a domineering Queen consort named Amestris, whose father, Otanes, was one of Xerxes's generals. (In contrast, the Greek historian Ctesias refers to a similar father-in-law/general figure named Onaphas.) Amestris has often been identified with Vashti, but this identification is problematic, as Amestris remained a powerful figure well into the reign of her son, Artaxerxes I, whereas Vashti is portrayed as dismissed in the early part of Xerxes's reign. Alternative attempts have been made to identify her with

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 chose ...

, although Esther is an orphan whose father was a Jew named Abihail. As for the identity of Mordecai, the similar names ''Marduka'' and ''Marduku'' have been found as the name of officials in the Persian court in over thirty texts from the period of Xerxes I and his father

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

, and may refer to up to four individuals, one of whom might be the model for the biblical Mordecai. The "Old Greek" Septuagint version of Esther translates the name Ahasuerus as ''Artaxerxes'', a Greek name derived from the Persian ''Artaxšaθra''.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...

too relates that this was the name by which he was known to the Greeks, and the

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic text ''Esther Rabba'' also makes the identification.

Bar-Hebraeus Gregory Bar Hebraeus ( syc, ܓܪܝܓܘܪܝܘܣ ܒܪ ܥܒܪܝܐ, b. 1226 - d. 30 July 1286), known by his Syriac ancestral surname as Bar Ebraya or Bar Ebroyo, and also by a Latinized name Abulpharagius, was an Aramean Maphrian (regional prim ...

identified Ahasuerus explicitly as

Artaxerxes II Arses ( grc-gre, Ἄρσης; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and suc ...

; however, the names are not necessarily equivalent: Hebrew has a form of the name ''Artaxerxes'' distinct from ''Ahasuerus'', and a direct Greek rendering of ''Ahasuerus'' is used by both Josephus and the Septuagint for occurrences of the name outside the Book of Esther. Instead, the Hebrew name Ahasuerus accords with an inscription of the time that notes that Artaxerxes II was named also ''Aršu'', understood as a shortening of ''Aḫšiyaršu'' the Babylonian rendering of the Persian ''Xšayārša'' (Xerxes), through which the Hebrew ''ʔaḥašwērōš'' (Ahasuerus) is derived.Jacob Hoschander, ''The Book of Esther in the Light of History'', Oxford University Press, 1923 Ctesias related that Artaxerxes II was also called ''Arsicas'' which is understood as a similar shortening with the Persian suffix ''-ke'' that is applied to shortened names. Deinon related that Artaxerxes II was also called ''Oarses'' which is also understood to be derived from ''Xšayārša''. Another view attempts to identify him instead with Artaxerxes I (ruled 465–424 BCE), whose Babylonian concubine, Kosmartydene, was the mother of his son Darius II (ruled 424–405 BCE). Jewish tradition relates that Esther was the mother of a King Darius and so some try to identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I and Esther with Kosmartydene. Based on the view that the Ahasuerus of the

Book of Tobit The Book of Tobit () ''Tōbith'' or ''Tōbit'' ( and spellings are also attested) itself from he, טובי ''Tovi'' "my good"; Book of Tobias in the Vulgate from the Greek ''Tōbias'', itself from the Hebrew ''Tovyah'' "Jah, Yah is good", al ...

is identical with that of the Book of Esther, some have also identified him as Nebuchadnezzar's ally Cyaxares (ruled 625–585 BCE). In certain manuscripts of Tobit, the former is called ''Achiachar'', which, like the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''Cyaxares'', is thought to be derived from Persian ''Huwaxšaθra''. Depending on the interpretation of Esther 2:5–6, Mordecai or his great-grandfather Kish was carried away from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

with Jeconiah by Nebuchadnezzar, in 597 BCE. The view that it was Mordecai would be consistent with the identification of Ahasuerus with Cyaxares. Identifications with other Persian monarchs have also been suggested. Jacob Hoschander has argued that the name of Haman and that of his father Hamedatha are mentioned by Strabo as ''Omanus'' and ''Anadatus,'' worshipped with Anahita in the city of Zela. Hoschander suggests that Haman may, if the connection is correct, be a priestly title and not a proper name. Strabo's names are unattested in Persian texts as gods; however the Talmud and Josephus interpret the description of courtiers bowing to Haman in Esther 3:2 as worship. (Other scholars assume "Omanus" refers to

Vohu Mana Vohu Manah (Avestan: 𐬬𐬊𐬵𐬎 𐬨𐬀𐬥𐬀𐬵 ''vohu manah'') is the Avestan language term for a Zoroastrian concept, generally translated as "Good Purpose", "Good Mind", or "Good Thought", referring to the good state of mind that e ...

.) In his ''Historia Scholastica'' Petrus Comestor identified Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) as

Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

who reconquered Egypt.

Interpretation

In the Book of Esther, the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are '' yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', an ...

does not appear, but some argue it is present, in hidden form, in four complex

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fr ...

s in Hebrew: the initial or last letters of four consecutive words, either forwards or backwards comprise YHWH. These letters were distinguished in at least three ancient Hebrew manuscripts in red.These are Est 1:20; 5:4, 13 and 7:7. Additionally, Est 7:5 there is an acrostic referring to the title of God of Exodus 3:14. Christine Hayes contrasts the Book of Esther with apocalyptic writings, the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...

in particular: both Esther and Daniel depict an existential threat to the Jewish people, but while Daniel commands the Jews to wait faithfully for God to resolve the crisis, in Esther the crisis is resolved entirely through human action and national solidarity. God, in fact, is not mentioned, Esther is portrayed as assimilated to Persian culture, and Jewish identity in the book is an ethnic category rather than a religious one. This contrasts with traditional Jewish commentaries, such as the commentary of the Vilna Gaon, which states "But in every verse it discusses the great miracle. However, this miracle was in a hidden form, occurring through apparently natural processes, not like the Exodus from Egypt, which openly revealed the might of God." This follows the approach of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, which states that "(The Book of) Esther is referenced in the Torah in the verse 'And I shall surely hide (in Hebrew, 'haster astir,' related to 'Esther') My Face from them on that day. Although marriages between Jews and Gentiles are not permitted in

orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses ...

, even in case of Pikuach nefesh, Esther is not regarded as a sinner, because she remained passive, and risked her life to save that of the entire Jewish people.Yehuda Shurpin
''How Could Esther Marry a Non-Jewish King?''

Chabad.org Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation. History In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating ...

. ''The Vanishing Jew: A Wake-Up Call From the Book of Esther'' by

Michael Eisenberg Michael Eisenberg () (born May 18, 1971) is an American-born Israeli businessman, venture capitalist and author. Biography Michael Eisenberg was born in Manhattan, New York, the eldest of seven children. His father was a lawyer and his mother ra ...

looks at the Megilla from the perspective of economic philosophy and the struggle for money, power and control.

Additions to Esther

An additional six chapters appear interspersed in Esther in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

, the Greek translation of the Bible. This was noted by

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

in compiling the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus&nbs ...

. Additionally, the Greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. Jerome recognized the former as additions not present in the Hebrew Text and placed them at the end of his Latin translation. This placement and numbering system is used in Catholic Bible translations based primarily on the Vulgate, such as the Douay–Rheims Bible and the Knox Bible. In contrast, the 1979 revision of the Vulgate, the

Nova Vulgata The ''Nova Vulgata'' (complete title: ''Nova Vulgata Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio'', ; abr. ''NV''), also called the Neo-Vulgate, is the official Classical Latin translation of the original-language texts of the Bible published by the Holy See. It ...

, incorporates the additions to Esther directly into the narrative itself, as do most modern Catholic English translations based on the original Hebrew and Greek (e.g., Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition,

New American Bible The New American Bible (NAB) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1970. The 1986 Revised NAB is the basis of the revised Lectionary, and it is the only translation approved for use at Mass in the Latin-rite Catholic dioces ...

, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition). The numbering system for the additions differs with each translation. The Nova Vulgata accounts for the additional verses by numbering them as extensions of the verses immediately following or preceding them (e.g., Esther 11:2–12 in the old Vulgate becomes Esther 1:1a–1k in the Nova Vulgata), while the NAB and its successor, the NABRE, assign letters of the alphabet as chapter headings for the additions (e.g., Esther 11:2–12:6 in the Vulgate becomes Esther A:1–17). The RSVCE and the NRSVCE place the additional material into the narrative, but retain the chapter and verse numbering of the old Vulgate. These additions are: * an opening prologue that describes a dream had by Mordecai * the contents of the decree against the Jews * prayers for God's intervention offered by Mordecai and by Esther * an expansion of the scene in which Esther appears before the king, with a mention of God's intervention * a copy of the decree in favor of the Jews * a passage in which Mordecai interprets his dream (from the prologue) in terms of the events that followed * a colophon appended to the end, which reads: "In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding Letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem" (NRSV). It is unclear to which version of Greek Esther this colophon refers, and who exactly are the figures mentioned in it. By the time the Greek version of Esther was written, the foreign power visible on the horizon as a future threat to Judah was the kingdom of

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

under

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

, who defeated the Persian empire about 150 years after the time of the story of Esther; the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

version noticeably calls Haman a "Bougaion" ( grc, βουγαῖον), possibly in the Homeric sense of "bully" or "braggart", whereas the Hebrew text describes him as an Agagite. The canonicity of these Greek additions has been a subject of scholarly disagreement practically since their first appearance in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

, being perhaps the most vocal

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

-era critic of the work, considered even the original Hebrew version to be of very doubtful value. The

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described ...

, the summation of the Counter-Reformation, reconfirmed the entire book, both Hebrew text and Greek additions, as canonical. The Book of Esther is used twice in commonly used sections of the Catholic

Lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, and an ...

. In both cases, the text used is not only taken from a Greek addition, the readings also are the prayer of Mordecai, and nothing of

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 chose ...

's own words is ever used. The

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

uses the Septuagint version of Esther, as it does for all of the Old Testament. In contrast, the additions are included in the Biblical apocrypha, usually printed in a separate section (if at all) in Protestant bibles. The additions, called "The rest of the Book of Esther", are specifically listed in the

Thirty-Nine Articles The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion (commonly abbreviated as the Thirty-nine Articles or the XXXIX Articles) are the historically defining statements of doctrines and practices of the Church of England with respect to the controversies of the ...

, Article VI, of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

as non-canonical.www.churchofengland.org
they are included in the section headed: "And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:..."

Modern retelling

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* * * Beal, Timothy K (

Timothy Beal Timothy K. Beal (born 1963) is a writer and scholar in the field of religious studies whose work explores matters of religion, media, and American culture, past and present. He is Distinguished University Professor, Florence Harkness Professor of ...

). ''The Book of Hiding: Gender, Ethnicity, Annihilation, and Esther''. NY: Routledge, 1997. Postmodern theoretical apparatus, e.g. Jacques Derrida,

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jews, Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, ...

Extract from The JPS Bible Commentary: Esther by Adele Berlin
Liberal Jewish view. * Grossman, Jonathan, ''Esther: The Outer Narrative and the Hidden Reading'', Winona Lake, IN.: Eisenbrauns, 2011. * * Sasson, Jack M. "Esther" in Alter and Kermode, pp. 335–341, literary view

Gil Student's survey of scholarship supporting a historical reading of Esther

A Christian perspective of the book. * Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East by Theodor Gaster. 1950. * White, Sidnie Ann. "Esther: A Feminine Model for Jewish Diaspora" in Newsom
Esther (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org * Cumming, Rev. J. Elder DD ''The Book of Esther: Its spiritual teaching'' London: The Religious Tract Society, 1913 * Ecker, Ronald L
The Book of Esther
Ecker's Biblical Web Pages, 2007. * Fischer, James A. ''Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther''. Collegeville Bible Commentary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1986. * Fox, Michael V. ''Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther''. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001. * Hudson, J. Francis ''Esther: For Such a Time as This''. From ''Character and Charisma'' series. Kingsway, 2000. * Levenson, Jon D. ''Esther''. Old Testament Library Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997. * McConville, John C. L. ''Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther''. Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985. * Moore, Carey A. ''Esther''. Anchor Bible, vol. 7B. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. * Paton, Lewis B. ''A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Esther''. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1908. * Yoram Hazony">Hazony, Yoram. ''God and Politics in Esther''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. * Shurpin, Yehuda
''How Could Esther Marry a Non-Jewish King?''

Chabad.org Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation. History In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating ...

. * *

External links

* Eliezer Melamed
Purim and Reading the Megillah
in Peninei Halakha site.

Text and translations

* Jewish translations *
Esther (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org *
Purim insights to Megillat Esther
*

Full text, Aleppo Codex: text of Esther in Hebrew * Christian translations *
''Introduction to the Book of Esther''
*

Physical relics

Catalogue of Illuminated Esther Scrolls by Dagmara Budzioch
the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, the Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Scroll of the Book of Esther
illustrated, Italy, 1747. {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Of Esther 4th-century BC books Esther (parts) Esther

Esther, Book of 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 f ...

Purim Historical books

Setting and structure

Setting

Structure

Summary

Authorship and date

Historicity

Historical reading

Interpretation

Additions to Esther

Modern retelling

See also

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

External links

Text and translations

Physical relics