Esther

Composition

The Book of Esther is a book of the Christian Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible. It is read on the Jewish festival of Purim. In the Jewish Bible, it follows Ecclesiastes and Lamentations. It appears between Nehemiah and Job in the Protestant canon and Judith and Job in the Roman Catholic canon. Six chapters included in the Roman Catholic Bible are omitted in the Jewish and Protestant Bibles because these faiths question their authenticity. Furthermore, the original text is secular—it lacks any references to Yahweh/God—but later translators added religious elements that are not included in the Hebrew Bible and are included in the Apocrypha, or works outside accepted scriptural canon, in Protestant Bibles. The Roman Catholic Church accepts these additions as canon, or genuine, scripture.

The Book of Esther is alleged to be the story of how the feast of Purim came to be. The festival may date to the sixth century BCE, but the text may have been written much later, possibly as late as the second century BCE.

Authorship of the text is debated. The case has been made for Mordechai (also spelled Mordecai), the cousin (some sources say uncle) of Esther. Some scholars favor Ezra or Nehemiah. Clues to author’s identity include the Babylonian Talmud, which credits the men of the Great Synagogue. Josephus, a Jewish historian, priest, and scholar, credits Mordechai. However, the author praises Mordechai, which suggests that he may not have written the book. The writer knows a great deal about the Persian culture and locations, which suggests that he lived in Persia and not Palestine. The case for Nehemiah includes his presence during the time and the likelihood that he knew Mordechai and the events in the book. He was also literate, knew the palace well, and had access to royal archives.

The Book of Esther was likely written between 464 and 415 BCE. This period is supported by evidence that it was written after the death of King Ahesuerus of Persia. Details such as knowledge of Persian customs and the use of Persian names supports this general period. Furthermore, events in the Book of Esther take place between events in Ezra 6 and Ezra 7.

Doubt about the time and information in the text revolves around questions of identity and uncertainty regarding redaction many years after the book was written. Notably, Ahasuerus is the Aramaic form of Xerxes. Xerxes reigned 485 to 465 BCE. His wife was queen Amestris. If Esther was the wife of Ahasuerus, either he had more than one wife or Ahasuerus is not the same person known in history as Xerxes. Also, the Book of Esther says Mordechai was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, with King Jeconiah of Judah. However, this event occurred more than a century before Xerxes took the throne.

The language of the book also offers hints as to its origin. The language is not influenced by the Greeks, so it likely was written before 330 BCE, when Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenian Dynasty of Persia. The Hebrew and Persian loanwords in the text suggest that it was written near the end of the Achaemenian Dynasty.

Some theorize that a Jewish scribe wrote the text when he was inspired by the story of Joseph in the court of Pharaoh—Joseph was a captive in Egypt who interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. Mordechai was a captive in Babylonia who saved Ahasuerus from assassination. Parallels with other books in the Jewish Bible also have been noted. The text describes Mordechai as a descendant of King Saul, and Haman as a descendant of Agag, the Amalekite king. Saul disobeyed God by not killing Agag and lost the throne to David. In the Book of Esther, Mordechai kills Haman and his children.

Summary

The Book of Esther is a tale of good and evil. The king’s chief minister, Haman, plans a mass murder of the Jewish people. The date of this genocide is chosen by casting lots, or purim. Cousins Esther and Mordechai are Jews who have gained status in the Persian court of Ahasuerus. Esther is the wife of King Ahasuerus. With her cousin, she persuades the king to stay the order of execution, and Haman is executed on the gallows instead of Mordechai. On the day chosen for their destruction, the Jews instead destroy their enemies. The feast of Purim, says the text, is a celebration of this day.

The book comprises three main sections. The first, in which Esther replaces Vashti as queen, encompasses chapters 1:1 to 2:18. Chapters 2:19 to 7:10 tell how Mordecai overcomes Haman. The third section, 8:1 to 10:3, tells of Israel’s triumph.

The story takes place in the city of Susa in the Persian Empire. Queen Vashti refuses to meet with her husband, King Ahasuerus, so he divorces her and looks for a new queen. Esther is a beautiful young woman who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai. She conceals her Jewish ancestry and joins the king’s harem, where she wins over the other women and the king. She eventually is named queen. She finds greater favor with her husband when her cousin discovers a plot to assassinate Ahasuerus and informs her. She alerts the king.

One day the king’s counselor, Haman, encounters Mordecai, who as a Jew, refuses to bow before him. Haman is offended and conspires to murder all the Jews in the empire. He tells the king people throughout his empire refuse to follow the king’s law. Ahasuerus agrees to permit Haman to implement his plan to execute them. The date of the massacre, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, is chosen by lot. When Esther learns of this plan, she fasts for three days. She goes to the king without an invitation, knowing that to do so is to risk death, but he is pleased to see her and offers her anything that she would like. She requests that he attend a banquet she has prepared and bring Haman as well. After the banquet takes place, she asks them to attend another banquet she will prepare the next day.

Meanwhile, Haman has ordered construction of a large gallows, where he plans to execute Mordecai. The king is stricken with insomnia and orders someone to read from his book of records. The entry about Mordecai’s warning of the assassination plans reminds him that he has not honored the man for his aid. He asks Haman how to honor someone for his service. Haman misunderstands, believing the king wishes to honor him, and offers his suggestion: royal robes, a horse from the king’s stables, and a parade through the city. The king orders Haman to honor Mordecai in this way. At the second banquet, the king again offers Esther anything she desires. She asks for her life and the lives of her people, revealing that she is Jewish, and Haman’s plan means her death as well. She wants him to punish Haman for his plan to kill the Jewish people, including her. King Ahasuerus orders Haman’s execution, and he is hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai.

Esther asks the king for permission to destroy her people’s enemies and he agrees. The Jews of Persia find all those in the empire who supported or worked for Haman, in all 127 provinces, and execute them. They number seventy-five thousand. Mordecai becomes the new adviser to the king.

Themes

The book contains multiple themes, many of which rely on exaggeration. Violence is one theme. The scale of the violence intended and perpetrated against groups is overwhelming. For example, the writer may use this as a satirical look at violence when the intended victims instead become the victors and are rejoicing in massive execution.

The book also examines community and how one might advocate for victims. Esther and Mordecai aid and support the king. This is in their best interests as well as his. However, when his decision threatens their people, they decide to risk their power and comfort to save their community.

Esther provides evidence of divine providence, or God’s governance as he directs humankind and indeed the universe, despite God’s omission from the original text. His influence is evident in the coincidences that help Esther and Mordecai gain the good graces of the king and foil the plot to destroy the Jewish people in Persia. God’s actions are evident in the king’s misunderstanding of Haman’s attempt to beg Esther to spare him. Haman throws himself on the couch where the queen is resting, but when the king enters the room, he believes that Haman is assaulting Esther and becomes more enraged.

Humor is a significant factor in the text. Much of the action and descriptions are exaggerated. For example, the feasts are extravagant, such as a banquet to which the king invites all his governors and nobles; it lasts for 180 days. Queen Vashti refuses to attend to the drunken king as he presides over a banquet, so he divorces her. The king’s word is law but is easily rescinded. The good are unbelievably virtuous while the bad are unrelentingly evil.

Theologically, the Book of Esther serves to remind individuals that the hand of God is at work even when it is not revealed. One may choose to see God’s influence or believe events are simply coincidence. The text also conveys the message that God is caring for his people. The many seemingly coincidental events can be taken as God’s influence.

Bibliography

Berlin, Adele. “The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling.” Journal of Biblical Literature, vol. 120, no. 1, 2001, pp. 3 – 14. DOI: 10.2307/3268590. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.

Dunbar, Ericka Shawndricka. Trafficking Hadassah: Collective Trauma, Cultural Memory, and Identity in the Book of Esther and in the African Diaspora. Routledge, 2021. Print.

Gilad, Elon. “Who Wrote the Book of Esther?” Haaretz, 4 Mar. 2015, www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-who-wrote-the-book-of-esther-1.5331950. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.

Goswell, Gregory. “The Main Character of the Book of Esther: The Contribution of the Textual Divisions and the Assigned Titles of the Book of Esther to Uncovering Its Protagonist.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 8 Dec. 2021, DOI: 10.1177/03090892211032243. Accessed 22 Apr. 2022.

Holt, Else K. Narrative and Other Readings in the Book of Esther. T&T Clark, 2021. Print.