For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their. The story told in the book of esther takes place during the rule of ahasuerus, who amongst others has been identified as the 5thcentury persian king xerxes i reigned 486465 bc. This book and the book of ruth are the only ot books named after women. The only internal evidence that the reader is provided is that the events of the book occurred during a. Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. The military leaders of persia and media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order. Permission is granted to store, print, and distribute this document for its intended use. Although it provides the blueprint for the festival of purim, the origins of the book of esther remain obscure. It seems that the book was written after the death of ahasuerus when his official state history had been compiled 1. It gives us a glimpse of the jews who remained outside their homeland after the exile, particularly the jews living in the persian empire. Haman, the conniving chief minister at ahasuerus court, decreed to kill all the.
Shea in this study of esther for the anchor bible series, c. Book of second chronicles overview insight for living. Adopted and raised by her cousin mordecai, esther, whose name is derived from the persian stara, star, plays a crucial role in the event of persecution and deliverance of the jews in the ancient persian empire that the late biblical book or scroll of esther. Mar 19, 2017 the book of esther belongs to ketuvim writings, which is the third division of the tanakh the hebrew bible. The book of esther is a romantic and patriotic tale, perhaps with some historical basis but with so little religious purpose the book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings.
Astin was a queen of persia and the first wife of persian king ahasuerus in the book of esther, a book included in the tanakh hebrew bible and the old testament christian bible and read on the jewish holiday of purim. For the historical background to the book of ruth see the discussion in the argument on judges. Here we see that the author chose a fascinating literary choice never once is god mentioned in. The book of esther is a story designed to echo israels literary history to encourage and inspire national hope for a good future. The events in the book of esther probably took place around 521495 bc.
The writer of esther clearly intended the book to explain the origin of the celebration of purim, to institutionalize it as a commemoration of the great deliverance of the jews during the persian period see note on esther 9. The author also displays an accurate knowledge of persian customs and palaces. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. Why is israel in the book of esther still so far from their promised land. Esther 1 background information with maps and images. An indepth analysis of the megilla reveals its profundity as well as many practical ramifications. The book of esther was written during a time when the persian empire ruled the world and ahasuerus probably xerxes i was the king of persia. Book of ruth class notes center point bible institute. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it. Intimate knowledge of the topography of susa and the persian royal palaces 10. Esther 1 background information with maps and images picture. The historical framework of megillat esther vbm haretzion. The opening verses of esther place these events in a historical timeline.
There are certain elements of the book of esther that are historically accurate. The 70 years of babylonian supremacy had come to an end with the overthrow of the city by cyrus the persian. The events of the book of esther occurred between those found in ezra 6 and ezra 7 extending over a. God is not mentioned by name in the book of esther. Even though the book of esther claims to be a strictly historical account, ever since j th. Feasting is another prominent theme in esther, as shown in. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author.
Esther is an entertaining historical story that also reveals important truths about how and why. The book reflects the background of the jewish dispersion. But first i need to point out that the issue under question is the historical accuracy of the book of esther, not the related midrashim. Tradition says mordechai wrote the book of esther, but surely he wouldnt have gotten the timing of his own. Feb 09, 2016 esther continued to hide her jewish background as mordecai had instructed her to do because he knew it would be dangerous for her if anyone found out she was a jew. Title esther serves as the title without variation through the ages. Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival purim. Esther is an entertaining historical story that also reveals important truths about how and why the jews survived such an overwhelming threat. 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. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third. The book of esther background and outline of the book if we were to pick a passage from the book which could serve as a summary of the whole story, it would be from chapter 9.
Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival. In fulfulment of the words of daniel the prophet, there would. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. As humorous as some of its images may be, the latent messages are rich in meaning and significance.
Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. In addition, there is no reference to religious institutions or practices except fasting, making the task of adducing a theology of the book doubly difficult. A grave injustice is done to megillat esther when it is portrayed as one big satire. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of esther in his audio message from the classic. Stanley, the history of the jewish church, new york. Esther in biblical historical context the jews of judah and jerusalem were taken into captivity in babylon when nebuchadnezzar sacked the city and burnt the city in 586 bc. One night when mordecai was sitting by the kings gate, he overheard two guards named bigthana and teresh conspiring to assassinate king xerxes. Today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Much could be said about this topic of course, but based on some of my favorite commentaries, ive identified three influences that, for the purposes of. Sep 10, 2018 the book of esther is a story designed to echo israels literary history to encourage and inspire national hope for a good future. Esther and mordecai show great initiative and courage.
The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the books. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. Esther intro to esther biblica the international bible society. Feasting is another prominent theme in esther, as shown in the outline below. The postexilic books of 12 chronicles, haggai and zechariah were written to encourage the remnant who had returned to the land of yahwehs covenant with his people. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the kings banquet to show her beauty as the king wished. We certainly know that many, perhaps most, midrashim were intended to relay allegorical religious messages and not to decsribe historical facts, as commentators such as maharal and maharsha demonstrate at length. 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. All the letters of the hebrew alphabet are found in esther 3. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. The book of esther tells how a jewish girl became the queen of persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries. Like song of solomon, obadiah, and nahum, the nt doe.
Vashti, xerxes, haman, mordecai, and esther, gods absence in the book, and a final section on the greek versions of esther. Historical setting, authorship, and date of esther. The hebrew word mishteh, meaning banquet, occurs 20 times in esther which is equal to the total of all the other times it is found in the rest of. Esther is the only historical book in the greek old testament that has a subscription. This is a broad strategy to historical attacks on jewish traditions. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. The story of esther takes place in the persian empire during the reign of ahasuerus, known more familiarly to us by the greek form of his name, xerxes i. Recently, the historicity of the biblical book of esther whether the book is historically true has been called into question an a most bold and audacious manner. Sep 17, 2012 today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Megillat esther, the book of esther in the form that we have it in the hebrew bible, provides the story of the origin of purim, the blueprint for its celebration, and the authorization for its observance in perpetuity.
On the one hand, the book of esther provides the strongest canonical warrant in the whole old testament for the religious significance of the jewish people in an ethnic sense. The times of esther and mordecai were one of great activity in the divine purpose. Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish. A classic story of good versus evil, the book of esther is a unique account in the bible. 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 is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the book s. It is a tale of deliverance, and the influences of other biblical deliverance narratives, such as joseph, moses and the judges, naturally imprint the organization of esthers rhythm as the reader cycles.
Historical setting as we have already noted, ruth is set during the period of the judges 1. This was during a time just before the wall of jerusalem was rebuilt. Moore divided the arguments against the historicity of the book into three groups. Esthers story is one of the most remarkable stories from the ancient near east worldit is one of the few stories we even have from that era in any.
And what in the world does that have to do with us, living in the last days of the church age. Much could be said about this topic of course, but based on some of my favorite commentaries, ive identified three influences that, for the purposes of our discussions here, should be introducedpurim, persia, and patriarchy. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel. The inclusion of esther within the christian canon serves as a check against all attempts to spiritualize the concept of israelusually by misinterpreting pauland thus removing the ultimate scandal of biblical particularity. Some historical background for esther the persian empire i dont know about you, but i am very excited about our new sermon series on esther that is going to take us through the summer. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia. During this time period, the first remnant of jews who had returned to judah were struggling to reestablish temple worship according to the law of moses. Assuming that esther was the queen of xerxes i 486465 b. But it shows clearly that, even when god is most hidden, he is still working to protect his chosen people. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. The author was more concerned with telling the story of davids descendants, who reigned over judah, than with the history of the. Even if the story is just a parable, its lessons remain equally strong. The texts style of hebrew and its lack of corroborating historical information from ancient persia suggest that the book of esther was not authored until well after the time it claims to describe. Background to the book of esther the story of esther takes place in the persian empire during the reign of ahasuerus, known more familiarly to us by the greek form of his name, xerxes i.
Very few bible scholars believe now in the historicity of the book of esther, but what is really incomprehensible is that their conclusion is based only on the following prejudice. God promised through jeremiah, isaiah and ezekiel that they would be restored to the land jer. The heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit. The great prophets of israel taught us moral, not historical, lessons. Esthers brave actions saved the jews from massacre and preserved the lineage of christ. The author of esther patterned much of his material on the events of the joseph story see notes on 2. The story itself is implausible as history and, as many scholars now agree, it is. The book of esther belongs to ketuvim writings, which is the third division of the tanakh the hebrew bible. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483 bc to 473 bc, during the first half of the reign of king xerxes, who chose esther as his queen. It is a tale of deliverance, and the influences of other biblical deliverance narratives, such as joseph, moses and the judges, naturally imprint the organization of esthers. Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women.
For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be. This morning, we need to do a background study on the book of esther in order to understand the historical context and application of this book. Some may respond that the book can be true even if it is not historically accurate. Discover purims exciting origins in the book of esther. Esther is the only book in the scripture which does not mention gods name.