Ahasuerus needed a queen to replace queen vashti, whom he had banished from the kingdom in a drunken rage some years earlier. The book of esther tells how a jewish girl became the queen of persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes. Esther, the jewish queen of persia geni family tree.
Esther 1 background information with maps and images. In facing it, she gains three powers that could not have been foreseen from her early behavior. The earliest date for the book would be shortly after the events narrated, i. The book of esther takes place in susa modern day iran in the court of a persian king, xerxes or ahasuerus. Esther queen of persia devotional reflections from the bible. This is a summary of the biblical account of queen esther.
A man named hegai was put in charge of preparing the women for meeting the king. During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. Esther s story, is a fascinating look into the life of the beautiful queen esther, whose favor with king xerxes is put to the ultimate test as she risks her life to save her people from death. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. Let me share a brief background with you on the book of esther. The queen described in the book of nehemiah is queen esther. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. Discussions of stories in genesis, such as the garden. Two theories exist regarding the identity of this persian king. Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the.
Ahasuerus, king of persia, holds a royal banquet to honor the powerful men of his vast empire and display his enormous wealth. The book of esther is a book in the ketuvim, the third section of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and is part of the christian old testament. This discovery of ancient persian servants of xerxes from the 5th century bc is important in the study of biblical archaeology and the persian period. Esther s cousin mordecai had taken esther in and raised her as his own after esther s parents had died. 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. Queen esther and her cousin and foster father, mordecai. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the kings banquet to show her beauty as the king wished. Esther is a book in the old testament of the bible. The book of esther is located in the old testament and is one of two books in the bible named after a woman, the other being the book of ruth.
The story of esther begins with a grand banquet at the palace of king ahasuerus, also referred to as king xerxes. 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. However, we should not equate nervousness with lack of faith. 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. The kings chief adviser, haman, is offended by esthers cousin and guardian, mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the jews in the kingdom killed. Esther is the only book in the scripture which does not mention gods name. Esther put her life at risk and planned to save jews. This was during a time just before the wall of jerusalem was rebuilt.
They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order. She is assisted in this by mordecai, her cousin and guardian. 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. The first wife of ahasuerus xerxes i, reigned 485465 b. Esther s willingness to go into the kings bed chamber. Even though she had great faith in god, she was still human. Inductive study of esther historical background chronologically, esther falls in the middle of ezra, probably between chapters six and seven, around 485 bc during the early years of the reign of king ahasuerus creelman 1917, 291. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. The authors knowledge of persian customs, the setting of the story in the city of susa and the absence of any reference to conditions or circumstances in the land of judah suggest that he was a resident of a persian city. Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. Thus queen esther of the bible, the orphaned jewish daughter of abihail, raised by her uncle mordecai, became officially known as esther queen of persia, the largest empire the world had known.
The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. Queen esther of the bible was now in a position of direct influence over the king. Esther, as depicted in the bible, was a pious woman who demonstrated great faith, resolve, mercy, and courage combined with reasonable caution. When, several years later, nehemiah asked the persian king for permission to return to zion and rebuild jerusalem, the queen is seating by him nehemia 2. To her adopted father, mordecai, she was a dutiful daughter who was obedient to his wishes and heedful to his counsels. 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. It recounts the deliverance of the jews from persecution in the persian empire, a deliverance accomplished by the timely actions of two jewish members of the foreign court. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Queen esther of the bible became queen to king ahasuerus of persia. Of all characters in the book, esther alone undergoes growth and surprises the reader by unpredictable developments. Queen esther animated simple bible stories youtube.
The book of esther clearly demonstrates gods love for his people even when they are in a foreign land far away from the land of their inheritance. 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. Set amid the intrigue of the persian court, the story relates how esther, the adopted daughter of a jewish exile living in shushan susa, was introduced to the persian. Most scholars, however, agree that this king represents xerxes i. Queen esther of the bible is said to have ascended to the queenship in 479 b. Since ezra returned to jerusalem in about 475 bc, the book probably spans a period of ten years hughes 2001. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. Esther, an orphaned girl, became queen of persia and delivered her people from ruin. Esther, according to the book of esther, was a hebrew woman from persia, who became the queen of king ahasuerus, also known as xerxes i. According to the bible, she was a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther. Ester, born hadassah, is the heroine of the biblical scroll of esther.
Did queen esthers beauty or bravery foil a massacre. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so. It tells the story of a jewish girl named esther who became queen of persia and. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia esther 1. What was the relationship between mordecai and esther. Esther reigned as the queen of persia for a period of about years. Shea in this study of esther for the anchor bible series, c. Esther was the daughter of abihail, and her guardianmentor was mordecai. The king agreed, the decree was made, and vashti lost her place as queen, setting up the opportunity for esther to be selected as one of the kings wives and eventually to save her people. Unlike daniel, there seems to be no concern on the part of esther to keep the dietary laws. Now haman the minister to the persian king plotted to eradicate the jewish race. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the jews to kill their enemies, and they do so.
Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the holiday of purim. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family, personal life, achievements, and timeline. Towards the end of the banquet when he is drunk, the king orders his wife to appear before. King xerxes of persia became offended with his queen vashti wanted to replace her.
Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. The septuagint lxx and josephus claim this king was artaxerxes ii. Today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Esther became the wife of king ahasuerus of persia, also known as xerxes or achashverosh, the son of darius i hystaspes about the year 478bc. Awardwinning author jill eileen smiths latest biblical fiction novel, star of persia. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. You can read more indepth bible verses from the scripture below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning of this teachable event in the bible. Esther is encouraged by mordicai to conceal her jewishness.
Hence it belongs to the bestknown ot books with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Looking for some general background information to help you prepare for a class. Queen vashti married a fool the story of vashti has 3 parts. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women.
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