It tells the story of a jewish girl named esther who became queen of persia and. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. Queen esther of the bible was now in a position of direct influence over the king. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. 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. If you know the story of the book of esther, you know it was she who ultimately was selected for that lofty position. She is assisted in this by mordecai, her cousin and guardian. The events in the book of esther probably took place around 521495 bc. It has clearly achieved this purpose, since jews have continued to observe purim to the present day. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The book of esther tells how a jewish girl became the queen of persia and saved her people from a plot to destroy them. Discussions of stories in genesis, such as the garden.
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. 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. 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. Did queen esthers beauty or bravery foil a massacre. Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the holiday of purim. Shea in this study of esther for the anchor bible series, c. The queen described in the book of nehemiah is queen esther. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the jews to kill their enemies, and they do so. Ester, born hadassah, is the heroine of the biblical scroll of esther. Esther, an orphaned girl, became queen of persia and delivered her people from ruin.
Esther, as depicted in the bible, was a pious woman who demonstrated great faith, resolve, mercy, and courage combined with reasonable caution. At the last minute, queen esther comes to the rescue, thwarts the evildoers plan and the jews are. Esther is the only book in the scripture which does not mention gods name. Esther queen of persia esther s wish the time had come for esther queen of persia, to appear before the king. Ahasuerus, king of persia, holds a royal banquet to honor the powerful men of his vast empire and display his enormous wealth.
Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. Unlike daniel, there seems to be no concern on the part of esther to keep the dietary laws. 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. 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 is one of only two books in the bible named for women. 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.
Today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Looking for some general background information to help you prepare for a class. Queen esther animated simple bible stories youtube. Esther 1 background information with maps and images. King xerxes of persia became offended with his queen vashti wanted to replace her. Esther put her life at risk and planned to save jews.
Hence it belongs to the bestknown ot books with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Queen esther of the bible is said to have ascended to the queenship in 479 b. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes. Most scholars, however, agree that this king represents xerxes i. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. 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. 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. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the kings banquet to show her beauty as the king wished. 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 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 was during a time just before the wall of jerusalem was rebuilt. A man named hegai was put in charge of preparing the women for meeting the king.
Queen vashti married a fool the story of vashti has 3 parts. Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther. The first wife of ahasuerus xerxes i, reigned 485465 b. 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.
Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. Esther s willingness to go into the kings bed chamber. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family, personal life, achievements, and timeline. The earliest date for the book would be shortly after the events narrated, i. The story of esther begins with a grand banquet at the palace of king ahasuerus, also referred to as king xerxes. Two theories exist regarding the identity of this persian king. Since ezra returned to jerusalem in about 475 bc, the book probably spans a period of ten years hughes 2001. Queen esther of the bible became queen to king ahasuerus of persia. 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.
He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. Let me share a brief background with you on the book of esther. Now haman the minister to the persian king plotted to eradicate the jewish race. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. The book of esther takes place in susa modern day iran in the court of a persian king, xerxes or ahasuerus. According to the bible, she was a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Awardwinning author jill eileen smiths latest biblical fiction novel, star of persia. Moore divided the arguments against the historicity of the book into three groups. Of all characters in the book, esther alone undergoes growth and surprises the reader by unpredictable developments. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Queen esther and her cousin and foster father, mordecai. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. 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.
Towards the end of the banquet when he is drunk, the king orders his wife to appear before. 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 septuagint lxx and josephus claim this king was artaxerxes ii. Esther, the jewish queen of persia geni family tree. 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. To her adopted father, mordecai, she was a dutiful daughter who was obedient to his wishes and heedful to his counsels. Queen vashti, bible woman married to a dangerous fool. 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. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Esther is encouraged by mordicai to conceal her jewishness. 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.
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. During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. 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. Esther s cousin mordecai had taken esther in and raised her as his own after esther s parents had died. Esther queen of persia devotional reflections from the bible. All the letters of the hebrew alphabet are found in esther 3. 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. 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. The least likely was chosen by god to step up in order to save.
However, we should not equate nervousness with lack of faith. This is a summary of the biblical account of queen esther. Esther was written to explain the origin of the feast of purim and to ensure that it would be observed by all future generations of the jewish people. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia esther 1. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order.
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