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Position of Esther in the Hebrew Scriptures

The Hebrew Scriptures have three parts: the law, prophets and writings. Esther is in the Writings (Hagiographa), the third part of Hebrew scriptures. The Writings also had three parts:

Esther was in the Megilloth, which consisted of five scrolls, used in Hebrew worship. Each scroll was connected with one of the Jewish festivals.

When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek Septuagint (LXX), many of the books were reordered and the Book of Esther was placed at the end of the section of historical books, where it is in modern translations of the Bible.

Historical background

There were three returns from exile in Babylon

Chronology of Esther

Main characters

Ahasuerus - King of Persia

In Greek, his name is Xerxes, normally identified as Xerxes I (485-465). In the Septuagint (LXX) he is called Artaxerxes, which is probably not correct. Herodotus, the Persian historian describes Ahasuerus as a hot-tempered, ambitious, bold warrior with vision and confidence, but suffering from superstitious fears. He often sought advice from others and followed it, and was known for his exploits with women.

In 484 BC, his second year, he harshly suppressed a revolt in Egypt, and plundered temples.

In 483 BC, his third year, he called an assembly together to consider a military expedition against Greece. This was probably the great feast of Esther (ch 1). He deposed Vashti before he left.

From 483 to 480 BC he amassed a huge army and navy and made a disastrous invasion of Greece, which was a great failure. This is probably predicted in the Book of Daniel, "Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth (Xerxes) shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong enough through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece." (Dan 11:2).

This accounts for the chronological gap in the book between the third and seventh years of his reign. In the third year of his reign (483 BC) he held the banquet and Vashti refused to come (1:3). Then in the seventh year of his reign (478 BC) the king married Esther (2:16).

Ahasuerus is also mentioned in Ezra 4:6. This part of the book is later than the rest of Ezra as an example of opposition to the rebuilding of the walls.

Esther - the heroine of the story

Esther was the orphaned cousin of Mordecai. Her name in Hebrew was 'Hadassah' (2:7), which means 'myrtle'. Her Persian name was Esther, either from the Babylonian goddess Isthar, or from 'Sitar', meaning 'star'. The use of her Persian name helped keep her Jewish nationality secret. She was an orphan, who was adopted and brought up by her cousin Mordecai following the death of her parents. She is described as being fair and beautiful. Jewish rabbis claimed that Esther was one of the four most beautiful women in history, along with Sarah, Rahab and Abigail (Megillah 15a). She showed great bravery in approaching the king without being asked (4:11,16). Josephus wrote this about approaching the king, "Now the king had made a law, that none of his own people should approach him unless they were called, when he sat on the throne; and men, with axes in their hands, stood around about his throne, in order to punish such as approached to him without being asked." (Ant 11:6:3)

Esther's son was probably king Artaxerxes I. Esther may be the queen who was sitting next to Artaxerxes when Nehemiah requested permission to return to Jerusalem (Neh 2:6).

Herodotus describes Xerxes's wife as being Amestris (History 7:61), the daughter of a Persian general renowned for her cruelty, who accompanied the king on the campaign to Greece. He divorced her because she attacked the mother of one of the king's mistresses and nearly started a revolution.

There are three different explanations of this apparent difference between the Bible and Herodotus. The first is that Amestris is Esther, the names sound similar. However the son of Amestris and Xerxes (Artaxerxes I) was born before 483 BC and accompanied the king on the battle against Greece. He must have been born at least twenty years before Esther became queen. The second is that Amestris is Vashti. This is more possible, but Amestris went to Greece after the events of chapter one, when Vashti was deposed. The third, and most likely suggestion, is that the king had more than one wife. Amestris was described by Herodotus as the wife of Xerxes, rather than a queen. It is likely that Amestris was a mistress or concubine, rather than a queen.

Herodotus also wrote that the wife of the king was required to be chosen from one of the seven noble families (History 3:84). These are the seven officials of the Medes and Persians (1:14). Ahasuerus seemed to have quite a reputation with women, so this regulation was almost certainly ignored. His wife Amestris was the daughter of an Otanes, who was not from one of the seven noble families.

In the centre of the modern city of Hamadan, near the site of Ecbatana, there is the synagogue of Esther and Mordecai which contains two sarcophagi covered with brocaded cloth, which are claimed to be burial sites of Esther and Mordecai. It is an important pilgrimage site for Jews.

Mordecai - the hero of the story

Mordecai was great-grandson of Kish. He was a Benjamite, the same tribe as Saul. Kish had been taken to exile with king Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) in 597 BC (2:6). This was 124 years earlier, which fits the chronology of him being Mordecai's great-grandfather. Mordecai's name is derived from Marduk, the god of the Babylonians.

Some inscriptions from Persia mention a certain Marduka (a Babylonian name similar to Mordecai) who was a high official in the royal court of Susa during the reign of Xerxes I. There is another man named Mordecai listed as one of the leaders of the exiles who returned with Zerubbabel in 536 BC (Ezra 2:2, Neh 7:7), who is also mentioned in 1 Esdras 5:8.

Haman - the villain of the story

Haman was appointed by Ahasuerus as a high official, above all other officials. Haman's father's name Hammedatha is a Persian name. Haman is described as an Agagite (3:1). This could possibly mean that he was a descendent of king Agag of the Amalekites, spared by Saul in disobedience to God (1 Sam 15:9). If that is true, then this story is a continuation of the conflict with the Amalekites started in Ex 17. Josephus describes Haman as an Amalekite (Ant 11:6:5). Otherwise Agag may be the name of a district in the Persian empire, which is mentioned in an Assyrian inscription of Sargon. He was a very superstitious man, choosing the day of the massacre of the Jews by casting lots to find a 'lucky day' (3:7).

Location - the palace of Ahasuerus in Susa

Many of the events of the Book of Esther took place in the palace of Ahasuerus in Susa, the winter residence of the Persian kings, the ancient capital of Elam. A beautiful palace complex has been excavated by French archaeologists between 1897 and 1979. The throne room, harem and garden have all been identified from the ruins. Even one of the dice, known as a puru, for casting lots has been found and is now held by the Yale Peabody Museum.

The excavations by the archaeologists have shown that the author of the Book of Esther was very familiar with the layout of the palace. The details in the Book of Esther as so precise that the exact places in the palace can be identified. These are the court of the garden of the king's palace where the banquet lasting for seven days was held (1:5), the harem where Esther and the other young virgins were gathered (2:3), the king's gate where Mordecai sat (2:19), the inner court opposite the king's hall where Esther stood before entering into the presence of the king (5:1a), the throne room where the king was sitting (5:1b), and the outer courtyard where Haman waited to speak to the king (6:4).

Dates in the Book of Esther

The Feast of Purim - 13-15th Adar

In Jewish synagogues the book of Esther is read during this feast, there are boos and shouts from the congregation when Haman's name is mentioned. The word 'pur' (Est 3:7, 9:24,26) means 'lot'. It is not a Hebrew word, but is from the Assyrian 'Puru', meaning 'pebble', which were used for casting lots.

The feast of Purim is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible. After the Maccabean revolt, a decree was made to celebrate Judas Maccabeaus defeating Nicanor on 13th of 12th month (Adar) in 161 BC. This was the day before Mordecai's day, or Purim, on 14th Adar (2 Macc 15:36). In the parallel passage in 1 Maccabees, Nicanor's day was on 13th Adar, but Purim is not mentioned (1 Macc 7:49). Josephus wrote that Nicanor's day was on 13th Adar, and Purim on 14th Adar. After the seventh century AD, Nicanor's day was no longer celebrated, and 13th Adar became part of the festival of Purim. The 13th was a day of fasting, known as Esther's fast, and the two days 14th and 15th were days of feasting.

Author

The author is unknown, but could perhaps be Mordecai himself (9:20, 32). According to the book. much of the material was written in the court records, the annals of the Kings of Media and Persia (6:1, 10:2). This would explain the omission of the name of God and no mention of prayer, although God's influence is alluded to. The author gives an eye-witness account, and clearly is familiar with life in the Persian capital city. According to Clement of Alexandria, the author was Mordecai, but the Talmud and Augustine say that Ezra was the author.

Date of writing

The book must have been written sometime shortly after the end of the reign of Ahasuerus, after 465 BC, as his reign is referred to in the past tense (1:1).

Theology of the book of Esther

The hidden hand of God

Together with the Song of Solomon, the Book of Esther contains no mention of any of the names or titles of God. By contrast the king of the Persians is mentioned 192 times, the kingdom of the Persians 26 times, and his name 'Ahasuerus' occurs 29 times.

Although God’s name is never mentioned, there is a veiled reference to God. "For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter ... Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this." (4:14).

Yahweh acrostics

It has been noted that the holy name of God, the tetragrammaton YHWH, appears four times in acrostic form (1:20, 5:4,13, 7:7). In Hebrew, YHWH consists of the four consonants Yod, He, Vav, and He. In English, this is normally written as YHWH, but would be YWVH in Hebrew. This is known as the 'hidden hand' in the Book of Esther. In two occasions it is spelled backwards (1:20, 5:13), and the other two occasions it is spelled forwards (5:4, 7:7). When YHWH is spelled backwards, God is overruling the plots of the Gentiles in order to accomplish his own plans. When his name is spelled forwards in the normal order, God is working directly for the interests of his own people, even though his work is hidden from sight.

There are several ancient Hebrew manuscripts of the Book of Esther in which the letters of YHWH in these four acrostics are written in a larger font than the other letters, known as Majuscular letters, rather like capital letters, so they stand out prominently. In the Hebrew Masoretic Text, there are notes known as the Massorah, drawing attention to these acrostics.

Each acrostic is spoken by a different speaker. The first is said by Memucan, one of the seven officials of Persia and Media, a Gentile (1:20), the the second is said by Esther, a Jew (5:4), the third by Haman, a Gentile (5:13), and the fourth by the narrator, a Jew (7:7).

This shows that Divine providence is at work in the story of Esther and the preservation of the Jews, even though God is not explicitly mentioned.

First acrostic (1:20) "all women will give"

The acrostic uses the initial letters of each word, but is spelled backwards (left to right in Hebrew). It uses initial letters because God is initiating the action, the backward spelling shows he is rolling back and overruling over affairs of mankind.

Y	H	V	H
they will give	the women	and all of	she

Second acrostic (5:4) "let the king and Haman come"

The acrostic uses initial letters of words spelled forwards (right to left in Hebrew). Again the initial letters show that God is initiating the actions. The normal forward spelling shows that God is ruling and causing Esther to act by the invitation to the banquet, the first step in God's plan.

H	V	H	Y
this day	and Haman	the king	let come

Third acrostic (5:13) "this does me no good"

This acrostic uses the final letters of each word, but spelled backwards (left to right in Hebrew). The use of final letters in the acrostic shows that the end of the plot was coming. The backward spelling shows that God was overruling Haman's delight in receiving the invitation, and turning back his plot.

Y	H	V	H
this	does	nothing	to me

Fourth acrostic (7:7) "evil was determined against him"

The acrostic uses the final letters of each word spelled forwards (right to left in Hebrew). Again, the use of the final letters in the acrostic shows that Haman's end had come, and the use of the normal forward spelling shows that the sovereign God was in control, and bringing the conclusion that he had determined.

H	V	H	Y
evil	against him	was determined	that

'I AM' acrostic

The fifth acrostic (7:5) - the 'I AM' "Who is he, and where is he?"

The acrostic uses the final letters of each word spelled forwards (right to left in Hebrew). Instead of the holy name for God, YHWH, this has the letters EHYH, meaning 'I AM'. This is also noted in some manuscripts by the use of Majuscular (capital) letters. The acrostic is formed by the final letters, and the name is spelled backwards.

King Ahasuerus asks Esther, "Who is he, and where is he, who has presumed to do this?". Esther's reply is, "A foe and enemy, this wicked Haman!" (7:5), who plotted to destroy the Jews. Without realising it, by asking the question, Ahasuerus actually states the personal name of the God who delivered his people out of slavery in Egypt, from the hand of Pharaoh. Haman, as the enemy of the Jews, was acting like the Pharaoh of Egypt to destroy the Jewish people. The Israelites suffering in Egypt cried out for help, and their cries were heard by God (Ex 2:23-25). When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, and Moses asked what his name was, the answer was, "I AM WHO I AM" (Ex 3:14). As in Egypt, through Haman, Satan was again attempting to destroy the Jews and prevent the coming of the Messiah. Ahasuerus was asking which person was plotting to destroy the Jews, but only the 'I AM' really knew that Satan was directing the Haman's plans. The great 'I AM' is about to deliver the Jews from Haman, just as he had delivered the Israelites from Egypt.

H	Y	H	E
this man	where is	this man	who is

Reversal of Haman's plot

The word 'Jew' appears eight times, and only twice in the rest of the OT, and the plural form 'Jews' appears 47 times in Esther and 27 times in the rest of the OT. In the Hebrew text, there are six places where the word 'Jews' is spelled in an unusual way, with a double yodh (4:7, 8:1,7,13, 9:15, 18), instead of a single yodh. The yodh looks a bit like a single quotation mark. In the images below it is the second character from the left for the single yodh, and the second and third characters for the double yodh. As Hebrew is written from right to left, the yodh is the penultimate character of the usual word for 'Jews'.

'Jews' with single yodh
'Jews' with double yodh

The words for 'hand' and for 'Yahweh' both begin with a yodh, which suggests that the author has used the unusual spelling of 'Jews' to show that the hand of Yahweh was over his people, without mentioning his name.

Each of the six times the double yodh is used there is a link with the reversal of the plot of Haman against the Jews. In the passages quoted below the word Jews in bold indicates the use of the double yodh.

1. Haman to fund the plot (4:7)

The first use begins the reversal of Haman's plot as Mordecai mentions the money that Haman had promised to the king for his plot against the Jews. "And Mordecai told him (Hathach the king's eunuch) all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews" (4:7).

2. Stealing the possessions of the Jews (8:1)

Haman's house was given to the Jews. "On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews" (8:1). Instead of Haman looting the possessions of the Jews, his own house became the property of the Jews.

3. Hanging Mordecai (8:7)

Haman was hanged on the same gallows that he built to hang Mordecai. "See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews" (8:7).

4. Killing the Jews (8:17)

Haman's original plan to kill the Jews as written as an edict and distributed to all the provinces (3:12-13). A new decree is now being issued and distributed to negate the effects of the original decree. "A copy of the writ was to be issued as a decree in every province and published to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take revenge on their enemies" (8:17).

5. Scattering the Jews (9:15)

Haman had complained that the Jews were scattered all about the kingdom (3:8). This situation was now being reversed as the Jews gathered to defend themselves. "The Jews who were in Susa gathered also on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and they killed three hundred persons in Susa ..." (9:15)

6. Complaint about Jews not obeying the king (9:15)

The Jews finally gather as a unified nation to celebrate Purim. Haman had complained about the Jewish religious practices and the failure to observe the Persian laws (3:8). The final reversal is when the Jews are given a new festival to celebrate as a result of the failure of Haman's plot. "But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth, making that day of feasting and gladness." (9:18).

Significance of the book

This book has great significance to Jews, as it describes the origin and reason for the Feast of Purim, but what significance does it have to us today? It gives assurance of God's protection over his people, however severe the threat to their existence, as well as demonstrating that God directs events even when unseen and unmentioned.

Esther shows us two conflicting world views. Haman represents the atheist, believing in fate and chance, someone who uses power to his own ends, being petty minded and self-important. Mordecai represents someone who takes initiative, but is involved in the pattern of history that God is directing. Esther becoming queen was not a random chance event, but was through the work of God, the unseen ruler of world affairs (4:14)

Rejection of the book

The Book of Esther was always accepted in the Hebrew canon and by Josephus. Luther rejected it as being too Jewish. Others ignored it. No Christian commentary was written on it until the seventh century.

Greek additions to the book of Esther

Although fasting is mentioned, there is no mention of prayer, worship or praise. The Greek translators of the Septuagint (LXX) added passages to make God's work more explicit, including guidance by dreams, prayers and prayers being answered, giving it an increased religious content.

The version of Esther in the Hebrew Bible has 163 verses, but in the Greek translation, there are an extra 107 verses, making a total of 270 verses. The extra verses were added when Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation was made. A footnote to addition F (11:1) dates the translation into Greek in the fourth year Ptolemy and Cleopatra (114 BC). In the Latin Vulgate translation, all the extra sections were collected together at the end of the book, and at the Reformation they were removed to the Apocrypha.

The dream of Mordecai and its meaning is an excellent example of apocalyptic literature, making it very helpful in the approach to reading the Book of Revelation.

Structure

Esther has a chiastic structure set around the turning point of the king's sleepless night (6:1), between the danger facing the Jews from Haman and their salvation through the action of Esther and Mordecai.

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