Historical Setting
The book of Esther is set during the era when the Persians ruled over Judah, in the reign of King Xerxes (Hebrew “Ahasuerus”). The Jews became subjects of the Persian Empire when Cyrus the Great, king of Media and Persia, conquered Babylon in 539 BC. (Babylon had taken over Judah in 605 BC, and many Jews were deported to Babylon as captives from 605 to 586 BC.) Even though Cyrus had issued a decree allowing the Jewish captives to return to their homeland, many had chosen to remain in Babylon. After living there for almost half a century, they had become well settled and prosperous. The thought of returning to the ruined and isolated land of Judah had little appeal to them. Some of these Jews made their way even farther east, to the new seat of power in the Eastern world: Susa, the capital of Persia. There they again found that ambitious and capable individuals could attain positions of affluence and influence, as the case of Nehemiah, cupbearer for King Artaxerxes I, demonstrates. Esther’s story is set in this community of Persian Jews—far from their homeland, yet true to their heritage.
King Xerxes I (486–465 BC) is well known from the work of the Greek author Herodotus, who wrote The Histories, which includes a history of the Persian Wars, around 445 BC. Since the Greeks and the Persians were bitter enemies, Herodotus’s account must be read with a critical eye. But even so, with the aid of the 20 or so inscriptions attributed to Xerxes and with information from other classical authors, we can put together a decent profile of his early reign. Xerxes was the son of King Darius I and Queen Atossa, daughter of Cyrus the Great. He was the fourth legitimate monarch of the so-called Achaemenid Dynasty, which ruled Persia from Cyrus until the coming of Alexander the Great in 335 BC.
When Xerxes took the throne, he was confronted with insurrection: Egypt had begun to revolt during the days of Darius, and the province of Babylon revolted soon after Xerxes’ enthronement. Both revolts were put down efficiently. Xerxes dealt with Babylon harshly, destroying local temples and carrying away a large statue of the Babylonian principal deity Marduk. It is apparent that Xerxes was not as pious, at least toward foreign deities, as his grandfather Cyrus the Great had been.
Xerxes is most famous for his attempt to invade Greece, chronicled by Herodotus. In 481 BC, Xerxes’ forces marched inland and took the city of Athens, but they did not hold it for long. In 479 BC, the Greeks rallied and expelled the Persians from their land. Xerxes never attempted another invasion of Greece. Instead, he seems to have devoted the latter years of his reign to expanding Persepolis, a royal residence and Persian religious center.
The events recorded in Esther span the first half of Xerxes’ career. Esth. 1, in which Vashti is deposed as queen, is dated to the third year of Xerxes’ reign (1:3), which would have been before he left on his Greek campaign. The next dated event in the book is Esther’s installation as queen (Esth. 2:16); it is dated to the tenth month of the seventh year of Xerxes’ reign, which would have been a few months after his return from Greece. (The preparations of the candidates for queen, which took a full year [Esth. 2:12], would have begun while Xerxes was away in Greece.)
Our sources record little about events in Xerxes’ realm after his return to Persia. As a result, we cannot verify the story of Esther on the basis of external evidence. Indeed, some details of the story are difficult to reconcile with what we do know about Persian history. But scholars who support the historicity of the text argue that none of these difficulties is insurmountable.
Literary Context
One of the preliminary steps in interpreting a Biblical text is identifying its literary genre. Esther (like many Biblical books) has proven something of a challenge in this regard. While the text reads like a historical account (similar to the books of Kings and Chronicles), appearances can be deceptive. Modern novelists can embellish their stories with historical details and local color, not for the purpose of deception but for vividness and realism. Ancient authors often did the same.
The most pertinent examples of this device are found in the genre labeled “court tale,” the literary category with which Esther is most often associated. As the name implies, these stories are set in the royal court. The drama occurs when a hero uses skill or luck to foil enemy plots. In the process, the hero receives wealth, power and/or glory. (The Biblical stories of Joseph and Daniel are also examples of court tales.) The Tale of Ahiqar, about an Assyrian courtier who uses his wits to overcome a treacherous nephew’s machinations, was well known and loved by both Jews and other Near Eastern peoples. Court tales are frequently based on historical figures, and perhaps even on actual events. We have clear evidence that Ahiqar, though his tale (as it has come down to us) is probably largely fictional, actually existed. The stories told about him incorporate many figures from Assyrian history as well as authentic details of court life.
Besides the court tales, Esther is often compared to the Apocryphal book of Judith, which features a female heroine who uses her “sex appeal” to rescue the Jews from destruction. While not a court tale per se, Judith seems to be representative of a literary style that became popular in the mid to late Second Temple period: the “novel.” These novels often feature intrigue, clever heroes and prominent female characters. Another aspect of Esther that researchers have increasingly emphasized is its “comical” nature. Recent studies have demonstrated that humor is an underappreciated aspect of ancient Near Eastern literature. Self-important officials (like the villainous Haman in Esther) are frequently the targets of such lampoons. In the Babylonian story of Gimil-Ninurta, a mayor receives his comeuppance at the hands of a pauper.
Finally, when discussing Esther’s literary context, we cannot fail to take note of its conspicuously “secular” character. Not only is Esther the only Biblical book that contains no reference to God; it also contains no prayers, sacrifices or any other religious observances. To say that this absence is unusual would be an understatement: almost all ancient Near Eastern literature is permeated with religious language. The lack of religious references in the book of Esther is highly remarkable—and almost certainly intentional. Perhaps there is some deliberate irony intended, for God seems to lurk everywhere in the background of this book, in the unlikely coincidences and remarkable deliverances that make the story so entertaining. ◆
Key Concepts
• Chance and circumstance are fully within God’s providence.
• Reversal and irony are evidence of God’s hand in a book in which he is never mentioned by name.