The English title is the name of the heroine of the story. The title carries over from the Hebrew Bible.
Key Text: 4:14b
"Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?"
Key Term: "Providence"
This book is famous because it does not directly mention God. Yet one cannot understand the story apart from God's remarkable presence and providence with His people—however invisible He may seem to be at times.
One-Sentence Summary
Esther, a Jewish beauty selected by Persian king Ahasuerus to become his new queen, saved the Jews from Haman's wicked plot, so her relative Mordecai established the yearly Jewish feast of Purim.
The Megillah of Esther, a scroll made from parchment, the product of a kosher animal.
Author and Date of Writing
Unknown, Perhaps Mordecai Around 465 bc
The book is anonymous, but according to Jewish tradition, the author was Mordecai. There is no reason he could not have composed the book since he was an eyewitness to everything that occurred (or had direct access to eyewitnesses). As Ahasuerus' s prime minister, he is a likely candidate for adding this incident to the official Persian archives (9:32; 10:2). The writer was gifted in developing plot and narrative tension and wrote with considerable literary skill.
First Audience and Destination
Jewish Exiles Living in Persia
The first ones to hear Esther were Jews in Persia, sometime after the feast of Purim had become an established custom. By this time the postexilic people of Israel had adopted the name "Jew," for the term Jew(s) occurs more often in the book of Esther than in the rest of the Old Testament combined.
Occasion
The book of Esther was prompted in general by the desire to preserve the origins of the feast of Purim. Since the author is not known, the specific occasion is unclear.
God's Message in Esther
Purpose
Esther primarily preserves the historical origins of the Jewish festival of Purim. Secondarily it portrays God's providential care of people committed to Him in the midst of overwhelming challenges to their faith. In this sense Esther functions similarly to Ruth, the only other biblical book named for a woman. The characters Esther and Ruth, however, are a study in contrasts: the one was a powerful and wealthy Jew who always lived outside the Promised Land and became the bride of a pagan king; the other was a humble and impoverished Gentile who moved to the Promised Land and became an ancestor of Israelite kings. People who read and study Esther today should enjoy it for its own sake in its Old Testament setting.
First pass
Ahasuerus's Feast
The events of Esther took place during the reign of Ahasuerus (Hebrew), commonly identified with Xerxes I (485–464 bc). The setting is Susa, the winter resort of Persian kings (Neh 1:1; Dn 8:2). Ahasuerus called an extended feast that lasted for 180 days, during which he displayed the splendor of the Persian Empire. It culminated in a seven-day banquet of luxurious dining. On the seventh day of the banquet, the king, "feeling good from the wine," called for Queen Vashti to come before him and the banquet guests so he could show off her beauty. Vashti refused and so she lost her royal position.
Esther Becomes Queen
A search was made for a replacement for Vashti. The woman chosen was Esther, a young Jew whose cousin and legal guardian, Mordecai, may have served the king as a gatekeeper. Mordecai, at an earlier time, had discovered a plot to kill Ahasuerus. The two culprits were hanged on gallows, and Mordecai's heroism was recorded.
Haman's Plot
Haman the Agagite (who seems to be identified as a descendant of Agag, king of the Amalekites) was made prime minister of Persia. Infuriated by Mordecai's refusal to bow to him, Haman began to plot against Mordecai and all of the Jews. After Haman had the Persian monarch sign a decree for the destruction of the Jews on an appointed day, Mordecai and all of the Jews lamented their impending doom. Neither Haman nor the King was yet aware of Esther's ethnic background.
Mordecai Appeals to Esther
Mordecai called on Esther to approach the king. He reminded her that as a Jew she would not escape and that it might be the case that "for such a time as this" God had allowed her to rise to the position of queen of Persia. Esther, after fasting and prayer, risked her life by entering the king's throne room unbidden. After the king extended the royal scepter to her, she requested the king's presence at a banquet prepared in his honor. Haman was also invited. Meanwhile, Haman was busy plotting Mordecai's death and building a gallows on which he intended to hang him.
Mordecai Honored
One night the King suffered from insomnia. He got up and began reading the book that recorded daily events. In that record he read about Mordecai's faithfulness in revealing the earlier plot against his life. The king then purposed to honor Mordecai and obtained Haman's advice concerning what should be done for the man that the king would like to honor. Thinking that he had prescribed his own treatment, Haman found out, to his chagrin, that the high honors he prescribed would be performed by him for Mordecai.
Haman's Plot Revealed
At the banquet on the second day, Esther revealed Haman's plot to the king. Haman was then hanged upon the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. After that, another decree was sent out allowing the Jews to defend themselves. On the appointed day the Jews were victorious.
The Feast of Purim
An annual feast was established to celebrate these two days. The feast was named Purim because of the pur ("lot") cast by Haman to determine the day on which the Jews would be killed. The purpose of the feast was a memorial to Haman's wicked plot, which returned "onto his own head." To promote the feast, Esther added her authority to a joint letter distributed with Mordecai.
The book concludes in the way it began by describing the power and influence of Ahasuerus's kingdom. It also pays tribute to Mordecai for his contribution to the welfare of his people and to the Persian Empire. The greatness of Mordecai vindicated the Jews as a people. Their heritage was not a threat to the Gentiles, but rather through Mordecai and the Jews the empire enjoyed peace.
The Reliability of Esther
Many scholars doubt the historicity of the events described in the book because there is no evidence outside the Bible for some of the characters, events, and customs described in the book. Consequently these scholars prefer to designate the book as something other than history. Some have suggested that the book of Esther is a wisdom tale, a historical romance, a festival tale, a novel whose central characters are Jews living outside their homeland, a sermon with a moral, a Persian court chronicle, or even a comedy along the lines of Greek comedy.
Many other scholars are not nearly so skeptical about the book's relationship to history. They note that Vashti may well be the Hebrew name for the cruel and self-willed queen Amestris, Xerxes's wife during this time. The difference in spelling has been attributed to the lack of certain vocalizations in Hebrew, making it difficult to pronounce the Greek name. Certainly Vashti's character appears similar to the character of the historical Amestris.
In addition, the historical situation in Persia during this time tracks closely with the events described in Esther. With the help of such important Greek historians as Herodotus and Ctesias and Persian records discovered during archaeological digs, it is possible to reconstruct a history of this period without reference to the biblical record. These records enable scholars to piece together the following order of events.
Revolts in the empire toward the end of Darius's life (Egypt in 486–484 bc and Babylon in 484 bc) required a crushing response from his son Xerxes in 484 bc. Following these victories, Xerxes held a banquet in Susa for the leading people in his kingdom as preparation for his planned invasion of Greece. This may coincide with the banquet mentioned in Esther 1:5. Xerxes failed in his attempt to defeat Greece, assured by the Greeks' naval victory over Persia at Salamis in 480 bc. Xerxes returned home in defeat and engaged in a series of harem intrigues. The search for a new queen described in Esther 2 fits well within this time period. D. J. A. Clines has noted that many details of Persian life recorded in Esther are confirmed by sources beyond the Bible. These confirmed details include the extent of the empire under Xerxes from India to Ethiopia (Est 1:1), the council of seven nobles (1:14), the efficient postal system (3:13; 8:10), the keeping of official diaries including records of the king's benefactors (2:23; 6:8), the use of impalement as a form of capital punishment (2:23; 5:14; 7:10), the practice of obeisance to kings and nobles (3:2), belief in lucky days (3:7), setting crowns on the heads of royal horses (6:8), and reclining on couches at meals (7:8).
The book of Esther intends the reader to believe the events actually happened as they are described. The author located them within the reign of a specific king, Ahasuerus/Xerxes (Est 1:1). He associated events with specific dates (e.g., the "third year" of Ahasuerus's reign, 1:3; "the tenth month, the month Tebeth, in the seventh year" of Ahasuerus's reign, 2:16; "the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus' s, twelfth year," 3:7). And he tied the establishment of the festival of Purim to the events in the book (9:16). It is difficult to imagine that the author would fabricate a story to explain the origin of Purim.
How Esther Fits into God's Story
- 1. Prologue: Creation, Fall, and the Need for Redemption
- 2. God Builds His Nation (2000–931 bc)
- 3. God Educates His Nation (931–586 bc)
- 4. God Keeps a Faithful Remnant (586–6 bc)
- 5. God Purchases Redemption and Begins the Kingdom (6 bc to ad 30)
- 6. God Spreads the Kingdom Through the Church (ad 30-?)
- 7. God Consummates Redemption and Confirms His Eternal Kingdom
- 8. Epilogue: New Heaven and New Earth
Christ in Esther
Although the name of God is not mentioned in Esther, nowhere in Scripture is the care of God for His people more evident. Prior to His arrest, Jesus prayed, "While I was with them I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled" (Jn 17:12).
CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW ELEMENTS
Teachings About God
The book reveals the providence of God in caring for His covenant people. Although many evils—including satanic opposition—may come against God's people, nothing ever happens beyond God's ability to work all things "together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose" (Rm 8:28).
Teachings About Humanity
The villainy of Haman demonstrates human depravity at its worst; the integrity of Mordecai shows the enormous good that one person can do. Esther's story (like Joseph's in Genesis) demonstrates that when God's people face difficult circumstances they are to act courageously and risk themselves for a righteous cause rather than give in to "fate" or "being unlucky."
Teachings About Salvation
God will accomplish His redemptive purposes. If Haman's edict to destroy the Jews had succeeded, the coming of the Jews' ultimate deliverer, Jesus the Messiah-King, would have been imperiled. God's plan to save cannot be thwarted, and He has always taken the initiative to bring about salvation.
Genre and Literary Style
A Historical Narrative Written in Excellent Hebrew
Hamantashen are three-cornered pastries with a variety of fillings served during the Jewish holiday of Purim. The pastries are designed to resemble the ears of Haman, defeated enemy of the Jews.
Esther is a carefully crafted narrative, but its events really happened. In English Bibles it is positioned as the last of the historical books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Scriptures it was placed in the third section, the Writings or Kethuvim (the other two sections are the Law and the Prophets). Among the Writings it was one of the Five Scrolls. Each of these Five Scrolls became associated with one of the Israelite festivals and was read publicly during that festival. Esther was, of course, identified with Purim, a late winter festival that originated in the fifth century bc and that is still celebrated annually by Jewish people as a minor holiday.
The Hebrew of Esther is carefully polished, but the Greek translators (second century bc) were apparently troubled by the lack of reference to God. Therefore, when they translated Esther from Hebrew to Greek, they inserted more than a hundred verses that frequently refer to God. Protestants, however, have accepted as Old Testament Scripture only texts that had a Hebrew original.
A PRINCIPLE TO LIVE BY
Unselfish Acts of Faith (Est 4:10–17, Life Essentials Study Bible, p. 640–41)
Since we claim Christ as our example, we are to be willing to sacrifice our own needs for the good of others.
