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Esther

Esther[a] (originally Hadassah) is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In it, Ahasuerus, the king of the Achaemenid Empire, seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Esther is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty. Ahasuerus' grand vizier, Haman, is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai, due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman. Consequently, Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed, and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman's eradication plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead, as royal edicts (including the order for eradication issued by Haman) cannot be revoked under Persian law.[1]

Esther
אֶסְתֵּר
Born
Hadassah (הדסה‎)

TitleQueen of Persia and Medes
SpouseAhasuerus of Persia
Parent(s)Abihail (biological father)
Mordecai (adoptive father)

The Book of Esther provides the traditional explanation for the Jewish holiday of Purim, celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go into effect, which is the day that the Jews killed their enemies after the plan was reversed. The book exists in two related forms: a shorter Hebrew-sourced version found in Jewish and Protestant Bibles, and a longer Greek-sourced version found in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles.[2]

Name Edit

When she is introduced, in Esther 2:7, she is first referred to by the Hebrew name Hadassah.[3] This name is absent from the early Greek manuscripts, although present in the targumic texts, and was probably added to the Hebrew text in the 2nd century CE at the earliest to stress the heroine's Jewishness.[4] The name "Esther" probably derives from the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar or from the Persian word cognate with the English word "star" (implying an association with Ishtar) though some scholars contend it is related to the Persian words for "woman" or "myrtle".[5]

Narrative Edit

 
Esther Denouncing Haman (1888) by Ernest Normand

In the third year of the reign of King Ahasuerus of Persia the king banishes his queen, Vashti, and seeks a new queen. Beautiful maidens gather together at the harem in the citadel of Susa under the authority of the eunuch Hegai.[6]

Esther, a cousin of Mordecai, was a member of the Jewish community in the Exilic Period who claimed as an ancestor Kish, a Benjamite who had been taken from Jerusalem into captivity. She was the orphaned daughter of Mordecai's uncle, another Benjamite named Abihail. Upon the king's orders, Esther is taken to the palace where Hegai prepares her to meet the king. Even as she advances to the highest position of the harem, perfumed with gold and myrrh and allocated certain foods and servants, she is under strict instructions from Mordecai, who meets with her each day, to conceal her Jewish origins. The king falls in love with her and makes her his Queen.[6]

Following Esther's coronation, Mordecai learns of an assassination plot by Bigthan and Teresh to kill King Ahasuerus. Mordecai tells Esther, who tells the king in the name of Mordecai, and he is saved. This act of great service to the king is recorded in the Annals of the Kingdom.

After Mordecai saves the king's life, Haman the Agagite is made Ahasuerus' highest adviser, and orders that everyone bow down to him. When Mordecai (who had stationed himself in the street to advise Esther) refuses to bow to him, Haman pays King Ahasuerus 10,000 silver talents for the right to exterminate all of the Jews in Ahasuerus' kingdom. Haman casts lots, Purim, using supernatural means, and sees that the thirteenth day of the Month of Adar is a fortuitous day for the genocide. Using the seal of the king, in the name of the king, Haman sends an order to the provinces of the kingdom to allow the extermination of the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar. When Mordecai learns of this, he tells Esther to reveal to the king that she is Jewish and ask that he repeal the order. Esther hesitates, saying that she could be put to death if she goes to the king without being summoned; nevertheless, Mordecai urges her to try. Esther asks that the entire Jewish community fast and pray for three days before she goes to see the king; Mordecai agrees.

On the third day, Esther goes to the courtyard in front of the king's palace, and she is welcomed by the king, who stretches out his scepter for her to touch, and offers her anything she wants "up to half of the kingdom". Esther invites the king and Haman to a banquet she has prepared for the next day. She tells the king she will reveal her request at the banquet. During the banquet, the king repeats his offer again, whereupon Esther invites both the king and Haman to a banquet she is making on the following day as well.

Seeing that he is in favor with the king and queen, Haman takes counsel from his wife and friends to build a gallows upon which to hang Mordecai; as he is in their good favors, he believes he will be granted his wish to hang Mordecai the very next day. After building the gallows, Haman goes to the palace in the middle of the night to wait for the earliest moment he can see the king.

That evening, the king, unable to sleep, asks that the Annals of the Kingdom be read to him so that he will become drowsy. The book miraculously opens to the page telling of Mordecai's great service, and the king asks if he had already received a reward. When his attendants answer in the negative, Ahasuerus is suddenly distracted and demands to know who is standing in the palace courtyard in the middle of the night. The attendants answer that it is Haman. Ahasuerus invites Haman into his room. Haman, instead of requesting that Mordecai be hanged, is ordered to take Mordecai through the streets of the capital on the Royal Horse wearing the royal robes. Haman is also instructed to yell, "This is what shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!"

After spending the entire day honoring Mordecai, Haman rushes to Esther's second banquet, where Ahasuerus is already waiting. Ahasuerus repeats his offer to Esther of anything "up to half of the kingdom". Esther tells Ahasuerus that while she appreciates the offer, she must put before him a more basic issue: she explains that there is a person plotting to kill her and her entire people, and that this person's intentions are to harm the king and the kingdom. When Ahasuerus asks who this person is, Esther points to Haman and names him. Upon hearing this, an enraged Ahasuerus goes out to the garden to calm down and consider the situation.

While Ahasuerus is in the garden, Haman throws himself at Esther's feet asking for mercy. Upon returning from the garden, the king is further enraged. As it was the custom to eat on reclining couches, it appears to the king as if Haman is attacking Esther. He orders Haman to be removed from his sight. While Haman is being led out, Harvona, a civil servant, tells the king that Haman had built a gallows for Mordecai, "who had saved the king's life". In response, the king says "Hang him (Haman) on it".

After Haman is put to death, Ahasuerus gives Haman's estate to Esther. Esther tells the king about Mordecai being her relative, and the king makes Mordecai his adviser. When Esther asks the king to revoke the order exterminating the Jews, the king is initially hesitant, saying that an order issued by the king cannot be repealed. Ahasuerus allows Esther and Mordecai to draft another order, with the seal of the king and in the name of the king, to allow the Jewish people to defend themselves and fight with their oppressors on the thirteenth day of Adar.

On the thirteenth day of Adar, the same day that Haman had set for them to be killed, the Jews defend themselves in all parts of the kingdom and rest on the fourteenth day of Adar. The fourteenth day of Adar is celebrated with the giving of charity, exchanging foodstuffs, and feasting. In Susa, the Jews of the capital were given another day to kill their oppressors; they rested and celebrated on the fifteenth day of Adar, again giving charity, exchanging foodstuffs, and feasting as well. [7]

 
Early 3rd century CE Roman painting of Esther and Mordechai,
Dura-Europos synagogue, Syria.
 
The Shrine venerated as the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan, Iran

The Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their deliverance. Haman having set the date of the thirteenth of Adar to commence his campaign against the Jews, this determined the date of the festival of Purim.[8]

Historicity Edit

Although the details of the setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, there is general agreement among scholars that the book of Esther is a work of fiction.[9][b] Persian kings did not marry outside of seven Persian noble families, making it unlikely that there was a Jewish queen Esther.[10][2][c] Further, the name Ahasuerus can be translated to Xerxes, as both derive from the Persian Khshayārsha.[11][12] Ahasuerus as described in the Book of Esther is usually identified in modern sources to refer to Xerxes I,[13][14] who ruled between 486 and 465 BCE,[11] as it is to this monarch that the events described in Esther are thought to fit the most closely.[12][15] Xerxes I's queen was Amestris, further highlighting the fictitious nature of the story.[10][2][d]

Some scholars speculate that the story was created to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non-Jewish feast.[16] The festival which the book explains is Purim, which is explained as meaning "lot", from the Babylonian word puru. One popular theory says the festival has its origins in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual in which Mordecai and Esther represent the Babylonian gods Marduk and Ishtar, while others trace the ritual to the Persian New Year, and scholars have surveyed other theories in their works[17] Some scholars have defended the story as real history, but the attempt to find a historical kernel to the narrative "is likely to be futile".[17]

Interpretations Edit

The Book of Esther begins by portraying Esther as beautiful and obedient, though a relatively passive figure. Throughout the story, she evolves into a character who takes a decisive role in her own future and that of her people.[18] According to Sidnie White Crawford, "Esther's position in a male court mirrors that of the Jews in a Gentile world, with the threat of danger ever present below the seemingly calm surface."[19] Esther is compared to Daniel in that both represent a "type" for Jews living in Diaspora, and hoping to live a successful life in an alien environment.

According to Susan Zaeske, by virtue of the fact that Esther used only rhetoric to convince the king to save her people, the story of Esther is a "rhetoric of exile and empowerment that, for millennia, has notably shaped the discourse of marginalized peoples such as Jews, women, and African Americans", persuading those who have power over them.[20]

Persian culture Edit

 
Interior of the structure venerated as the tomb of Esther and Mordechai

Modern day Persian Jews are called "Esther's Children". A building venerated as being the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai is located in Hamadan, Iran,[21] although the village of Kfar Bar'am in northern Israel also claims to be the burial place of Queen Esther.[22]

Artistic Depictions of Esther Edit

 
The Feast of Esther by Johannes Spilberg the Younger, c. 1644
 
Esther and Mordecai Writing the First Purim Letter by Aert de Gelder, c.1685

Throughout history, many artists have created paintings depicting Esther. Notable early portrayals include the Heilspiegel Altarpiece by Konrad Witz[6] and Esther Before Ahasuerus by Tintoretto (1546–47, Royal Collection) which show Esther appearing before the king to beg mercy for the Jews, despite the punishment for appearing without being summoned being death. This scene became one of the most commonly depicted parts of the story.

Esther's faint had not often been depicted in art before Tintoretto. It is shown in the series of cassone scenes of the Life of Esther attributed variously to Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi from the 1470s. In other cassone depictions, for example by Filippino Lippi, Esther's readiness to show herself before the court is contrasted to Vashti's refusal to expose herself to the public assembly.[23][24]

Esther was regarded in Catholic theology as a typological forerunner[25] of the Virgin Mary in her role as intercessor[26] Her regal election parallels Mary's Assumption and as she becomes queen of Persia, Mary becomes queen of heaven; Mary's epithet as 'stella maris' parallels Esther as a 'star' and both figure as sponsors of the humble before the powerful.[27] Contemporary viewers would likely have recognized a similarity between the faint and the common motif of the Swoon of the Virgin, seen in many depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus.[28] Esther's fainting became a popular subject in the Baroque painting of the following century. A notable Baroque example is Esther Before Ahasuerus by Artemisia Gentileschi.[29]

In Christianity Edit

Esther is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod on May 24.

Esther is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, commemorated on the Sunday before Christmas. "The Septuagint edition of Esther contains six parts (totaling 107 verses) not found in the Hebrew Bible. Although these interpretations originally may have been composed in Hebrew, they survive only in Greek texts. Because the Hebrew Bible's version of Esther's story contains neither prayers nor even a single reference to God, Greek redactors apparently felt compelled to give the tale a more explicit religious orientation, alluding to "God" or the "Lord" fifty times."[30] These additions to Esther in the Apocrypha were added approximately in the second or first century BCE.[31][32]

The story of Esther is also referenced in chapter 28 of 1 Meqabyan, a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[citation needed]

Music Edit

See also Edit

Notes Edit

  1. ^ /ˈɛstər/; Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר, romanized'Estēr
  2. ^ "Today there is general agreement that it is essentially a work of fiction, the purpose of which was to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non-Jewish holiday. What is not generally agreed upon is the identity or nature of that non-Jewish festival which came to be appropriated by the Jews as Purim, and whose motifs are recapitulated in disguised form in Esther." (Polish 1999) "The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim; the book contains no references to the known historical events of the reign of Xerxes." (Browning 2009)

    "Although the details of its setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, in terms of literary genre the book is not history." (Tucker 2004)
  3. ^ "Xerxes could not have wed a Jewess because this was contrary to the practices of Persian monarchs who married only into one of the seven leading Persian families. History records that Xerxes was married to Amestris, not Vashti or Esther. There is no historical record of a personage known as Esther, or a queen called Vashti or a vizier Haman, or a high placed courtier Mordecai. Mordecai was said to have been among the exiles deported from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king." (Littman 1975a:146)
  4. ^ "Xerxes could not have wed a Jewess because this was contrary to the practices of Persian monarchs who married only into one of the seven leading Persian families. History records that Xerxes was married to Amestris, not Vashti or Esther. There is no historical record of a personage known as Esther, or a queen called Vashti or a vizier Haman, or a high placed courtier Mordecai. Mordecai was said to have been among the exiles deported from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king." (Littman 1975a:146)

References Edit

Citations Edit

  1. ^ "Esther 7:2". www.sefaria.org.
  2. ^ a b c Hahn & Mitch 2019, p. 71.
  3. ^ McKenzie 1995, p. 330.
  4. ^ Macchi 2019, p. 123.
  5. ^ Macchi 2019, p. 141.
  6. ^ a b c Solle 2006, p. 107.
  7. ^ Hirsch, Prince & Schechter 1936.
  8. ^ Crawford, Sidnie White. "Esther: Bible", Jewish Women's Archive.
  9. ^ Tucker 2004.
  10. ^ a b Fox 2010, pp. 131–140.
  11. ^ a b Baumgarten, Albert I.; Sperling, S. David; Sabar, Shalom (2007). Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 18 (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference. p. 216.
  12. ^ a b Larkin, Katrina J.A. (1996). Ruth and Esther (Old Testament Guides). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press. p. 71.
  13. ^ Crawford, Sidnie White (1998). "Esther". In Newsom, Carol A.; Ringe, Sharon H. (eds.). Women's Bible Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox. p. 202.
  14. ^ Middlemas, Jill (2010). Becking, Bob E.J.H.; Grabbe, Lester (eds.). Between Evidence and Ideology. Leiden: Brill. p. 145. ISBN 978-9004187375.
  15. ^ Moore, Carey A. (1971). Esther (Anchor Bible). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. xxxv.
  16. ^ Macchi 2019, p. 40.
  17. ^ a b Johnson 2005, p. 20.
  18. ^ Coogan et al. 2007.
  19. ^ Crawford 2003.
  20. ^ Zaeske 2000, p. 194.
  21. ^ Vahidmanesh 2010.
  22. ^ Schaalje 2001.
  23. ^ Baskins 1995, p. 38.
  24. ^ Wind 1940–1941, p. 114.
  25. ^ Baskins 1995, p. 37.
  26. ^ Bergsma & Pitre 2018.
  27. ^ Baskins 1995, p. 40.
  28. ^ Whitaker & Clayton 2007.
  29. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  30. ^ Harris & Platzner 2007, p. 375.
  31. ^ Vanderkam & Flint, p. 182.
  32. ^ EC Marsh: LXX.

Bibliography Edit

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  • Bergsma, John; Pitre, Brant (2018). A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament. Ignatius Press. ISBN 978-1-642-29048-6.
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esther, this, article, about, heroine, book, book, book, other, uses, disambiguation, originally, hadassah, eponymous, heroine, book, ahasuerus, king, achaemenid, empire, seeks, wife, after, queen, vashti, deposed, disobeying, chosen, fulfill, this, role, beau. This article is about the heroine of the Book of Esther For the book of Esther see Book of Esther For other uses see Esther disambiguation Esther a originally Hadassah is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther In it Ahasuerus the king of the Achaemenid Empire seeks a new wife after his queen Vashti is deposed for disobeying him Esther is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty Ahasuerus grand vizier Haman is offended by Esther s cousin and guardian Mordecai due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman Consequently Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so However Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman s eradication plans to Ahasuerus who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead as royal edicts including the order for eradication issued by Haman cannot be revoked under Persian law 1 Estherא ס ת ר Queen Esther 1879 by Edwin LongBornHadassah הדסה Achaemenid EmpireTitleQueen of Persia and MedesSpouseAhasuerus of PersiaParent s Abihail biological father Mordecai adoptive father The Book of Esther provides the traditional explanation for the Jewish holiday of Purim celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman s order was to go into effect which is the day that the Jews killed their enemies after the plan was reversed The book exists in two related forms a shorter Hebrew sourced version found in Jewish and Protestant Bibles and a longer Greek sourced version found in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles 2 Contents 1 Name 2 Narrative 3 Historicity 4 Interpretations 5 Persian culture 6 Artistic Depictions of Esther 7 In Christianity 8 Music 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 11 1 Citations 11 2 BibliographyName EditWhen she is introduced in Esther 2 7 she is first referred to by the Hebrew name Hadassah 3 This name is absent from the early Greek manuscripts although present in the targumic texts and was probably added to the Hebrew text in the 2nd century CE at the earliest to stress the heroine s Jewishness 4 The name Esther probably derives from the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar or from the Persian word cognate with the English word star implying an association with Ishtar though some scholars contend it is related to the Persian words for woman or myrtle 5 Narrative EditMain article Book of Esther nbsp Esther Denouncing Haman 1888 by Ernest NormandIn the third year of the reign of King Ahasuerus of Persia the king banishes his queen Vashti and seeks a new queen Beautiful maidens gather together at the harem in the citadel of Susa under the authority of the eunuch Hegai 6 Esther a cousin of Mordecai was a member of the Jewish community in the Exilic Period who claimed as an ancestor Kish a Benjamite who had been taken from Jerusalem into captivity She was the orphaned daughter of Mordecai s uncle another Benjamite named Abihail Upon the king s orders Esther is taken to the palace where Hegai prepares her to meet the king Even as she advances to the highest position of the harem perfumed with gold and myrrh and allocated certain foods and servants she is under strict instructions from Mordecai who meets with her each day to conceal her Jewish origins The king falls in love with her and makes her his Queen 6 Following Esther s coronation Mordecai learns of an assassination plot by Bigthan and Teresh to kill King Ahasuerus Mordecai tells Esther who tells the king in the name of Mordecai and he is saved This act of great service to the king is recorded in the Annals of the Kingdom After Mordecai saves the king s life Haman the Agagite is made Ahasuerus highest adviser and orders that everyone bow down to him When Mordecai who had stationed himself in the street to advise Esther refuses to bow to him Haman pays King Ahasuerus 10 000 silver talents for the right to exterminate all of the Jews in Ahasuerus kingdom Haman casts lots Purim using supernatural means and sees that the thirteenth day of the Month of Adar is a fortuitous day for the genocide Using the seal of the king in the name of the king Haman sends an order to the provinces of the kingdom to allow the extermination of the Jews on the thirteenth of Adar When Mordecai learns of this he tells Esther to reveal to the king that she is Jewish and ask that he repeal the order Esther hesitates saying that she could be put to death if she goes to the king without being summoned nevertheless Mordecai urges her to try Esther asks that the entire Jewish community fast and pray for three days before she goes to see the king Mordecai agrees On the third day Esther goes to the courtyard in front of the king s palace and she is welcomed by the king who stretches out his scepter for her to touch and offers her anything she wants up to half of the kingdom Esther invites the king and Haman to a banquet she has prepared for the next day She tells the king she will reveal her request at the banquet During the banquet the king repeats his offer again whereupon Esther invites both the king and Haman to a banquet she is making on the following day as well Seeing that he is in favor with the king and queen Haman takes counsel from his wife and friends to build a gallows upon which to hang Mordecai as he is in their good favors he believes he will be granted his wish to hang Mordecai the very next day After building the gallows Haman goes to the palace in the middle of the night to wait for the earliest moment he can see the king That evening the king unable to sleep asks that the Annals of the Kingdom be read to him so that he will become drowsy The book miraculously opens to the page telling of Mordecai s great service and the king asks if he had already received a reward When his attendants answer in the negative Ahasuerus is suddenly distracted and demands to know who is standing in the palace courtyard in the middle of the night The attendants answer that it is Haman Ahasuerus invites Haman into his room Haman instead of requesting that Mordecai be hanged is ordered to take Mordecai through the streets of the capital on the Royal Horse wearing the royal robes Haman is also instructed to yell This is what shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor After spending the entire day honoring Mordecai Haman rushes to Esther s second banquet where Ahasuerus is already waiting Ahasuerus repeats his offer to Esther of anything up to half of the kingdom Esther tells Ahasuerus that while she appreciates the offer she must put before him a more basic issue she explains that there is a person plotting to kill her and her entire people and that this person s intentions are to harm the king and the kingdom When Ahasuerus asks who this person is Esther points to Haman and names him Upon hearing this an enraged Ahasuerus goes out to the garden to calm down and consider the situation While Ahasuerus is in the garden Haman throws himself at Esther s feet asking for mercy Upon returning from the garden the king is further enraged As it was the custom to eat on reclining couches it appears to the king as if Haman is attacking Esther He orders Haman to be removed from his sight While Haman is being led out Harvona a civil servant tells the king that Haman had built a gallows for Mordecai who had saved the king s life In response the king says Hang him Haman on it After Haman is put to death Ahasuerus gives Haman s estate to Esther Esther tells the king about Mordecai being her relative and the king makes Mordecai his adviser When Esther asks the king to revoke the order exterminating the Jews the king is initially hesitant saying that an order issued by the king cannot be repealed Ahasuerus allows Esther and Mordecai to draft another order with the seal of the king and in the name of the king to allow the Jewish people to defend themselves and fight with their oppressors on the thirteenth day of Adar On the thirteenth day of Adar the same day that Haman had set for them to be killed the Jews defend themselves in all parts of the kingdom and rest on the fourteenth day of Adar The fourteenth day of Adar is celebrated with the giving of charity exchanging foodstuffs and feasting In Susa the Jews of the capital were given another day to kill their oppressors they rested and celebrated on the fifteenth day of Adar again giving charity exchanging foodstuffs and feasting as well 7 nbsp Early 3rd century CE Roman painting of Esther and Mordechai Dura Europos synagogue Syria nbsp The Shrine venerated as the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai in Hamadan IranThe Jews established an annual feast the feast of Purim in memory of their deliverance Haman having set the date of the thirteenth of Adar to commence his campaign against the Jews this determined the date of the festival of Purim 8 Historicity EditAlthough the details of the setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events there is general agreement among scholars that the book of Esther is a work of fiction 9 b Persian kings did not marry outside of seven Persian noble families making it unlikely that there was a Jewish queen Esther 10 2 c Further the name Ahasuerus can be translated to Xerxes as both derive from the Persian Khshayarsha 11 12 Ahasuerus as described in the Book of Esther is usually identified in modern sources to refer to Xerxes I 13 14 who ruled between 486 and 465 BCE 11 as it is to this monarch that the events described in Esther are thought to fit the most closely 12 15 Xerxes I s queen was Amestris further highlighting the fictitious nature of the story 10 2 d Some scholars speculate that the story was created to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non Jewish feast 16 The festival which the book explains is Purim which is explained as meaning lot from the Babylonian word puru One popular theory says the festival has its origins in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual in which Mordecai and Esther represent the Babylonian gods Marduk and Ishtar while others trace the ritual to the Persian New Year and scholars have surveyed other theories in their works 17 Some scholars have defended the story as real history but the attempt to find a historical kernel to the narrative is likely to be futile 17 Interpretations EditFurther information Esther in rabbinic literature The Book of Esther begins by portraying Esther as beautiful and obedient though a relatively passive figure Throughout the story she evolves into a character who takes a decisive role in her own future and that of her people 18 According to Sidnie White Crawford Esther s position in a male court mirrors that of the Jews in a Gentile world with the threat of danger ever present below the seemingly calm surface 19 Esther is compared to Daniel in that both represent a type for Jews living in Diaspora and hoping to live a successful life in an alien environment According to Susan Zaeske by virtue of the fact that Esther used only rhetoric to convince the king to save her people the story of Esther is a rhetoric of exile and empowerment that for millennia has notably shaped the discourse of marginalized peoples such as Jews women and African Americans persuading those who have power over them 20 Persian culture Edit nbsp Interior of the structure venerated as the tomb of Esther and MordechaiModern day Persian Jews are called Esther s Children A building venerated as being the Tomb of Esther and Mordechai is located in Hamadan Iran 21 although the village of Kfar Bar am in northern Israel also claims to be the burial place of Queen Esther 22 Artistic Depictions of Esther EditSee also Book of Esther Modern retelling nbsp The Feast of Esther by Johannes Spilberg the Younger c 1644 nbsp Esther and Mordecai Writing the First Purim Letter by Aert de Gelder c 1685Throughout history many artists have created paintings depicting Esther Notable early portrayals include the Heilspiegel Altarpiece by Konrad Witz 6 and Esther Before Ahasuerus by Tintoretto 1546 47 Royal Collection which show Esther appearing before the king to beg mercy for the Jews despite the punishment for appearing without being summoned being death This scene became one of the most commonly depicted parts of the story Esther s faint had not often been depicted in art before Tintoretto It is shown in the series of cassone scenes of the Life of Esther attributed variously to Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi from the 1470s In other cassone depictions for example by Filippino Lippi Esther s readiness to show herself before the court is contrasted to Vashti s refusal to expose herself to the public assembly 23 24 Esther was regarded in Catholic theology as a typological forerunner 25 of the Virgin Mary in her role as intercessor 26 Her regal election parallels Mary s Assumption and as she becomes queen of Persia Mary becomes queen of heaven Mary s epithet as stella maris parallels Esther as a star and both figure as sponsors of the humble before the powerful 27 Contemporary viewers would likely have recognized a similarity between the faint and the common motif of the Swoon of the Virgin seen in many depictions of the Crucifixion of Jesus 28 Esther s fainting became a popular subject in the Baroque painting of the following century A notable Baroque example is Esther Before Ahasuerus by Artemisia Gentileschi 29 In Christianity EditEsther is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod on May 24 Esther is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church commemorated on the Sunday before Christmas The Septuagint edition of Esther contains six parts totaling 107 verses not found in the Hebrew Bible Although these interpretations originally may have been composed in Hebrew they survive only in Greek texts Because the Hebrew Bible s version of Esther s story contains neither prayers nor even a single reference to God Greek redactors apparently felt compelled to give the tale a more explicit religious orientation alluding to God or the Lord fifty times 30 These additions to Esther in the Apocrypha were added approximately in the second or first century BCE 31 32 The story of Esther is also referenced in chapter 28 of 1 Meqabyan a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church citation needed Music EditMarc Antoine Charpentier Historia Esther H 396 for soloist chorus strings and continuo 1677 George Frideric Handel Esther with a libretto based on a play by Jean Racine 1718 and 1732 Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre Esther for soprano and continuo 1708 See also EditShushandukhtNotes Edit ˈ ɛ s t er Hebrew א ס ת ר romanized Ester Today there is general agreement that it is essentially a work of fiction the purpose of which was to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non Jewish holiday What is not generally agreed upon is the identity or nature of that non Jewish festival which came to be appropriated by the Jews as Purim and whose motifs are recapitulated in disguised form in Esther Polish 1999 The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim the book contains no references to the known historical events of the reign of Xerxes Browning 2009 Although the details of its setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events in terms of literary genre the book is not history Tucker 2004 Xerxes could not have wed a Jewess because this was contrary to the practices of Persian monarchs who married only into one of the seven leading Persian families History records that Xerxes was married to Amestris not Vashti or Esther There is no historical record of a personage known as Esther or a queen called Vashti or a vizier Haman or a high placed courtier Mordecai Mordecai was said to have been among the exiles deported from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king Littman 1975a 146 Xerxes could not have wed a Jewess because this was contrary to the practices of Persian monarchs who married only into one of the seven leading Persian families History records that Xerxes was married to Amestris not Vashti or Esther There is no historical record of a personage known as Esther or a queen called Vashti or a vizier Haman or a high placed courtier Mordecai Mordecai was said to have been among the exiles deported from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king Littman 1975a 146 References EditCitations Edit Esther 7 2 www sefaria org a b c Hahn amp Mitch 2019 p 71 McKenzie 1995 p 330 Macchi 2019 p 123 Macchi 2019 p 141 a b c Solle 2006 p 107 Hirsch Prince amp Schechter 1936 Crawford Sidnie White Esther Bible Jewish Women s Archive Tucker 2004 a b Fox 2010 pp 131 140 a b Baumgarten Albert I Sperling S David Sabar Shalom 2007 Skolnik Fred Berenbaum Michael eds Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol 18 2nd ed Farmington Hills MI Macmillan Reference p 216 a b Larkin Katrina J A 1996 Ruth and Esther Old Testament Guides Sheffield UK Sheffield Academic Press p 71 Crawford Sidnie White 1998 Esther In Newsom Carol A Ringe Sharon H eds Women s Bible Commentary Louisville Westminster John Knox p 202 Middlemas Jill 2010 Becking Bob E J H Grabbe Lester eds Between Evidence and Ideology Leiden Brill p 145 ISBN 978 9004187375 Moore Carey A 1971 Esther Anchor Bible Garden City NY Doubleday p xxxv Macchi 2019 p 40 a b Johnson 2005 p 20 Coogan et al 2007 Crawford 2003 Zaeske 2000 p 194 Vahidmanesh 2010 Schaalje 2001 Baskins 1995 p 38 Wind 1940 1941 p 114 Baskins 1995 p 37 Bergsma amp Pitre 2018 Baskins 1995 p 40 Whitaker amp Clayton 2007 Metropolitan Museum of Art Harris amp Platzner 2007 p 375 Vanderkam amp Flint p 182 EC Marsh LXX Bibliography Edit Baskins Cristelle L 1995 First published 1993 Typology sexuality and the Renaissance Esther In Turner James ed Sexuality and Gender in Early Modern Europe Institutions Texts Images Cambridge University Press pp 31 54 ISBN 978 0 521 44605 1 Bergsma John Pitre Brant 2018 A Catholic Introduction to the Bible The Old Testament Ignatius Press ISBN 978 1 642 29048 6 Browning W R F ed 2009 Ahasuerus A Dictionary of the Bible 2nd ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acref 9780199543984 001 0001 ISBN 978 0 19 954398 4 Coogan Michael David Brettler Marc Zvi Newsom Carol Ann Perkins Pheme 2007 The New Oxford Annotated Bible Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19528880 3 Crawford Sidnie White November 1996 Has Esther been found at Qumran 4QProto Esther and the Esther corpus Revue de Qumran 17 1 4 307 325 JSTOR 24610146 Crawford Sidnie White 2003 Esther In Dunn James D G Rogerson John William eds Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible Wm B Eerdmans ISBN 978 0 80283711 0 Dalley Stephanie 2007 Esther s Revenge at Susa From Sennacherib to Ahasuerus Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 199 21663 5 Esther LXX EC Marsh Esther Before Ahasuerus Tintoretto Metropolitan Museum of Art Retrieved 22 August 2019 Fox Michael V 2010 Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther 2nd ed Wipf and Stock ISBN 978 1 608 99495 3 Hahn Scott Mitch Curtis 2019 Tobit Judith and Esther Ignatius Press ISBN 978 1 621 64185 8 Harris Stephen Platzner Robert 2007 The Old Testament An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible p 375 ISBN 978 0072990515 Hirsch Emil G Prince John Dyneley Schechter Solomon 1936 Esther Hebrew א ס ת ר Greek Es8hr Jewish Encyclopedia New York Funk amp Wagnalls Co Howard David M Jr 2007 An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books Moody Publishers ISBN 978 1 575 67447 6 Huehnergard John 2008 Appendix 1 Afro Asiatic In Woodard Roger D ed The Ancient Languages of Syria Palestine and Arabia Cambridge University Press pp 225 246 ISBN 978 1 13946934 0 Johnson Sara Raup 2005 Historical Fictions and Hellenistic Jewish Identity University of California Press ISBN 9780520928435 Koller Aaron 2014 Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 107 72980 3 Kuyper Abraham 2010 Women of the Old Testament Zondervan pp 175 176 ISBN 978 0 31086487 5 Leith Mary Joan Winn 2011 Esther In Coogan Michael D ed The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible Oxford University Press pp 252 261 ISBN 978 0 195 37737 8 Levenson Jon D 1997 Esther A Commentary Westminster John Knox ISBN 9780664228873 Littman Robert J 1975a The Religious Policy of Xerxes and the Book of Esther The Jewish Quarterly Review 65 3 146 doi 10 2307 1454354 JSTOR 1454354 Littman Robert J January 1975b The Religious Policy of Xerxes and the Book of Esther The Jewish Quarterly Review 65 3 145 155 doi 10 2307 1454354 JSTOR 1454354 Macchi Jean Daniel 2019 Esther Kohlhammer Verlag ISBN 978 3 170 31028 5 McDonald Lee Martin 2006 The Biblical Canon Its Origin Transmission and Authority Baker Books ISBN 978 1 441 24164 1 McKenzie John L 1995 The Dictionary Of The Bible Simon and Schuster ISBN 9780684819136 Meyers Carol 2007 Esther In Barton John Muddiman John eds The Oxford Bible Commentary Oxford University Press pp 324 330 ISBN 978 0 199 27718 6 Milik Jozef T 1992 Les modeles Arameens du Livre d Esther dans la Grotte 4 de Qumran Revue de Qumran 15 3 59 321 406 JSTOR 24609021 Miller Tricia 2015 Jews and Anti Judaism in Esther and the Church Lutterworth Press ISBN 978 0 227 90258 5 Polish Daniel F 1 September 1999 Aspects of Esther A Phenomenological Exploration of the Megillah of Esther and the Origins of Purim Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 24 85 85 106 doi 10 1177 030908929902408505 ISSN 0309 0892 S2CID 143019872 Phillips E A 2008 Esther 6 Person In Longman III Tremper Enns Peter eds Dictionary of the Old Testament Wisdom Poetry amp Writings A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship InterVarsity Press pp 188 193 ISBN 978 0 830 81783 2 Schaalje Jacqueline June 2001 Ancient synagogues in Bar am and Capernaum Jewish Magazine Silverstein Adam J 2014 The Samaritan Version of the Esther Story In Ahmed Asad Q Sadeghi Behnam Hoyland Robert G Silverstein Adam eds Islamic Cultures Islamic Contexts Essays in Honor of Professor Patricia Crone Brill pp 551 564 ISBN 978 9 004 28171 4 Silverstein Adam J 2018 Veiling Esther Unveiling Her Story The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 192 51773 9 Solle Dorothee 2006 Great Women of the Bible In Art and Literature Fortress Press p 107 ISBN 0800635574 Soomekh Saba 2012 From the Shahs to Los Angeles Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women between Religion and Culture SUNY Press ISBN 978 1 438 44385 0 Testen David October 1998 Semitic Terms for Myrtle A Study in Covert Journal of Near Eastern Studies 57 4 281 290 doi 10 1086 468653 JSTOR 545452 S2CID 161499240 Tidball Dianne 2001 Esther a True First Lady A Post Feminist Icon in a Secular World Christian Focus Publications ISBN 978 1 85792671 2 Tucker Gene M 2004 First published 1993 Esther The Book of In Metzger Bruce M Coogan Michael D eds The Oxford Companion to the Bible Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acref 9780195046458 001 0001 ISBN 978 0 19 504645 8 Vahidmanesh Parvaneh 5 May 2010 Sad Fate of Iran s Jews Payvand Vanderkam James Flint Peter The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls p 182 Whitaker Lucy Clayton Martin 2007 The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection Renaissance and Baroque Royal Collection Publications ISBN 978 1 902163 291 Wind Edgar October 1940 January 1941 The Subject of Botticelli s Derelitta Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 4 1 2 114 117 doi 10 2307 750127 JSTOR 750127 S2CID 192310493 Yahuda Abraham 1946 The Meaning of the Name Esther Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland 78 2 174 178 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00100413 JSTOR 25222106 S2CID 163266181 Yamauchi Edwin Phillips Elaine A 2017 Ezra Nehemiah Esther Zondervan Academic ISBN 978 0 310 53182 1 Yamauchi Edwin 1997 Persia and the Bible Baker Academic ISBN 978 0 801 02108 4 Zadok Ran 1984 Historical Background of the Book of Esther Biblische Notizen 24 18 23 Zadok Ran 1986 Notes on Esther ZAW 98 105 110 Zaeske Susan 2000 Unveiling Esther as a Pragmatic Radical Rhetoric Philosophy and Rhetoric 33 3 On Feminizing the Philosophy of Rhetoric 193 220 doi 10 1353 par 2000 0024 JSTOR 40231721 S2CID 171068760 nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Esther Biblical figure Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Esther amp oldid 1178286807, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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