The book of esther interpretation

The jews didnt all stay there in babylonia during this exile period. The first holy temple, built by king solomon, was destroyed by the babylonians, and the jews were taken into exile into babylonia. According to the talmud, it was a redaction by the great assembly of an original text by mordecai. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. This final reversal is effected by esthers approach to the king to. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Vashti disappears by the end of the first chapter, but she casts a long shadow over the rest of the book.

The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so. Although vashti and esther never meet, the relationship between them is integral to understanding the events of the book of esther. Esther didnt have to compete, she just needed to be complete. Neither dream nor interpretation is found in josephus. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Classical sources such as josephus, the jewish commentary esther rabbah and the christian theologian barhebraeus, as well. Purim book of esther tells a neverold tale of hatred against gods blessed servants march 14th, 2009. Esther presents a balanced view of the interaction between the will of god and the responsibility of individuals. The book of esther is an unusual book in that it seems to stand alone. Esther is the only book in the bible not to mention the name of god. The megillat esther book of esther became the last of the 24 books of the tanakh to be canonized by the sages of the great assembly.

It is, in fact, the only book that never mentions god at all. The book of esther relates an amazing chain of events that first threatened, and then safeguarded and established, the welfare of god s people in the mighty persian empire. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Biblical fiction seems to be on the rise and readers will find nothing better in the genre than bestselling hunts interpretation of the biblical book of esther. Jerome, the whole book, including the greek additions, was included in the canon of scripture by the council of trent. Megillat esther, the book of esther in the form that we have it in the hebrew. It purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. For more details, see my capsule history of the children of israel. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Yet there is much to be understood by analyzing the story in.

Even the name of the book, esther, is significant because that name when translated from the persian means something hidden. Esther summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of esther for bible study or sunday school lessons. We can all see her in ourselves, the timing of her preparation wasspoton. Biblical femmes fatales such as judith, delilah, and salome, using their charms to accomplish lethal hidden agendas, epitomize the male fantasy of predatory female. Megillat esther establishes the jewishness of the holiday by providing a historical. The biblical book of esther is the story of a jewish heroine esther, or hadassahthe characters hebrew name and mordecai, her adopted uncle, who live in persia and involve themselves with the persian authorities in order to save the jewish people, who are under threat. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people.

What spiritual lessons can we learn from this book. The book of esther, which is read on purim and to which that holiday is dedicated, has been interpreted many ways. The story of esther reads like a movie plot, with a beautiful queen risking her life to prevent genocide. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. The bible book of esther is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. The events in the book of esther took place during the exile from babylon. The story of esther and its meaning king ahasuerus.

The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. It is a short story similar to the book of ruth, starting in the palace of shushan susa, one out of the three capitals of the persian empire. Esther is written during the period of the captivity. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. The christian churches of god observes gods original holy days calendar and is recognised as an authority on the ancient temple system calendar. So significant is the story of esther to jews that the book is read every year at the jewish celebration of the festival called purim. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings, and also appears in the protestant canon and in the roman catholic canon. The book of esther was originally included in the writings of hebrew scripture, and was incorporated into the historical books of the greek septuagint. As a diaspora storya story about, and presumably for, jews in the diaspora during. Messianic symbols, message in the book of esther hallel. The book of esther tells a compelling story, dramatic and exciting, with clearly defined heroes and villains. Interpretation bible studies esther and ruth by patricia k.

Although the book of esther was questioned by some early christians, even st. Esther, the jewish heroine of the biblical book that bears her name, bravely intervenes on behalf of her people to save them from destruction. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. In the jewish bible, esther follows ecclesiastes and lamentations and is read on the festival of purim, which commemorates the rescue of the jews from hamans plottings. Following tradition, the books explanation of purim as a historical event to be. And yet it is a beautiful story about holding to spiritual principles in the face of pressures to give in to worldly realities. Interestingly, the book of esther was very nearly excluded from the bible by authorities who felt it wasnt sufficiently religious. As we encounter vashti in chapter one, we learn the following.

A history of controversy the book of esther is a fascinating story that has a lot of stuff going on that isnt readily apparent to the reader. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Carol bechtel expertly explores the historical settings, literary structures, and theological themes that emerge in the book of esther. His presence permeates much of the story, as though he were behind the scenes coordinating coincidences and circumstances to make his will happen. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. It is in the spirit of recovering the meaning of the book of esther, then, that hazony begins his rereading of the book, and reading esther along with the talmudic tradition has the paradoxical effect of returning esther to contemporary concerns. Christine hayes contrasts the book of esther with apocalyptic writings, the book of daniel in particular. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman.

In their commentary on the book of esther, the rabbis expand upon and add details to the biblical narrative, relating to her lineage and history and to her relations with the other characters. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as. This is a beautiful story of how a young jewish girl saves her people. It also reveals deep and abiding spiritual truths about gods power to deliver us from danger and oppression, even when despotic rulers plan to do evil to gods people. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching is a distinctive resource for. Verse 2 refers to the dream told in the beginning of the book, which has been fulfilled in every. General uses of the analysis of the book of esther are discussed first, followed by more specific uses related to each of the six elements of narration fiction. 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. Each generation of commentators has imprinted the book of esther with its own values and world views. In general the literary analysis of the book of esther can be used pedagogically as follows. In the present translation, the greek additions are indicated by the. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. The present article deals with the commentary of rabbi shlomo aviner, one of the leading figures of religious zionism, on esther as a case study of. Book of esther dramatic reading for purim available for download april 26th, 2009 esthers legacy a historical look at numerous assaults against jews and the response from bystanders march 15th, 2009.

Esther was an excellent example of a daughter of torah. The book of esther in the bible is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. Esther and additions to esther biblical studies oxford. Did martin luther deny the canonicity of the book of esther. Hadassah is a teenager when she is captured by ruffians while on her way to jerusalem with her betrothed, binyamin. Esther follows the books of ezra, nehemiah, tobias tobit, and judith in the greek septuagint, and is followed by the wisdom literature such as the psalms in the christian old testament of the. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament.

The biblical queen esther is one of scriptures most fascinating persons, and the drama of the book bearing her name is clearly captured in this superb commentary. The book of esther was likely written between 467 and 350 b. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. It is not connected to historical chronology of the hebrews. It is at once a sweeping story of geopolitical intrigue and a highly personal account of two people caught up in those events. Jews fate is reversed by the writing of a second edict, which authorizes jewish selfdefence. Two doorkeepers the two fallen cherubs that rebelled, i. Queen esthers seven maidens seven eras of the church. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the bible in the church. The jews have already weathered some pretty tough and crazy babylonian kings, but have endured long enough to see more kindly persian rulers. Queen esther, the central character in the biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the rabbinic sources. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible.