Much could be said about this topic of course, but based on some of my favorite commentaries, ive identified three influences that, for the purposes of our discussions here, should be introducedpurim, persia, and patriarchy. The book of esther an overview before we study in any detail a book of the bible it is helpful to stand back and take what we might refer to as the macro view of the book in question. Esthers brave actions saved the jews from massacre and preserved the lineage of christ. Begin your study of the book of james with some preliminary work.
We started our study of the book of esther last week with a general survey of the book. Like song of solomon, obadiah, and nahum, the nt doe. But even she must risk her life to do so because of a persian custom that awards with death everyone who. Esther is encouraged by mordicai to conceal her jewishness. What lessons can we learn today from studying the book about this very remarkable woman. It is clear that the author was a jew, both from his emphasis on the origin of a jewish festival and. Ernest wright early christians and the anchor, by charles a. When esthers parents died, the orphaned child was adopted and raised by her older cousin mordecai. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author.
The book of esther stands as unique among not only the historical. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. Hamans goal was the genocide of the jews, becoming the opponent of esther and her people in the book of esther. The historicity of megillat esther the aishdas society. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. God promised through jeremiah, isaiah and ezekiel that they would be restored to the land jer. Shushan, a legendary account of how the familys ancestor mordechai gained power in court, and of the source of the familys wealth and authority. Esther belongs to the period after the babylonian exile, when persia had replaced babylon as the ruling power. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and published by seven stories press. Esther old testament book narrating how the legendary queen esther averted the killing of her people, the jews, by the persians in babylon. This book and the book of ruth are the only ot books named after women. It is possible that the author was someone like mordecai, who had access to historical documents and an interest in jewish affairs.
For many christians, the book of esther is the basis for a jewish festival that found no counterpart in the christian calendar. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. Esther was originally written in hebrew, which is represented by ch. Esther, as queen, is the only jew in a position high enough to intercede on their behalf. The story of esther takes place in the persian empire during the reign of ahasuerus, known more familiarly to us by the greek form of his name, xerxes i. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries.
The historic origin of the book of esther and its authenticity have been the subject of much debate and conjecture over the years. Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival purim. The book of esther stands as unique among not only the historical books, but among the entire old testament as well. Sep 17, 2012 today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Esther is one of the most beloved characters in all of the old testament. The hebrew word mishteh, meaning banquet, occurs 20 times in esther which is equal to the total of all the other times it is found in the rest of the bible. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esther a comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem.
Esther starts by being an insignificant individual in the persian empire, but queen vashtis demotion is esther s promotion to the throne. Esther is the only historical book in the greek old testament that has. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. Historical background the book of esther may be placed historically between the events recorded in ezra and nehemiah. Esther appears as the 17th book in the literary chronology of the ot and closes the ot historical section. Haman was likely a descendent of agag, king of the amalekites, longtime enemies of the jewish people. According to schellekens interpretation, the book of esther is a fanciful family history of a rich and powerful jewish family in 4th century b. Esther is a book of history thats not difficult at all to understand its short and interesting. The book of esther is read as part of the celebration of purim. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 3 historical background as a result of their disobedience, the ten northern tribes of israel were taken into captivity over a 150year period beginning in 740 bc. May 25, 2011 esther was a jewish woman who was selected by the persian king ahasuerus to be his wife. Moore archaeology at the albrigh institutet by phili, p j. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483 bc to 473 bc, during the first half of the reign of king xerxes, who chose esther as his queen. Background and outline job bible commentary theology.
Today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. According to some sources, it is a historical novella, written to explain the origin of the jewish holiday of purim. The jews didnt all stay there in babylonia during this exile period. Moore divided the arguments against the historicity of the book into three groups. Esthers uncle, mordecai, appears first as an adoptive father, whose solicitude for esther leads him to the kings gate, where he foils a plot to assassinate the king. Intimate knowledge of the topography of susa and the persian royal palaces 10. The book of esther does not specifically name its author. Why is israel in the book of esther still so far from their promised land. During this time period, the first remnant of jews who had returned to judah were struggling to reestablish temple worship according to the law of moses. To provide the historical background for the feast of purim. Secondly, in looking at the larger context of the entire old testament, it is.
The story told in the book of esther takes place during the rule of ahasuerus, who amongst others has been identified as the 5thcentury persian king xerxes i reigned 486465 bc. In its present form it is the festal legend for the jewish feast of purim. Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. In the hebrew bible, ruth stands with the song of solomon, lamentations, ecclesiastes, and esther. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. The scattering of the jews throughout the assyrian kingdom was. The book of esther takes place in susa modern day iran in the court of a persian king, xerxes or ahasuerus. There is nothing like it in ancient literature, and in the bible, only the story of joseph comes close andrew e. The writer of esther clearly intended the book to explain the origin of the celebration of purim, to institutionalize it as a commemoration of the great deliverance of the jews during the persian period see note on esther 9. The book ends with mordecai as the kings chief minister.
It has clearly achieved this purpose, since jews have continued to observe purim to the present day. Chapter 1 1 now it came to pass in the days of ahasuerus he was the ahasuerus who reigned from hodu to cush, one hundred twentyseven provinces. Megillat esther, the book of esther in the form that we have it in the hebrew bible, provides the story of the origin of purim, the blueprint for its celebration, and the authorization for its observance in perpetuity. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. Af, which most scholars regard as later additions to the book. The purpose of the book of esther is to display the providence of god, especially in regard to his chosen people, israel. The book of esther is a romantic and patriotic tale, perhaps with some historical basis. The global message of esther esther and the sovereign rule of god. The author also displays an accurate knowledge of persian customs and palaces. King domestic architecture and the new testament, by h. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia esther 1. Title esther serves as the title without variation through the ages. The blend of these literary features with a historical setting and a theological purpose, however, suggest that the genre of the book of esther is unique to itself. Furthermore, the book of esther is fond of reversals of fortune that strike parity between the jews and their neighbors or foes, and eventually reveal the jews appointed destiny.
In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. In view of esthers setting in susa shushan, its persian background, its aramaisms, and its lack of reference to palestine, there is widespread agreement that esther was composed in the eastern diaspora, quite probably at susa shushan itself. Esther is the most secular of the biblical books, making no reference to gods name, to the temple, to prayer, or to distinctive jewish practices such as kashrut keeping kosher. Esther was written to explain the origin of the feast of purim and to ensure that it would be observed by all future generations of the jewish people.
At the very core of the jewish holiday of purim lies the book of esther, which tells they story of how two jews, mordechai and esther, who ascended in the ancient persian court of ahasuerus, saved the jews from genocide by the evil prime minister haman. He had banished his former wife and chose esther through a contest. The jewish feast of purim celebrates hamans overthrow. The first holy temple, built by king solomon, was destroyed by the babylonians, and the jews were taken into exile into babylonia.
She sent clothes for mordecai to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Background to the book of esther the story of esther takes place in the persian empire during the reign of ahasuerus, known more familiarly to us by the greek form of his name, xerxes i. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author and the date of composition. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and continue reading summary of the book of esther. There are certain elements of the book of esther that are historically accurate. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. And esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. The opening verses of esther place these events in a historical timeline. But while the characters might resemble a fairy tale, the book of esther depicts actual events that shaped jewish history and instituted the festival of purim. When he learns of the edict against the jews, he encourages esther to confront the king. The book of esther is set far away from the promised land, on the opposite end of the world in the city of susa, the capital of the powerful persian empire c.
Recently, the historicity of the biblical book of esther whether the book is historically true has been called into question an a most bold and audacious manner. The events of the book of esther occurred between those found in ezra 6 and ezra 7 extending over a. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Esther, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. The book contains a wide variety of literary genres narrative, poetry, visions, dialogue and others woven together into a literary masterpiece. Only ezra 710, nehemiah, and malachi report later ot history than esther.
The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage. So loved is she, and so important was her role that a feast was created in her honor, celebrated to. Unlike daniel, there seems to be no concern on the part of esther to keep the dietary laws. The hebrew word mishteh, meaning banquet, occurs 20 times in esther which is equal to the total of all the other times it is found in the rest of. And what in the world does that have to do with us, living in the last days of the church age. Esther is the only book in the scripture which does not mention gods name. The story itself is implausible as history and, as many scholars now agree, it is. It is possible that the author was someone like mordecai, who had access to historical. Historical setting, authorship, and date of esther. 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. God uses a young jewish lady just a normal girl to do great things save the nation of israel. While written, i believe, as a historical narrative scholars disagree however, on the genre of esther, esther holds the distinction of being but one of two books the other being the song of solomon in which god is not mentioned. Add to that a flavor of steampunk youve likely never tried before, blend it all up but keep it kosher. Despite the clear historical setting, historians have found no evidence.
So loved is she, and so important was her role that a feast was created in her honor, celebrated to this day as purim. First was king cyrus, who began his rule by the overthrow of the babylonian empire in 539 or 538 bc and issuing his famous decree that the captive jews be allowed to return to jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The book of esther is a hodgepodge of different genres. So, lets see what the bible tells us about the background of the book of james. The book of esther may remind you of a classic, once upon a time childrens story with a wealthy king, his beautiful queen, and an evil villain.
Esther in biblical historical context the jews of judah and jerusalem were taken into captivity in babylon when nebuchadnezzar sacked the city and burnt the city in 586 bc. Trinity is a congregation of the lutheran church missouri synod located in palo alto, ca. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Other contradictions are of a much more serious nature. The events in the book of esther took place during the exile from babylon.
Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. Even though the book of esther claims to be a strictly historical account, ever since j th. Shea in this study of esther for the anchor bible series, c. Book of ruth, old testament book belonging to the third section of the biblical canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Esthers banquet now it happened on the third day that esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the kings palace, across from the kings house, while the king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, facing the entrance of the house. When you start studying any book of the bible, you should start by collecting some background information. This morning, we need to do a background study on the book of esther in order to understand the historical context and application of this book. The book of esther was likely written between 460 and 350 b. Kennedy archaeology and the book of esther carey a. The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the book s. Historical background of the book of micah along with a great influx of wealth into the israelite society during micahs time, came an increasing number of social evils. The book is never alluded to in the new testament or dead sea scrolls, and even comments about it by the church fathers are rare.
For more details, see my capsule history of the children of israel. For the curious thing about the book of esther is that, although it has all the hallmarks of a romance, with its string of coincidences, its artfully told narrative, and its engaging characterisations, it can at no point be unequivocally faulted on historical grounds which cannot, incidentally, be said in the least of the greek book of esther. The most popular traditions are mordecai a major character in the book of esther, ezra and nehemiah who would have been familiar with persian customs. A quasipeace pervaded over the smaller regional nations, which in some respects is much like postwar america. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of esther in his audio message from the classic. It is clear that the author was a jew, both from his emphasis on the origin of a jewish festival and from the jewish nationalism that permeates the story. Much could be said about this topic of course, but based on some of my favorite commentaries, ive identified three influences that, for the purposes of. The book reflects the background of the jewish dispersion. Yet esther, of all the biblical books outside of the torah, is the only one that addresses the origin of a new festival. The story of esther esther lived in ancient persia about 100 years after the babylonian captivity. Introduction esther was a jew from the tribe of benjamin who grew up as an exile in persia. She persuaded the xerxes i of persia to ignore his grand vizier haman, who advocated their extermination. Assuming that esther was the queen of xerxes i 486465 b. All the letters of the hebrew alphabet are found in esther 3.
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