Historical background of the book of esther

Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival. The book of esther is a story designed to echo israels literary history to encourage and inspire national hope for a good future. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel. Second chronicles covers the time from solomons ascension to the throne 971 bc until the southern kingdom of judah was finally carried into exile in babylon in 586 bc. Why is israel in the book of esther still so far from their promised land. The book reflects the background of the jewish dispersion. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The events of the book of esther occurred between those found in ezra 6 and ezra 7 extending over a. Even though the book of esther claims to be a strictly historical account, ever since j th. Adopted and raised by her cousin mordecai, esther, whose name is derived from the persian stara, star, plays a crucial role in the event of persecution and deliverance of the jews in the ancient persian empire that the late biblical book or scroll of esther.

Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival purim. There is nothing like it in ancient literature, and in the bible, only the story of joseph comes close andrew e. We certainly know that many, perhaps most, midrashim were intended to relay allegorical religious messages and not to decsribe historical facts, as commentators such as maharal and maharsha demonstrate at length. It seems that the book was written after the death of ahasuerus when his official state history had been compiled 1. Stanley, the history of the jewish church, new york. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. Today we continue our series, esther actually, with a look at the cultural, historical, and religious context that produced the book of esther. Very few bible scholars believe now in the historicity of the book of esther, but what is really incomprehensible is that their conclusion is based only on the following prejudice. Some may respond that the book can be true even if it is not historically accurate. Book of second chronicles overview insight for living. 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.

Esther 1 background information with maps and images picture. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it. Esther 1 background information with maps and images. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. Moore divided the arguments against the historicity of the book into three groups.

All the letters of the hebrew alphabet are found in esther 3. It is a tale of deliverance, and the influences of other biblical deliverance narratives, such as joseph, moses and the judges, naturally imprint the organization of esthers rhythm as the reader cycles. Esther is an entertaining historical story that also reveals important truths about how and why the jews survived such an overwhelming threat. The author was more concerned with telling the story of davids descendants, who reigned over judah, than with the history of the.

The author of esther patterned much of his material on the events of the joseph story see notes on 2. An indepth analysis of the megilla reveals its profundity as well as many practical ramifications. The scattering of the jews throughout the assyrian kingdom was. This is a broad strategy to historical attacks on jewish traditions. Even if the story is just a parable, its lessons remain equally strong. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the kings banquet to show her beauty as the king wished.

Listen to chuck swindolls overview of esther in his audio message from the classic. 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. The book of esther was written during a time when the persian empire ruled the world and ahasuerus probably xerxes i was the king of persia. The book of esther was written some 50 years after this decree allowing the jews to return to their homeland. Esther and mordecai show great initiative and courage. Esther is the only historical book in the greek old testament that has a subscription.

The times of esther and mordecai were one of great activity in the divine purpose. The opening verses of esther place these events in a historical timeline. One night when mordecai was sitting by the kings gate, he overheard two guards named bigthana and teresh conspiring to assassinate king xerxes. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes.

It is a tale of deliverance, and the influences of other biblical deliverance narratives, such as joseph, moses and the judges, naturally imprint the organization of esthers. Sep 10, 2018 the book of esther is a story designed to echo israels literary history to encourage and inspire national hope for a good future. The book of esther is a romantic and patriotic tale, perhaps with some historical basis but with so little religious purpose the book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. 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. 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. But first i need to point out that the issue under question is the historical accuracy of the book of esther, not the related midrashim.

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. There are certain elements of the book of esther that are historically accurate. It gives us a glimpse of the jews who remained outside their homeland after the exile, particularly the jews living in the persian empire. 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. According to recent research, the book of esther was written in the middle of the 4th century bce during the reign of artaxerxes iii 359338 bce. Intimate knowledge of the topography of susa and the persian royal palaces 10. At the end of the book of esther, after the jews are. 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. God promised through jeremiah, isaiah and ezekiel that they would be restored to the land jer. During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. The author also displays an accurate knowledge of persian customs and palaces. In fulfulment of the words of daniel the prophet, there would. Esther is the only book in the scripture which does not mention gods name. Astin was a queen of persia and the first wife of persian king ahasuerus in the book of esther, a book included in the tanakh hebrew bible and the old testament christian bible and read on the jewish holiday of purim.

Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the books. Esthers brave actions saved the jews from massacre and preserved the lineage of christ. Esther foils the plan, and wins permission from the king for the jews to kill their enemies, and they do so. But it shows clearly that, even when god is most hidden, he is still working to protect his chosen people. 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. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes. 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 was during a time just before the wall of jerusalem was rebuilt. 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 heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit. Like song of solomon, obadiah, and nahum, the nt doe. It is possible that the author was someone like mordecai, who had access to historical. The great prophets of israel taught us moral, not historical, lessons. The postexilic books of 12 chronicles, haggai and zechariah were written to encourage the remnant who had returned to the land of yahwehs covenant with his people. But from a historical point of view, there is no written record outside the bible of the events of the book of esther ever taking place.

Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish. The story of esther, where sacred and secular history meet focus. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. In sum, simply by its shorter length not jus tin pages but the size of the book is a smaller paperback this commentary dose not go indepth in any areas. Not one commentary was written on the book of esther in the first seven centuries of the church. In addition, there is no reference to religious institutions or practices except fasting, making the task of adducing a theology of the book doubly difficult. A grave injustice is done to megillat esther when it is portrayed as one big satire. The story itself is implausible as history and, as many scholars now agree, it is. The book of esther belongs to ketuvim writings, which is the third division of the tanakh the hebrew bible. 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 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. Title esther serves as the title without variation through the ages. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people.

Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Mar 19, 2017 the book of esther belongs to ketuvim writings, which is the third division of the tanakh the hebrew bible. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament.

God is not mentioned by name in the book of esther. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. Historical setting, authorship, and date of esther. The narrator is a master at painting word pictures. A classic story of good versus evil, the book of esther is a unique account in the bible. It doesnt use religious language or imagery, nor does it offer theological comment on the events it details. 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 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. And what in the world does that have to do with us, living in the last days of the church age. 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. The historical framework of megillat esther vbm haretzion. According to some sources, it is a historical novella, written to explain the origin of the jewish holiday of purim. Haman, the conniving chief minister at ahasuerus court, decreed to kill all the. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order.

The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the book s. The military leaders of persia and media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries. 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. Permission is granted to store, print, and distribute this document for its intended use.

As humorous as some of its images may be, the latent messages are rich in meaning and significance. Feb 09, 2016 esther continued to hide her jewish background as mordecai had instructed her to do because he knew it would be dangerous for her if anyone found out she was a jew. This book and the book of ruth are the only ot books named after women. Assuming that esther was the queen of xerxes i 486465 b. The 70 years of babylonian supremacy had come to an end with the overthrow of the city by cyrus the persian. 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. Feasting is another prominent theme in esther, as shown in the outline below. The book of esther background and outline of the book if we were to pick a passage from the book which could serve as a summary of the whole story, it would be from chapter 9. 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. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. The events in the book of esther probably took place around 521495 bc. Here we see that the author chose a fascinating literary choice never once is god mentioned in. Whereas, for instance, the great jewish medieval scholar maimonides 151204 ranked esther immediately after the pentateuch in.