What does megillat esther tell us about the role of female leaders. The book of esther was read at the feast of purim to commemorate the great deliverance of the jewish nation brought about by god through esther. Commentary from the sages the chabad website gives an illuminating selection of comments from different rabbis and jewish sages on the book of esther. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. According to the sdabc, esther, theme, why does the book esther. Levensons book consists of two parts an introductory essay of 35 pages, followed by a linebyline commentary on the text of esther. Thus the jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword the second decree allowed the jews to defend themselves, and therefore may account, in some measure, for the slaughter which they made of their enemies.
Her story is recorded in the old testament book bearing her name. 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. The introductory essay provides a good overview of the book of esther a summary of the plot, an analysis of the books structure and themes, and a discussion of the historicity and origins of the various. All this agrees with the theory of a late origin for the book, as it is known, for example, from ecclesiastes, that the religious spirit had degenerated even in judea in the greek period, to which esther, like daniel, in all probability belongs. Students are placed in sets for the following subjects. Better is a dinner of herbs with quietness, than this banquet of wine, with.
Since purim is not a holiday ordained by moses in the first five books of the bible, scholars have wondered if jews of ancient time indeed observed it annually. This informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings. He eventually chose esther as his queen, and by her influence the jews were saved from destruction. Thus the jews smote all their enemies it was the lords work, and therefore to do it negligently, to keep back their swords from blood, had been to incur that curse, jeremiah 48.
The books of ezra and nehemiah were written during his reign. Set of 71 free bible icons for sermon series, class presentations, and the like. The book of esther this is the most recent movie production of the book of esther. Artaxerxes this man was son of xerxes and stepson of esther. 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. Start studying pbe sda bible commentary esther and daniel. Joseph bensons commentary of the old and new testaments. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named. Josephuss paraphrase of the esther story in the antiquities of the jews, book ii chapter 6, also in greek, may be considered a third greek account, or interpretation, written somewhat later in the first century ce, about a century after the septuaginta greek translation of the bibleand the third version, a shorter narrative known as. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles.
In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The thematic focus of esther centers around the rescuing of the israelite. God is always active in esther, even though it is behind the scenes. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Ahasuerus makes royal feasts for his nobles and people, esther 1. It also opened the way for the establishment of later holidays that, like purim, could be instituted without divine command if they commemorated an important event or served an important function in the life of the jewish people. Most likely, the book of esther doesnt have the name of god because it shows how god works behind the scenes. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The jewish feast of purim celebrates this particular deliverance of the jews.
Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. Judaism is often associated with its most important book. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Also mordekhai appeared before the king, for ester had revealed his relationship to her. Jan 01, 2001 this informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries.
Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. This commentary approaches the book of esther from a fresh literary pointofview. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. The book of esther does not mention the name of god. Perhaps also the book of esther does not contain the name of god because it was written under persian rule, and for distribution in the persian empire.
In fact, the book of esther, more than anything else, is responsible for the continued celebration of purim. Quiz 1 bible 104 with washington at liberty university studyblue. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. The five relatively short books of the song of songs, the book of ruth, the book of lamentations, ecclesiastes and the book of esther are collectively known as the hamesh megillot five megillot. These texts are almost exclusively in biblical hebrew, with a few passages in biblical aramaic instead in the books of daniel and ezra, the verse jeremiah 10.
The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. Vashti is sent for by the king, but refuses to come, esther 1. The book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. The book of esther is a fascinating story that has a lot of stuff going on that isnt readily apparent to the reader. Choose from 446 different sets of bible esther flashcards on quizlet.
The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. 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 book of esther reflects this idea, by referring to vashti as queen vashti 1. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. The hebrew canon was finalized and commentaries were written. According to paragraph 1 of the book of esther sda bible commentary. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Esthers story is retold by josephus in book 11, chapter 6 of the jewish antiquities. Pbe sda bible commentary esther and daniel quizlet. According to the sdabc, esther, theme, why does the book esther come fifth in. The unknown author of the book of esther was most likely a jew very familiar with the.
It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Queen esther came to the throne for just such a time 4. The gathering together of a harem for king ahasuerus. In this, the book of esther is similar to books such as daniel or tobit, or, in fact, to the historical character nehemiah. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of. Why is the book of esther fifth in the order of readings read during the five festal occasions. Play 1pt according to the sdabc, esther, theme, what marks a distinct break in jewish national life. She cried and pleaded with him to overturn the evil of haman the agagite and his plan against the jews. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b.
We might even think that he does not care about us. As queen, esther hides her religious identity and maintains her jewish practices keeping kosher and observing the laws of shabbat and family purity in secret. Hadassah was her given jewish name, but she went by esther. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. We cannot tell from the book of esther when she took on this name. 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. The purpose of the book of esther is to demonstrate to jews living in exile that it is possible to achieve success in the country of ones exile without giving up ones identity as a jew. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The hebrew bibles profoundly monotheistic interpretation of human life and the universe as. She was the nonpracticing jewish heroine of the story and an orphan raised by her cousin mordecai. Verses 14 so the king and haman came to banquet with esther the queen. It is probable that it was part of hiding her jewish identity at the command of mordecai.
Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of jews throughout the empire. The first five books of the bible are known as the torah. The massacre had been plotted by the kings chief minister, haman, and the date decided by casting lots. After these things, when the wrath of king ahasuerus subsided, he remembered vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. 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. And the king said again unto esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy petition, queen esther.
Learn bible esther with free interactive flashcards. Esther is the jewish maiden who became queen of persia and rescued her people from a murderous plot to annihilate them. May 09, 2017 the book of esther reflects this idea, by referring to vashti as queen vashti 1. It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing esther as comedy and as diaspora literature. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press.
The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found in the introduction. The only allusion in esther to religion is the mention of fasting iv. If esther fails to act, and both she and mordecai perish, then her family will be wiped out. The hebrew bible, which is also called the tanakh t. The jewish publication societys highly acclaimed bible commentary series provides a linebyline commentary of the original hebrew bible text, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, alongside the jps english translation. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control. Mordecai is brought into prominence at the right time 6. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch.
Yet esther, of all the biblical books outside of the torah, is the only one that addresses the origin of a new festival. Josephuss paraphrase of the esther story in the antiquities of the jews, book ii chapter 6, also in greek, may be considered a third greek account, or interpretation, written somewhat later in the first century ce, about a century after the septuaginta greek translation of the bibleand the third version, a shorter narrative known as the alpha text. Even the name of the book, esther, is significant because that name when translated from the persian means something hidden. Esther is the story of how a jewish woman becomes queen of. Sleep is taken from ahasuerus at precisely the right time 6. 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. In my research of this book, i have found a lot of hidden things that i never expected. Xerxes this is the ahasuerus of the book of esther. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world.
Be specific because it is read at the final festival of the year, the days of purim. 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. Esther 8 complete jewish bible cjb 8 that same day king achashverosh gave the house of haman, the enemy of the jews, to ester the queen. The book of lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of jerusalem in 586 bce. Its one of the most beautiful books in the bible and so full of great takeaways for the modern christian woman today. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. In the hebrew bible it appears in the ketuvim writings, beside the song of songs, book of ruth, ecclesiastes and the book of esther. The book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. Eichah lamentations judaica press translation with rashis commentary at. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. May 02, 2020 the book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. Esther, theme, the stream of jewish history for a time disappeared and ran underground, what had happened to it by the time it reappeared.
The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Joyous festival in early spring that recalls the jews being saved from destruction, as told in the book of esther. Susa is all the way at the bottom right of the map. This book is also the reason why the jewish people created the jewish festivity of purim, which is celebrated annually amongst all jewish people in the world.
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