As a supposed descendant of the destroyer nebuchadnezzar ii of the first temple. Esthers story is written across a backdrop of great wars and epic battles. Esther risking her own life, approached the king with a plan of her own in order to save her people. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. The book of esther is about a jewish girl, adopted by her uncle mordecai after her parents had died. She was a beautiful jewish orphan girl who became the queen of persia around 475 b. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Here are some weird things you didnt know about queen esther. The 75 foot high gallows constructed by haman would. So loved is she, and so important was her role that a feast was created in her honor, celebrated to this day as purim. According to the greek historian herodotus, xerxes who is probably the same as ahasuerusalthough some say ahasuerus is one of xerxes sons was actually married to a queen named amestris.
In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. Among the dead sea scrolls, part of every old testament book was found except the book of esther. Fun facts about esther provides information to help you prepare for a class on the book of esther with the author, audience, main characters, locations. Esther is addressed to the multitudes of jews who did not return to judea. She was taken to the king of the persian empire to become a part of. The bible contains 66 books 39 books in the old testament and 27 books in the new testament.
When is esther on the bible timeline amazing bible timeline. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. 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. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries.
The story is set after the exile and is part of the postexilic period of israelite history, when many jews were living away from the homeland of judah. The courageous story of a beautiful young queen unfolds in the book of esther. The greek book of esther, included in the septuagint, is a retelling of the events of the hebrew book of esther rather than a translation and records additional traditions which do not appear in the traditional hebrew version, in particular the identification of ahasuerus with artaxerxes and details of various letters. When is esther on the bible timeline amazing bible. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. We follow in a long line of biblical heroes and saints who have courageously stood for what is right and good. Here are few less know facts about the book of esther. Posts about timeline for esther written by womenfromthebook.
It is helpful to read ezra, esther, and nehemiah as a unit to get the feel for the unfolding of momentous historical events during this period of time. People love a jewish peasant girl rising to the rank of queen and eventually saving her entire people. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. The heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit. The book of esther fits between the 6th and 7th chapters of ezra, utilizing 10 of the 58 years during that gap. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so. Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. Rome was ruled by consuls and had not yet become the great roman empire, and the great greek historian herodotus was alive and writing at the time. Biography, facts and information about esther the following info provides a concise biography with facts and information about esther. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The providence of god is abundant throughout the book. She was able to save the jewish people in the persian empire from being destroyed. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide of her people.
Strangely enough, the book of esther is the only biblical book not to be found in the famous dead sea scrolls collection. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family, personal life, achievements, and timeline. Five things about esther that nobody talks about jews for jesus. It was written to memorialize, to commemorate the gods deliverance that formed the basis of the feast 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. You can read more indepth bible verses from the scripture below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning of this teachable event in the bible. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. Looking for some quick facts about the bible itself. The book of esther reflects the situation of the diaspora, and one of the reasons it was produced was certainly to address the needs of the jewish community living outside palestine. His name was mordecai the son of jair, the son of shimei.
This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. Discover all the informative and inspiring books from the speaker and president of amazing facts. The events in the book take place from 483 bc to 473 bc, during the first half of the reign of king xerxes. Amazing facts quarterly guide featuring news, articles, bible answers, and more. Feb 09, 2016 this is a summary of the biblical account of queen esther.
There is a way martin luthers bible study method the apocrypha the apocrypha gods plan in gods book the. When the kings order had been publicly posted, many young girls were brought to the palace complex of. The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god. In the biblical book of esther, vashti is the wife of king ahasuerus, the ruler of persia. Esther was possibly written between the first and second return of the jews to jerusalem under zerubbabel, then ezra. 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. The book of esther is the 17th book in the old testament. 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.
Learn more about the traditions and history of purim. The biblical month of adar is the only month specifically mentioned in the book of esther. The bibles queen esther has had a recent surge in popularity, even outside of purim. The queen of ahasuerus, and heroine of the book that bears her name. Some other books of the hebrew bible also fairly cry out for all the help that the archaeologist can provide. The book of esther is the story of gods covenant faithfulness to a people who had long been in captivy because they were covenant breakers. Ironically, despite being the namesake of the book, esthers a. An interesting collection of littleknown bible facts. The author is unknown, but some biblical scholars conclude that it was mordecai, himself, who wrote the book of esther. Xerxes, the persian king, who rejected his other wife queen. Now there was in the citadel of susa a jew of the tribe of benjamin, named mordecai son of jair, the son of shimei, the son of kish, who had been carried into exile from jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar king of babylon, among those taken captive with jehoiachin king of judah. Purim, a joyous jewish festival commemorating the survival of the jews who, in the 5th century bce, were marked for death by their persian rulers. Interesting facts about 2 chronicles interesting facts about ezra interesting facts about nehemiah interesting facts about esther interesting facts about job interesting facts about psalms. Most scholars accept this identification, and it will be assumed in this article.
Dec 04, 2019 the bibles queen esther has had a recent surge in popularity, even outside of purim. The book of esther provides the only biblical portrait of the majority of the jews who remain in persia rather than return to judea. Sharing materials witness to friends and family with these powerhouse resources on a wide variety of biblical topics. Queen esther used her position as queen to rescue the jewish people from destruction. Book of esther encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. The story of esther forms the origin of the jewish festival of purim. Many know the story as it is recounted in the megillah, also known as the book of esther in the bible. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third. Like esther, they have risked their lives to protect others and to protect a faith that is founded on the word of god. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. Story of esther in the bible as scripture reveals, esther is a jewish woman living in persia and reared by her cousin mordecai.
Jewish and protestant bibles follow the hebrew version known as the masoretic text, while catholic and orthodox bibles follow the greek version known as the septuagint. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. Understand bible prophecy and more at these local events in your area. It purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary.
The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Yet, the book of esther is the least jewish, or christian, book of. The story forms the core of the jewish festival of purim, during which it is read aloud twice. Jun 29, 20 esthers story is written across a backdrop of great wars and epic battles. It was written to the jews remaining in persia, after the death of persian king ahasuerus, also known by the greek. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. Unless the identification is rejected on other grounds, it should be assumed that ahasuerus 1. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings.
Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty. Yet, the book of esther is the least jewish, or christian, book of the bible, including both the old testament and new testament. It is in this passage in the book of esther that we see a father grieving for his daughter and a daughter, selflessly giving herself for the sake of her people. 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. Fun facts about esther provides information to help you prepare for a class on the book of esther with the author, audience, main characters, locations, time and unique points. The story is related in the biblical book of esther. The story of esther begins with a grand banquet at the palace of king ahasuerus, also referred to as king xerxes. Jordan finds in esther, and especially in mordecai, a. This book is the only book about a woman in the bible. It was written to the jews remaining in persia, after the death of persian king ahasuerus, also known by the greek name xerxes.
The book was named after esther, the main character of the story. This greek version has just over 100 additional verses in 6 blocks, in addition to some other relatively minor differences. The book of esther is found in two different versions in our bibles. 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. God, in fact, is not mentioned, esther is portrayed as assimilated to persian culture, and jewish identity in the book is an ethnic category rather than a. Now there was a jew who lived in the palace complex in susa. The book of esther is a unique book in the bible in, for one thing, its written from the persian perspective because the children of god are captives.
This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. Biblical stories were written under the inspiration of holy spirit to teach us about god. This is a summary of the biblical account of queen esther. 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. Learn what the bible teaches in the book of esther. Lesserknown facts about the book of esther interesting facts. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel.
The inspirational the book of esther was made into a movie, released in 20 and directed by david a. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Esther estuhr was a brave young woman who saved her people from being wiped out. Esther s hebrew name was haddassah, which means myrtle. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll, is a book in the third section of the jewish tanakh and in the christian old testament. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. Not one time does the name of god appear in the book of esther. Esther is one of only two books in the bible named after a woman. The 66 books of the bible are divided into 1,189 chapters consisting of 31,173 verses. Esther, according to the book of esther, was a hebrew woman from persia, who became the queen of king ahasuerus, also known as xerxes i. Esther is a powerful reminder of our priceless heritage. Foster the title of this post is from a lecture series on the book of esther by james b. Esther and mordecai biblical missionaries amazing facts.
Esther is one of the most beloved characters in all of the old testament. Jun 12, 2014 esther risking her own life, approached the king with a plan of her own in order to save her people. Thechronological span for the book of esther is about 10 years. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. Check this list of interesting and littleknown bible historical facts and trivia. Aug 12, 2006 esther was possibly written between the first and second return of the jews to jerusalem under zerubbabel, then ezra.
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