In Mordecai we see a picture of Christ who is despised and hated to start with but later becomes head over his people Israel and head of the whole world.Ī) The Three Feasts in the Book of Esther After that Esther becomes the Jewish wife and queen who comes to honour (compare Romans 11). Queen Vashti typifies the wife out of the nations (heathen) who is rejected because she does not behave according to her position. After the Jews' revenge upon their enemies the days of Purim (pur = Persian: lot) are established in remembrance of these events. Haman is hanged and Esther's cousin Mordecai, the pious Jew and Haman's opponent, receives his position. She succeeds in preventing the threatening destruction of all her race by Haman, who was set above all the princes. In His providence God brings the young Jewess Hadassah (Esther) to the Persian court. Already in the antiquity the Jews had considered this striking characteristic as fulfilment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy 31:18. This is why God is not mentioned once in this book. Jehovah watched with tender goodness and care over this large part of the Jews, which He could no longer recognize as His people in front of the world. This book particularly teaches us the invisible care of God for those of His people who preferred to stay in the land of exile although they could have returned to Palestine since the days of King Cyrus of Persia (see book of Ezra). The book of Esther has served the Jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. Hence it belongs to the best-known OT-books with the Jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Esther is read during the Purim feast on 14th and 15th Adar (February/March). megilloth), which are still read today at certain feast days in the synagogue. The book belongs to the so-called five "scrolls" (hebr. In the Hebrew Bible the book of Esther is placed in the third main part, that is the "writings" (hebr. This is why many presume that the book was written in the second half of the fifth century BC. The events mentioned in Esther therefore happened between Ezra chapter 6 and chapter 7. His predecessor was King Darius (522-485 BC) who is mentioned in Ezra 4:5. (Persian: Khschayarscha).Īhasuerus reigned from 485 to 464 BC. The events of the book of Esther occurred during the reign of King Ahasuerus, Xerxes I. This very fact was fully acknowledged by the Greek historian Herodotus and by the excavations of the past hundred years. Besides he had an excellent knowledge on the situation at the Persian court. In any case the author was a Jew whose heart was set on the fate of the people of Israel. Other sources ascribe the book of Esther to Ezra or Nehemiah. 9:20 explicitly mentions that Mordecai wrote these things. Chapter 10:2-3 however speaks against this, for the author would hardly have written likewise of himself. The Jewish historian Josephus names Mordecai as author of the book. As with most of the OT writings the author of the book of Esther (Esther meaning "star") is not mentioned.
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