The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient judaism and early christianity. Fulfilling lifes mission we flounder without a mission leaders guide part 1 identify the issue note to leader. Susa, where the story of the book of esther takes place, was. The book of esther is a magnificent allegory that describes the endtime bride of christ.
Esther is more than an amazing story of a young jewish girl who saved her people. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Pdf new anatomy of the book of esther rick arons academia. The book of esther may not directly mention god, yet it clearly reveals god at work. The famed foiling of the wicked plot of haman to blot out the jews is, of course, one of the more dramatic narratives in the bible. In addition to the many twists in the plot, there are also some surprises hidden behind the text itself.
The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so. You will also find options for commentaries on esther that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. Esther is a book of history thats not difficult at all to understand its short and interesting. She was a jewess named hadassah the myrtle, but when she entered the royal harem she received the name by which she henceforth became known esther 2. Solomon, and neither of these books is mentioned in the. 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. Xerxes this is the ahasuerus of the book of esther. This paper examines the book of esther, deriving important insights about a variety of approaches to leadership that can be applied to todays crisis in leadership. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and. Ruth, the romance of redemption and esther, the romance of providence. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. 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.
The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. Indeed, later in the story even queen esther attests that were she to appear before the king uninvited she would be put to death. Shea in this study of esther for the anchor bible series, c. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea. The preservation of the jews church of christ zion. General information four acrostics are of the word yhwh, on of the word ehyh i am that i am. In this sixweek study, explore the subject of gods providence, walking verse by verse through the book of esther.
Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the kings palace any more than all the other jews. This collection of books is known as the five scrolls or, in hebrew terminology, the megillot pronounced megehlote. The book takes its name from the beautiful, orphaned jewess who became the queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Mordecai is brought into prominence at the right time 6. His name is not written in the book, but his fingerprints, as we say, are all over it. Ntroduction i the main plot of esther begins in chapter 3, with the description of hamans decree and the developments that follow. 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 massorah contains a note calling attention to the acrostics of the names of god in esther, which are found four times in the book.
Best esther commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. Haman was elevated by the king to a seat higher than all the other. Additionally, the book of esther contains no direct reference to god, but he is everywhere taken for granted, as the book infers a providential destiny esth. Its one of the most beautiful books in the bible and so full of great takeaways for the modern christian woman today. Esther was a queen of persia approximately 2,500 years ago. No other old or new testament book refers to esther. Early jewish and christian traditions suggest that among the people named in the book, mordecai, esther s cousin and guardian, was in the best position to record the events. Apocrypha esther greek of the king james bible 1611. He eventually chose esther as his queen, and by her influence the jews were saved from destruction. The megillah in depth video series studying the book of esther.
Another biblical theme in the book of esther is divine providence follows people god that use to serve his purposes, jonah 1. We love him because he first loved us, and he gave himself for us because he loves us. Yet archaeological and historical evidence demonstrates that this book is historical and accurate, and. Specifically, it illustrates his intention and ability to keep his promises. The only books of the old testament that do not mention the name of god are esther and the song of. It reads much like a novelette, and its story is as gripping as any novel one would read today. The book of esther and god hidden and revealed lutheran. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. Queen esther came to the throne for just such a time 4.
Scripture says mordecai recorded certain events in order to relate them to jews throughout the kingdom see esth. It is believed to have been written between 464330 bc. Not one time does the name of god appear in the book of esther. Esther became queen before, with gods help, saving his people. Hence it belongs to the bestknown ot books with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. 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. Like song of solomon, obadiah, and nahum, the new testament does not quote or allude to esther. 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. Esther and the bride of christ a picture of the endtime bride 1.
God uses a young jewish lady just a normal girl to do great things save the nation of israel. It is a syroarabian modification of the persian word satarah, which means a star. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. With scripture memory, daily study, and group discussion questions, this resource is ideal for both individual and group study. I suppose the first thing to say about the book of esther is that martin luther hated it. Since ezra returned to jerusalem in about 475 bc, the book probably spans a period of ten years hughes 2001. The scene is laid in shush an the palaee during the reign of a king who is designated in the english version as ahasuerus this. The story of esther, found in the book of esther, is a great story all about being in the right place at the right time. He called esther less worthy of being held canonical than any other writing of the old testament, and he put it on a list with ii maccabees for books that judaize too much and contain much. T he book of esther presents itself to us as a true narrative of a momentous episode in the histor. Inductive study of esther historical background chronologically, esther falls in the middle of ezra, probably between chapters six and seven, around 485 bc during the early years of the reign of king ahasuerus creelman 1917, 291. This book reveals the mighty call that the lord has granted to his end. We started our study of the book of esther last week with a general survey of the book.
Provide each person with the participants guide, included at the end of this study. The book of esther is one of only two books in the old testament that is named for a woman. Each of the scrolls is read publicly in synagogues at certain times of the year but, of the five, none is dearer to the jew than esther. Sleep is taken from ahasuerus at precisely the right time 6. In the book of esther god used mordecai an ungodly man to rebuke esther into obedience. The book is set during the period after the babylonian exile in which the nation of persia present day iran ruled judah.
It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Esther is a young and beautiful jewish girl, orphaned but cared for by her. Esther a2 classic bible study guide 2 introduction the book of esther is a graphic narrative, which relates how gods people were preserved from ruin during the fifth century b. The book of esther is one of the most exciting books in all the old testament and is nearly unique in employing a woman as its leading character. Artaxerxes this man was son of xerxes and stepson of esther.
This book and the book of ruth are the only old testament books named after women. The providence of god is abundant throughout the book. Ancient shushan habira above the city persian king worshiping ahura mazda the anatomy of the book of esther published 2012 includes traditional hebrew. An orphan girl, who was being raised by her kind uncle, mordecai, esther was chosen by king ahasuerus to become his wife. Esther questions and answers all chapters new king james. Pdf generated using haiola and xelatex on 18 apr 2020 from source files dated 28. In the book of jonah, he used a storm to convince the fleeing prophet, jonah 1. 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.