Feasting is another prominent theme in esther, as shown in the outline below. In addition to the masoretic text the accepted hebrew text of the bible, two greek versions of the story survive. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. Then he put on sackcloth, put ashes on his head, and went out into the city crying loudly. Esther 4 easytoread version erv mordecai persuades esther to help. The greek version of the book of esther revised standard version. Greatest heroes of the bible samson and delilah duration. The book of esther is filled with favor of god, when we as believers completely sell out to the lord we will have divine favor with and his grace will rest upon us, and we can all making intercession prayer for our lost love ones, our communities. The book of esther is counted as an historical book in our english bibles, but in the jewish scriptures it is among the writings. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her.
The character of esther teaches us to seize spiritual opportunities est. Book of esther are several additional passages found in the greek translation. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. Esther is an exilic book, written in the exile, for the exile1 says s. Greek esther 4 ceb a crisis for the jews bible gateway. This is one book of the bible you could easily read while marinating in a bubble bath, without feeling particularly. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. The events of the book of esther occurred during the reign of king ahasuerus, xerxes i. Will she be able to stop the evil lord hamans plot to exterminate the jews. And she said, if it please the king, and if i have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seem right before the king, and i be pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by haman the agagite, the son of. First, we find characters in the book that we gain insight into regarding godly and godless living.
This article is excerpted from a longer, footnoted item. This very fact was fully acknowledged by the greek historian herodotus and by the excavations of the past hundred years. Who is your hero when ester becomes king xerxes queen, her cousin mordecai and that despicable haman engage in a dangerous game of intrigue for control of the young persian king xerxes. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. The greek version of the hebrew bible book of esther is designated additions to esther and preserves many details of the hebrew account. A in the second year of the rule of artaxerxes the great, on the first day of nisan, mordecai had a dream. Jewish girl esther is chosen as the new queen consort to king xerxes of persia. In seeking to be pious and to frequently reference god in the retelling of the esther story, the writers of the greek esther have failed to understand why the original does not mention god explicitly. Mar 12, 2008 the greek esther seems to have been an attempt to correct what seemed an irreverent, godless telling of the story.
Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. Esther greek page 580 daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what hegai the kings chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. Appendix the names of the main characters in the book of. The septuagint is a window onto how greekspeaking jews of the early prechristian centuries read and understood the story of esther. In the present translation, the greek additions are indicated by the. The author of esther patterned much of his material on the events of the joseph story see notes on 2. In fact, god is not directly mentioned by name in the book of esther.
It doesnt follow the bible narrative exactly, but the producers let you know that before the movie begins. Its portrayal of esther herself, however, is appreciably different, primarily because of additions c and d add esth. Although the book of esther was written originally in hebrew, it has come down to us in two basic versions. The additions to esther consist of six extended passages 107 verses that have no counterpart in the hebrew version. No one was allowed to enter the gate dressed in sackcloth. Esther additions introduction, king james version with. In the days of assuerus, who reigned from india to ethiopia over a hundred and twentyseven provinces. With jen lilley, linda bisesti, john clement, kass connors. The differences in the hebrew and greek versions of esther. It is fair to say that the present consensus of scholarly opinion sub scribes to. These six additional chapters are translated in the nets edition in the position in which they are found in the greek versions. So the king and haman came to the banquet that esther had prepared.
My purpose in this section is to show that these three are all. She sent clothes for mordecai to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. The book of esther from the greek septuagint in the second year of the reign of ahasuerus the great, on the first day of the month of nisan, mordecai, the son of jair, the son of shimei, the son of kish, of the tribe of benjamin, had a dream. Hardy posted 083110 esther historicism corrected page no. He was jairs son, shimeis grandson, and kishs greatgrandson, from the tribe of benjamin. The other possibility, which i am more inclined to accept, is that god or more accurately gods appear throughout the book of esther, they are just. The greek version of esther is simply an elaborated version of the hebrew text, expanded to bring out the role of god in the story. Not only is it a great story with all the drama and. In hebrew the title is rtsa which may be derived from the persian word for star, stara 1. On his own account, as well as on that of his countrymen, this astounding decree. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. One night with the king esther the bible movie youtube. The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god.
The hebrew version never mentions or names god, nor do we ever see or hear esther and mordecai pray. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Nov 10, 2014 i had always loved the story of esther, mainly because it is a short book and i could tell people that i had actually read it. We have watched this book of esther movie many times. Studying the book of esther, chapters 49 no greater joy. As scripture reveals, esther is a jewish woman living in persia and reared by her cousin mordecai.
The book of esther is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. Now in the third year of his reign he made a great feast for all the princes, and. Esther published by the jewish publication society. Among these women is a jewish orphan named esther, who was raised by her cousin or uncle, mordecai 2. Xerxes i commonly known as xerxes the great, was the fourth king of kings of the achaemenid. Meeeeee in my quest to learn about the book of esther, i found this. Here is the story of esther through a summary of each of the 10 chapters. In one or two sentences, summarize the paragraphs in esther chapter 4. Esther 4 commentary commentary critical and explanatory.
Red sun western charles bronson action film free western movie full length english hd duration. 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. Imagine that, 92 babies in indiana have the same name as you in 1934. When he sat on the throne of his kingdom, the city susan was the capital of his kingdom. Apr 24, 20 red sun western charles bronson action film free western movie full length english hd duration. The book was originally written in hebrew, but the ancient greek translation known as the septuagint abbreviated lxx is also a very important witness to the text. And esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. Heh, its from the book of the greatest stories ever told. The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage, divine timing and gods supreme love. The btext is presented in the septuagint, which is a greek translation of the bible, while the atext is a shorter version, referred to as the lucianic text. Biblical literature greek additions to esther britannica. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people.
He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia. Please check the reference to make sure it is correct. Of course, the genius of the biblical esther is precisely that it tells the story without mentioning god all the while showing, rather than telling, of his divine power and protection of israel. But hamans plans include something horrible for mordecai and his people. The babylonian talmud attributes the writing of esther to the men of the great synagogue 3. 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. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. A crisis for the jews when mordecai learned what was going on, he tore his clothes, dressed in mourning clothes, and put ashes on his head.
She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Esther is one of three books in the hebrew canon to have survived in two distinct greek versions. The book of esther has a james bondish, tickingtimebomb plot. Although the book of esther was questioned by some early christians, even st. What is book of esther about and why should i care.
The book of esther, which is read on purim and to which that holiday is dedicated, has been interpreted many ways. This helps in finding out the theme of the paragraph. It is reprinted with permission from the jps bible commentary. The original hebrew version is found in protestant and jewish translations of the old testament, while catholic and orthodox bibles include the longer, greek. The lxx translation of esther it can be said that the. He was a jew, and dwelt in the city of susa, a great man, who was a servant in the kings court. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. 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. One of the major thrusts of the additions a, c, d, and f and a sub in addition e is. The question of historicity seems to have loomed larger for esther than for most other. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. Xerxes is the greek and latin xerxes, xerses transliteration of the old iranian.
The book of esther and ancient storytelling society of biblical. So the king and haman came to the dinner that esther had prepared. Its also heavy on action, drama, and game of thronesstyle intrigue, while being notably lacking in legal codes, commandments, theologyall that kind of thing. Greek esther 1 common english bible ceb addition a mordecais dream. The only direct reference to religion in hebrew esther is found in ch. To bring the canonical book uptodate in connection with contemporary antisemitism and to stress the religious meaning of the story, additions were made in its greek translation.
Social security administration data, the first name esther ranks 56 th in popularity as a baby girls name in indiana. The river is esther, whom the king married and made queen. The two surviving greek versions are the btext and the atext. The story line is the same in each versiona romantic history that tells how a beautiful woman, esther, becomes queen of persia and foils a plot by haman to kill all jews in persia. When mordecai perceived all that was donerelying on the irrevocable nature of a persian monarchs decree daniel 6. Esther and apocryphal esther messianic jewish musings. Esther presents us with an unusual opportunity to study the early growth and interpretation of a biblical story. Josephus affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 4.
Based upon the book of esther, this delightful retelling emphasizes the value of courage, faith and obedience. Its very enjoyable, especially if you love history and romance. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. Esther 4 erv mordecai persuades esther to help bible. Jerome, the whole book, including the greek additions, was included in the canon of scripture by the council of trent. The hebrew book of esther had a religious and social value to the jews during the time of greek and roman antisemitism, though the hebrew short story did not directly mention gods intervention in historyand even god himself is not named. He went only as far as the kings gate and stood there because it was against the law for anyone to pass through it wearing mourning clothes. 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. Yet it misses the genius of the biblical 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. He was a jew residing in the city of susa, a prominent man who served at the. One night with the king original motion picture score licensed to youtube by. We must obey god by surrender to the lord with our lives,so many can come to the kingdom of god. It is up to mordecais niece esther to win the affection of the king, unmask hamans treachery and save the jewish people. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. Greek esther 1 ceb addition amordecais dream in the. Apocrypha esther greek of the king james bible 1611. Ahasuerus then makes arrangements to choose a new queen from a selection of beautiful young women from throughout the empire 2.
Jew read the bible much as the ancient greek read herodotus. His predecessor was king darius 522485 bc who is mentioned in ezra 4. Bickerman, studies in jewish and christian history agju ix, leiden 1976, 22545 the colophon of the greek book of esther, 24674 notes on the greek book of. Cd baby sync publishing, and 5 music rights societies. Esther 4 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. The objective of the book of esther may be fourfold. Esther 14 new international version niv queen vashti deposed.
741 705 1318 750 807 684 1015 777 594 207 1334 20 1557 1178 476 1646 113 810 501 1443 275 1091 1434 1157 282 16 765 1145 372