Today we begin a study of a new book, one of the most unusual in the
Hebrew Scriptures. Here is Lawrence Boadt’s perspective on it….
The
Book of Esther contains a thrilling tale of escape from mortal danger for the
Jews. It is set in the Persian period under King Xerxes, who ruled from 486 to
465, and tells the story of a beautiful young Jewish maiden, Esther, who is
chosen to be the queen when he becomes angry with his first queen and divorces
her. Esther brings along her cousin and guardian, Mordecai, but soon he has enraged
the Persian prime minister, Haman, by refusing him the proper signs or respect.
In anger, Haman convinces the king that he should destroy all the Jews in a day
of slaughter because they follow their own religion and do not worship as the
Persians do. In this crisis, Mordecai convinces Esther to go before the king
and change his mind. The king is won over when he realizes Haman’s intentions,
and he instead orders the prime minister to be slain while he gives the Jews
permission to have their day of slaughter against their enemies. The book ends
with the establishment of the feast of Purim, to be kept forever as a memorial
of this great day of victory.
Thus
one purpose of the book is to give the reason for the feast of Purim. But
another reason is to show that the Jewish people must always keep themselves
separated from the dangers of pagan governments and be prepared to defend their
own faith when it is in danger. Interestingly, although every other book of the
Old Testament has been found at Qumran among the famous Dead Sea Scrolls, no
copy of Esther is known. The reason for this may well be in the wild nature of
the feast of Purim at the time. The Jewish rabbis who wrote the Talmud noted
that the two-day festival (one day to celebrate the slaughter of enemies in
Persia, the second to celebrate the slaughter of those in the provinces) became
so carried away with wine and rejoicing that some could not distinguish between
“Blest be Mordecai” and “Cursed be Haman.” For the sectarian Jews who lived a
monastic life in the desert at Qumran, such levity was not tolerable.
But
the Book of Esther was much appreciated in mainline Judaism. It became part of
the Megilloth, the scroll of five short books that were to be read on feast
days. Since the book was written to explain why a feast came to be, a real
incident probably lies somewhere behind the present drama. Although the written
story of Esther is played out on the level of the king and queen of Persia, it
builds upon some local threat to the Jewish community that was averted by an
unknown heroine. This small, original event became celebrated in prayer and
story and from it the authors developed their final version. It is a difficult
book to love since the spirit of vengeance seems to dominate the story.
Moreover, it never mentions God or his direct help to his people. No one is
sure why this is so, but it scandalized even the early Jewish translators of
the Septuagint, who added to their translation prayers and petitions from
Esther and Mordecai directly to God. The whole book must come from the latest
Persian period or early Greek times. Its themes of divine help for persecuted
Jews and the destruction of all their enemies are also found among other late
books such as Judith and Daniel.[1]
Regardless of the book’s historical element, Esther contains many
strong literary points. The first chapter is fascinating in its presentation of
the wealth and intrigue of the Persian court of Xerxes/Ahasuerus. Of special
interest is the story of Queen Vashti who comes off as the first feminist,
saying “no” to her husband the king. This event sends all the courtiers
scrambling for a response, for fear that all the women in the Persian kingdom
will follow Vashti’s example.
The tale of Esther and her cousin Mordecai in chapter two is told with
fine literary detail. Their characters are carefully drawn. Once again, we get
a window into the life of the Persian court, and a Persian harem in particular
with its eunuchs, vast number of concubines, cosmetic treatments (I wonder what
they were?) and all the rest.
Chapter three introduces the reader to the evil Haman the Agagite. Is
he a descendant of the king who is slaughtered by the prophet Samuel in that
earlier book? Haman rises to a high level in the court of Xerxes, perhaps
because of his financial contributions to the king’s coffers. Mordecai, as a
Jew, refuses to bow down to a human being, since the Jews would only bow to
their God, though God is not even mentioned in this book. This leads Haman to
bribe the king into issuing a decree not just against Mordecai but against all
the Jews. Reading the book of Esther in light of the twentieth century
Holocaust is truly chilling.
Chapter four contains the communications back and forth by courier
between Mordecai, outside the palace, and Esther within the confines of the
harem inside the palace. In these communications, they plot their response to
the king’s decree. This chapter contains perhaps the most remembered verses in
the entire book of Esther:
Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think that
in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if
you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for
the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish.
Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as
this.” (Esther 4:13-14)
These verses are a good reminder to each of us,
that even when God does not seem to be active in our lives, there is still a
plan being carried out in each one of our lives. Perhaps each of us has come to
our present position in life “for such a time as this” to carry out God’s
unique purposes for his kingdom.
Comments