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The Story
Esther, who is also known as the Heroine of the Jews, was a young Jewish woman growing up in the 400s B.C. in Susa, Persia, around the time of the fierce war commander, Xerxes. Esther's first name was actually Hadassah. Later on, she changed it to Esther which was based on Ishtar, goddess of love and war. When her parents died, Esther went to go live with her cousin Mordecai. Now around this time King Ahasuerus was ruling. He had three different capitals. Persopolis was the official capital and burial place. Ecbatana was the summer capital and Susa (where they are at during this story) was the winter capital. The palace in Susa was probably the most fancy of the three.
The Audience hall was many colors and there were numerous paintings on the walls. Materials from all over the empire were staioned everywhere. Silver Goblets lined the tables and marble pillars surrounded rooms.
Now the king had this ceremony and on the seventh day of this ceremony the king would always get drunk and show his wife, Vashti, to all the other men. This particular time, Vashti refused to come, perhaps because it was very embarrassing. Ahasuerus had her banished and then ordered all the beautiful virgins to the empire, Esther was among them. The way this worked was kind of like one of those reality shows that you would see on MTV. King Ahasuerus would spend time and sleep with each girl and he would call back the one he loved the most. After Esther's turn with the king was up, she was chosen and made queen of Persia, however she kept the identity of her Jewish background a secret.
Now there was a man by the name of Haman, and he was soon promoted to prime minister. The power soon went to his head and he ordered everyone to bow down to him. Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman. Haman grew very angry with Mordecai and ordered destruction of all the Jews in the province. Now because Haman was a prime minister, he had a a royal signet ring that he sealed laws with and once they were sealed, not even the kings could repeal them. Before passing the law however, he had to go to Ahasuerus to get permission. Haman made a proposal of money that he would give to the king if he let him pass the law, but Ahasuerus, knowing it would be the victim's money, refused it and passed the law. Mordecai consulted Esther about this new law and asked her to save the Jews from destruction. Esther agreeed and revealed her Jewish identity to the king. He had Haman hung and even though he could not repeal the law, he sent a law out saying that Jews could protect themselves from anyone trying to kill them. Esther, fearing for her kin, soon heard that the Jews and slain thousands of men in order to save themselves.
The story ended happily. The bad guy died. All his possessions were given to Esther, and all the Jews were safe. All was well.
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This story is important in Salvation History because Esther saved the lives of thousands of Jews. She also represents the idea of an unlikely hero because she was a women and she was a Jew in a Persian society. Esther was a savior to many Jews. She resembled hope and courage. She remained loyal to her heritage and customs and didn't abandon them like she much more easily could have done instead of risking everything she had for them. She is a strong role model for us all, even today.
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Famous Quote made by Esther
"If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman, son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the King. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?" (Esther 8: 5-7)
QUIZ TIME!!
- What kingdom in Persia was Esther living in?
- What was Esther's first name?
- Who did Esther go live with when her parents died?
- Why did the king banish Vashti?
- Why couldn't the king just repeal the law allowing the destruction of the Jews?
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If you have any questions, corrections, comments or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail me at grego1124@sbcglobal.net
-Done by G. Scheetz. Freshmen Theology Project, 2008.