by Stephen Rodgers
ESTHER IN 10 WORDS OR LESS
“Beautiful Jewish girl becomes queen, saves fellow Jews from slaughter.”
TITLE
Invariably this book has held the title of “Esther;” unlike other books of the Bible, it has never been known by any other name. With the exception of Ruth, Esther is the only book of the Bible named after a woman, in this case one of the central characters of the book.
The name “Esther” itself is somewhat problematic: the Hebrew word (Hadassah) means “myrtle,” and derived either from the Persian word for “star” or the name of the Babylonian love goddess Ishtar. (This itself is potentially alarming since names have great significance in Scripture, and character with foreign names such as “Esther” and “Mordecai” would have set off warning bells in the minds of ancient Jewish readers).
AUTHOR & AUDIENCE
Jewish tradition holds that Mordecai was the author of Esther, although Ezra and Nehemiah have also been suggested. Ultimately the author is unknown, although the following characteristics of the author are known:
- The author had a detailed knowledge of Persian customs, etiquette, and history (along with particular familiarity with the palace at Shushan).
- The author had intimate knowledge of the Hebrew calendar and customs.
- The author had a strong sense of Jewish nationalism.
The original audience of Esther would have been Israelites familiar with the events described in the book, along with contemporary Jews living in other regions.
DATE
The events described in Esther occurred between 483 BC and 473 BC (the year Ahasuerus was assassinated).
The date that Esther was written is a bit more difficult to pin down, but it can be confined to a range of approximately 450 BC to 331 BC (the year that Greece conquered Persia).
BACKGROUND & SETTING
Understanding the context of Esther requires first placing it within the appropriate historical period: the Persian period of ca. 539 BC to 331 BC. Second, it requires placing it within the appropriate location of Biblical chronology, which is between the first return of the Jews under Zerubbabel ( ca. 538 BC) and the second return under Ezra (ca. 458 BC). The third return under Nehemiah (ca. 445 BC) would not occur until later.
A number of discrepancies in the book of Esther (the lack of direct mention of God, prayer, significant elements of Jewish identity) than have long alarmed readers and theologians (both ancient and modern) are best explained and understood as deliberate. After all, this is not a story of the Jews who were eager to return to their native land and practices; this is the story of the Jews who wanted to stay. While many Jews were eager to shake the dust of their exile from their feet and return home, others had adapted to their life in foreign lands and seemed quite comfortable and acclimated there.
As a result, we have a window into God’s sovereign care and protection of a people who have largely abandoned certain elements of their heritage (such as names, religious practices and devotion, etc.).
HISTORICAL & THEOLOGICAL THEMES
There are four significant themes that are on display in the book of Esther.
- God’s Sovereignty. While Esther and Mordecai are unquestionably important to the narrative, the central character is clearly God (who is notably never named directly). Instead, a series of orchestrated “coincidences” demonstrate His control over history even when He is not seen directly.
- Service. Esther and Mordecai were providentially placed in their respective positions to serve God’s ends (Esther 4:14). They perform key actions throughout the book, but they do so (perhaps unwittingly) in service to God.
- Obedience. The book of Esther clearly shows that to be obedient to one authority often requires disobedience to another. Esther obeyed Mordecai (Esther 2:10,20; 4:8-16) but stood against Persian law in the process (Esther 4:11,16; 5:1-2). Mordecai defied the king (Esther 3:2-8) but obeyed Esther (Esther 4:17). In similar fashion, obeying God takes precedence over human law and concerns (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29).
- Pride. Haman is a prototypical arrogant individual (Esther 3:5; 5:9-14; 7:8-10) who is contrasted with Mordecai who sought no status for himself, and was elevated by the LORD (using king as an instrument) (Esther 6:1-13; 8:9-15; James 4:10).
I want to briefly expand on the first point, by elaborating that God’s sovereignty in Esther is clearly exemplified in his invisible hand of providence. MacArthur explains it in this way:
Esther could be compared to a chess game. God and Satan (as invisible players) moved real kings, queens, and nobles. When Satan put Haman into place, it was as if he announced “Check.” God then positioned Esther and Mordecai in order to put Satan into “Checkmate!” … While God was not mentioned in Esther, He was everywhere apparent as the One who opposed and foiled Satan’s diabolical schemes by providential intervention.
INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES
The primary interpretive challenge found in the book of Esther is the lack of any direct mention of God. While I address this at some length in the OBJECTIONS section below from the perspective of one outside the faith, I believe MacArthur does an excellent job of addressing it from an insider’s perspective:
It seems satisfying to respond that if God desired to be mentioned, He could just as sovereignly have moved the author to write of Him as He acted to save Israel. This situation seems to be more of a problem at the human level than the divine, because Esther is the classic illustration of God’s providence as He, the unseen power, controls everything for His purpose. There are no miracles in Esther, but the preservation of Israel through providential control of every event and person reveals the omniscience and omnipotence of Jehovah. Whether He is named is not the issue. He is clearly the main character in the drama.
LITERARY FEATURES
The literary form of Esther is a hero story; I like to think of it as the book of the Bible most likely to become a Disney movie. Think about it:
“…there’s an explicitly beautiful heroine, a romantic love thread, a dire threat to the good characters, a thoroughly evil villain, suspense, dramatic irony, evocative descriptions of exotic places, sudden reversal of action, poetic justice, and a happy ending.” (ESV Study Bible)
OBJECTIONS
The NET Bible notes does an excellent job of outlining the most common objection to the book of Esther,which ironically enough are theological in character:
“In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books ‘spoken against’). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. More recently, Martin Luther questioned the canonicity of this book. Although the book does not directly mention God it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination.”
Additionally, there are two additional types of objections that are raised against Esther, albeit less often: historical and textual.
Historically, some scholars have argued that Esther is not reliable. This objection has been severely undermined by recent work by D. Clines who points to a number of details in Esther that are confirmed by extra-Biblical sources: 1) the extent of the empire under Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1), 2) the council of seven nobles (Esther 1:14), 3) the postal system (Esther 3:13; 8:10), 4) the keeping of official diaries (Esther 2:23), 5) the use of gallows (which is likely a misnomer) (Esther 2:23; 5:14; 7:10), 6) the practice of obeisance to kings and nobles (Esther 3:2), 7) the belief in lucky days (Esther 3:7), 8) crowns on horses (Esther 6:8), and 9) reclining on couches at meals (Esther 7:8).
Textually, Esther has a bit of a muddled pedigree, with three competing texts: the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT), the Greek Text (LXX), and another Greek Text known as the “alternative Alpha Text” (AT). They are probably best understood as relating to one another as follows:
- The AT is a Greek translation of the earliest form of the Hebrew text (possibly the letters of Mordecai mentioned in Esther 9:20)
- The MT is the Hebrew version of the final form of the text
- The LXX is a translation of the MT, with a number of non-canonical additions
NOTABLE QUOTABLES
DID YOU KNOW?
- God’s name is never mentioned in the book of Esther, a fact that caused considerable distress for a number of people (see OBJECTIONS)
- Esther is never quoted directly in the OT or the NT
- Prayer is never mentioned in Esther, although fasting is (Esther 4:16)
Other Works Referenced
- Apologetics Study Bible, “Esther Introduction”
- Archaeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Esther”
- ESV Study Bible, “Introduction to Esther”
- MacArthur Study Bible, “Esther”
- NET Bible, Esther
- NIV Study Bible, Esther
- Reformation Study Bible, “The Book of Esther”
- The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook, “Esther”
- Know Your Bible
- Driscoll, A Book You’ll Actually Read On the Old Testament
- Knight, The Layman’s Bible Handbook
