The Rabbis also offer various proofs that the Book of Esther was written with the spirit of divine inspiration. Lit. cit.). [9] For more on Esthers diplomacy and its place in theMegillahand in understanding female biblical characters, see Michael Foxs TABS essayThe Women in Esther.. 49). According to the second direction, Esther was her real name, and she is so named throughout the Book of Esther; accordingly, the name Hadassah needs further explanation. Esther, the orphaned cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai, won the kings devotion and was chosen to be the new queen; Mordecai had instructed her to not reveal that she was Jewish. Updates? Mordecai was Esthers cousin and guardian, having adopted her as his daughter when her parents died. This makes Esther 60 years younger than her cousin Mordecai. She recognizes that she needs to personally plead the king to save her people but knows this act is a grave transgression. As a result of her mother's death . The Book of Esther tells of Esther marrying King Ahasuerus of Persia and therefore becoming his queen. Mordecai is promoted to the second highest ranking position in the empire, and Esther is given control of the household of Haman. Ahasueruss intimates attempted sorcery, so that her hands and feet would look like leather hides, but a miracle was performed for her and they began to shine like sapphires (Midrash Tehilim, onPs. [1] As shall be discussed further below, much of what we know about Shelamzion Alexandra comes from Josephuss two accounts of her reign inJewish War1.107-119 andJewish Antiquities13.398-432. Esther remained passive and allowed the King to rape her repeatedly. When we celebrate Purim, may we laugh with Esther and Mordecai, but also remember Queen Shelamzion Alexandra, praise her example, and wish that Eretz Israel may experience those heavenly rains of peace again in our time. Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her father's flock. [2] See Ilan,Integrating women, 127, commenting onJewish War1.71 andJewishAntiquities13.302. Esther had been made queen to save her people; her mission and her faith shaped her character and inspired her to act and succeed. Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. Rabbah6:5). The Rabbis describe at length Esthers activities after she learned of Hamans decree against the Jews. Narrator: After Haman died, King Ahasuerus gave a second decree to preserve the Jews and give them power to destroy their enemies within the kingdom. cit.). Just as the myrtle is sweet-smelling but has a bitter taste, so Esther was sweet to Ahasuerus, but bitter to Haman (Esth. This prayer also mentioned her situation, which contrasted with that of Sarah andRebekah: they were taken for a single night to the court of a foreign king and miracles were performed for them. Daniel probably died shortly after Darius took the throne in 521 So, we know that Daniel was dead long before Esther was born and They married in 478 BC after the former queen, Vashti, was banished for being unable to fulfill her husband's demands. He killed Haman in 473BC, when he was 45 ( Esther 3:7 ). does not give many details of Esther's life, Persian records do. The monarch of Persia, King Ahasuerus, was wealthy and powerful. Others have suggested an earlier date of translation, ca. The events of Esther took place between 483 and 473 BC, during the first part of King Xerxes's reign when he appointed Esther as his queen. Esthers story culminates when the beloved queen is faced with the decision to either continue to disguise her Jewish heritage and maintain her safety or jeopardize everything to advocate for her people. These actions demonstrated the kings respect and admiration for Esther and earned her the loyalty of her people. point. Continue Learning about Religious Studies. The Rabbis relate to Esther as the one responsible for the deliverance of Israel and compare her to the moon, which shone for Israel in the darkness of night. He asked what she wanted. point). According to one tradition, he could not find a wet nurse and he himself miraculously had milk and nursed her(Gen. Rabbah30:8). She greatly feared to appear before Ahasuerus. "Esther: Midrash and Aggadah." Consequently, Esther was not considered to be a married woman who willingly engaged in adultery, and she was therefore permitted to Mordecai; indeed, the Rabbis maintain that she continued to live with the latter, at the same time that she was married to Ahasuerus (BT Megillah 13b). Most people have never heard of Queen Shelamzion Alexandra. After she tested positive for . My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? Jesus or Esther? Estimates vary, but she was most likely between 50 and 60 years old when she died. She and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman. Later, when Queen Vashti refused to appear before Ahasuerus (in Esther ch.1), Memuchan, a Persian royal adviser, advised King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) to remove Vashti from being Queen of Persia, and King Ahasuerus agreed to his advice. 49). For an analysis of these sources and their reliability, see Tal Ilan,Integrating Women into Second Temple History(Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999), esp. He became King of Persia in 485BC at the age of 33. He was born in 518BC. I'm also The combined symptoms in Esther signify that she was suffering from a serious psychiatric illness, but the precise diagnosis remains unclear. Queen Vashti has been banished and an edict goes out for all qualified young virgins throughout the empire to be taken to the palace as he searches for a new queen. They derive this from the various verses that reflect the thought of the characters, or that attest to actions of which a normal person could not be cognizant, such as Haman said to himself(Esth. 2:5as being a Benjaminite, from which the Rabbis assumed that Esther also came from this tribe. Fear strikes in the hearts of many, including Mordecai, as he realizes Hadassah will be taken. The Book ofEsther (2:11)relates that Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring. The Rabbis understood Mordecais escorting of Esther as his providing her withThe legal corpus of Jewish laws and observances as prescribed in the Torah and interpreted by rabbinic authorities, beginning with those of the Mishnah and Talmud.halakhic guidance, for he would rule for her in questions ofMenstruation; the menstruant woman; ritual status of the menstruant woman.niddah (the laws governing menstrual purity, and, more generally, family purity; see below: Esthers Personal Status"). [12] Ilan, Esther, Judith and Susanna as Propaganda for Shelamzions Queenship,Integrating Women, 135. Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). 2:7states: Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter [literally: took herle-vat], which the midrash understands as: Mordecai took herle-bayit, that is, as a wife (BTMegillahloc. Laying the scene atSusa, a residential city of the Persian kings, the Book of Esther narrates thatKing Ahasuerus deposed his first wife, Queen Vashti, after she refused to display her beauty to the people and nobles at the kings feast. The answer she gave was that anasmakhta(Scriptural support) for the writing of the Book of Esther is to be found in the verses mandating that the memory of Amalek be blotted out, with the explicit command(Ex. 114 BCE: see Carey Moore, On the Origins of the LXX Additions to the Book of Esther,JBL92.3 (1973): 382-83. When word of the planned massacre reachedEsther, she risked her life by going uninvited to the king to suggest a banquet that Haman would attend. Alexandra the Maccabee (died ca. Furthermore, he commanded all the provinces of his realm to provide special favors and tax exemptions to Esther and her people, the Jews. 31 December 1999. The story of the underdog, of the weaker winning against the stronger, is the quintessential biblical and Jewish theme, but it is not often that Israel is figuredliterarily or in realityas a woman and still praised as pious, divinely appointed, and beloved.[13]. How old was Queen Elizabeth II when she died? Routing number of commercial bank of Ethiopia? Esther was a young Jewish girl taken into the palace of the king of Persia, King Ahasuerus. The courtiers hoped that she would be executed like Vashti and that they would be able to apportion her clothing and jewelry among themselves; those close to Ahasuerus encircled her and harassed her on her way to the king, while Hamans sons awaited her downfall. 10:3) was able to have interceded for the welfare of all his kindred (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, chap. Elizabeth I is one of England's most well-known monarchs. The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. Taken to the palace of King Ahasuerus of Persia, she exposed the plot of the evil Haman, who had convinced the king to allow the annihilation of all the Jews in his extensive empire. In addition, she serves as an example of how to effectively use your voice and influence to make a difference. Kings David and Solomon had many wives, some more influential than others, but they are never represented as ruling in their husbands stead. The Talmud reveals that Esther's relationship with Ahasuerus wasn't a romantic one. The Funeral of Queen Victoria by Wiliam Lionel Wylie (c) National Maritime Museum. The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll.Megillah loc. In Jacobs blessing to his sons, he blesses Benjamin(Gen. 49:27): Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he consumes the foe, and in the evening he divides the spoil, which the Rabbis applied to Mordecai and Esther. Hatach and Esther. The day before, the 96-year-old queen pulled out of a virtual Privy Council meeting after her doctors advised her to rest. Ahasuerus promised Esther that he would grant her request, even to half the kingdom(Esth. 7:6): The adversary and enemy, she first pointed to Ahasuerus, but the king moved her hand in Hamans direction. She was 96 years old. Mordecai and Esther respond to this that the story in the Book of Esther was already recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Media and Persia(Esth. What episode does Squidward say the F word. Nevertheless, this must not have an easy decision for her; just one generation before her, the wife of the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus was starved to death by her son when she tried to remain queen. [7] See Elsie Sterns reading of Megillat Esther as a cautionary tale for Jews living in the Diaspora in her TABS essay, Megillat Esther: A Godless and Assimilated Diaspora.. cit.). Esther's Origins and Her Adoption by Mordecai. According to one tradition, Esther was responsible for Mordecais being seated at the palace gate, since she told Ahasuerus that all the great kings seated a Jewish advisor at the gate (Midrash Abba Gurionloc. She married her cousin Alexander of Judaea (died 48 BC), who was the son of Aristobulus II. Guy Siverson Graceful Touch | Massage Therapy Therapist (s) | Rapid City Author has 5.2K answers and 2.7M answer views 7 mo Esther 2:7 King James Version cit.). No, Esther and Mordecai were not married. He even granted permission for the Jews to arm themselves with weapons and deliver the kings edicts throughout the kingdom. Given new belongings (Esther 2:9). 2). Queen Sheba the famous rich queen , never did marry king Is the singer Avant and R Kelly brothers? The Jews receive permission to defend themselves against their oppressors, and many of the enemies of the Jews are killed. A seven-day festival to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt (eight days outside Israel) beginning on the 15. How can we explain Esther's abrupt change in behavior from deep despair to determined action and from passiveness to leadership? This, then, is the meaning of(Esth. King Xerxes: King Xerxes married Esther when he was 41 years old. Esther had In contrast, the BT also cites a tradition that Esther had a greenish [sallow] complexion, and therefore was called Hadassah; according to this tradition, Ahasuerus was drawn to her because she was endowed with great charm (BTMegillahloc. The night of their union, Ahasuerus loved Esther "above all women" and made her the Persian Empire's Queen. probably lived at the same time. The ministering angels took action to inflame Ahasueruss wrath: they appeared as people cutting the trees in his garden, and when the king asked why they were doing this, they said that they were acting on Hamans orders. 22:16). 9:23): The Jews accordingly assumed an obligation [ve-kibel] that which they had begun to practice.Ve-kibelis written in the singular, thus alluding to God(Ruth Rabbah4:1; BT Megillah 7a). She she fasts for three days, she goes to the king, enduring many obstacles while traveling through the palace but protected by angels. She reigned in the first century BCE, sixty years after the Hasmoneans achieved independence from the Seleucid Empire and a few decades before King Herod. Rabbah6:5; BTLit. When she became orphaned, she was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. The Rabbis accordingly relate her to the MatriarchRachel, the mother of the tribe of Benjamin. Their legal marriage age suggests that they prefer young people below 18 (prime of the youth). Hearing the horror of the planned genocide, the light went on: Esther connected with her inner self and understood why she had been made queen. Rabbah1:41; BT Megillah 16a). When, several years later, Nehemiah asked the Persian King for permission to return to Zion and rebuild Jerusalem, "the Queen is seating by him" (Nehemia 2:6), and she influenced the King's decision to approve Nehamia's request. The actual origins of the Purim festival, which was already long established by the 2nd centurybce, remain unknown. "And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all who saw her." (2:15). We rely on the support of readers like you. She ordered her uncle: "Go, gather together all the Jews and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day." Another tradition has Mordecais wife nursing the infant (Midrash Tehilim, onPs. She succeeded in remaining concealed for four years but was eventually found and brought to the royal palace. Rabbah15:6). She was compared to the dawn, for just as the dawn breaks at the end of each night, so, too, Esther [i.e., the miraculous delivery of the Jews] came after there had been no miracles [during the period of exile and darkness](BTYoma29a). The King also issued a proclamation throughout the land to honor Mordecai. As the Queen died on the Isle of Wight, her body was carried on board the HMY Alberta with several yachts taking the mourners and King Edward VII to Gosport in Hampshire and then by train to Victoria station in London. Some may have stumbled upon the street named after her in downtown Jerusalem, but otherwise, she is generally only briefly mentioned, marginalized, and almost written out of the historical record. Vintage colour lithograph from 1882 of Esther standing in the Inner Court of the King's House. guessing that Nehemiah was probably not around when the events of Gaalya Cornfeld, ed.,Josephus: The Jewish War; Zondervan Publishing House, 1982). Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It was Mordecai who helped Esther win the favor of the King, who then chose her to be his queen. 7:5states: Thereupon King Ahasuerus demanded [va-yomerliterally, and he saidwritten twice in the verse] of Queen Esther, Who is he. The midrash is of the opinion that the verbva-yomeris repeated here because Ahasuerus initially spoke directly to Esther, but when he discovered that she was a Jew, he spoke to her through an interpreter. In the midrashic exposition, Ahasuerus tries to discover Esthers origins, explaining that this would be beneficial for her relatives, since he would appoint them to important positions (Midrash Panim Aherimloc.
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