movie). assumed in to the next King's harem (also possiblealthough a After Esthers coronation, the king continues to gather virgins in his palace, which the Rabbis understand as an activity meant to reveal Esthers identity. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He wished Queen Vashti to be brought to the feast so that he may flaunt her wonderful beauty. In the Book of Lamentations Israel bemoan (5:3): We have become orphans, fatherless, and God promises them the redemption of the fatherless and motherless orphan (Lam. They did not have the riches that Esther had. Josephus tells us that she was loved by the masses of the Jewish people (Jewish Antiquities 13:407). Nonetheless, it is clear that Esthers mental state was severely compromised and debilitating. 22:16). I told her not to tell anyone she was an Israelite, though, because a lot of people still didn't like Israelites and I thought King Xerxes might not pick her to be the new queen if he knew she was an . 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. Perhaps there is room for a role model of the leader who advocates peace, piety, and diplomacy as well. 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. , Rabbi Nathan states, In its season from Shabbat night to Shabbat night, the way [rains] fell in the days of Queen Shelamzion., Megillat Esther: A Godless and Assimilated Diaspora.. and Nehemiah may have known each other personally. 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. 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. Mordecai then spoke these famous words, Do not think to yourself that in the kings palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your fathers house will perish. Estimates vary, but she was most likely between 50 and 60 years old when she died. 10:2). A few of them, such as Nehemiah, Mordecai and Daniel, rose to positions of prominence under the Babylonian kings.The last of the Prophets of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) were still living.King Cyrus had recently made his famous proclamation (2 Chronicles 36:22-23) allowing the Jews to resettle Judea (Israel), and some had gone up with Zerubavel, but the enemies of the Jews had then slandered them (Ezra ch.4), causing the Babylonian king to put a stop to the rebuilding and resettlement of Judea. Notably, Shelamzion maintained peace through defensive measures and diplomatic outreach rather than outright acts of aggression. It is known that Esther was the daughter of Abihail, and she had married King Xerxes of Persia around the age of 18. He asked what she wanted. He became King of Persia in 485BC at the age of 33. missed each other by at least 50 years. In another exposition, she was given this name by the Gentiles, after the celestial body Istahar (BTLit. What did this queen do? She had two grown sons (Aristobulus and Hyrcanus II), but she decided not to step aside for them; perhaps she foresaw that the rivalry between the younger and older son would not end well. brought him up to be favorable to the Jews and he later rebuilt the Esther: A Queen Under Control. Esther's Origins and Her Adoption by Mordecai. 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"). The Rabbis were concerned about the question of Esthers marital status. In a 1957 Christmas Broadcast, the Queen promised the United Kingdom she would give her . was the wife of the Persian King Xerxes [aka "Ahasuerus" in many 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]. She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai had discovered the evil plan of two palace administrators, Bigthan and Teresh, and he wanted to make sure the king was aware of the danger and could take proper precautions to protect himself. Queen Esther died in 473 BCE, so she was likely in her late fifties or early sixties at the time of her death. Despite her hiding her identity, Esther still maintained contact with Mordecai. In the Erez Israel tradition, she miscarried the fetus she bore in her womb (the offspring of Ahasuerus) (Esth. She was the last of the house of Hanover and . He deposed Queen Vashti in 483/482BC when he was 36 ( Esther 1:3 ). Esther was born about 492BC and was 14 when she became Queen. Esther asked Mordecai to fast for three days, even though the third day was the first day of the holiday ofA seven-day festival to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt (eight days outside Israel) beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. point). Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. Alexandra the Maccabee. On the third day, Queen Esther put on her royal robes and presented herself to King Xerxes, even though her husband had not requested her presence in over a month. In conclusion, yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin. Prof. Mika Ahuvia is Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Washington and currently holds the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies. Before she went to Ahasuerus, Esther uttered the prayer: O Lord, the God of Israel, who has reigned from days of yore and created the universe, help, please, Your handmaiden who has remained an orphan without father and mother, and who is compared to a pauper who begs from door to door. She overtook Queen. cit.). Nehemiah probably knew of Queen Read Esther 4:1-17. Esthers extreme courage and her willingness to risk her own life for the safety of her people serves as an inspiration to this day. The Jewish dietary laws delineating the permissible types of food and methods of their preparation. Another tradition has Esther reciting this psalm during the three days of fasting that preceded her going to Ahasuerus: My God on the first day, my God on the second day, and why have You abandoned me? on the third. If her queenship was unprecedented in the second temple period, it was not unprecedented in the Jewish imaginationQueen Esther had made it possible to imagine a Jewish queen positively. The Queen was the oldest monarch to have reigned in Britain before she passed away in September 2022, aged 96. This book therefore has the same sanctity as the other books of Scripture. How can we explain Esther's abrupt change in behavior from deep despair to determined action and from passiveness to leadership? Queen Esther died in 473 BCE, so she was likely in her late fifties or early sixties at the time of her death. We rely on the support of readers like you. Sort by: Most popular. 5:3), but not things that were opposed to the kingdom, such as her asking him to rebuild the Temple (BT Megillah loc. Just as a wolf seizes its spoils, so did Esther seize the throne; similarly, Mordecai and Esther divided Hamans spoils among them (Gen. Rabbah[ed. When we talk about Esther in the Book of Esther, we can't ignore many other characters in the book as they seem to play roles almost as important as hers. Codification of basic Jewish Oral Law; edited and arranged by R. Judah ha-Nasi c. 200 C.E. Esther took her turn after 12 months of preparation, and she was chosen as queen: "She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. The king did not believe in God but Esther did. Additionally, Hamans royal throne and belongings were given to Mordecai, and he was honored by the people of the city. The Funeral of Queen Victoria by Wiliam Lionel Wylie (c) National Maritime Museum. The Bible doesn't say how old Esther was when she married him, but if she was 17 this would make her born in 500BC. 4:16) and if I am to perish, I shall perish.". He also appointed her as queen of the Persian Empire and gave her a royal medal of honor. "scroll." Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). a. Esther turns in prayer to God and compares the situation of the Jews of Persia to that of the Jews in Egypt: in Egypt the Jews cried out and were answered; and in Persia, they fasted, prayed and cried out over their tribulation and the decree that was harsher than that during the time of the Egyptian servitude. By merit of this, Mordecai(Esth. 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." The historical reality of this biblical episode, and whether or not Esther actually existed, has often been questioned. Rabbah30:4). As a result of his heroic actions, Mordecai was honored by King Ahasuerus for his bravery, and he was made Prime Minister with great authority. When Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman at the gate, Haman was extremely offended and sought to have Mordecai killed. Esther, heroine and central figure in the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Although the Bible For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. How Can a Torah Commentary Be Source-Critical and Jewish? 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. After she came to the fourth department, Ahasueruss ire was aroused and he remembered Vashti, who did not come into him despite his repeated requests, while Esther came into him without permission, like a harlot. Dont miss the latest essays from TheTorah.com. Queen Sheba the famous rich queen , never did marry king Esther herself observed the commandment of searching for thehamez(Esth. The Book of Esther tells of Esther marrying King Ahasuerus of Persia and therefore becoming his queen. She was 96. Since the king had commanded Haman to have Mordecai dressed in the kings clothes, Esther ordered the bathing attendants not to work that day, so that Haman would be forced to serve Mordecai himself (Lev. Haman, too, was troubled by the question of Esthers origins. It was only when Esther came that Ahasuerus removed the likeness of Vashti and replaced it with that of Esther (Esth. She was in a foreign land without the protection and support of her people. As Esther poured her tears and anguish into the jar, it became a bridge between her innermost feelings and the outside world. Despite the close bond they had, they remained uncle and niece and were not married. Esth. This exegesis casts the Biblical narrative in a different light. She was able to use the jar to communicate her innermost thoughts and feelings to those around hershowcasing her strength, resilience and defiance in the face of her oppression. The Book ofEsther (2:7)relates that Esther had two names: He was foster father to Hadassahthat is, Esther. The Rabbis take two interpretive directions as regards these names. The monarch of Persia, King Ahasuerus, was wealthy and powerful. [12] Queen Shelamzion Alexandra certainly stood to benefit from Esthers precedent. The spelling of her name is confirmed by its appearance in the Qumran material; see4QCalendrical Document C(Florentino Garcia Martinez and Elbert J. C. Tigchelaar, eds.,Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition[Brill Academic Publishers, 2000], 694). She remained passive to the moody King and obedient to her authoritarian uncle, Mordecai. This tradition results from the desire to equate Esthers age with that of Abraham when he left his native land forThe Land of IsraelErez Israel upon Gods command. Her jar represented her strength and her resilience and gives a powerful message of hope to all those facing oppression. In reference to her lineage, the Rabbis state that she continued the way of the members of her tribe: Rachel, Benjamin, and Saul(Gen. Rabbah71:35; see below: Esther Does Not Reveal Her Origins). Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to a feast and the Rabbis ask: why did she invite Haman? In the midrashic expansion, on her way to the king Esther encountered various obstacles and she had to pass through seven departments in the palace. According to another tradition, he accompanied her to ensure that she did not suffer from sorcery (Esth. What is the moral of the story of Esther? In spite of its origins it soon became the basis of the Jewish festival of Purim.According to the book, Vashti, Esther's predecessor as queen of Persia, was divorced by her husband, King Xerxes (Ahasuerus), who then sought a suitable virgin for his wife, finally choosing Esther. The Rabbis also relate to Esthers sexuality: if Ahasuerus wanted to find in her the taste of a virgin, he found it; if the taste of a non-virgin, he found it(BTMegillah13a;Esth. There was no King Ahasuerus of Persia, but many Bible commentaries observe that Ahasuerus is likely the Hebraicised version of King Xerxes, the Achaemenid leader who ruled from 486 to 465 BCE.Historians say that Queen Amestris was Xerxes' only known wife and was definitely still queen at the time the biblical account says that Xerxes married Esther, casting doubt on the biblical story. her death is not known. He was born in 518BC. She died in her sleep at the Royal Lodge, Great Windsor Park, which is now the main residence of her grandson. The moral of the story of Esther is to stay true to yourself and never give up on your beliefs. She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Esther before she died (I'm guessing she died in 464 BC) and maybe Warrior-kings tend to figure largely as models of leadership in the Western imagination. Her thoughts are characterized by pressured speech, disorganized thought processes, confusion, and paranoia. This understanding of the Book of Esther is linked to the perception of Esther as a prophet: she is included in the list of seven women prophets(BTMegillah14a; Seder Olam Rabbah21). Esther probably didn't live to see the events of the book of When the king saw his queen, Xerxes lowered his golden scepter to invite Esther into his presence. We need to put the Book of Esther into an historical context to better understand Esther's choice. What is a reason a mathematical model can fail? The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. She overtook Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015 - Victoria had served for 63 years and lived to the age of 81. It is most unlikely that there ever was a Queen Esther, in which Hatach and Esther. Another question that concerned the Rabbis was that of the children from the union of Esther and Ahasuerus. One tradition asserts that Esther used a resorbent, that is, she employed a contraceptive device to prevent any pregnancy by Ahasuerus. 100-105 and 127-154. Torah and history converge in a remarkable way in the life of Shelamzion. In various sources the Rabbis relate to the question of the Book of Esthers acceptance as Scripture and to the establishment of the holiday ofPurim. During the Temple period, the dough set aside to be given to the priests. Though she may have been elderly at the time of her death, her legacy continues to live on. 114 BCE: see Carey Moore, On the Origins of the LXX Additions to the Book of Esther,JBL92.3 (1973): 382-83. Is the singer Avant and R Kelly brothers? A type of non-halakhic literary activitiy of the Rabbis for interpreting non-legal material according to special principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules). The Rabbis perceived this going as having sexual connotations, which therefore had tragic consequences for Esther and for Mordecai(BTMegillah16a; see below: Esther Comes to the Rescue of Her People). As a result, the King promoted Mordechai to a high position in the court. The Queen died in the afternoon of September 8, 2022. It seems unlikely that Esther was ever Queen of Persia, so we can not say at what age Xerxes married her. Theodor-Albeck], MS. Vatican, para. The midrash tells that when Esther came to Ahasueruss palace the spirit of divine inspiration left her, and she then prayed to God. Photo Credit: Wikipedia, 'Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther . Queen Elizabeth II has died today aged 96. The book of Esther (2:7) states that she had both names, Esther and Myrtle (Hadassah in Hebrew). Ahasuerus consulted with Mordecai how to discover Esthers secret, and Mordecai advised him to arouse Esthers jealousy by inviting other women to him, thus motivating her to disclose her secret (BT Megillah 13a). 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. 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. When Esther was taken captive, her emotional world was completely destroyed. cit.). Esther may or may not have reflected the historical reality of the Persian period, but her story provided a model for a new reality in Shelamzions lifetime. Mordechai later adopted Esther as his daughter after her parents died. Rabbah15:6). Furthermore, the Jewish people had a special holiday to commemorate their deliverance and celebrate the bravery of Mordecai. Esther took place or at the very least was too young to remember point. How old was King Xerxes when he married Esther? Ahasuerus promised Esther that he would grant her request, even to half the kingdom(Esth. Esther is then remembered and celebrated in the annual festival of Purim. But she does not reveal her Jewish heritage to the king and learns of a plan to kill all Jews by the kings advisor, Haman. [3] See discussion in Ilan, Daughters of Israel, Weep for Rabbi Ishmael!: The School of Rabbi Aqiva vs. the School of Rabbi Ishmael,Silencing the Queen: The Literary Histories of Shelamzion and Other Jewish Women(Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006). The king agreed, not knowing that Esther, his beloved queen, and Mordecai, the man to whom he owed his life, were both Jews. Another tradition compares Esther, who ruled one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, toSarah, who died at the age of one hundred and twenty-seven(Gen. Rabbah58:3). You, O Father of orphans, stand at the right hand of this orphan, who trusts in Your compassion. 22:23). Instead, he anticipates Peter's thought in 1 Peter 2:17, before Peter ever wrote it: Fear God. Similarly, her son Benjamin knew about the sale of Joseph, but remained silent and did not tell his father. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2','ezslot_12',154,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2-0');Throughout the course of the story, Esther suffers from a major depressive episode, possibly accompanied by severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. The two were very close and Mordecai was highly regarded and respected by both King Xerxes and the Jewish people. 22:25). Seeking a new queen, the king appointed commissioners to bring all the beautiful young virgins from every province into his harem for a year of cosmetic treatments so that he might select a new bride. Yet another tradition maintains that she was eighty years of age(Gen. Rabbah39:13;MidrashAbba Gurion, para. She invited both Haman and Ahasuerus to a private banquet, stirring up jealousy in the King's mind. 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. One day he overheard a conspiracy between two of the king's guards who wanted to assassinate Xerxes. 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. Esther was a good queen. case we can not say how old she was. 100). In Esther Chapter 2, royal eunuchs advised Ahasuerus to look for a new queen. According to one tradition, she was forty years old, while another places her age at seventy-four, which is the numerical value of the name Hadassah (Esthers second name), or, according to another calculation of this numerical value, seventy-five (see above). We don't know, though tradition teaches that she lived a long life. Rabbah10:13). 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. However, later scribes, as the manuscript evidence suggests, no longer understood it. She received her Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University. Esther understood that this action would require her to commit a grave transgression, and even lose all possibility of returning to her husband Mordecai. Considering that she was likely in her mid-teens when she met King Ahasuerus, she lost her parents before that point. Plath famously battled depression and other mental illnesses, and the same is true of Esthers condition in the novel. Read the entire Scripture account of the life of Queen Esther in the Bible verses below and use the articles and videos to understand the meaning of this teachable event in the Bible:. The Book of Esther was probably written in the 2nd centurybce. Horev], chap. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. She was alone, alone with her grief and trauma. Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who gazed upon her; every person thought that she was one of the women of his nation, whom he found comely. After more than 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. Like the moon, that is born after thirty days, Esther, too, said(Esth. She was Jewish but never revealed her nationality or family background as Mordecai had. The story of Esther happened after Cyrus, the first Persian King, called for all deported Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the House of God (538 B.C., Ezra 1:2). May this man have mercy on me, for I fear him. them clearly. The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah scholars. No, Esther and Mordecai were not married. At the meal she pleaded for the Jews, thus revealing herself as Jewish, and accused thiswickedHaman of plotting the annihilation of her people. The Jews, said Haman, must be eliminated for the good of the kingdom. In the midrashic reenactment, Esther sent a message to Mordecai in which she asked him whether Israel had transgressed one of the commandments of the Torah. The hero of the Book of Esther is a Jewish woman who lived in Susa and became queen when she was chosen to be the wife of King . BC (he would have already been well over 90 years old at this She was compared to a hind, for just as a hind has a narrow womb and is as desirable to her mate at all times as at the first time, so, too, was Esther as desirable to Ahasuerus at all times as at the first time. For the name of Esther, a number of etymologies are possible.1) Esther comes from the Persian "setareh," meaning "star".2) Esther comes from the Aramaic "istahar," meaning "moon." Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. Esther was taken from her home and came to live in the palace along with many other girls of the harem. 22:1: For the leader; onayelet ha-shahar[literally, the hind of the dawn], which the Rabbis apply to Esther. Similarly, Shelamzion had to succeed against all odds to maintain her queenship. In response, Esther tells him that, like him, she is the offspring of royalty (Midrash Abba Gurion, para. However, just because you don't know when Jewish Women's Archive. Esther: Nice Jewish Girl, Married to a Goy? 5). Mordecai would walk about in front of the harem in order to rule for Esther regarding menstrual spotting; another exegetical exposition has Esther showing the spotting from her menstruation to theTorah she-bi-khetav: Lit. [8]Once there, she does not plead for help but carefully petitions the king, setting in motion a plan to undermine Haman and save the Jewish people.[9].