The Rabbis then mention an additional argument that is raised by the people, that the writing of the Book of Esther will arouse the enmity of the non-Jewish nations. 7:6): The adversary and enemy, she first pointed to Ahasuerus, but the king moved her hand in Hamans direction. 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). Yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin. cit.). Her name was Shelamzion Alexandra. Esther was taken from her home and came to live in the palace along with many other girls of the harem. See Ilana Pardes,Countertraditions in the Bible: A Feminist Approach(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992), 126 ff. even met her a few times when He was a young boy. The Rabbis devote extensive attention to Esthers observance of the laws of niddah. She oversaw a peaceful and prosperous period. At the meal she pleaded for the Jews, thus revealing herself as Jewish, and accused thiswickedHaman of plotting the annihilation of her people. In Esther Chapter 2, royal eunuchs advised Ahasuerus to look for a new queen. Midrash adds that Esther's father died during her mother's pregnancy, and the latter died during childbirth (Esth. Corrections? Nehemiah probably knew of Queen Rabbah 6:5; BT Megillah 13a). This makes Esther 60 years younger than her cousin Mordecai. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The ancient Jewish historian Josephus provides some details. Codification of basic Jewish Oral Law; edited and arranged by R. Judah ha-Nasi c. 200 C.E. The jar symbolizes Esthers grief, fear, and pain, which stems from her captivity in King Xerxes harem. 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. They were honored with royal garments and a decree was written to protect all Jews. Oops! When her secret was revealed, the whole of Persia, who had had no knowledge of the Jewish people or their plight, was amazed and moved by Esthers courage and selflessness. She is the author of several books, including On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture (University of California Press, 2021). Bruce Feiler says in Where God was Born that Queen Amestris was Xerxes' only known wife, and that she remained queen long after the third year of his reign, when Vashti was supposedly deposed by Xerxes.The story of Queen Esther is demonstrably non-historical, but she is portrayed as saving the Jews of the Persian Empire from destruction. She notes that Josephus only knew this queen by her Greek name, Alexandra, while the Rabbis only knew her by her Semitic name. 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]. 10:3) was able to have interceded for the welfare of all his kindred (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, chap. The king agreed, not knowing that Esther, his beloved queen, and Mordecai, the man to whom he owed his life, were both Jews. Esthers jar was a tangible expression of her emotional devastation, her loss of hope, and her feelings of utter helplessness. According to tradition, the book of Esther was written in the mid-4th century BCE, and was made part of the canon which was sealed a couple of decades after.Esther was queen for about 11 years.The name of Mordecai is the Judaised pronunciation of Marduka, which is attested in the Persepolis Texts as the name of officials in the Persian court during the period of Xerxes I. 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. Happy Womens History Month! Ecbatana, located in what is now western Iran. Their legal marriage age suggests that they prefer young people below 18 (prime of the youth). But to approach the king without being summoned was not only illegal, but it could very well result in death for impertinence. After she tested positive for . 49). The regimen of rituals, songs and textual readings performed in a specific order on the first two nights (in Israel, on the first night) of Passover. [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. Queen Elizabeth II died of old age, her death certificate has revealed. 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). This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Esther-biblical-figure, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Esther. 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. In post-Temple times, a small piece of dough set aside and burnt. 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). [2] See Ilan,Integrating women, 127, commenting onJewish War1.71 andJewishAntiquities13.302. Her son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, is now King Charles III, as the world grieves his mother, Britain's longest-reigning monarch. It can also be assumed from the story that Mordecai was well aware that bowing to Haman may compromise his loyalty to the Jews and God, and thus put him in a dangerous situation. Like many Jews today, she had two names, one Hebrew and one Greek. What episode does Squidward say the F word. This book therefore has the same sanctity as the other books of Scripture. Shelamzion became sole heir to the Hasmonean kingdom when her husband, King Alexander Janneaus (King Yannai in rabbinic sources), who reigned from 10376 BCE, died. The king did not believe in God but Esther did. Estimates vary, but she was most likely between 50 and 60 years old when she died. We don't know, though tradition teaches that she lived a long life. 5). 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. In the biblical book named after her, Esther is a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora who finds favor with the king, becomes queen, and risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire. There is not one correct rendering of her name in any rabbinic manuscript (260). Gaalya Cornfeld, ed.,Josephus: The Jewish War; Zondervan Publishing House, 1982). On returning, he found Haman falling on the couch where Esther was. The king mistook Hamans frantic pleas for mercy as an attack upon the queen. Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch, has died at Balmoral aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. The. Most people have never heard of Queen Shelamzion Alexandra. 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. She was alone, alone with her grief and trauma. Alexandra the Maccabee. Mordecai remained a close confidant to Esther and played a pivotal role in helping her save the Jewish people. The Queen Mother lived to the grand age of 101 years and 238 days old. Old Testament Stories: Queen Esther When she approached the king, he held out his scepter. 22:25). What Did God Write on the Tablets of Stone? According to the Babylonian tradition, she saw menstrual blood (BT Megillah15a). Queen Esther is the reluctant heroine of the Purim story. The Book of Esther tells of Esther marrying King Ahasuerus of Persia and therefore becoming his queen. Ilan relies upon Bickermans dating, as does Aaron KollersEsther in Ancient Jewish Thought(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014). 2:7 ). She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Rabbah6:8), or to arrange for the kashrut of her food. Why did she stay with him, rather than restart her life? During this historical period, the first group of Jews who had returned to Judah struggled to revive temple worship by Moses' Law. 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." "scroll." Please support us. QueenEsther, the central character in the Biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the Rabbinic sources. He asked what she wanted. 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. Another tradition has her becoming pregnant by Ahasuerus, but miscarrying (Esth. Esther gained even greater favour with Ahasuerus after she helped thwart an assassination plot against him that Mordecai overheard at the palace gate. This, then, is the meaning of(Esth. [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]. He killed Haman in 473BC, when he was 45 ( Esther 3:7 ). 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. The BT lists a number of possible reasons: (1) she wanted Haman to be near her (so that she could say what she wanted about him at the appropriate moment); (2) she wanted to set a trap for him; (3) she planned to act toward Haman in a way that would lead Ahasuerus to suspect that she had engaged in an improper relationship with the former and thus cause the king to kill them both. After he had Vashti killed, all the lands rebelled against him; once he married Esther, one hundred and twenty-seven lands came under his rule once again, and when he appointed Mordecai as viceroy, they all returned to him (Midrash Tehilim, onPs. Her jar allowed her to find a voice in a situation where she could feel voiceless. Esther herself observed the commandment of searching for thehamez(Esth. 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. TheTorah.com is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.We rely on the support of readers like you. Another tradition has her eating only seeds in the harem, similar to Daniel and his fellows, in order to observe the laws ofThe Jewish dietary laws delineating the permissible types of food and methods of their preparation.kashrut (BT Megillahloc. Rabbah30:4). Another view cites the verse (9:27): the Jews undertook and irrevocably obligated themselveswhat they took upon themselves below was confirmed above (BTMegillahloc. 10:2). Esther becoming queen was a massive step up in the world, but that was probably because her husband was The King You Didn't Mess With. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [9] For more on Esthers diplomacy and its place in theMegillahand in understanding female biblical characters, see Michael Foxs TABS essayThe Women in Esther.. With great courage, Esther fasts for three days, arranges a banquet with the king and Haman, then pleads with the king to save the Jews. In post-Temple times, a small piece of dough set aside and burnt. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In conclusion, yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin.
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