She also won the king’s favor: he "loved Esther more than all the women," and he made her queen (Esther 2:17). The women were brought to the king's private rooms at night, shipped back to the harem by morning, and maybe brought back again if the king liked her. Nooooo. Esther 1:12. There may have been some political reason for his sympathy, but there are also some personal factors to consider. Esther’s Royal Robes. These name changes may also be an indicator the story isn't real. In short, no one could plead ignorance. .q According to Esther 1:15, Who did not obey the command of the king? Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, will celebrate 75 (!!) 1615. This way, she was able to have a healthy, caloric diet while avoiding the royal yet unkosher meat and wine fed to the other queen candidates. But the lack of mentioning God was actually a big problem when it came to getting Esther into the Bible at all. When her cousin Mordecai angers Haman—the big bad of the story—Haman decides her's going kill every Jew in revenge. This speaks of the Esther (Ishtar) of war. The Jewish Encyclopedia states the other girls, instead of being jealous, take care of her because they clearly see the king will choose her. He's very one-note in his hatred of the Jews and is clearly on a mission to humiliate and eliminate them whenever possible. How many husbands did Queen Esther have? However, many did not return to their homeland and stayed in the places where they had been carried off to. While travelling together, Haman ran out of food and had to beg Mordechai for some of his. Illuminated Esther scroll. It's at this banquet Esther reveals Haman's plot to exterminate the Jews and begs for the king's help. What, Queen Esther wasn't really called by a name meaning "hidden" (according to Chabad) that also may allude to the Babylonian goddess Ishatr? God worked in … Esther's story is full of symbolism, which really helped the case for being accepted into the Bible. The king walks in, thinks Haman is trying to go after his hot wife, and promptly has Haman impaled on a pole fifty cubits high (about 75 feet). She received a "special diet" from the eunuch tasked with taking care of her and the other girls, which is commonly interpreted to mean she kept kosher. Haman accepted and was trolled by Mordechai for who knows how long. Esther and her fellow captives (let's call it like it is) were staying in a harem completely separate from the main castle. The queen's behavior will become known to how many women? There was an entire court outside of the king's palace, which shouldn't be confused with the actual royal quarters. A Tribute to the Biblical Costumes of Purim. First let us clarify: Yes, it is the same King Xerxes from 300 . This means it's very possible Mordechai never slept with Esther. But other than that, Esther didn't seek special treatment. A fair amount of Purim traditions are designed specifically around Haman, including the delicious Hamantaschen cookies (or sometimes pastries). So yay, Queen Esther's orders kept official people from hurting the Jews. Download PDF. Once he does, this all cumulates in Haman having a really bad day. Specifically, the city of Susa (today called Shush). Silence, too, is desirable in women, and thus Esther "did not request anything" when she "was taken" to King Ahasuerus. That he loved her is noted, but why is not. But it may have started as early as when she was living in the harem, since she was hiding her Jewish identity from the beginning. It's gross, but it's true. Esther was one of the four most beautiful women in the world (ibid. With that said, have you ever wondered about the other half of the story of Esther, Xerxes’ past. Weirdly for a book about a woman, you have to start with a dude. Most scholars believe that Artaxerxes was the son of Esther’s husband, Xerxes. A short summary of this paper. And the matter pleased the king, and he did accordingly. Mordechai could have married Esther to protect her. (1 pt).a Queen Vashti .q According to Esther 1:16, Who answered the king and the princes? The Megillah (Jewish text about her life that's read at Purim) says Esther may not have had natural beauty, but instead was blessed with grace from God. She wins her victories not by skill or by character, but by her beauty.”This judgment is most often cha… Queen Esther's birth name was Hadassah, a Hebrew name that means "myrtle." Whether it was consensual or not is harder to tell, because any king powerful enough to (legally) kidnap the town's virgin girl population is definitely capable of other evil acts. 15a), though some say that she was of sallow complexion but endowed with great charm. She could have sunk into a hole of her own despair. So even if it's not strictly canon, it's still really important. So of course the king and seven princes said she should be punished. The passage starts off 'after these things..' and from Esther 2:16 we find out that it is about 3 years on from the events of chapter one. But it would serve as a deterrent against antisemitic people who heard the first law and thought it was still open season on Jews. It wasn't even the first time he and Mordechai had butted heads. After King Ahasuerus had his wife, Queen Vashti, killed in a fit of drunken rage, messengers were sent to seek out the most beautiful maidens, one of whom would be the next queen of Persia. King Xerxes took control of the situation and said there was going to be a new faith. God may want us to carry out some unpleasant task. But Encyclopedia Britannica's list of his victories is pretty extensive. What would happen if all the other royal women started to not do whatever their husbands told them to do when they were hammered? 4-17). Today, this is continued with the Jewish holiday Purim. (1 pt).q Memucan.q According to Esther 1:17. Mordechai, Esther's foster-parent and cousin on Geni. When Mordecai learns of Haman’s (the king’s advisor) plot to annihilate all of … And there's plenty more you don't know about Queen Esther. Her royal palace and kingdom was set what is now considered Iran. Queen Esther of the Bible does not, at this point, know why Mordecai is acting as he is. But Hagai, the main eunuch, took a liking to her. Khshayarsha is very close to the Hebrew “Achashverosh.” In their consonantal structure, the two names are identical. This wasn't just some medieval castle. Extraordinary also is the statement that Esther did not reveal her Jewish origin when she was chosen queen (ii. READ PAPER. But Jews embraced the addition of Esther to the celebration of Purim. This was the case for Esther’s family and her cousin Mordecai. Tablet reports the book of Esther is so weird that religious icon Martin Luther didn't want it in the Bible at all. Both center on the consonantal sounds “ch,” “sh,” “r,” and “sh.” The Hebrew added an initial aleph, referred to by linguists as a “prosthetic aleph,” a frequent occurrence when foreign words with tw… Queen Esther wife of Xerxes: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence. 5, 6. As in she was just so base, animalistic, and man-hating that she was closer to an animal than a human. This could have 100 percent gotten Esther killed. The author did not intend Queen Esther to have children. The governors over the provinces ruled by King Xerxes were okay with this—Mordechai had taken over Haman's position, and they liked this Jewish guy way better than the last jerk. It's a story of her period in history, which means there's occasionally some parts that are really messed up. There was a very real chance official people wouldn't get her orders everything was off before they started attacking Jews. Without being able to interact with the god in the temple (something taken literally in biblical times), it was like King Xerxes would be ruling without the god's permission. Chabad explains wearing costumes during Purim may pay tribute to Jews secretly practicing their religion in times of persecution. We could point to various things that the text says about Esther as fitting reasons for Ahasuerus to love her: that she is admired by all who saw … Besides Purim, observed by Jews every March, Queen Esther has had a recent surge in popularity (especially in Christian culture), according to Tablet magazine. Book of Esther - English & Hebrew. So Esther throws a huge banquet where she reveals she's Jewish and Haman wants her (and her people) dead. Doing so might have humiliated him and … She risked execution. He created the concept of Persia after he became the ruler of Babylonia, Egypt, and a bunch of other provinces with their own gods and cultures. Secrets from the Scroll of Esther. He even coached her on what to bring when she visited the king. But Queen Esther's story is more than that. She requests he and Haman attend a banquet, and of course he accepts. Here are five lessons in personal transformation that we can learn from Esther’s life: 1. Ferrara, Italy, ca. But she was stuck at the harem for a whole year before she could officially get out of the arrangement, receiving beauty treatments made from top-of-the-line materials like myrrh. All we have is the notice that “the king loved Esther more than all the other women” . The Nosher explains these three-pointed snacks are designed to mimic Haman's hat or cut-off ears. When Esther enters the picture, the king reigned over 127 provinces. 37 Full PDFs related to this paper. If you've ever read the Bible and thought, "This is cool, but it could really use some disturbing Game of Thrones action," the story of Queen Esther is for you. She was unaware of her husband's decree. Her Jewish name Hadassah means "myrtle," which some scholars believe may have alluded to a greenish complexion and not a lot of natural beauty. When everyone's receiving gifts, no one's embarrassed. Esther's greatly admired by how much she tried to maintain her Jewish traditions even in secret. Haman was a high official, and this was a common custom. (1 pt).a All .q According to Esther 1:18, fill in the blanks. 10), although it was known that she came from the house of Mordecai, who was a professing Jew (iii. That's beauty as a superpower. Jews have traditionally considered Esther a national hero, but already early in the twentieth century some readers began to deplore her as passive and devious. , was a beautiful young woman who was a very real chance official people would n't her. 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