Esther must have been a "teenager" based on the historical and Biblical facts above. 6:6), or the definite statement, that could be known only to God: but they did not lay hands on the spoil (9:10). 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. The bleeding jar in Esthers story is significant because of the deep symbolism behind it. Most of the Jews preferred the comfortable life of the Persian Empire to an arduous life rebuilding their devastated homeland. 114 BCE: see Carey Moore, On the Origins of the LXX Additions to the Book of Esther,JBL92.3 (1973): 382-83. The book of Esther (2:7) states that she had both names, Esther and Myrtle (Hadassah in Hebrew). She and her cousinMordecaipersuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the kings chief minister, Haman. 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. When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. , 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.. In conclusion, yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin. 22:1: For the leader; onayelet ha-shahar[literally, the hind of the dawn], which the Rabbis apply to Esther. Help us elevate the voices of Jewish women. 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. 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. Gaalya Cornfeld, ed.,Josephus: The Jewish War; Zondervan Publishing House, 1982). Plath famously battled depression and other mental illnesses, and the same is true of Esthers condition in the novel. Esther was born about 492BC and was 14 when she became Queen. Then the queen gave Haman's estate to Mordecai and prayed the king to deliver the nation of the Jews from the fear for their lives, and she showed him what the letter that had been sent throughout the country by Haman, the son of Ammedatha; for, she said, if her country were destroyed and her countrymen were to perish, she could herself bear to . God used her to deliver His people from a wicked plan of total destruction. It is also thought that Mordecai may have had additional children, as it is not explicitly mentioned that Esther is his only child. She Read a brief summary of this topic. [9] For more on Esthers diplomacy and its place in theMegillahand in understanding female biblical characters, see Michael Foxs TABS essayThe Women in Esther.. Esther had Rabbah10:13). In the affair of Bigthan and Teresh, Esther continued to follow Mordecais instructions. Her reign lasted less than a decade but still longer than a two-term presidency. It was only when Esther came that Ahasuerus removed the likeness of Vashti and replaced it with that of Esther (Esth. 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. Esther gained even greater favour with Ahasuerus after she helped thwart an assassination plot against him that Mordecai overheard at the palace gate. It was Mordecai who helped Esther win the favor of the King, who then chose her to be his queen. 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. According to the Bible, Mordechai was a Jew who lived in the Persian city of Susa, the modern-day city of Shush, Iran. Esther retorted, "Without Jews, who needs Passover?". Esther wanted to speak with Xerxes about Haman's hatred toward the Jews. He was a Jew living in the Persian city of Susa, and he became a prime minister in the Persian court of King Ahasuerus. Nehemiah probably knew of Queen The murdered queens name does not survive in the historical record. This meant the king was happy to see her and would not put her to death. "scroll." Esthers jar was a tangible expression of her emotional devastation, her loss of hope, and her feelings of utter helplessness. Esther would then be aged18 when she wins the beauty contest, 22 when she becomes queen (Esther 2:16-17), and 27 when she helps to defeat Haman's genocide scheme. Hi, I'm Mordecai, Esther's older cousin. 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. Her death is believed to have been around the age of 57. Hatach and Esther. There is not one correct rendering of her name in any rabbinic manuscript (260). She was 96 years old. Like many Jews today, she had two names, one Hebrew and one Greek. Her son Charles, 73, is now king. When Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman at the gate, Haman was extremely offended and sought to have Mordecai killed. // Javascript URL redirection When she became orphaned, she was adopted by her cousin Mordecai. 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. Once upon a time a Jewish queen ruled the land. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). assumed in to the next King's harem (also possiblealthough a point. See also Susan Niditch,A Prelude to Biblical Folklore: Underdogs and Tricksters(Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2000). Rabbah6:11). Furthermore, because of her passivity, her life with Ahasuerus was not thought to entail illicit sexual intercourse (a grave sin, for which one should be killed rather than transgress")(BTSanhedrin74b). Abase him before me, for You abase the proud (Esth. And her name was not Esther. She oversaw a peaceful and prosperous period. She also exhibits symptoms of agoraphobia, suicidal ideation, and feelings of overwhelming guilt and worthlessness. The document, published by National Records of Scotland on Thursday, says the late British monarch died at 3:10 p.m. UK time . The Queen described in the Book of Nehemiah is Queen Esther. 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. 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. 464 BC. Esth. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. What episode does Squidward say the F word. He asked what she wanted. 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 . 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. She had one son with 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"). It is most unlikely that there ever was a Queen Esther, in which Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). Esther 5:2-3; 7:4-6 Image Esther: A Queen Under Control. The answer is yes. The Book of Esther relates that Esther told no one of her Jewish origins, as Mordecai had ordered her. The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. [2] But Shelamzion remained queen and lived up to her name, maintaining the peace of Zion with a strong army, careful diplomacy, and the support of the Jews of ancient Israel and beyond. 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 is then remembered and celebrated in the annual festival of Purim. The outraged king ordered that Haman be hanged on the gallows built for Mordecai and that Mordecai be named to fill Hamans position. extended into the reign of her stepson, Artaxerxes. 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]. After she tested positive for . He married Esther in 479BC (Esther 2:16), when he was 40. The more prevalent Rabbinic opinion is that Hadassah was Esthers second name, with a plethora of interpretations built on the similarity of the myrtle (hadas) to Esther: Esther was so called because she was righteous, and the righteous are called myrtles; she was of average height, like a myrtle, which is neither short nor long; she had a greenish (sallow) complexion, like a myrtle (BTMegillahloc. 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. He wished Queen Vashti to be brought to the feast so that he may flaunt her wonderful beauty. probably lived at the same time. Lastly, Mordecai helped the Jews to establish their rights, which became to be known as the Purim festival. The Funeral of Queen Victoria by Wiliam Lionel Wylie (c) National Maritime Museum. Daniel probably died shortly after Darius took the throne in 521 Commenting on Deuteronomy 11:13-14, which describes rain falling in its season as a reward for keeping the commandments, Sifre Deuteronomy writes (42): In other words, Rabbi Nathan observes that in the days of Queen Shelamzion, the people actually obeyed the commandmentsthey were all good for a change!and God rewarded the Israelites with plentiful rain from heaven.