Did you know that there is a book in the Bible named Esther? When was the last time that you heard anyone read from it?

Unless you go to a synagogue, you’ve quite probably never heard anyone read from it.

Esther is notable as one of only two books in the Bible that has no mention of any deities (the other is Song of Solomon), and it is the only book that mentions the country of India. Remember that; there will be a quiz.

It’s a very short but very controversial book. Although Esther may have been written in the third century BCE (but perhaps as late as 130 BCE), it wasn’t fully accepted into the Hebrew Bible until the third century CE.

According to The New Oxford Annotated Bible, noted anti-semite Martin Luther (1483 – 1546), founder of the church that bears his name, wished it had never been written. Well, that’s something that I have in common with him, except I’d extend that to another 65+ books.

Many folks reading it today might well wonder why it’s even part of the Bible, as it doesn’t mention any deities, it doesn’t form part of the Jewish or Christian mythologies, and although it does mention some historical figures, it’s definitely not history.

So it’s historical fiction.

More than that, most of the characters can be identified in some way with Babylonian or other ancient gods of some sort. For example, two of the leading characters, Esther and her cousin Mordecai, sound suspiciously like the chief Babylonian god Marduk (Merodach in Hebrew) and his cousin Ishtar, the chief Babylonian goddess. As Isaac Asimov points out in Asimov’s Guide to the Bible, it is possible that the writer of the Book of Esther was adapting Babylonian myths into a supposedly historical tale. This becomes even more apparent when we discover that the chief villain of the story is named Haman, and the chief male deity of the Elamites was named Hamman. Hmmm.

Oh, and to confuse matters even more, there are two versions the Book of Esther. There’s the original version written in Hebrew; this is the version that’s accepted by Jews and Protestants. And then there’s the version that was translated into Greek. Whoever did the translation added a total of 107 verses, scattering them throughout the text. The translators of the Authorized, or King James, Version, did include “The Rest of Esther” in their version, but they relegated those verses to the Apocrypha. The Catholic Church recognizes them. ’Nuff said.

I only recognize the original text, so that’s what I’ll be dealing with here.

The story of the Book of Esther revolves around King Ahasuerus (pronounced uh-HAZ-ew-EER-uhs) of Persia, but he is commonly believed to be Xerxes I, and some modern translations use that name, as will I. It’s easier to type and to pronounce.

Anyway Xerxes threw a party that lasted half a year (!), followed by another only a week long for the men where everyone apparently got quite drunk. Xerxes asked his wife Queen Vashti to display her beauty wearing only her crown, but she refused. Good for you, gurl! (BTW, Xerxes’ real wife was named Amestris, just one indication that the Book of Esther is fiction, not history.)

So the king banished the queen and decreed that all women should respect their husbands.

Then he went in search of a new queen. Only virgins need apply, of course.

Hearing this, Mordecai encouraged his beautiful cousin Esther to apply, but he warned her not to reveal that she was a Jew.

Esther had to complete a year’s worth of beauty treatments before she could be brought before the king, six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and cosmetics; these were supervised by the king’s eunuch. Finally, she got to spend a night with the king. Whatever happened between them, the king was well pleased, and he made her his queen.

Now Esther’s cousin Mordecai discovered a plot on the King Xerxes’ life by two of his guards; he informed his cousin Esther, who in turn informed the king. The two guards were executed for their treachery, and a record of Mordecai’s good deed was recorded in the annals.

About this time King Xerxes honored Haman to the highest seat in his court. All the officials knelt down to Haman, but Mordecai refused to kneel. Haman was told that Mordecai refused to kneel to him and further that he was a Jew. So Haman decided to destroy all the Jews in the kingdom.

Haman cast a pur (that is, a lot) to decide on which day his destruction of the Jews would take place. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

So Haman convinced the king that the Jews were the enemy and to issue an edict to destroy them, and King Xerxes complied. “Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.” 

When Mordecai learned of the king’s edict, he asked his cousin Queen Esther for her help, and he reminded her that as she was a Jew, she would not escape the edict just because she was queen. She agreed to help.

Esther asked the king to throw a banquet and be sure to invite Haman. The king readily agreed, and Haman was delighted to hear that his presence was especially requested by the queen, but he was enraged when he saw Mordecai by the gate and he still refused to bend the knee.

Haman complained to his wife, who suggested that he set up a gallows and request the king to hang Mordecai from it. Haman loved this suggestion and he acted upon it at once.

That night the king couldn’t sleep so he had the book of annals brought to him and he read that it was Mordecai who had reported the treachery of the two guards. He resolved to honor Mordecai in some way.

He asked Haman what he thought should be done to honor a man who delighted the king. Haman thought the king was referring to himself and replied that the man should be given a royal robe and a royal horse and be led through the city streets so the people can see how the king honored him.

So the king ordered Haman to do that for Mordecai the Jew. Which he did. And afterwards he rushed home to his wife to complain. But then it was time for the banquet.

At the banquet Esther revealed that she was a Jew and that Haman had been plotting against her and her people. She demanded that Haman be killed and her demand was granted. He was hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. But more than that, the king issued orders to have all of Haman’s sons killed.

But there was still the matter of the edict against the Jews. This could not be rescinded, but a new decree was sent out that allowed the Jews to defend themselves and to not only kill their enemies but their wives and children as well. They must be thorough about it. And they were very thorough as the Book of Esther says the Jews killed 75,000 of their enemies.

The point of the Book of Esther is to give a reason for the Jewish holiday of Purim, but it is most likely bogus. There are good reasons to believe that Purim derives from a Babylonian spring festival which the Jews adopted during the period of their exile, and the Book of Esther is merely a late attempt to advance an alternate reason for the holiday.

But gee, couldn’t they have come up with a less violent story? One that didn’t involve the slaughter of innocent women and children?

 

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