Esther
ESTHER, or, in Hebrew, Ester; the daughter of Abihail, also called Hadassah; heroine of the biblical book that bears her name. Adopted and raised by her cousin Mordecai, Esther, whose name is derived from the Persian stara, "star," plays a crucial role in the event of persecution and deliverance of the Jews in the ancient Persian empire that the late biblical Book (or Scroll) of Esther purports to record. The story of this deliverance, which draws on ancient Near Eastern courtier motifs, wisdom themes, and, quite possibly, topoi from Mesopotamian and Persian New Year festivals, serves as a festal legend for the Jewish holiday of Purim.
The main outline of the Book of Esther is as follows. At the outset, the Persian ruler Ahasuerus has a grand feast that is spoiled when his wife, Vashti, refuses his demand that she perform before the assembled males. Vashti is banished, a decree is issued that all wives must honor their husbands, and the stage is set for a search to replace the defiant queen. The choice is Esther, a Jewess, who follows Mordecai's counsel not to reveal her ethnic-religious origins (Est. 2:1–18). While Esther keeps her secret at the court, Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king. Meanwhile, one of the viziers, Haman, is elevated to a position of high power. Piqued by the refusal of Mordecai to bow down in homage to him, Haman slanders the Jews to the king and, with the use of lots (Heb., purim), sets a date for their annihilation (Est. 3). Mordecai now enlists the help of Esther on behalf of her people (Est. 4:1–17). An initial soiree between the king and queen passes successfully. Several minor scenes follow dealing with Haman's plot to hang Mordecai (Est. 5:9–14) and Ahasuerus's insomnia, during which he learns of Mordecai's role in saving his life and determines to reward him, an event that provokes Haman's shame (Est. 6:1–14). A second soiree leads to the disgrace of Haman, the elevation of Mordecai, the disclosure of the plot against the Jews, and, finally, royal permission for the Jews to protect themselves on the day of the planned uprising (Est. 7:1–8:17), so that a day of national fasting and sorrow is turned into a time of joy and gladness (Est. 9–10).
Mordecai is presented as descended from Saul, the Benjaminite, and Haman, from Agag, the Amalekite; in this way, the novella dramatizes a typological repetition of the episode reported in 1 Samuel 15 and recalls the divine exhortation never to forget the destructive deeds of Amalek (Dt. 24:17–19).
Various additions to Esther have been incorporated into the Apocrypha and Septuagint, and there are numerous expansions in the Aramaic Targum sheni. In the Middle Ages, the role of Esther took on powerful symbolic dimensions among Jews for at least three reasons. First, Esther came to symbolize the court Jew who risked everything to defend the nation so often slandered, despised, and threatened. Second, Esther, as a "hidden" Jew (together with the frequently noted absence of an explicit reference to God in the scroll), symbolized in mystical circles the hiddenness of the Shekhinah (divine feminine presence) in the world and in the Jewish exile. And finally, Esther (and the festival of Purim) was a great favorite of the Marranos in Spain and in their far-flung dispersion; they saw in her disguised condition the factual and psychological prototype of their own disguised condition.
Purim.
Bibliography
Bickerman, Elias J. Four Strange Books of the Bible: Jonah, Daniel, Koheleth, Esther. New York, 1967. See pages 171–240.
Gaster, Theodor H. Purim and Hanukkah in Custom and Tradition. New York, 1950.
Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews (1909–1938). 7 vols. Translated by Henrietta Szold et al. Reprint, Philadelphia, 1937–1966. See the index, s.v. Esther.
Moore, Carey A. "Esther." Anchor Bible, vol. 7B. Garden City, N.Y., 1971.
Réau, Louis. Iconographie de l'art chrétien, vol. 2. Paris, 1956. See pages 335–342.
MICHAEL FISHBANE (1987)
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