What Is the History Behind Esther's Story

Many of us know the story of Esther, a Jewish woman who married the King of Persia and saved her people from a genocide. As the story goes, the Persian king, after divorcing his wife, chooses to marry Esther. When Haman, an adviser to the king, issued an edict to wipe out all the Jews, Esther approaches the king to find a way to save her people. 

But many may not know the history or politics involved in the story. Both of these elements enrich the reading of the text, allowing us to see where the animosity from Haman originated, why the king couldn’t reverse laws, and why Esther risked her life just to walk in the presence of the King.

Why Did Haman Hate the Jews So Much?

Haman, a close confidant of King Xerxes, who had a certain sway over the king’s decisions, held a deep-seated hatred for Mordecai, Esther’s cousin, and by association all the Jewish people. When Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman (a typical Persian court custom according to Herodotus, as per a note in the ESV Study Bible), Haman vows to wipe out Mordecai’s people (Esther 3:2-6). 

The ESV Study Bible presents the reason for Mordecai’s refusal that perhaps Haman had set himself up in too high a position, like that of a deity. Mordecai gives the reason for refusing to bow as, essentially, “I’m a Jew.” 

Nevertheless, Haman appears to have an extreme reaction. Even if bowing meant paying homage to someone and Haman felt a dearth of respect from one member of the Jewish community, it doesn’t mean he should wipe out an entire nation of people.

Except, we have to look at the contextual clues. 

Haman descended from a group of people known as the Agagites, otherwise known as the Amalekites (Exodus 17:8-16), one of Israel’s enemies. Saul ran into a problem with them during his reign when God commanded him to wipe out the Amalekites. Because Saul didn’t completely obey the command (1 Samuel 15:3) the Jews faced nationwide extinction. 

So, Haman had a history of hatred for the Jews. Mordecai’s refusal to bow was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he enacted a plan to destroy the Jews. 

Why Couldn’t Persians Reverse the Laws They Created?

We see a foreshadowing in the text about Xerxes’ inability to reverse laws when he divorces and banishes his first wife, Vashti, when she refuses to appear at his banquet (Esther 1:10-22). He sobers up later and even gets a little sad about that decision, because he can’t reverse it (Esther 2:1). Enter Esther. 

This inability to reverse a law comes later in the text when Haman has King Xerxes issue a decree to destroy the Jewish people (Esther 3:8-15). Of course, Haman tricks Xerxes into signing this.

When Esther later reveals to the King that he intends to wipe out her people, they have to do a bit of creative thinking, as he cannot undo the law he created (Esther 9). 

But why couldn’t he undo the law?

We run into this in Daniel when Darius makes an irrevocable law that anyone who prays to anyone but him gets thrown into the lion's den (Daniel 6:6). 

Although kings can later run into snags with these immutable laws, as we see in the cases of Xerxes and Darius, Medo-Persians made laws unchangeable because the kings supposedly spoke from the gods, explains this commentary from Enduring Word. And you can’t undo what the gods command. 

What’s the Importance of the Golden Scepter?

Even though Esther marries the king and lives in the palace, she doesn’t see him very often (Esther 4:11). And no one can approach the king unless summoned, upon point of death, even his own wife. 

But with the lives of her people in jeopardy, Esther has no choice. She must approach the king and hope he extends the golden scepter to her. If he doesn’t, she faces execution.

Golden scepters, says this commentary from Bible Hub, appear to represent kingship and authority in Persian and other kingdom reliefs, so when the king extends it to her, he extends mercy and grace, allowing her to be in his presence invited. 

But why would he have such a law in the first place? Why can’t his wife just show up and talk to him whenever she wants? 

First started by the Medes, and later adopted by the Persians, most business happened through intermediaries, instead of directly with the king. A commoner wouldn’t simply bring a problem to the king, he’d talk with a middleman.

Even though Esther was his wife, due to the severity of Persian laws, they didn’t make an exception to this rule for her. To make matters worse, she hadn’t seen the king in a month, so his affections may have begun to wane for her, which made the situation all the more precarious. 

Nevertheless, he spares her life, and in turn, she spares the lives of the Jewish people. 

Why Bother to Study the History?

Granted, we can learn a great deal from Esther without diving into the historical context. For instance, the book has quite a few lessons on God’s provision, his timing, and his protection. 

But learning the severity of Persian laws and the history behind Haman’s hatred can help us learn more about the story overall.

If we know from whom Haman descended, the historical story makes more sense in that context. He came from a group of people who fought with Israel in their past. If we understand why Esther risked her life by even entering the presence of the king, we can further appreciate God’s protection and favor for her when the king allowed her to live, and even granted requests from her. 

Sometimes we can run into problems with interpreting texts because we don’t know the original audience or the laws of the time the book was written. But by learning all we can, we can further enrich our understanding of these stories. 

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 450 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly in the Serious Writer newsletter. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) released in June, and they contracted the sequel “Den” for July 2020. Find out more about her here.