AUTHOR

The book of Esther is anonymous but Jewish tradition maintains that Mordecai wrote it. This tradition is plausible in the fact that Mordecai was an eyewitness or had access to all of the eyewitnesses to the events narrated in the book. As Ahasuerus’s prime minister, he may well have placed his account in the official Persian archives (9:32; 10:2). The Hebrew of Esther is highly polished. The writer was skilled in character and plot development and in creating narrative tension.

DATE

The book of Esther is an account of the Jewish people living in exile in Persia. It recounts how the hatred of one man for the Jews nearly resulted in the eradication of the Jewish people in the entire Persian Empire. Events in the book of Esther took place during the reign of Ahasuerus I (486–465 BC). Ahasuerus is the Hebrew form of his name; Xerxes is the Greek form; Khshayarsha is the Persian form. The events described in the book occurred between 483–473 BC.

GOD IN ESTHER

Some question the appropriateness of the book’s presence in the Bible because of the lack of any direct mention of God. Those who translated Esther from Hebrew into Greek (second century BC) were apparently so concerned by the lack of reference to God, they inserted more than one hundred verses with numerous mentions of God. Protestants have accepted as Hebrew Scripture only what was in Hebrew manuscripts.

While the omission of God is unusual, the book shows considerable evidence of belief in the active involvement of God in the events described. In fact, direct mention of God is hardly required. The outcome of the book is so unexpected that it cannot be explained without acknowledging the work of God behind the scenes. This would certainly be an appropriate way for a people who may feel forgotten by God to see afresh that, while God may be hidden from their sight, he certainly hasn’t abandoned them. The narrative reflects the way the exiles feel and causes them to see God working in their own circumstances in the same way they see him working on behalf of these fellow exiles.

In addition there are several clear evidences that characters in the story believed in God. For example, Mordecai and Esther are called Jews, which at the very least identifies them as among God’s covenant people (2:5-7). Mordecai refused to bow to Haman, indicating that his faith would not allow him to bow to anyone except his God (3:2). The Jewish people’s allegiance to another law suggests their commitment to the law of Moses (3:8). The people fasted—a typical practice in urgent prayer (4:3,16). Mordecai spoke with certainty that the Jewish people would not be annihilated, revealing a strong faith in God’s care for the Jewish people (4:14). Zeresh informed Haman that if Mordecai was Jewish, his “downfall [was] certain,” reflecting a clear understanding that a powerful hand protected the Jewish people (6:13).

Finally, the book is filled with instances of incredible reversals of fortune that can only be ascribed to the presence of a powerful guiding hand. Vashti was removed, and Esther took her place. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai’s death. Zeresh counseled Haman to have Mordecai hanged and then informed him that he would be the one destroyed instead. The Jewish people defeated the enemies who were intending their defeat.

THE RELIABILITY OF ESTHER

Many scholars doubt the historicity of the events described in the book because there is no evidence outside the Bible for some of the characters, events, and customs described in the book. Consequently these scholars prefer to designate the book as something other than history. Some have suggested that the book of Esther is a wisdom tale, a historical romance, a festival tale, a novel whose central characters are Jews living outside their homeland, a sermon with a moral, a Persian court chronicle, and even a comedy along the lines of Greek comedy.

Many other scholars are not nearly so skeptical about the book’s relationship to history. They note that Vashti may well be the Hebrew name for the cruel and self-willed queen Amestris, Ahasuerus’s wife during this time. The difference in spelling has been attributed to the lack of certain vocalizations in Hebrew, making it difficult to pronounce the Greek name. Certainly Vashti’s character appears similar to the character of the historical Amestris.

In addition, the historical situation in Persia during this time tracks closely with the events described in Esther. With the help of such important Greek historians as Herodotus and Ctesias, and Persian records discovered during archaeological digs, it is possible to reconstruct a history of this period without reference to the biblical record. These records enable scholars to piece together the following order of events.

Revolts in the empire toward the end of Darius’s life (Egypt in 486–484 BC and Babylon in 484 BC) required a crushing response from his son Ahasuerus in 484. Following these victories, Ahasuerus held a banquet in Susa for the leading people in his kingdom as preparation for his planned invasion of Greece. This may coincide with the banquet mentioned in 1:5. Ahasuerus failed in his attempt to defeat Greece, assured by his naval defeat at Salamis in 480 BC. He returned home in defeat and engaged in a series of harem intrigues. The search for a new queen described in chapter 2 fits well within this time period. (Many other supposed historical inaccuracies are refuted in the study notes.)

There is no doubt that the book of Esther intends the reader to believe the events actually happened as they are described. The author located them within the reign of a specific king, Ahasuerus/Xerxes (1:1). He associated events with specific dates (e.g., the “third year” of Ahasuerus’s reign, 1:3; “the tenth month, the month Tebeth, in the seventh year” of Ahasuerus’s reign, 2:16; “the first month, the month of Nisan, in King Ahasuerus’s twelfth year,” 3:7). And he tied the establishment of the Festival of Purim to the events in the book (9:26). It is difficult to imagine that the author would fabricate a story to explain the origin of Purim.

D. Clines has noted that many details of Persian life recorded in Esther are confirmed by sources beyond the Bible. These confirmed details include the extent of the empire under Ahasuerus from India to Ethiopia (1:1), the council of seven nobles (1:14), the efficient postal system (3:13; 8:10), the keeping of official diaries including records of the king’s benefactors (2:23), the use of gallows as a form of capital punishment (2:23; 5:14; 7:10), the practice of obeisance to kings and nobles (3:2), belief in lucky days (3:7), setting crowns on the heads of royal horses (6:8), and reclining on couches at meals (7:8).

Dating the composition of Esther is made more difficult by the existence of several versions of the story. Three principal Esther texts exist. These are the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) and two Greek texts: the Septuagint and another Greek text referred to as the “alternative Alpha Text” (AT). The Alpha Text is a Greek translation of an earlier Hebrew text. It is shorter than the Masoretic Text, omitting a number of episodes and the concluding legislation regarding Purim. The Septuagint text is a translation of the Masoretic Text, with some additions. It is likely that the Alpha Text represents an early account of the events described in Esther, before Purim was well established. Once Purim became a prominent festival in the life of the Jewish people, the relationship between its observance and the events that led to it was explained, resulting in the Masoretic Text.

There is some textual evidence for this conjecture. Esther 9:20 states that Mordecai recorded what had transpired and sent letters to the Jewish people instructing them to observe the Festival of Purim. This might be the Alpha Text. What follows after 9:20 is an accounting of how things developed after this, which is the Masoretic Text. It is likely that Mordecai first recorded the events shortly after the first celebration (9:17; ca 473 BC). If we allow at least a generation to pass for the festival to become an integral part of life in the Jewish communities, we should expect the text preserved in the Masoretic Text to have been written some time after 433 BC.