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OT Survey I Esther
Esther: An Intriguing Book “The book of Esther presents a delightfully told story of Jewish life in the Diaspora, i.e., among Jews who did not return from exile but who settled down and flourished in a foreign land. It tells of a Jewish girl’s rise to become queen of Persian and of her intercession to save her people at a time of crisis. It shows things working out well for the Jews, beyond their fondest hopes.
Esther: An Intriguing Book Strikingly, this book has provoked some of the strongest reactions—both pro and con—of any book of the Bible. It has been denounced as a secularized, sub-Christian (or sub-Jewish) book at one extreme, and it has been elevated to a status essentially equal to the Torah’s on the other.
Esther: An Intriguing Book Negative reactions to the book of Esther are primarily because of its lack of mention of God and its essentially secular nature, as well as its allegedly vindictive sirit and narrow Jewish nationalism. Thus, for example, Martin Luther wrote, ‘I am so hostile to [2 Maccabees] and to Esther that I could wish they did not exist at all; for they judaize too greatly and have much pagan impropriety.’ Slightly less hostile was . . .
Esther: An Intriguing Book . . . Samuel Sandmel, a Jewish scholar, who nonetheless stated, ‘If somehow or other the canon were to become open in the twentieth century, I would be among those who would vote to exclude Esther.’ David M. Howard, Jr., Introduction to the OT Historical Books, p. 316-17
Esther: An Intriguing Book “The book itself is the only one of the OT outside of the Torah to have a second targum devoted to its exposition, and the number of midrashim and other Jewish commentaries on it exceed those written for any other book of the OT. Its esteem in the Jewish community is often estimated by quoting the saying of the famous Jewish scholar Maimonides that, when the . . .
Esther: An Intriguing Book . . . Prophets and the Writings pass away when the Messiah comes, only Esther and the Torah will remain. Its significance can further be seen in the fact that the second commandment of the decalogue had been interpreted in Jewish circles to prohibit all forms of representation of the human figure by the time of the Middle Ages, but this prohibition was not applied to the . . .
Esther: An Intriguing Book . . . decoration of the Scroll of Esther. The impressive and artistic illustrations with which Jews have adorned the scroll throughout the centuries give eloquent expression to the affectionate regard in which they have held the book. Indeed, the illumination of Esther manuscripts has preserved some of the finest examples of medieval Jewish art. So overwhelming . . .
Esther: An Intriguing Book . . . is its popularity and acceptance that the tendency on the part of Christian scholars, when discussing problems with the book of Esther, to quote the exceedingly rare occasions when Jewish scholars have questioned its canonicity [(including Sandmel!)] is utterly misleading.” Frederic Bush, Ruth/Esther, Word Biblical Commentary, p. 329-30
Esther: An Intriguing Book. . . WHY??? • For it • The amazing deliverance in and the beauty of the story • The popularity of the feast of Purim • Against it • No mention of: God, law, temple, covenants, prayer, worship . . . • Note LXX/Vulgate add ~5 chapters to remedy this! • “Vindictive spirit” of Esther 9:1-17
C Chiasm
C Chiasm: Some Examples “The last shall be first and the first last” “The last and the first last” shall be first “The last shall be first and the first last”
C Chiasm: Some Examples The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. “The heavens are telling of the glory of God the work of His hands is declaring their expanse”
C Chiasm: Some Examples Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed “Whoever sheds the blood of a man by man shall his blood be shed”
Chiasm in Esther Please see: Gordon H. Johnston, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gallows! Irony, Humor, and Other Literary Features of the Book of Esther,” in Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts, p. 384
Purpose Statement of Esther • God’s love for Israel extends even to those Jews who are not actively seeking the restoration of His kingdom on earth, and thus He will providentially care for them in accord with His covenant promises made to the nation as a whole.
Major Themes • The Providence of God • Emphasized by the structure of the book • Implied in 4:14? “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?“ • Extends to the bedroom of the world’s greatest ruler (cf. Prov 21:1 – The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes) • The Hiddenness of God • Emphasized by the content of the book • Though not recognized, God is still working
Major Themes (continued…) • Israel vs. Amalek • Mordecai “the Jew” and Haman “the Agagite” • Mordecai possibly descended from Saul (2:5; cf. 1 Sam 9:1) • Haman an Agagite (3:1, 10; 8:3, 5; 9:24) • 1 Samuel 15 – Saul’s disobedience in exterminating the Amalekites, especially their king, Agag • Note the emphasis in Esther 9:10, 15, and 16! • Amalek (and Agag) in the Torah • Amalek is a son of Esau (Gen 36:12) • Israel’s weakest attacked by Amalekites when leaving Egypt (Ex 17:8-16): “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial, and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (v. 14) • Numbers 24:7, Baalam’s third oracle: “[Israel’s] kingdom will be greater than Agag” • Deut 25:17-19: “Remember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were faint and weary; and he did not fear God. Therefore it shall come about when the LORD your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.”
Major Themes (continued…) • Reversal (see Bush, Ruth/Esther, WBC, p. 324)
Reversal 3:1-2 King Ahasuerus promoted Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite. He advanced him in rank and gave him precedence over all his other nobles. And all the king’s officials at court bowed down and did obeisance to Haman, for so the king had commanded. 9:3-4 [Mordecai] had come to occupy a position of great power in the palace, while his fame was spreading through all the provinces…Mordecai wasgrowingmoreandmorepowerful. 10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second in rank only to King Ahasuerus himself and was preeminent among the Jews. 3:10 Then the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews 8:2a Then the king took off his signet ring which he had taken from Haman and gave it to Mordecai. 4:1 Mordecai...tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went out into the city, and raised a loud and bitter cry. 8:15a Then Mordecai went out from the king clad in a royal robe of violet and white, wearing a large gold turban and a purple cloak of fine linen.
Major Themes (continued…) • Reversal (see Bush, Ruth/Esther, WBC, p. 324) • Purim - Akkadian for “lot” (3:7; 9:26) • What (9:22, 31) • For celebrating reversal leading to rest (v. 22) • Sorrow to gladness • Mourning to a holiday • Banqueting, happiness, sending gifts, providing for the poor (v. 22) • Fasting and lamentation (v. 31) • Reading of Esther – night of 14th, morning of 15th
Major Themes (continued…) • Reversal (see Bush, Ruth/Esther, WBC, p. 324) • Purim - Akkadian for “lot” (3:7; 9:26) • What (9:22, 31) • For celebrating reversal leading to rest (v. 22) • Sorrow to gladness • Mourning to a holiday • Banqueting, happiness, sending gifts, providing for the poor (v. 22) • Fasting and lamentation (v. 31) • Reading of Esther – night of 14th, morning of 15th • Who & Where: In every family, province, city, for generations (9:27) • When: • 14th and 15th of Adar (= last month of calendar, Feb/Mar) (9:21) • Idea • Lot gives the idea of “chances” • Prov 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD. • Especially when the lot is cast during Passover! (3:7)
Location of Esther in Canon English Hebrew • Joshua • Judges • Ruth • Samuel • Kings • Chronicles • Ezra • Nehemiah • Esther [Torah] [Historical Books] [Former Prophets] [Latter Prophets] • [Writings] • Psalms/Job/Proverbs • Megilloth (The 5 Scrolls) • Song of Songs (Passover) • Ruth (Feast of Weeks) • Ecclesiastes (Booths) • Lamentations (9th of Av) • Esther (Purim) • Daniel, E/N, Chronicles
Good Resources on Esther • Frederic Bush, Ruth/Esther, WBC. • David M. Howard, Jr., An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books (Moody Press, 1993). • Gordon H. Johnston, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gallows! Irony, Humor, and Other Literary Features of the Book of Esther,” in Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts.
Esther Now (From Bush, p. 331-32) “One who stands outside the Jewish community of faith can only imagine what a disturbing and troubling summons the call of Purim to a perpetual commemoration of the joy of deliverance from evil and disaster must be for the Jewish community, for their experience has all too often been the opposite of that of the book of Esther. For far too many Jewish families and communities over the centuries, their experience has been the mirror image of the story. The pogroms have all too often been successful. This culminated in the unmitigated and unthinkable horror of Haman’s spiritual descendants, Hitler and his Nazi minions, who, unlike Haman, succeeded in the Holocaust in annihilating six million of the seven million Jews of Europe and virtually exterminating . . .
Esther Now (From Bush, p. 331-32) . . . European Jewish culture. For them, there was no Mordecai; for them, there was no Esther; for them there was no deliverance; and faith hardly knows how to hang on to the providence of God in such circumstances—but it must. Perhaps, at the risk of making easy judgments, an outsider who has not lived through such horror, either personally or through community identity, might venture the judgment (and the hope) that the message of the book of Esther and Purim should continue to live, and indeed loom even larger, in a post-Holocaust world, since it summons the community to exercise its faith and hold on to its hope in the very face of that diabolical element in the character of the world whose horror and irrationality the story of Esther has captured . . .
Esther Now (From Bush, p. 331-32) . . . so frighteningly and so well in Haman and his evil plot. Indeed, Purim celebrates the fact that the Holocaust, for all its tragedy and horror, has mean neither the end of Judaism nor the end of the Jews! In the light of the Holocaust, what Esther and the celebratory joy of the festival of Purim mean to the Jewish world is best left to Jews to express [quote from Gordis]: ‘These artistic and informal modes of Purim observance point up a remarkable aspect of the Jewish spirit. The subject matter of the book of Esther is deadly serious— nothing less than an attempt, which fortunately proved abortive, to execute a total pogrom and thus bring about the annihilation of the Jewish people. . . .
Esther Now (From Bush, p. 331-32) . . . Moreover, Haman’s plot was not an isolated episode in Jewish experience. It was reenacted time and again in the intervening centuries, until our own day, when Hitler undertook the most colossal and all- but-successful effort at genocide. Jews rarely, if ever, were able to afford the luxury of regarding the book of Esther as ancient history; for them it was almost always current events. Living perpetually in the shadow of immanent catastrophe, the Jew was threatened not only physically but psychologically. Walking in the shadow of death was as perilous as dying. That the Jew was able to survive and preserve his sanity was due to an extraordinary gift, his capacity to laugh . . .
Esther Now (From Bush, p. 331-32) . . . at his oppressors.’ One might only add that among the major sources of that gift of . . . laughter at oppressors unmistakably are the book of Esther and the festival of Purim that it has engendered.”
Next Week Wisdom Literature, Job
