Meaning of ESTHER (Book) [I]

Esther is probably derived from the term "stareh", star, which is derived from the Akkadian "Ishtar".
She is the name of a beautiful young Hebrew woman, originally called Hadassah (Heb.: myrtle). Orphaned at a very young age, she was taken to Susa, a Persian metropolis, by Mordecai, her cousin, who adopted her.

Ahasuerus, king of Persia identified by Xerxes, ordered, in a state of drunkenness, that Queen Vashti appear in the party hall to show her beauty to the guests. Enraged by her refusal, the king followed the advice of her courtiers: he ordered Vashti's confinement and, to replace her, he had a young woman of extreme beauty searched throughout her kingdom.

In the seventh year of Xerxes, Esther was chosen and installed in the palace as queen; At that time, no one knew that she was of the Jewish race. She acceded to the throne at a very critical time.

Haman was then the king's favorite. Five years after Esther's enthronement (Esther 2:16; 3:7), Haman, enraged by Mordecai's disdain, wanted to take revenge by killing not only Mordecai, but all the Jews scattered throughout the empire. Promising to deliver to the Treasury a large quantity of gold, and alleging the dangerous adherence of the Jews to their peculiar laws and customs, Haman obtained the consent of the king.

In preparation for the slaughter, he tried to secure the participation of the populace by inciting their greed (Est. 2:5-3:15). Mordecai urged Esther to intervene to save the people from him.

The queen was frightened but, after hearing the solemn words of her relative, she began to fast, and she risked her life by presenting herself before the sovereign without having been called. With great prudence and tact, she created a favorable situation, in order to reveal to the king Haman's plot, which affected the palace and the person of the queen.

Since the edict of destruction could not be repealed, Esther obtained permission for the Jews to defend themselves, and even to take the initiative against her enemies. The story ends without narrating the rest of Esther's life or her death.

(a) Historicity.
Nowadays it is customary among critics to deny the historicity of this book, which A. Bentzen affirms is "a historical novel." However, this same author is forced to admit that the author had some knowledge of the Persian administration and, in particular, of the royal palace of Susa. It will thus be convenient to examine the points at which it has been attacked and subsequently verified its authenticity.

(A) It has been noted that the names of Vashti, Esther and Mordecai do not appear in the annals of the reign of Xerxes I (485 to 465 BC), who appears to be the Ahasuerus of the Bible. The only queen who knows the story is Amestris, daughter or granddaughter of Otanes (Herodotus, 9:109; cp. 7:61). But it is evident that if Solomon, at the head of a small kingdom, could have so many wives (1 Kings 11:3), the owner of the great Persian empire could have more than one. Furthermore, details about Xerxes' kingdom are missing, and the Persian annals mentioned in Esther have not been found. But silence cannot be invoked as proof.

(B) The king, it is stated, had no right to marry only a maiden from the seven largest families of the country. However, it is known that, despite this law, Cambyses married his own sister, and that other kings married women of lower rank who were ultimately granted royal honors.

(C) It has been claimed that Mordecai himself had suffered deportation under Joachim (597 BC), and that in this case, in the 7th year of Xerxes, Esther would not have been young. But, according to Esther 2, it was Kish, Mordecai's great-grandfather, who was deported.

(D) It has been asked why there is such a long interval between the repudiation of Vashti (3rd year of the reign of Xerxes) and the enthronement of Esther (7th year). According to history, it is there that the ill-fated expedition against Greece is located; Before his departure, in the 3rd year, the king held a great council of war, returning to Susa in the spring of the 7th year, seeking solace in his harem (Herodotus, 7:8; 9:108).

(E) The order to massacre all the Jews corresponds to the well-known acts of cruelty of that time. Shortly before Xerxes, the Persians had launched a horrendous campaign of extermination against the Scythians.

(F) A strange supposition of the critics had made the festival of Purim (Esther 9:17-26) a transposition of Babylonian mythology: Mordecai is attributed the position of the god Marduk and Esther that of the goddess Ishtar! It has proven to be an unsustainable speculation.

(G) The book of Esther reveals the origin of the festival of Purim which, in the time of Josephus, was universally observed by the Jews (Ant. 11:6, 13). The relationship that this book has with such an ancient Jewish holiday is also an argument in favor of its authenticity.

(H) Finally, the point by which the book of Esther has reduced its adversaries to silence is its astonishing accuracy with respect to Persian institutions and customs, as well as the life and customs of the court (Est. 1: 5, 10, 14; 2:9, 21, 23; 3:7, 12-13; 4:6, 11; 5:4; 8:8, etc.).

The manifest luxury, the wine flowing freely according to Esther 1:7, are historically demonstrated facts, as is the repeated mention of the number 7, so frequently used in Persia. The results of the excavations of the royal palace in Susa correspond to Esther's descriptions in a detailed way.

Greek historians confirm the manner of acting in Esther 2:14 ff., as well as the organization of letter-bearing couriers. On the other hand, lay historians give the same set of traits for the character of Xerxes, selfish and easily influenced by his women and his favorites. The same biblical account assumes the character of historical, and cites Persian annals that relate to the same events (Est. 2:23; 6:1; 10:2).

(b) Author and date of writing.
This book is anonymous. Its writing is frequently placed around the time of Artaxerxes Longímano (around 464-425 BC). This explains the fact that its language and style are similar to that of late books such as Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles.

Many Persian terms are found. The author must have had access to the account left by Mordecai (Est. 9:20, 32). The writing of the book seems to have been done somewhat after the events. The festival of Purim had already been instituted (Est. 9:23); King Ahasuerus is presented as having reigned in the past (Est. 1:1; 10:2); The description of the Persian empire, its customs and functioning, leads one to think that the author was writing in any case before its destruction by Alexander the Great (around the year 330 BC).

(c) Place in the canon.
In our Bibles, Esther is the last historical book of the OT. In the Hebrew canon, he appears among the hagiographers, with 4 other scrolls read during the 5 solemn festivals; The last of these festivals was Purim. This is the reason that Esther is part of the Five Scrolls (Megilloth).

(d) Spiritual message.
In this book the name of God does not appear even once in a manifest way. The main teaching is that God was watching and caring for His people during the captivity, totally apart from their faithfulness to Him, or their desire to return to the promised land, certainly left aside by those who had taken up residence in the Persian Empire, among Gentiles.

There were large numbers of Jews scattered throughout the kingdom, and it is not revealed how they lived. The only Jews described in this book are Mordecai and Esther. God was their God, and they were his people, and, without his name being openly mentioned in the book, he was certainly watching over them in secret, making everything work together to protect them.

That the king could not sleep on the very night when it was necessary for him to remember Mordecai (Est. 6:1-10) is a sign of his constant care. Esther and Mordecai may have been wrong to desire a second day of revenge. The good behavior of the Jews does not enter into this book: they are protected, whether they are good or bad. In his government the day will come when God will bring everything to judgment and impose all justice.

To recapitulate, we have here an illustration of how God providentially cared for his earthly people, when they were, as they are, under the sentence of Lo-ammi, and he could not, as he still cannot, publicly recognize them in relation to himself. same.

Regarding those who accuse this story of narrow nationalism, we must remember the Jewish mentality, impregnated with the certainty of God's sovereignty and the election of Israel. The survival of the Jews has universal importance, since the fulfillment of their supernatural mission depends on it.

On the other hand, the very recent destruction of 6 million Jews in Europe by the Nazi regime in Germany, in the years of the Second World War (1939-1945) definitively refutes the objection of those who claimed that it was " “unthinkable” a general massacre of Jews. Texts like Gen. 12:3; Esther 6:13 and Isaiah 54:17 should serve as a clear warning to anti-Semites of all times.

(e) The name of God in Esther.
The fact has already been pointed out that God's name does not appear openly in the book of Esther. However, the existence of providence is made evident in Esther 4:14; Est. 4:16 gives fasting a religious value; Esther 9:31 mentions supplication and prayer.

However, although the name of God does not appear openly, it does appear hidden in a notable and noteworthy way. In fact, the name YHWH is found in acrostic form in such a way that it is evident that it was placed that way intentionally. The appearance of the name YHWH takes place in the following way:

Est. 1:20 "And all the women will give" (Hi' Wekhol Hannashim Yitenu),
Est. 5:4 “Let the king and Haman come today” (Yabo' Hammelekh Wehaman Hayyom),
Est. 5:13 "But all this is of no use to me" (wekhol-seH 'eynennW(u) shoH liY),
Est. 7:7 "That he was determined for evil" (kiY kalethaH 'ela (y) W hara'aH).

Thus we see in the first passage the name YHWH taking the first letters of the corresponding words in reverse order, in the second taking the first letters in direct order, in the third taking the last letters in reverse order and, finally, in the fourth passage taking the last letters in direct order. All possible combinations. This illustrates the divine presence in the events of the book, but an unmanifest presence.