In the book of esther, what is not said is vitally important. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. In this commentary, they are restored to their proper places, where they are. Some jewish writers believe that he held a high office in the persian. But as we are getting close to judging the book of esther unforgivingly ourselves, we must step back and look at the work as a. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author and the date of composition.
Esther kim, a real life esther is the author of the fascinating book entitled if i perish amazon 4. Esther 9 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Ive seen a number of references to esther in relation to this psalm such as the being jewish website. Perhaps the most radical recent jewish commentary on the book comes from the. The book of esther affirms that all is right with the world and with the place of the jews in it. Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Sep 30, 2018 of course, the reader already knows that haman is the instigator of the planned genocide. The message of the book of esther, a work of historical fiction written in the. The events that the first chapter of the book of esther describes happened about 483 bc before christ. Esther, and is reprinted with permission of the jewish publication society. A wise and trusted jewish courtier expands his platform of influence, and a vulnerable minority facing death becomes a powerful people in a land. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people.
The holy bible with a commentary and critical notes, 2. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. He overcame the jews and he took many jews to babylon. In fact, the book of esther, more than anything else, is responsible for the continued celebration of purim. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Yet esther, of all the biblical books outside of the torah, is the only one that addresses the origin of a new festival. Megillah with indepth commentaryside by side version. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and the chassidic masters.
Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. This informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. Instead, she directs mordecai to have all jews fast for three days for her, and vows to fast as well 4. King david composed chapter 22 of tehilim psalms with queen esther in mind, seeing prophetically what would take place some 450 years later. Name of the chief character in the book of esther, derived, according to some. This commentary approaches the book of esther from a fresh literary pointofview. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The pulpit commentary introduces the book of esther with the following. It is clear that the author was a jew, both from his emphasis on the origin of a jewish festival and from the jewish nationalism that permeates the story. When jerome translated this book, he lumped the gk sections together at the end of his work. Megillath esther and the rule of law papers in the ssrn. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. The jewish publication societys highly acclaimed bible commentary series provides a linebyline commentary of the original hebrew bible text, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, alongside the jps english translation. Fox argues that it would be difficult to attribute antisemitic.
Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. And this new law by special edict therefore worked a change in the law. The book of esther relates an episode in jewish history of intense interestto the entire nation at the time, since it involved the question of its continuance or destruction, but an episode which stood quite sep distinct from the arate and. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Since purim is not a holiday ordained by moses in the first five books of the bible, scholars have wondered if jews of ancient time indeed observed it annually. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her.
He follows the hebrew book of esther but shows awareness of some of the additional material found in the greek version the septuagint in that he too identifies ahasuerus as artaxerxes and provides. This holiday, based on the biblical book of esther, is an appointed time to remember the victory of the jewish people in persia over the wicked haman during the babylonian captivity. It foresees the exile of the jewish people, bemoans their degradation, and prays for their restoration. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control. The heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit.
Erica brown the book of esther takes us to the heart of destiny moments. Esther is a jewish woman living in persia and reared by her cousin mordecai. See also discussion in rachel adelman, why did mordecai not bow down to haman. Mar 28, 2006 shalom mishpochah family, esther, the hidden one. It also opened the way for the establishment of later holidays that, like purim, could be instituted without divine command if they commemorated an important event or served an important function in the life of the jewish people. We will celebrate the feast of purim on march 14, 2006. Abstain from all set meals, and all pleasant food, and, as much as possible, from all food, for that space of time, in token of humiliation for sin, and.
Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. The firstcentury ce historian josephus recounts the origins of purim in book 11 of his antiquities of the jews. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and. The gathering together of a harem for king ahasuerus.
As queen, esther hides her religious identity and maintains her jewish practices keeping kosher and observing the laws of shabbat and family purity in. The book of esther is unusual gods name is not mentioned once, yet gods hand. The book of esther does not mention the name of god. The book of esther opens with the description of a grand banquet in the. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third. And fast ye for me and pray, which was the main business, to which fasting was only a help. Esther 9 commentary james burton coffman commentaries on.
Classical sources such as josephus, the jewish commentary esther rabbah and the christian theologian barhebraeus. Over 100 years earlier, nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had attacked jerusalem. We might even think that he does not care about us. In their commentary on the book of esther, the rabbis expand upon and add. This article is excerpted from the jps bible commentary. A wakeup call from the book of esther eisenberg, michael on. Cbn recounted that a recent survey of 16,000 people in 16 european countries with large jewish populations revealed that a fifth of europeans. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Ahasuerus, delighted with her appearance, held out to her his scepter in token of. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. May 09, 2017 the book of esther reflects this idea, by referring to vashti as queen vashti 1.
The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing esther as comedy and as diaspora literature. The reader also already knows that esther is jewish and that she is willing to risk her life to intervene for her people. Esther s story is retold by josephus in book 11, chapter 6 of the jewish antiquities. The book of esther, the holy bible, complete audiobook. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. Esther is the most secular of the biblical books, making no reference to gods name, to the temple, to prayer, or to distinctive jewish practices such as kashrut keeping kosher. Despite such questions the book of esther sits comfortably in the hebrew. Mckee surveys the book of esther from a messianic perspective. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. After these things, when the wrath of king ahasuerus subsided, he remembered vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
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