CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITING

AUTHOR: As in most Old Testament books, the author of the book is unknown. In the Jewish Talmud it is suggested that the members of the Great Synagogue wrote the book. However, it is hard to imagine this prestigious group of religious scholars writing a book that mentions the Persian king 190 times but never mentions God. Many early writers, Jewish as well as Christian, suggested Mordecai as the author.

BACKGROUND: The story of Esther is rooted in the historical situation of King Xerxes (Ahasuerus), who ruled as king of Persia from 486 to 465 BC.

Mid-twentieth-century critical scholars tended to date the book late, even into the second century BC. However, most now argue for an earlier date. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 showed that the Hebrew of Esther was very different from the Hebrew of the first century BC. Also, there are no Greek words in the text of Esther, which would suggest that it was written before Alexander the Great’s conquest (ca 333 BC) made Greek the language of the region. Most likely the book was written in the fourth century BC.

The book gives every indication of being a historical narrative. For that reason the alleged historical anomalies in the text raise for many interpreters problems in accepting the historicity of the story. While it is regrettable not to have any extant extrabiblical confirmation of the main characters in the story (Esther, Haman, Mordecai), several points must be considered.

First, there are few extant Persian records for Xerxes’s reign; thus, very few historical figures are known from this time. Moreover, the Greek writers, especially Herodotus, were writing their history particularly as it related to the Greeks—not as court historians for the Persians; thus, their material is selective and would leave unmentioned many significant figures. Second, the absence of extrabiblical evidence does not mean these people did not exist. Third, while there is no positive extrabiblical confirmation of these individuals, they appear in an account that even ardent critics acknowledge as being remarkably accurate in its description of the Persian era.

MESSAGE AND PURPOSE

The principle message of the book of Esther called all Jews to celebrate Purim. The purposes of Esther can be distinguished into two types: those purposes that pertain to the original audience of the book during the Persian period, and the broader, theological purposes that transcend the book’s original readers.

HOPE: For the Jewish people scattered around the Persian Empire, the book of Esther was a story that gave encouragement and hope. It provided a model of how Jewish people could not merely survive but also thrive in a Gentile environment. It showed how Jewish people could effectively serve in positions of high responsibility while maintaining their Jewish identity and their commitment to the God of Israel. It showed how Jewish leaders could be used to bring blessing to their Gentile rulers and neighbors. And for a people far from the land of their forefathers, it demonstrated that the God of Israel was still able to redeem his people in their oppression, whether they were in Egypt, Israel, or Persia.

DIVINE PROVIDENCE: It is unlikely the lack of any mention of God in the book is accidental. It leaves the reader to ponder the work of God, evident but unseen, in the unfolding story of deliverance and redemption. This is fitting since Jews in exile would be tempted to find lack of evidence for God’s overt presence to be evidence for his actual absence. The book of Esther counters this notion, depicting God’s providence as ruling even the events of foreign lands during the Jews’ exile.

GOD’S UNLIKELY INSTRUMENTS: Part of the mystery of God’s providence in the book is how God can use such unlikely people to help accomplish his plans. Who would ever guess that a young Jewish woman named Hadassah (Esther), an orphan, would end up the queen of the greatest empire the world had ever known? Who but God could bring about such a powerful reversal through the “weakness” of a young woman?

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLE

Without ever mentioning God directly, the book of Esther underscores the providence of God. God’s promise to give the Jews an eternal ruler remained in place, even in the face of threatened annihilation. Esther shows us that many Jews remained faithful to their God even in exile. They kept their identity as God’s people through the synagogues that developed as the centers of the Jewish community wherever Jews settled. The synagogues would later play a significant role as the gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire, for these served as natural starting places for the deliverance of the gospel in the towns visited by the apostles (e.g., Ac 9:20; 17:1-2; 18:19; 19:8).

STRUCTURE

The Hebrew of the Masoretic Text used as the basis for the Christian Standard Bible is a fairly straightforward text. It is written in a form of late biblical Hebrew common to the postexilic era and found in other biblical books of that time, such as Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Daniel. Like Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther shows the growing influence of Aramaic in its grammar and vocabulary, as well as the presence of many Persian words.

OUTLINE

I.A Replacement Queen (1:1-2:20)

A.Vashti angers the king (1:1-12)

B.The king’s decree (1:13-22)

C.Search for a new queen (2:1-14)

D.Esther becomes queen (2:15-20)

II.A Dangerous Threat (2:21-3:15)

A.Mordecai saves the king (2:21-23)

B.Haman’s plan to kill the Jews (3:1-15)

III.Esther’s Daring Decision (4:1-5:14)

A.Mordecai’s appeal to Esther (4:1-17)

B.Esther approaches the king (5:1-14)

IV.The Great Reversal (6:1-10:3)

A.Mordecai honored by the king (6:1-14)

B.Haman is executed (7:1-10)

C.Esther intervenes for the Jews (8:1-17)

D.Victories of the Jews (9:1-32)

E.Mordecai remembered (10:1-3)

625-600 BC

Nineveh is sacked by the Babylonians and the Medes. The Assyrian Empire collapses. 612

Nebuchadnezzar’s three invasions of Judah 605, 597, 586

Events in Daniel 605-530

Prince Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeats the Egyptians at the Battle of Carchemish. 605

Nebuchadnezzar II becomes king of Babylon. 604

600-550 BC

Jeremiah’s Ministry 627-586?

Events in Obadiah 605-586?

Events in Ezekiel 593-571

Lamentations 586

Temple of Solomon is destroyed. 586

Nebuchadnezzar dies; is succeeded by Evil-merodach. 562

Evil-merodach pardons Judah’s King Jehoiachin. 561

550-500 BC

Cyrus the Great defeats King Astyages of Media at Pasargadae. 550

Cyrus diverts the waters of the Euphrates and launches a surprise attack against the ancient city of Babylon, taking it without a struggle. 539

Cyrus’s decree allows return of Jews from exile. 538

Cyrus is killed in a campaign against the Massagetae of central Asia and his son Cambyses is crowned king of Persia. 530

500-470 BC

Events in Esther 486-465

Ahasuerus’s 180-day feast; Vashti is deposed. 483

Esther becomes queen of Persia 479

Golden Age of Greek art 477-431

At Haman’s request, a royal decree is issued for the annihilation of the Jews in the Persian Empire. 474

Esther intercedes with Ahasuerus for her people. 474

First celebration of Purim 473

470-430 BC

Events in Malachi 460

Ezra goes to Jerusalem. 458

Events in Nehemiah 445-430

Jerusalem’s walls are rebuilt under Nehemiah’s leadership. 445

Athens is defeated by Sparta, second Peloponnesian War. 431-404

Greek philosopher Empedocles speculates that the world is made up of four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. 495-435

430-400 BC

Greek historian Xenophon is born. 431

Greek playwright Sophocles writes Oedipus the King. 429

The marble figure of Nike in the Temple of Athena 407

Thucydides’ History is finished. 403