The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. The above summary details the bible people and summary of important events which occur in the douay rheims version of the catholic bible scriptures of the book of esther. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what hegai, the kings trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. The book was turned to the day mordecai exposed a plot to assassinate the king. The book of esther is unique in that it is one of the only two books in the bible named for women the other, of course, is ruth. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. The author is unknown, but some biblical scholars conclude that it was mordecai, himself, who wrote the book of esther. In the jewish bible, esther follows ecclesiastes and lamentations and is read on the festival of purim, which commemorates the rescue of the jews from hamans plottings. The book of esther is a short book of only six chapters that can be read in just one sitting. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this. This summary of the book of esther will help with many different forms of bible study.
But while the characters might resemble a fairy tale, the book of esther depicts actual events that shaped jewish history and instituted the festival of purim. Although often classified with the prophets, the book of jonah is not a prophetic book. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian empire, ruling over 127 provinces. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. As the days of feasting draw to a close, he summons his wife, vashti, to show off her beauty by appearing wearing only her crown. The book of esther was written during a time when the persian empire ruled the world and ahasuerus probably xerxes i was the king of persia. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. The book of esther describes the jewish heroine esther, who saved the jewish people in persia from annihilation during the reign of king xerxes i ahasuerus of persia, who ruled from 486 to 465 bc. Not long ago, the jews were taken from their land to live as captives in babylon for 70 years. In the protestant canon, esther appears between nehemiah and job. Weve created a 10day study guide for you, each day working through a chapter of the exciting story of esther.
This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. The author recorded details of the reign of ahasuerus and the palace in susa. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned.
You can work through this bible study on your own or with your small group, and you can go through this in ten days, or over a. Listen to chuck swindoll s overview of esther in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. The story, about a prophet named jonah, was written to criticize and rebuke the narrow spirit of nationalism that jonah observed among so many of the jewish people. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. The book of esther does not specifically name its author. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. According to the talmud, it was a redaction by the great assembly of an original text by mordecai. It is one of two books in the bible that bears a womans name. The king was reminded of this tale and asked what reward mordecai had received. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther.
In fact, god is not directly mentioned by name in the book of esther. To establish the feast of purim as a remembrance of gods deliverance of his people and as a reminder to remain faithful to him even when living under oppression. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. In the roman catholic canon, esther appears between judith and job and includes six chapters that are considered apocryphal in the jewish and protestant traditions. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
Esther was a jewish woman who was selected by the persian king ahasuerus to be his wife. The book of esther is one of the megillot, five scrolls read on stated jewish religious holidays. The events in the book of esther probably took place around 521495 bc. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. 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. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i. Esther is one of two books where gods name is never mentioned. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so.
The megillah of esther megillah means scroll in hebrew is one of the five megillahs that are included in the biblical canon. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. Studying the book of esther is well worth your time. The story is set in susa, the capital of the persian empire. The book of esther is a drama about how two jews risked everything to save their people. The book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. King ahasuerus, ruler of the persian empire, holds a lavish 180 day banquet, initially for his court and dignitaries and. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the jews from another place, but you and your fathers house will perish. Published on jun 24, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of esther may remind you of a classic, once upon a time childrens story with a wealthy king, his beautiful queen, and an evil villain. The story itself is implausible as history and, as many scholars now agree, it is. Esther is the heroine of the purim story, in which the jewish people who live in the sprawling persian empire are saved from haman s evil scheme to annihilate them.
The story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. The unknown author of the book of esther was most likely a jew very familiar with the royal persian court. It is a good opportunity to refresh students minds who the jewish people are, gods covenant with his people and why the jews are living in persia. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty.
Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Jonah, ruth, and esther cliffsnotes study guides book. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esther a comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. People of the roman catholic faith can this useful short summary of these bible scriptures for an. The book of ester is a very special book in the bible, so here are 11 important bible verses from the book of esther. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. Megillat esther, the book of esther in the form that we have it in the hebrew bible, provides the story of the origin of purim, the blueprint for its celebration, and the authorization for its observance in perpetuity. The most popular traditions are mordecai a major character in the book of esther, ezra and nehemiah who would have been familiar with persian customs. He had banished his former wife and chose esther through a contest. This book particularly teaches us the invisible care of god for those of his people who preferred to stay in the land of exile although they could have returned to palestine since the days of king cyrus of persia see book of ezra.
The focus of this lesson is an overview of esther introducing students to the main characters, places and themes. The megillat esther book of esther became the last of the 24 books of the tanakh to be canonized by the sages of the great assembly. The book of esther is one of the latest of the canonical books of scripture, having been written late in the reign of xerxes, or early in that of his son artaxerxes longimanus b. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. We do not know who wrote the book of esther, but it is believed that the author was a jew jewish nationalism is clear in the book. The book of esther described part of the jewish diaspora that stayed behind in persia and did not return to jerusalem during the restoration. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. The detailed descriptions of court life and traditions. Read below for some more fun and interesting facts on the book of esther. The book of esther was read at the feast of purim to commemorate the great deliverance of the jewish nation brought about by god through esther.
The kings chief adviser, haman, is offended by esther s cousin and guardian, mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the jews in the kingdom killed. The detailed descriptions of court life and traditions, as well as the events that occurred in the book, point to an. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p.
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