The book of Esther (Esther; Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר [Esther]) - the 34th part of the Tanach , the 8th book of Quentim , one of the books of the Old Testament [1] . In the Book of Esther, the heroic deed of a woman who saved her Jewish self-sacrifice and with the help of her cousin Mordecai from inevitable death due to the machinations of Haman [2] .
| Esther book | |
|---|---|
| סֵפֶר אֶסְתֵּר | |
 Esther accuses Haman. Engraving by Gustave Dore | |
| Section | historical books |
| Original language | Jewish |
| Terrain | Persia |
| Related characters | Esther, Mordecai, Haman, Artaxerxes |
| Previous (Tanah) | Kohelet |
| Previous (Orthodoxy) | Book of judith |
| Previous (Protestantism) | Book of Nehemiah |
| Next | Book of Job |
Content
Description
In the Orthodox canon of the Bible, it is placed between the books of Judith and Job . Its author is not known with accuracy, traditionally he is considered Mordecai (Mordechai) - a cousin of Esther (Esther). It is written in Hebrew , but with an admixture of Persian and Aramaic words.
Although the name of God is never found in the Jewish text of the book, it is completely imbued with a deep religious spirit. Some scholars [3] saw in Esther’s book not a true story, but a kind of parable or pseudo-historical tale; but this opinion is refuted by a number of facts, in particular, by a detailed description of life and situation, the character of the Persian king Artaxerxes, the peculiarities of the language, and the mass of genuine Persian and Zendian names.
Book Contents
The main character of the book is Esther , a relative and pupil of the Jew Mordecai (Mordechai), who lived in Susa (Shushan) and once saved the life of King Artaxerxes (Ahasuerus). When the king faced the problem of choosing a new wife (instead of rejected by Astini (Vashti)), his choice fell on Esther.
One of Artaxerxes' courtiers, Haman , an Amalekite , was extremely annoyed that Mordecai refused to bow to him. By weaving a network of intrigues, Haman obtained the king’s consent for the destruction of the entire Jewish people .
Upon learning of this, Mordecai demanded that Esther should intercede with the king for her people. Despite strict court etiquette , the violation of which threatened her with the loss of her position and life herself, the girl came to Artaxerxes without an invitation and convinced him to visit the feast prepared by her, during which she turned to him with a request for the protection of the Jews.
Finding out the reason for the intrigues of Aman, Artaxerxes ordered him to be hung on the same gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai, and in addition to the decree on the extermination of the Jews, a new decree was sent: on their right to resist the execution of the first (the king explained this by the impossibility of canceling the royal order). By virtue of this decree, Jews with arms in their hands rebelled to defend their lives and destroyed many enemies, as well as the ten sons of Haman. In memory of this, the Purim holiday was established among the Jews.
Origin
According to many researchers, the Book of Esther was written several centuries after the fall of the Persian empire and refers not only to the late times, but also to another region. In support of this, in particular, they indicate that as a result of the finds in Qumran , all the works of the Jewish Bible were discovered except for this [4] .
Book at the Theater
- Artaxerxes action - a play written by I.G. Gregory and played on October 17, 1672 in the village of Preobrazhensky .
Footnotes and Sources
- ↑ Except for some parts preserved only in the Septuagint .
- ↑ Bible // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.
- ↑ Zemler et al.
- ↑ People of the Book in the world of books | Historian in an era of historical turmoil
Links
- Esther - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia
- Explanatory Bible Lopukhin
- Esther Scrolls in the Hebrew Art Index Bezalel Narcissus , Center for Jewish Art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.