Esther Saves the Jews #70

Esther saves the Jews tells how a young Jewish woman became queen of the Persian empire and used her position to save her people from a decree of annihilation. The story fills the book of Esther, and its rescue is celebrated every year in the Jewish festival of Purim.

Biblical Account

The story is set in Susa, the Persian capital, during the reign of King Ahasuerus, generally identified with Xerxes I. After Queen Vashti was removed, a search was made for a new queen, and Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, was chosen without revealing her background (Esther 2:16-18). Meanwhile, Haman, the king’s chief official, became enraged when Mordecai refused to bow to him. He cast lots, called pur, to choose a date, and persuaded the king to authorize a decree ordering the destruction of all the Jews in the empire (Esther 3:8-15).

Mordecai told Esther to appeal to the king. She replied that approaching the king unsummoned risked death, but Mordecai answered that she would not escape by keeping silent, and that perhaps she had come to royal position for such a time as this. Esther asked the Jews of Susa to fast for her for three days and resolved to go in to the king, saying that if she perished, she perished (Esther 4:12-17).

She invited the king and Haman to banquets, and on the second night she revealed that she was a Jew and that Haman had plotted against her people. The king, enraged, had Haman hanged on the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai (Esther 7:1-10). Because a Persian royal decree could not be revoked, the king issued a second edict allowing the Jews to defend themselves, and they prevailed over their enemies. Mordecai and Esther then established the days of Purim as an annual celebration with feasting, gifts, and giving to the poor (Esther 9:20-32).

Theological Significance

The book of Esther is unusual because God is never mentioned by name. Readers have long seen the hidden hand of providence in the coincidences of the plot, including the timing of Esther’s rise and the king’s sleepless night. Mordecai’s words suggest that deliverance would arise from somewhere, and that Esther’s choice was still her own to make, so the story holds together divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

The narrative also addresses Jewish life in the diaspora, showing that God’s people remained under His care even far from the land. Its themes of reversal, in which the plotter is destroyed by his own scheme, and of rescue from destruction echo the earlier deliverance of the Exodus. Scholars differ on how closely the book follows Persian history, but the setting of the Persian court is portrayed with considerable detail. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include additional Greek sections that mention God explicitly.