The greek renditions of the book of esther both the septuagint and the more or less contemporaneous but less famous alpha translation call haman bougaios, possibly derived from baga, the ancient persian word for god. Linguists believe that the name transcribed from hebrew as ahasuerus is intended to refer to the persian king xerxes i 486 465 bce. Show popularity chart esther is a persian name that is thought to mean star. My purpose in this section is to show that these three are all forms of one name and are linguistically interchangeable. Esther estuhr was a brave young woman who saved her people from being wiped out.
One additional passage appearing in the septuagint which has its own embellishments of the story of the megilla. The book of esther reverend erwin kurth 12t t2 be repr2d8ced i1 a1 queen of persia by jim baumgardner is an outstanding, biblically accurate and historically consistent presentation of the book of esther. During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. Esther queen of persia and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. The king of persia, ahasuerus, had deposed his queen vashti because she refused, during a festival, toshow at his command her charms before the assembled princes of the realm i. In the world portrayed by the book of esther, esther has no choice but to obey the kings command. The linked data service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the library of congress. Appendix the names of the main characters in the book of esther xerxes.
In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. The book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. Mordecai, esthers uncle, offended a high court official called haman, who. The book of esther is a romantic and patriotic tale, perhaps with some historical basis but with so little religious purpose the book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. Queen vashti disobeyed the drunken orders of her husband king ahasuerus, so he divorced her. The celebration of purim in jewish tradition is based on her story. See more ideas about queen esther, bible pictures and biblical art. In the bible, esther was a jewish queen and heroine of. She was a beautiful jewish orphan girl who became the queen of persia around 475 b. Here are some weird things you didnt know about queen esther. If the author had any knowledge of persian history, he could not have referred to xerxes ii, because xerxes ii. A jewish orphan, she had been raised by her fatherly cousin mordecai.
For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their. The book of esther in the old testament tells the story of queen esther, the jewish wife of the king of persia. He is said to have ruled from india even unto ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces that is, over the achaemenid empire. In their commentary on the book of esther, the rabbis expand upon and add details to the biblical narrative, relating to her lineage and history and to her relations with the other characters.
The book of esther in the old testament of the bible was named after her, the main character of this dramatic piece of jewish history. Meaning, origin and history of the name esther behind. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. A courageous woman for a dangerous time kindle edition by baumgardner, jim. The book of daniel provides accounts of jews in exile being assigned names relating to babylonian gods and mordecai is understood to mean.
The name esther is probably from old persian star well attested in the later persian. The book of esther does not record any children of queen esther and there is no record anywhere in the persian records of a queen esther. Queen esther, the central character in the biblical book named after her, is extensively and sympathetically portrayed in the rabbinic sources. The secular character of the book of esther the divine name is never mentioned and. Datasets available include lcsh, bibframe, lc name authorities, lc classification, marc codes, premis vocabularies, iso language codes, and more. The old testament book of esther tells the story of queen esther who was the wife of the persian king that saved all jews in his kingdom from the plans of haman to destroy them. Star, fortune, felicity the story behind this biblical christian baby name esther was the persian name taken by the hebrew girl hadassah when she was selected as the persian kings new queen. Lonely, he sought a new queen the most beautiful woman in the land. The trustworthiness of the book of esther as a historical account is seen as quite doubtful. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Astin was a queen of persia and the first wife of persian king ahasuerus in the book of esther, a book included in the tanakh hebrew bible and the old testament christian bible and read on the jewish holiday of purim.
Some of the proper names occurring in the book are clearly persian. The book of esther reveals a very untraditional persian queen. She was the persias first jewish queen of the achaemenid empire and wife of king xerxes. A young jewish orphan, esther, was chosen but she was careful to keep her jewish identity secret. Esthers prophecy of the 10 sons of haman in the book of esther, we find the story of haman, a man who hated the jews and tried to exterminate them. Most scholars generally identify him with xerxes i of persia, as did 19thcentury bible commentaries. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther. The feast was for all the important men who had authority in the kingdom. Queen esther was the queen of persia, and the name comes from the megila of esther megilat esther.
Some suggest a possible connection to the name goddess ishtar. Ahashuerus is a hebrew rendering of the persian name khshayarshan. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the near eastern goddess ishtar. Disobedience would mean death for her and for her guardian mordecai. The massacre had been plotted by the kings chief minister, haman, and the date decided by casting lots.
Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. Historical persian queens, empresses, warriors, generals. Is xerxes the same person as ahasuerus in the book of esther. The book of esther is a strange bird in the biblical zoo. Four factors, among others, contribute to this identification.
The biblical queen esther is associated with the hebrew word. The large letters on the right spell out the names of the ten sons of haman, the villain of the story. However, scholars say there are good reasons to believe that the story is fictional and. According to a user from nigeria, the name esther means star. Queen esther, also called hadassah, the heroine of the biblical book of. A scroll of the biblical book of esther, read on the jewish holiday of purim. See our entry for the name hadassah to read the bible story behind the name. There are various inconsistencies, like impossible datations, such as that mordecai the cousin or uncle of esther was.
It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide of her people. Esther has been one of the most popular feminine given names in the united states for a. Esther was the persian name taken by the hebrew girl hadassah when she was selected as the persian kings new queen. Esther had successfully stepped out on faith, but her journey of faith started much earlier.
The book of esther places esther during the reign of xerxes, who was king of persia from 486 to 465 bce. It is excellent and free to download and also a commentary that is excellent too. Esther, jewish queen of persia geni project steinsaltz bible megillat esther excerpt. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order. Bible code 10 sons of haman here a little, there a. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract an order for the general annihilation of jews throughout the empire. Not only has hegai, the custodian of women, changed her name, but. Once made queen, esther skillfully manipulates the power structure of the persian court in order to attain her goal, the salvation of her people. Some sources also suggest its derivation from ishtar, the babylonian goddess of love. This hate arose because mordecai, a jew, would not pay homage or bow down to.
Esther has been one of the most popular feminine given names in the united states for a long time, especially in jewish families. The persian empire was one of the most culturally advanced the world had ever seen, stretching from the mediterranean to the indus river. Growing up, she may have had thoughts of marrying a devoted jew with mordecais blessing and. The book of esther says that king xerxes i married her. Common names like darius, cyrus and xerxes represent the greatest kings, while yasmin and esther the beauty of nature. Warned of this plot by her cousin mordecai, esther. The kings advisor haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the jews in the realm.
In the bible, this is the persian name given to the jewish virgin hadassah, the central character in the book of esther. Esther born as hadassah is the heroine of the biblical book of esther. Additionally, the form of the kings name written in esther 10. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading esther queen of persia. Iranians and israelis are in a battle over history and the. There is no reference to known historical events in the story. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Queen of persia and advocate for her people esther. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women.
The book of esther says that esther married xerxes, who was king of persia from 486 to 465 bce, thus becoming queen of persia. She was banished for her refusal to appear at the kings banquet to show her beauty as the king wished. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her. It was adopted as an english name in the 17th century. Esther most likely originates in old persian language and means starlike. Appendix the names of the main characters in the book of.
This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. Persian khsyayarsha, better known in history as xerxes the greek form of the name. Esther born hadassah was the wife of king xerxes the great and persias first jewish queen and heroine of the biblical book of esther which is named after her and recounts how a persian king helped protect the israelite nation from annihilation. People love a jewish peasant girl rising to the rank of queen and eventually saving her entire people. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus commonly identified as xerxes i, reigned 486465 bce. It is agreed the hebrew ahasuerus descended from the persian names for xerxes i. The names of the achaemenid kings after darius which have been preserved were probably.
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