NL 113: Esther

image: “Queen Esther” by Edwin Long (wikimedia)

Esther 4:1-17

December 4, 2022

Esther 4:1-17

Initial Thoughts

Bible Study

  • Chapters 1-2

    1. King holds a banquet, demands his wife to appear naked wearing only a crown

    2. Vashti refuses

    3. King holds a “beauty” pageant

    4. Esther “wins”

    5. Mordecai, Esther’s adoptive father saves the kings life by uncovering a plot to assassinate the king

  • Chapter 3

    1. Haman is elevated

    2. Because Mordecai won’t bow he decides to kill all the Jews and rolls the dice – PUR – to decide the date of the Jews destruction

  • Chapter 4

    1. Esther will appeal to the King to save the Jews

    2. For such a time as this

    3. “If I perish, then I perish”

  • Chapter 5

    1. Esther’s 1st banquet – declared a special second banquet for the King and Haman

    2. Haman orders a spike build to kill Mordechai the next morning

  • Chapter 6

    1. The story Pivots

    2. The King has a Dream – remembers Mordecai saves his life

    3. Orders Haman to honor Mordecai

  • Chapter 7

    1. Esther’s Second banquet

    2. She says she is Jewish and “outs” Haman’s plot

    3. King orders that Haman should be impaled on the spike

  • Chapter 8

    1. The King can’t revoke his earlier decree

    2. King says the Jews can defend themselves and destroy enemies

    3. Banquet – to celebrate new decree

  • Chapter 9-10

    1. The Jews triumph – killing Haman’s family and the families of his allies

    2. 2 Day feast – Purim

    3. Mordecai elevated

  • This is the events that are behind the festival of Purim.

    • Judaism 101 explains Purim

    • Also known as the Festival of Lots, probably an ironic name since Hamon was going to kill the Jewish people by casting lots.

    • Still celebrated for the salvation of the Jews, and also for the ongoing survival through many trials.

  • This highly edited version of the story is terribly inadequate. Without any context, this reading is little more than a graphic telling of blood-lust and revenge.

  • Effort should be made to lift up the person of Esther, who should be known as one of the great heroes of the Bible.

  • Setting

    • Persia in the winter palace

    • Jewish community in exile 539-333 BCE

    • What’s going on in the history of Israel

      • Persia conquered Babylonian empire, allowed Israel to return

      • In Greek sources, it is a trope to make fun of Persian royalty; Xerxes is the beginning of the decline into decadence which Greek sources love to throw stones at

    • Know little about the Jewish community at this time

    • We know a little bit about the Elephantine community, but nothing about the diaspora community’s true history

    • Likely historical context of the redaction is 400-300 BCE, probably the earlier part of this range

      • Clues are the language; Persian terms, Babylonian names for months—an embedded Jewish subculture in these societies

      • But the book pretends to be older than it is (as if we wrote a book with ‘the and thou’ today

      • This is when the Greek tales about Persia proliferated, and this tale clearly borrows some of these motifs

    • No Persian Queen Esther

      • No historical evidence

      • No evidence that queens were selected by beauty contest/sexuality

  • Literary Context

    • Story more than history (think Jonah)

    • Written in the dramatic, “It happened in the days of…”, exaggeration, practical jokes, coincidence, reversals, irony, physical humor

    • Absurdity - the notion that the king can pass an edict that he is bound by, there is an edict to drink as much as you want

  • Archetypal characters

    • King - powerless, bumbling, easily manipulated by those around him, both absurdly jealous and generous

    • Esther - a bit of a caricature, not a likely heroine, a fun and unlikely transformation

      • Sends Mordecai clothes because she thinks he looks like a dumpy embarrassment.

      • She doesn’t understand his anguish or seem to really care

    • Mordecai - the wise fatherly figure who is the mastermind behind Esther and the righteous mentor

    • Haman - the ultimate clever bad guy, willing to sacrifice anyone and anything to get what he wants, petty tyrant- one Jew doesn’t bow down so he wants mass genocide

  • Esther is the only book in the Bible that never mentioned God

    • God’s actions are implicit within the actions of Esther and Modecai but not explicit

    • The importance of faithfulness despite overwhelming odds

    • The responsibility to one’s community- Esther is called to put herself at risk for her community

    • God is not explicitly mentioned- beckons the reader/listener/observer to see God in the story

    • Where do you see God in this story?

    • God’s faithfulness is not dependent on our faithfulness

    • God does not abandon God’s promises

    • God is in the acts of bravery – refusing to bow before Haman, going into the King, declaring her Jewish identity, etc.

  • Classic Hebrew Bible Themes

    • The tricksters - Esther and Mordecai win - God loves the trickster - think Jacob/Israel

    • Reversals:

      • Queen of proper breeding overthrown; orphan crowned

      • Male authority hailed, but women shaping actions

      • Jews supposed to be killed, but their enemies are killed instead

      • Mordecai from sackcloth to royal garb; Haman from royal garb to sackcloth

      • Mourning to celebration—mad, threatening world has happy ending

      • Queen refuses to appear to king when she’s invited, then Queen uninvited appears to king

      • Haman honored, Haman impaled

      • Haman builds stake for mortician but is himself impaled on it

      • Haman expects to be honored, instead has to honor someone he hates

  • Only instance of Esther in the Lectionary. Wonderful story. Still, proceed with caution:

    • “The book offers some challenges to the preacher. In the Hebrew text of the book, God is never mentioned. Neither is prayer or worship. There is a lot of killing at the end of the book. And there’s the little matter of the way in which Esther becomes queen, a process which, despite the Veggie Tales rendition of the tale, shouldn’t be discussed in the presence of young children.” (Kathryn Schifferkdecker, Working Preacher)

  • The lectionary eliminates parts of the story “that illuminate the rather ruthless side of Esther, in particular, her desire to destroy Haman and his entire family. Eliminating these verses allows the focus to stay on Esther’s courage and willingness to take a risk to save her people… Perhaps it is simply the brutality of the story that has caused the creators of the lectionary to skip these verses. However, I read this story through my own eyes (those of a woman); and I must say, I think that there is a general hostility toward women who are thought to be ruthless. A man who is ruthless can be seen as powerful; but when a woman is ruthless, people are shocked. Ruthless women are not considered powerful. Other words are more likely to be employed to describe women like this. What is remarkable to me is that this book is not only included in the canon, but that the story of a named woman, who was both ruthless and powerful, has survived the test of time.” (Rev Dawn Chesser, UMGBOD)

Thoughts and Questions

  • Consider what Esther risked for the cause of saving the people, it is a wonder why she is not more well known. Esther risked her comfort, her status, and her very life. “How does reading the story of Esther challenge our conceptions of what women should be? Can a woman who is ruthless be seen as strong and powerful today? Can you think of examples of women who have shown extreme courage, but whose actions have been judged negatively by society? Do you think there is a double standard when it comes to how people in our culture view power? How might your congregation address these issues as a community of faith?” (Rev Dawn Chesser, UMGBOD)

  • God is never mentioned. For this reason, some have puzzled over Esther’s place in the canon. Even though God is never named, is there any doubt that God is involved? Though there may not be direct interaction, Mordecai talks of salvation coming from ‘another place.’ And Esther herself draws from great well of courage and determination. How often in life do we fail to attribute things to God because we don’t see the direct quotes or the burning bush? Is it possible for God to be moving in the world in ways that are less explicit, but no less divine?

    • “The preacher might also speak about discerning God’s will and action in the everyday realities of life. We may wish for God’s direct intervention, for a burning bush or an obvious miracle, but most days we (like Esther) don’t get such things. Indeed, most of the time, as a friend of mine says, God is subtle to a fault. And yet, if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, we may be able to discern where God is acting in our lives.” (Schifferdecker)

  • Purim is often celebrated with humor. In synagogues, the story of Esther is read, with people booing and hissing the name of Haman and cheering the name of Mordecai. There is a long tradition of spiel songs that retell the story in humorous ways. How does humor play a role in tragedy? This is a story about attempted genocide. What is the power of parody? What is the power in laughing at the enemy?

Year 1Eric FistlerEstherComment