Information AboutEsther |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ESTHER | |
| prophets in judaism | |
| achaemenid dynasty | |
| major figures of the hebrew bible | |
| people celebrated in the lutheran liturgical calendar | |
| persian queen consorts | |
| purim | |
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Haddassah more commonly known as '''Esther''' ('''אֶסְתֵּר''', Standard Hebrew '''Ester''', Tiberian Hebrew '''ʾEstēr''') was a woman in the Hebrew Bible , the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II ), and heroine of the Biblical Book Of Esther which is named after her. THE NAME According to the Book Of Esther she was a Jewish woman originally named Hadassah. When she entered the royal Harem she received the name Esther by which she was hence forth known. ''Hadassah'' means " Myrtle " in Hebrew and the name ''Esther'' is most likely related to the Median word for myrtle, ''astra'', and the Persian word ''setareh'' meaning Star — the myrtle blossom resembles a twinkling star. ''Esther'' can also be understood to mean "hidden" in Hebrew, and her name is interpreted thus in Midrash , where it is told that Esther hid her nationality and lineage as Mordecai had advised. In addition God 's workings are hidden in the events of the Book of Esther even though he is never mentioned explicitly. Therefore, in Hebrew, "The Book of Esther" can be understood as "The Book of Hiddenness," representing God's hiddenness in the story. The Targum provides another Midrashic explanation claiming that she was as beautiful as the Evening Star , which is ''astara'' in Greek . Critics of the historicity of the Book Of Esther attempt to derive the name from Ishtar , the pagan goddess associated with the Evening Star, although the usual Hebrew rendition of the latter name is the phonetically unrelated Ashtoreth . The names may nevertheless be coincidentally related, as the Semitic name ''Ishtar'' may share a common origin with Indo-European words for ''star''. THE STORY in Hamadan , Iran , is a popular attraction for Iranian Jews.]] Esther was the daughter of Abihail, a Benjamite . She resided with her cousin Mordecai , who held some office in the household of the Persian king at " Shushan in the palace." Ahasuerus, having rid himself of Vashti , chose Esther to be his wife and queen. Soon after this he gave Haman the Agagite, his prime minister, power and authority to kill and extirpate all the Jew s throughout the Persian empire. By the intervention of Esther this attempted genocide was averted and the Jews were given license to defend themselves against all who tried to kill them. Haman and his 10 sons were hanged on the Gallows , just as he had planned for Mordecai, and 800 men of Shushan and 75.000 enemies of Jews across the empire were slain by the sword. Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim , in memory of their wonderful deliverance. According to traditional Jewish dating this took place about fifty-two years after the Return. Esther appears in the Bible as a woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adopted father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king's favour with him for the good of the Jewish people. That she was raised up as an instrument in the hand of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and to afford them protection and forward their wealth and peace in their captivity, is manifest from the Scripture account. For a discussion of the historicity of Esther, see '' Book Of Esther ''. MODERN RETELLING There is a fictional book by Rebecca Kohn called "The Gilded Chamber" that retells the story of Queen Ester. The play entitled Esther (1960) written by Welsh dramatist Saunders Lewis is a retelling of the story in the Welsh language. A '', is rescheduled for a 2006 release. In 2001 , VeggieTales , a company that uses CGI Vegetables to teach children lessons from the Bible in a comical way, released ''Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen'', which retells the story of Esther. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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