Information AboutVashti |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT VASHTI | |
| major figures of the hebrew bible | |
| achaemenid dynasty | |
| persian queen consorts | |
| purim | |
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IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER In Esther , Vashti is the wife of king Ahasuerus who is replaced by Esther . She is thus part of the story behind the Jew ish holiday of Purim one of Judaism 's festivals. According to the account she was deposed because she refused to obey the King's request that she "show off her beauty" (which is interpreted to "appear naked" or, "dance") in the banquet hall of the palace of "Shushan" ( Susa ). Her refusal to obey her husband has helped to secure her stature as a folk Hero of the modern Feminist movement. IN THE MIDRASH According to the Midrash , Vashti was the great-granddaughter of King Nebuchadnezzar II Of Babylon . IDENTIFICATION WITH AMESTRIS Ahasuerus is generally identified with Xerxes I Of Persia . Herodotus relates a similar account regarding Xerxes and a wife named " Amestris ." It is a matter of scholarly dispute whether she is the same person as Vashti. MEANING OF THE NAME The meaning of the name ''Vashti'' is uncertain. Hitchcock' Bible Names Dictionary of the 19th century, attempting to interpret the name as Hebrew, suggested the meanings "that drinks" or "thread". Critics of the historicity of the book of Esther proposed that the name may have originated from a conjectured Elamite goddess whom they called "Mashti", a theoretical reconstructed name which remains unattested in any source. Modern commentators note that the name can be understood to mean "beautiful" in Persian, related to the word "vashishta" found in the Avesta . ''Vashti'' is one of a very few proper names in the Tanakh that begins with the letter Waw . REFERENCES
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