Exploring two of the most memorable stories in the bible, this 12week study highlights the love and faithfulness of god displayed in the books of ruth and esther. The book of esther several times points out that haman was an agagitethat is, he was a descendant of the amalekite king agag esther 3. The above summary details the bible people and summary of important events which occur in the douay rheims version of the catholic bible scriptures of the book of esther. Instead haman looked for a way to destroy all mordecais people, the jews, throughout the whole kingdom of xerxes. Furthermore, the book of esther is fond of reversals of fortune that strike parity between the jews and their neighbors or foes, and eventually reveal the jews appointed destiny. Esther, as told by kanner, is real full of faults, and flaws and sins and all the things that make us people. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy.
Haman in book of esther haman ah, hamanhes the wicked wormtongue whispering in the ear of ahasuerus kudos if you got our lord of the rings reference and but one in a long line of evil counselors who eventually get their comeuppance. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. Haman is the antagonist in the book of esther and an evil man who tried to annihilate the jewish people. This might explain why king ahasuerus promoted haman the agagite, the son of hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him esther 3. Not one time does the name of god appear in the book of esther. You seem to have a lot of expectations about the book that does not come from the book itself. The coincidences, the amazing reversals, and the poetic justice that led to the deliverance of the jews in persia all proclaim the presence of god. Bible study from the book of esther looking at haman, the enemy of the jews, and how he is as a picture of the flesh. The information in the surface text, as well as that encoded underneath the apparent text, is incredible. Part of a larger story both these plots are episodes in a larger plot. Click here for an exhaustive list of content on esther.
Hamans fate is an example of poetic justice and divine retribution. The book of esther reflects the situation of the diaspora, and one of the reasons it was produced was certainly to address the needs of the jewish community living outside palestine. The account begins with a beautiful young jewish girl named hadassah, an orphan who had been raised by her cousin, mordecai. Haman was second in command in the nation with only king ahasuerus over him. The character development is deep and amazing, the story jumps off the page in a way that bible stories arent meant to. In the hebrew bible the book of esther is placed in the third main part, that is the writings hebr.
Haman was likely a descendent of agag, king of the amalekites, longtime enemies of the jewish people. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of. Hindi the book of esther tells us that haman was a grand vizier, or prime minister for the persian king xerxes or ahasuerus. The events mentioned in esther therefore happened between ezra chapter 6 and chapter 7. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. Please check the reference to make sure it is correct. He is called an agagite, which seems to denote that he was descended from the royal family of the amalekites, the bitterest enemies of the jews, as agag was one of the titles of the amalekite kings. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know.
The book of esther is about a jewish girl, adopted by her uncle mordecai after her parents had died. Perhaps the problems you mention can help us interrogate some of those assumptions for instance that everything in the bible is prescriptive or intend. Leadership, servantleadership, esther, haman, ahasuerus. According to jewish tradition, haman was a direct offspring of agag, king of the amalekites 1 samuel 15. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned.
Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. His predecessor was king darius 522485 bc who is mentioned in ezra 4. Appendix the names of the main characters in the book of. He took esther as the new persian queen, not knowing she was an israelite.
The events of the book of esther occurred during the reign of king ahasuerus, xerxes i. The book of esther is about a jewish girl adopted by her uncle, mordecai, after her parents died. What follows is an an organized and curated list of content. His name is not written in the book, but his fingerprints, as we say, are all over it. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient judaism and early christianity. Esther was a queen of persia approximately 2,500 years ago. Esther starts by being an insignificant individual in the persian empire, but queen vashtis demotion is esthers promotion to the throne. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons.
The king was sitting on his royal throne inside the palace opposite the entrance to the palace. Bible studies in the book of esther esther chapter 3. The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god. The book of esther itself, however, does not hide the origins of its names. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. With attention focused on the book of esther as the jewish holiday of purim approaches, i decided to take a quick break from building the unabridged bible to address the violent details of the antagonists death in the story, because they are interesting in their own right, and are also a prefect demonstration of. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament.
Haman s goal was the genocide of the jews, becoming the opponent of esther and her people in the book of esther. This region was called ethiopia in graecoroman times, and included within its borders most of modern sudan and some of. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Esther 4, new international version niv the bible app. Xerxes, the persian king, who rejected his other wife queen vashti, fell in love with esther in the beauty contest. Haman of persian origin, magnificent, the name of the vizier i. Bible code 10 sons of haman here a little, there a. Cush is the ancient name of the extensive territory south of the first cataract of the nile river. The book of esther may not directly mention god, yet it clearly reveals god at work. Xerxes or ahaseurus hosted a gigantic banquet with his queen, vashti, who was apparently very beautiful. He requested that she expose herself immodestly to the guests, and she refused.
Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of esther in the bible king james version. He was a jew residing in the city of susa, a prominent man who served at the. Only god, in his infinite power, could have inspired these things to be recorded in the book of esther and. What haman designed for evil god used for good in the lives of people who trusted in him genesis 50. Esther 2 one of the princes in the kingdom was haman.
Esthers banquet on the third day esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the kings palace, opposite the kings hall. Underneath ten, at an els of 20, the hebrew word sons bethnunyod appears. He took in esther as the new persian queen, not knowing she was an israelite. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. The story is set after the exile and is part of the postexilic period of israelite history, when many jews were living away from the homeland of judah. Xerxes, the persian king, rejected his wife queen vashti, and fell in love with esther at a beauty contest. The providence of god is abundant throughout the book.