Five things about esther that nobody talks about jews. But esther doesnt, apparently, tell ahasuerus anything he didnt already know other than revealing that she herself is a. He doesnt seem to give it too much thought, but later. But it is also a wonderful story of courage and faith. The book of esther is also rich in types and patterns which expound for us, the purpose of god in redeeming mankind from the power of sin. The greek book of esther, included in the septuagint, is a retelling of the events of the hebrew book of esther rather than a translation and records additional traditions which do not appear in the traditional hebrew version, in particular the identification of ahasuerus with artaxerxes and details of various letters. In the biblical book of esther, vashti is the wife of king ahasuerus, the ruler of persia. He had banished his former wife and chose esther through a contest. Instead, we often pit good versus evil mordecai versus haman and treat. So ahasuerus rises up in wrath and has haman executed.
He ruled over the kingdoms of persia, media, and babylonia, from india to ethiopia. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. The book of esther portrays ahasuerus as a manipulable coward. Ahasuerus is given as the name of the king of persia in the book of esther. The massacre had been plotted by the kings chief minister, haman, and the date decided by casting lots purim. Esther 3 after these things king ahasuerus promoted haman. Xerxes is more common in nonbiblical literature, but ahasuerus is the preferred hebrew rendering cf. Esther 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. All we have is the notice that the king loved esther more than all the other women esth 2. The book of esther described part of the jewish diaspora that stayed behind in persia and did not return to jerusalem during the restoration.
The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Ahasuerus appears most prominently in the book of esther, and the intrigues of the kings court provide the biblical origin of the festival of purim. The city of shushan was his capital during major portions of his rule. Different bible translations may use xerxes or ahasuerus, but they technically refer to the same individual, and are likely different throne names. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her.
In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti. 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. Esther 1 now in the days of ahasuerus, the ahasuerus who. Despite being the namesake of the book, esthers role is frequently disregarded. He does not act much like a king, let alone a king known to rule the largest empire ever per population percentage of the day. Ironically, despite being the namesake of the book, esthers a. The story of esther, mordecai, haman and king ahasuerus, is a drama which. The jews of the persian empire were threatened with destruction due to the machinations of haman, the chief minister to ahasuerus. Ahasuerus, ruler of a massive persian empire, holds a lavish party, initially for his. It further tells us that this was the persian king who laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. Thus, ahasuerus and xerxes are the same individual by different names. He is believed by 19th century commentators to be xerxes i of persia. May 25, 2011 esther was a jewish woman who was selected by the persian king ahasuerus to be his wife.
As a supposed descendant of the destroyer nebuchadnezzar ii of the first temple. Achashverosh, as his name transliterates from hebrew, was also mentioned in the books of ezra, daniel and tobit. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order. The army of persia and media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him. There is no reference to known historical events in the story. The book of esther describes the jewish heroine esther, who saved the jewish people in persia from annihilation during the reign of king xerxes i ahasuerus of persia, who ruled from 486 to 465 bc. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther with. At that time king ahasuerus was ruling from susa the capital. Ahasuerus, the persian king of the book of esther, being identified by the rabbis with the one mentioned in dan. The book of esther confirms that darius i is the most likely candidate for esthers king in another way as well. King ahasuerus threw a grand party but his wife, queen vashti, refused to attend. He is believed by 19th century commentators to be xerxes i.
During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. 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. Ahasuerus is a name that appears in the bible in association with at least three different persian kings. In the third year of his reign, he gave a banquet for all his officials and ministers, and the military leaders of persia and media, the nobles, and the provincial officials. Although gods name is nowhere mentioned in this book, his providential hand is clearly. Mar 30, 2008 god is accomplishing his purposes not in spite of ahasuerus but rather he is using ahasuerus to serve his own great purpose, that is, to protect the nation of israel. Esther 3 after these things king ahasuerus promoted. However, if you ever see arguments for artaxerxes as the king during the time of esther dont believe it. But esther doesnt, apparently, tell ahasuerus anything he didnt already know other than revealing that she herself is a jew, which is obviously an important piece of information. God already had a wife picked out for this heathen king. Apr 18, 2020 ahasuerus appears most prominently in the book of esther, and the intrigues of the kings court provide the biblical origin of the festival of purim. The ahasuerus of the book of esther is believed to be xerxes i, the son of the persian king darius the great darius hystaspis. The following is an excellent synopsis of the entire book of esther.
If the author had any knowledge of persian history, he could not have referred to xerxes ii, because xerxes ii. Oct 11, 2014 life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. King ahasuerus is identified as the persian king xerxes i, who was born in 519 bce and became king in 486 bce, at the age of 33. The book purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. Jan 26, 2018 xerxes is more common in nonbiblical literature, but ahasuerus is the preferred hebrew rendering cf. He invaded greece with an army, it is said, of more than 2,000,000 soldiers, only 5,000 of whom returned with him. Esther 1 isv the wealth of king ahasuerus bible gateway. But our sovereign god was going to give ahasuerus a great deal more than good looks, whether he wanted it or not. She tells ahasuerus that haman is wicked and that he ahasuerus should save the jews. As a result, she was banned from the presence of the king and the search for a new. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem. In the book of esther, why is king ahasuerus so in love with esther. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible.
For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes. 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. Ahasuerus was the king of persia who according to the book of esther ruled from india to ethiopia. At the very core of the jewish holiday of purim lies the book of esther, which tells they story of how two jews, mordechai and esther, who ascended in the ancient persian court of ahasuerus, saved the jews from genocide by the evil prime minister haman. The story megillat esther does not tell you how the rabbis came to imagine ahasuerus as a usurper who halted the rebuilding of the temple and his wife vashti as a wicked and grotesque babylonian princess, who lived as a libertine and persecuted jews. In esther 910 it tells us that the ahasuerus of esther still had 127 provinces in his th year of reign. For such a time as this the story of ahasuerus and esther. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. The story of esther takes place in the persian empire during the reign of ahasuerus, known more familiarly to us by the greek form of his name, xerxes i.
The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. Ahasuerus definition, a king of ancient persia, known to the greeks as xerxes. The ahasuerus in the book of esther is probably xerxes i 1. The name of the father of darius the mede 2 is also given as ahasuerus. Esther, the beautiful jewish wife of the persian king ahasuerus xerxes i, and her cousin mordecai persuade the king to retract. King ahasuerus, the son of darius hystaspes, the husband of queen esther and recorded in the book of esther. King ahasuerus agrees to help commit a genocide simply because his wicked counselor suggests doing so. Ahasuerus is given as the name of a king, the husband of esther, in the book of esther. Queen esther continued to be obedient to her uncle mordecai causing her to conceal her race, the kings life to be rescued from an assassination plot, and mordecais good deed to be recorded in the history book 2. This ahasuerus is probably xerxes of history, esther 1.
It further tells us that this was the persian king who laid. Mar 18, 2020 linguists believe that the name transcribed from hebrew as ahasuerus is intended to refer to the persian king xerxes i 486 465 bce. Five things about esther that nobody talks about jews for jesus. The book of esther portrays ahasuerus as easily manipulated by women. He ruled over a vast empire that extended from india to ethiopia. What is not always clear, is how wicked men, especially wicked rulers are used by god to fulfill his plan. Linguists believe that the name transcribed from hebrew as ahasuerus is intended to refer to the persian king xerxes i 486 465 bce.
Ahasuerus xerxes i is shown as ruling over 127 jurisdictional districts, from india to ethiopia. Is xerxes the same person as ahasuerus in the book of esther. Esther 110 nkjv the king dethrones queen vashti now. The wealth of king ahasuerus this is a record of what happened during the reign of ahasuerus, the ahasuerus who ruled over 127 provinces from india to cush. Esther in the picture study bible the book of esther. Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know.
Esther was a jewish woman who was selected by the persian king ahasuerus to be his wife. He allows the officials in his court to make all the decisions, including the dismissal of. So too, greek historians depict xerxes as a shameless skirtchaser, adding that women heavily influenced all the weighty decisions taken by the men of his day. That in the book of tobit may be cyaxares i, destroyer of nineveh. Life after death experience nde with steve gardipee, vietnam war story one of the best ndes duration. Although gods name is nowhere mentioned in this book, his providential hand is clearly visible, ruling and overruling in. Esther 1 international standard version isv the wealth of king ahasuerus. Esther 110 new king james version nkjv the king dethrones queen vashti. Here is the story of esther through a summary of each of the 10 chapters. He was the son of darius the great and reigned from 486465 b. Perhaps this is why the biblical text actually gives no clear reason for the kings love for esther. How to pronounce say ahasuerus by bible speak pronunciation. Although gods name is nowhere mentioned in this book, his providential hand is clearly visible, ruling and overruling in the affairs of men. The ahasuerus king of persia, referred to in ezra 4.