Queen esther biography

If her exposure of Haman were to backfire, she had to know that her life was in the balance. Yet, Queen Esther combined bravery with wise charm, and God saw that she was protected. Her act saved the lives of thousands, and that is why this beautiful, young Jewess is still honored today. Esther is a powerful reminder of our priceless heritage. We follow in a long line of biblical heroes and saints who have courageously stood for what is right and good.

Like Esther, they have risked their lives to protect others and to protect a faith that is founded on the Word of God. Steve Fortosis served for six years as youth minister in several parishes. Meanwhile he was also working toward his masters, then his doctorate in religious education. Through the years he has enjoyed teaching on the college and seminary levels and writing professionally.

Queen esther biography: Esther is a young Jewish woman

Presently he resides in Florida with his wife, Debra, where he teaches part-time and writes on a free-lance basis. Your email address will not be published. Previous Daniel Biography. Next Ezra Biography. Esther's "queen esther biography," Mordecai, was older than she and he raised Esther. Esther was still a young woman when her presence was requested at the palace of King Ahasuerus.

Ahasuerus had recently "disposed of" his wife, Queen Vashti. Vashti had displeased the king by refusing to strip down for his guests. Ahasuerus needed a new wife and he called upon all of the virgins in Persia to present themselves at the palace. Esther was an extremely beautiful woman and Ahasuerus chose her to be his queen. Esther moved away from her Jewish community and into the palace.

Mordecai advised her not to admit to her Jewish heritage because he was unsure of the king's sentiments towards the Jews. In the Middle Agesthe role of Esther took on powerful symbolic dimensions among Jews for at least three reasons. First, Esther came to symbolize the court Jew who risked everything to defend the nation so often slandered, despised, and threatened.

Second, Esther, as a "hidden" Jew together with the frequently noted absence of an explicit reference to God in the scrollsymbolized in mystical circles the hiddenness of the Shekhinah divine feminine presence in the world and in the Jewish exile. And finally, Esther and the festival of Purim was a great favorite of the Marranos in Spain and in their far-flung dispersion; they saw in her disguised condition the factual and psychological prototype of their own disguised condition.

Bickerman, Elias J. New York See pages — Gaster, Theodor H. Purim and Hanukkah in Custom and Tradition. Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews — Translated by Henrietta Szold et al. Reprint, Philadelphia, — See the index, s. Paris, Fishbane, Michael " Esther. Fishbane, Michael "Esther. Persian Queen Esther B. Married to King Ahasuerus after he divorced the former queen for disobedience, Esther would intercede on behalf of the Jewish people of the kingdom and prevent their annihilation.

Her story is recounted in the Bible in the Book of Esther. Esther was born around B. The myrtle tree was native to Babylonia, but Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem took the tree with them, and it became a symbol of the nation of Israel. The name Esther itself means star and happiness. Esther was the daughter of Abihail, of the tribe of Benjamin.

It is believed she adopted the Persian name Esther when she entered the Persian court harem when she was a young girl. Actually, as with many figures from the Bible, there is now some scholarly controversy about whether Queen Esther really did indeed exist. Some scholars now believe that her story, recounted in the Book of Esther in the Bible, is actually a "historic fiction" with no basis in fact, and that it was intended as an allegory designed to teach essential truths.

Much has been made of the similarities between the Jewish festival of Purim, which commemorates the rescue of the Jews by Esther and her adopted father Mordechai, and a Persian festival that celebrates the god Marduk and the female Ishtar and their victory over their rivals. It has been suggested that "Esther" and "Mordechai" are Hebrew forms of the names "Ishtar" and "Marduk.

The story of Esther involves someone from the humblest of origins, a Jewish exile, who rises to become a queen. More importantly, in her royal position, she is able to save her people from a genocide designed by a scheming court figure. According to accounts, when Esther's parents died, she was adopted by her father's brother, Mordecai, who later became a courtier of the Persian King Ahasuerus.

Mordecai raised her as his daughter, and they became residents of Susa Shushanwhich was formerly the capital of Elam. But in their time, it was one of several Persian capitals and was located about miles east of Babylon, 75 miles east of the Tigris River, and miles north of the Persian Gulf. Both Esther and Mordecai's descendants were among the Jewish tribes of Judah and Benjamin who had been conquered by the Babylonians ruled by King Nebuchadnezzar.

After the Babylonian empire was itself conquered by the Persians under Cyrus the Greatthe exiled tribes were allowed to return to Jerusalem. But Esther's descendants were among those who decided to remain in their land of exile. In B. Previously, she was a queen esther biography of the harem of the Persian king Ahasuerus, who was also known as King Xerxes.

But when the former queen, Vashti, fell into disfavor with her husband, Ahasuerus, the king chose Esther to be his wife and queen. The discord between the former queen and the king arose from Vashti's refusal to appear before his people at a great banquet, a one hundred and eighty—day feast held in Susa. There is speculation as to the exact nature of this refusal.

According to one translation of events, she refused to appear at the banquet "wearing her royal crown. The event was attended by people from one hundred twenty-seven provinces of Persia, a kingdom that stretched from India to Ethiopia. According to historians, the lengthy banquet had eventually turned into a prolonged drunken revelry, and the king himself was intoxicated with wine at the time he made his request.

King Ahasuerus has been described as a sensualist who enjoyed drinking and other forms of debauchery. In addition, it was said that he ruled with no great wisdom, even though he reigned over what was the greatest empire of its time. Apparently, Queen Vashti refused to comply with her husband's degrading wishes. She risked death with her refusal, but the king only banished her, using this as an example to all wives living in his empire.

Further, he sent an edict throughout his kingdom that gave male subjects the right to rule over their wives in all matters. Ahasuerus now sought a replacement queen and wife among the beautiful young virgins of his kingdom.

Queen esther biography: Queen Esther is.

He ordered the most attractive maidens to be brought before him. One of these included Esther. At the time, Esther was only fourteen years old, but she possessed remarkable beauty as well as charm and precocious tact. When her opportunity finally came to appear before the king, Ahasuerus was immediately taken with Esther's attractiveness, and he made her his new queen.

Esther's adopted uncle Mordecai remained constantly near the palace, so that he would be able advise her in all matters.

Queen esther biography: Esther, originally Hadassah, is

As his first bit of counsel, he told her to conceal the fact that she was Jewish. It has been suggested that Mordecai served as a gatekeeper, and this position enabled him to stay in continual communication with Esther. Once, while at the palace gate, Mordecai overheard a plot being hatched by two of the king's eunuchs to kill Ahasuerus. Mordecai revealed this information to Esther, who then told the king about the plot.

After an investigation, the eunuchs were executed, and Mordecai's loyalty and aid to the king was recorded in the chronicles of the kingdom. Shortly after Esther became the queen, Haman the Agagite, the prime minister of Persia and a favorite of the king, obtained a royal decree that authorized the slaughter of all of the Jewish people living within the borders of the Persian Empire.

In addition, the decree called for the confiscation of all of their property. This decree was obtained through a cunning deception that, at its core, was essentially an act of revenge on the part of Haman against Mordecai. Haman regarded Mordecai as an upstart who did not show him the proper respect. When Haman was named prime ministerthe king had issued a general order that all were to bow to him.

However, Mordecai constantly refused to prostrate himself before Haman at the palace gate. After Haman found out that Mordecai was Jewish, he designed a plot to have all Jews in the Persian kingdom killed. Haman cunningly obtained the king's unwitting queen esther biography for a general massacre, to take place in one day, of all the Jews.

Obviously, the Jews were greatly distressed by the decree, and Mordecai turned to Esther for help. Esther then planned to appeal to the king on behalf of the Jews, but this would require that she reveal to her husband the king that she, too, was Jewish. In doing so, she placed her own life at great risk. Esther's appeal to the king involved her requesting that he attend a banquet in her quarters, and that he be accompanied by Haman.

But before she made her request, she waited for three days and spent the time in fasting and prayer. The king eventually accepted her invitation and all went well, so Esther asked her guests to join her again the following night. On the night of the second banquet, the king told Esther that he would grant whatever she would ask. Esther then revealed all to the king: her petition for the Jewish people, her own Jewish heritage, and Haman's deceit in obtaining the decree.

The king was enraged and he stormed away from her. When he returned, he found Haman at Esther's feet. Haman was pleading to the queen for her mercy, but the king misinterpreted the actions as an attempt at seduction. Earlier, Haman had built a gallows that he intended to use to hang Mordecai. Eerdmans Reimer, Gail Twersky. White, Sidnie A.

Newsom and Sharon H. Ringe, — White, Sidnie A. Day, — Minneapolis: Fortress Press, Zornberg, Avivah. New York: Schocken, Have an update or correction? Let us know. Episode Alaska's Jewish Pioneer Daughter. Jewish Women's Archive. In Brief. The Path to Becoming Queen. Unique Features of the Book of Esther. The Purpose of the Book of Esther. Carruthers, Jo.