Book of Esther

A biblical narrative in which Esther, a Jewish queen of Persia, helps avert a plot to destroy the Jewish people. Its Hebrew version never explicitly names God.

Esther: A Jewish woman who becomes queen of Persia and intervenes against a plot to destroy her people. Her concealed identity and decisive appeal drive the narrative.
Ahasuerus: The Persian king named in Esther, commonly identified with Xerxes I. His court and decrees determine the story’s political stakes.
Septuagint: An ancient Greek translation of Jewish scriptures, produced over several centuries before the Common Era. Its expanded Greek version of Esther adds prayers and explicit references to God.
Megillah reading: The public reading of the Book of Esther, especially during the Jewish festival of Purim. The reading turns the narrative into a recurring communal ritual.
Mordecai: A Jewish court official in Susa and Esther’s cousin or guardian in the biblical narrative. He uncovers a royal assassination plot and urges Esther to act.
Susa: An ancient city in present-day Iran that served as a Persian royal center. Most of Esther’s court drama unfolds in this setting.
Additions to Esther: Greek passages absent from the traditional Hebrew text of Esther, including prayers and royal documents. They make religious themes more explicit than in the Hebrew narrative.
Hiding of God's name in Esther: The absence of an explicit divine name from the Hebrew text of Esther. This feature has shaped theological readings of the story’s apparent coincidences.
Haman: The royal official whose decree in Esther seeks the destruction of the Jews in the Persian Empire. His plan creates the danger the story reverses.
Persian Empire: A series of ancient Iranian empires that ruled territories across western and central Asia. Esther places its Jewish community within the empire’s royal administration.

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