Esther



Esther, born Hadassah , was a woman in the Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with either Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her.

Book of Esther
The book of Esther is seventeenth chapter from the Old Testament in the Bible; we do not know who wrote it. The book of Esther is called with another name that the book of ‘Providential Care'. Esther is a woman, who saved the Jews from a big crisis. After a queen of Vashti was deposed by her rude attitude to King Xerxes, the king of Persia, Xerxes’ attendants suggested him to search the beautiful young virgins for a new queen. Many girls were brought to the King and they got the beautiful treatments for the King. Esther, the Jews, was the one of the beautiful virgins. (When Esther went to the royal harem at Susa, Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and an adoptive father, told Esther that does not talk about her nationality and family background.) Xerxes’ attendants requested to King Xerxes that young woman who pleases King Xerxes most will be a new queen. Actually, King Xerxes liked Esther so much more than any other girl. Finally, Xerxes declared the Esther as the queen instead of the queen of Vashti. Mordecai did not knee before Haman son of Hammedatha. People asked why Mordecai does not knee before Hammedath, and Mordecai told them that he is the Jew. Hamans plotted against the Jews, after they knew Mordecai is the Jew. Mordecai asked for help to Esther. Esther and his cousin and the adoptive father, Mordecai, cooperated together and they saved the Jews from the Hamans’ plot. In the result, the Hamans were executed instead of Mordecai, also, people, who helped the Hamans were killed by the Jews. Esther was used by God to save the Jews; she provided wealth, peace, and protection to the Jews. The Jews celebrated this victory of the Jews every year, which is a festival of Purim. The reason for recording the festival of Purim is to remind the Jews that God is protecting and leading them. (Read )

Purim
Purim: a die in Aramaean

The origin of Purim is from the capital of Persia, Susa, according to the book of Esther. Mordecai did not knee in front of a leader of Haman, son of Hammedatha, so the Hamans plotted to kill all the Jews; the Hamans used the die to decide the date of Jews’ execution day, which was thirteenth. Actually, Purim indicates the victory of the Jews instead of the Jews’ execution. ( says, “This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.”)