The Esther Series of the “Women of the Bible” Section presents another interpretation of the story of Esther.
Preview of the post
This post is the first of six posts in the Esther Series and presents an Introduction to the Series.
Esther
- Introduction
The story of Esther is generally associated with the holiday of Purim. The story is well known and is generally associated with how Queen Esther saved the Jews of Persia from annihilation at the hands of Haman. The story has at times been characterized as giving comfort to Diaspora Jews, being an example of how Jews lived in exile and the pressures to which they were subjected, a view of exilic politics, the first story in the Bible of anti-Semitism[1], a satire on the Persian court, a basis for including the holiday of Purim in the list of Jewish holidays, a historical comedy, burlesque, a farce, historical fiction and the like[2].
Regarding the historical fiction view, it should be noted that historians have been unable to identify any true Persian king with a name even close to Ahasuerus. With regard to Xerxes, there is little if any mention of his wife, Amestris, who was noted for her cruelty and cannot be reconciled with Vashti (but could this queen be Esther? But this paints a very unflattering portrait of Esther). However, recent studies have identified the name Khshayaraha as the Greek term for Xerxes, which can become Ahasuerus In the book of Ezra, a king named Ahasuerus is mentioned in Ezra 4:4-7, and the Greek king fits with the king which can be identified in Ezra and would fit with the reign of Xerxes. Furthermore, there is no historical evidence of a plot to destroy the Jews. There are many other events related in this story which are difficult, if not impossible, to square with historically recorded events. All of this seems to point to a work of fiction that is based on actual events. In such works, time, people and events are often distorted for dramatic effects – so called, dramatic license. The difficulty in matching actual events to the events reported in the story of Esther seems to confirm the fictional nature of the work.
While this story could be any of these, this essay will examine yet another characterization of the story. This essay will seek to show that the story of Esther, while it does have characteristics of a farce, also is a serious a spy story involving elements of planned Regicide, spying, secret communications, a coup d’état , a rebellion, covert police work, cooperation at the highest levels of government and the like regarding security matters, plot twists, retribution, intrigue, a kill-order where the good guys will all be annihilated, a race between that kill-order and an order countermanding that kill-order; a last-second reprieve, and on and on. The story of Esther is a story of intrigue worthy of Robert Ludlam.
Preview of the Next Post
The next post, Number 2 of 6, presents a general overview of the story which is the subject of this series.
[1] Haman stated that he hated the Jews because they kept their own laws and separated themselves from all the king’s other subjects. Haman’s actions foreshadow Seleucid and Roman oppression.
[2] This story is similar to the situation of the position of the Jews in Spain as reported by Yehuda Halevi in his poetry probably written sometime around the late eleventh century. The position of the Jews in Spain as described by Halevi was fragile, vulnerable to both popular hostility and sudden changes of government. For example, around 1090, Grenada was conquered by the Almoravids, a fervently Islamic sect from North Africa, who conducted a purge of the city’s Jewish population. Halevi may also have been aware of the devastation of German Jews by the First Crusade on their way to conquer Jerusalem.