Esther - Background Notes

TITLE  

• This book and the book of Ruth are the only OT books named after women. 
• Like Song of Solomon, Obadiah, and Nahum, the NT does not quote or allude to Esther.  

AUTHOR OF ESTHER 

1. The author remains unknown. 
2. Whoever penned Esther possessed a detailed knowledge of Persian customs, etiquette, and history, plus particular familiarity with the palace at Shushan (1:5–7). 
3. He also showed intimate knowledge of the Hebrew calendar and customs, while additionally showing a strong sense of Jewish nationalism. 
4. Possibly a Persian Jew, who later moved back to Israel, wrote Esther.

WHERE DOES ESTHER FIT INTO HISTORY?

Esther is one of the very last books in the OT history of the Jews. (Only Ezra 7-10 and Malachi is later).

• The events in Esther happened during  the Persian period of world history.  Daniel 5:30,31/Daniel 8:1-27.
• The events of Esther took place during the first return of the Jews after the 70 years captivity in Babylon (Daniel 9:1-19) and (Ezra 1-6) and the second return (Ezra 7-10).  Nehemiah's journey (the third return) happened 13 years later.

THE PERSIAN KING’S NAMES:

Ahasuerus (Hebrew name) Xerxes (Greek Name) Khshayarsha (Persian name). The king was assassinated in 465BC.  Esther's story ends before Xerxes' death.

THE ATTEMPT TO EXTERMINATE THE JEWS.

Compare the events in Esther and in the book of Exodus:  foreign powers vigorously tried to eliminate the Jewish race but God sovereignly preserved His people according to His covenant promises.

THE PEOPLE IN THE TRUE STORY.

• Mordecai:He is a Benjamite, descendant of Saul -Esther  2:5.
• Haman the Agagite.  Saul got orders to kill all the Amalekites including Agag their king. Saul disobeyed, God was displeased, Samuel killed Agag.  1 Samuel 15. So we see that Haman carried deep hostility toward the Jews - 550 years after the death of Agag.This explains why Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman (Ezra 3:2,3) and why Haman so viciously tried to exterminate the Jewish race (Esther 3:5, 6, 13).
• We see God’s purposes of keeping His people in faithfulness to His covenant,  prevail.
• Satan working in the background.

THE FESTIVAL OF PURIM - to celebrate God’s faithfulness to save His people.  In Esther 9 and 10 a festival is recorded  to celebrate the nation's survival.  This is a festival (one of two) outside the Mosaic legislation - still celebrated in Israel (Hanukkah).

• An annual 2-day holiday of feasting, rejoicing, sending food to one another, giving gifts to the poor. Esther 9:21,22). 
• was to be celebrated in every generation, by every family, in every province and city. (Esther 9:27,28)
• Later fasting with lamentation was added (Esther 9:31)
• Purim is not mentioned in the bible again - though it's been celebrated through centuries in Israel.

THE CHESS GAME IN ESTHER. 

•  God and Satan are the invisible players and they moved real kings, queens and nobles.
• Satan puts Haman into place and says "check".
• God positioned Esther and Mordecai and says "checkmate".

SATAN

•  Ever since the fall of man (Gen. 3:1–19), Satan has attempted to spiritually sever God’s relationship with His human creation and disrupt God’s covenant promises with Israel. 
• Herod slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem, thinking Christ was among them (Matt. 2:16).
• Satan tempted Christ to denounce God and worship him (Matt. 4:9). 
• Peter, at Satan’s insistence, tried to block Christ’s journey to Calvary (Matt. 16:22). 
• Finally, Satan entered into Judas who then betrayed Christ to the Jews and Romans (Luke 22:3–6). 

GOD

• While God was not mentioned in Esther, He was everywhere apparent as the One who opposed and foiled Satan’s diabolical schemes by providential intervention.
• See God’s love for Israel in this dramatic rescue of His people from pending elimination.
• “Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:4).

GOD IS NOWHERE MENTIONED IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER (as in the Song of Solomon)

• There is no reference to the law of God. levitical sacrifices, worship or prayer - and that while the persian king's name gets mentioned 175 times!
• The Jews survived - why no recognition for God?

SOME LIGHT:

1. If God desired to be mentioned, He could just as sovereignly have moved the author to write of Him as He acted to save Israel. 
2. This situation seems to be more of a problem at the human level than the divine, because Esther is the classic illustration of God’s providence as He, the unseen power, controls everything for His purpose. 
3. There are no miracles in Esther, but the preservation of Israel through providential control of every event and person reveals the omniscience and omnipotence of Jehovah. 
4. Whether He is named is not the issue. He is clearly the main character in the drama.

OTHER QUESTIONS:

• Why were Mordecai and Esther so secular in their lifestyles?” Esther (2:6–20).
• Mordecai kept his and Esther’s Jewish heritage secret, unlike Daniel (Dan. 6:5). 
• Why is the The law of God absent (in contrast to Ezra back in Jerusalem)
• Why did Esther and Mordecai not return with the others to Jerusalem? (Ezra 7:10). Nehemiah had a heart for Jerusalem that seemingly eluded the affections of Esther and Mordecai (Neh. 1:1–2:5).

SOME LIGHT ON THE QUESTIONS:

• This short book does not record everything. Perhaps Mordecai and Esther actually possessed a deeper faith than becomes apparent here (cf. 4:16). 
• Second, even godly Nehemiah did not mention his God when talking to King Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1–8). 
• Third, the Jewish festivals which provided structure for worship had been lost long before Esther, e.g., Passover (2 Kin. 23:22) and Pentecost (Neh. 8:17). 
• Fourth, possibly the anti-Jewish letter written by the Samaritans to Ahasuerus several years earlier had frightened them (ca. 486 B.C.; Ezra 4:6). 
• Fifth, the evil intentions of Haman did not just first surface when Mordecai refused to bow down (3:1, 2). Most likely they were long before shared by others which would have intimidated the Jewish population. 
• Sixth, Esther did identify with her Jewish heritage at a most appropriate time (7:3, 4). And yet, the nagging question of why Esther and Mordecai did not seem to have the same kind of open devotion to God as did Daniel remains.
•  Further, Nehemiah’s prayer (Neh. 1:5–11, esp. v. 7) seems to indicate a spiritual lethargy among the Jewish exiles in Susa. 

Let's see how these issues are ultimately resolved by God since He alone knows human hearts and all the answers.