Book of Esther

<h2 id="setting-and-structure">Setting and structure</h2>
<h3>Setting</h3>
The biblical Book of Esther is set in the Persian <a href="/facts/Capital_city/p06rGdJC">capital</a> of <a href="/facts/Susa/9zlRMpKX">Susa</a> (Shushan) in the third year of the reign of the <a href="/facts/List_of_monarchs_of_Persia/NyYXHApF">Persian king</a> <a href="/facts/Ahasuerus/UuYSN7q6">Ahasuerus</a>. The name Ahasuerus is equivalent to Xerxes<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> (both deriving from the <a href="/facts/Old_Persian/gxx47Ul7">Persian</a> Khshayārsha),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> and Ahasuerus is usually identified in modern sources as <a href="/facts/Xerxes_I/477I20nQ">Xerxes I</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> who ruled between 486 and 465 BCE,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> as it is to this monarch that the events described in Esther are thought to fit the most closely.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a>
Assuming that Ahasuerus is indeed Xerxes I, the events described in Esther began around the years 483–482 BCE, and concluded in March 473 BCE.
Classical sources such as <a href="/facts/Josephus/RgFoKIYH">Josephus</a>, the Jewish commentary <a href="/facts/Esther_Rabbah/NBMlBXUY">Esther Rabbah</a> and the <a href="/facts/Christian_theology/sLefEsAd">Christian theologian</a> <a href="/facts/Bar_Hebraeus/nP2Ran1N">Bar Hebraeus</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> as well as the <a href="/facts/Koine_Greek/StKuT1sY">Greek</a> <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a> translation of Esther, instead identify Ahasuerus as either <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_I/FfKPENFp">Artaxerxes I</a> (reigned 465 to 424 BCE) or <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_II/ScNA55Yd">Artaxerxes II</a> (reigned 404 to 358 BCE).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
On his accession, however, Artaxerxes II lost Egypt to pharaoh <a href="/facts/Amyrtaeus/7L3N5GW9">Amyrtaeus</a>, after which it was no longer part of the Persian empire. In his Historia Scholastica <a href="/facts/Petrus_Comestor/5UGgCfQU">Petrus Comestor</a> identified Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) as <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_III/4RIUaLLS">Artaxerxes III</a> (358–338 BCE) who reconquered Egypt.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>

<h3>Structure</h3>
The Book of Esther consists of an introduction (or <a href="/facts/Exposition_(narrative)/Umc9h06K">exposition</a>) in chapters 1 and 2; the main action (complication and resolution) in chapters 3 to 9:19; and a conclusion in 9:20–10:3.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>

The plot is structured around banquets (<a href="/facts/Hebrew_language/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a>: מִשְׁתֶּה, <a href="/facts/Romanization_of_Hebrew/lqWNLwgA">romanized</a>: mišˈte, plural מִשְׁתָּאוֹת mištāˈoṯ or מִשְׁתִּים mišˈtim), a word that occurs twenty times in Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Hebrew bible. This is appropriate given that Esther describes the origin of a Jewish feast, the feast of <a href="/facts/Purim/ElgjG2jg">Purim</a>, but Purim itself is not the subject and no individual feast in the book is commemorated by Purim. The book's theme, rather, is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events: the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. In literary criticism such a reversal is termed "<a href="/facts/Peripeteia/8aYr9CuC">peripety</a>", and while on one level its use in Esther is simply a literary or aesthetic device, on another it is structural to the author's theme, suggesting that the power of God is at work behind human events.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a>

<h2 id="summary">Summary</h2>
King Ahasuerus, ruler of the <a href="/facts/Achaemenid_Empire/avlzWxF0">Persian Empire</a>, holds a lavish 180-day banquet for his court and dignitaries from across the 127 provinces of his empire (Esther 1:1–4), and afterwards, a seven-day banquet for all inhabitants of the capital city, <a href="/facts/Susa/9zlRMpKX">Shushan</a> (1:5–9). On the seventh day of the latter banquet, Ahasuerus orders the queen, <a href="/facts/Vashti/vPXC2bjP">Vashti</a>, to display her beauty before the guests by coming before them wearing her crown (1:10–11). She refuses, infuriating Ahasuerus, who, on the advice of his counselors, removes her from her position as an example to other women who might be emboldened to disobey their husbands (1:12–19). A decree follows that "every man should bear rule in his own house" (1:20–22).

Ahasuerus then makes arrangements to choose a new queen from a selection of beautiful young women throughout the empire (2:1–4). Among these women is a Jewish <a href="/facts/Orphan/JlxQbx5p">orphan</a> named <a href="/facts/Esther/8N8LqwAV">Esther</a>, who was raised by her cousin or uncle, <a href="/facts/Mordecai/suzPVVG9">Mordecai</a> (2:5–7). She finds favour in the King's eyes and is crowned his new queen, but does not reveal her Jewish heritage (2:8–20). Shortly afterwards, Mordecai discovers a plot by two courtiers, <a href="/facts/Bigthan_and_Teresh/m32tvw22">Bigthan and Teresh</a>, to assassinate Ahasuerus. The conspirators are apprehended and hanged, and Mordecai's service to the King is officially recorded (2:21–23).
Ahasuerus appoints <a href="/facts/Haman/ubGU6NAp">Haman</a> as his <a href="/facts/Viceroy/JrCXzvwf">viceroy</a> (3:1). Mordecai, who sits at the palace gates, falls into Haman's disfavour, as he refuses to <a href="/facts/Proskynesis/oLttlEmh">bow down</a> to him (3:2–5). Haman discovers that Mordecai refuses to bow on account of his being a Jew, and in revenge, plots to kill not just Mordecai but all the Jews in the empire (3:6). He obtains Ahasuerus' permission to execute this plan against payment of ten thousand <a href="/facts/Talent_(measurement)/1g75qejE">talents</a> of silver, and casts lots ("purim") to choose the date on which to do this – the thirteenth of the month of <a href="/facts/Adar/dreu2cRm">Adar</a> (3:7–12). A <a href="/facts/Decree/goYGFGQ0">royal decree</a> is issued throughout the kingdom to slay all Jews on that date (3:13–15).
When Mordecai discovers the plan, he goes into mourning and implores Esther to intercede with the King (4:1–5). But she fears presenting herself to the King unsummoned, an offense punishable by death (4:6–12). Instead, she directs Mordecai to have all Jews fast for three days for her and vows to fast as well (4:15–16.). On the third day, she goes to Ahasuerus, who stretches out his scepter to her to indicate that she should not be punished (5:1–2). She invites him to a feast in the company of Haman (5:3–5). During the feast, she asks them to attend a further feast the next evening (5:6–8). Meanwhile, Haman is again offended by Mordecai and, at his wife's suggestion, has a <a href="/facts/Gallows/SGcBfDpS">gallows</a> built to hang him (5:9–14).
That night, Ahasuerus cannot sleep and orders the court records be read to him (6:1). He is reminded that Mordecai interceded in the previous plot against his life and discovers that Mordecai never received any recognition (6:2–3). Just then, Haman appears to request the King's permission to hang Mordecai, but before he can make this request, Ahasuerus asks Haman what should be done for the man that the King wishes to honour (6:4–6). Assuming that the King is referring to Haman himself, Haman suggests that the man be dressed in the King's royal robes and crown and led around on the King's royal horse, while a <a href="/facts/Herald/AItLs7F4">herald</a> calls: "See how the King honours a man he wishes to reward!" (6:7–9). To his surprise and horror, the King instructs Haman to do so to Mordecai (6:10–11).

Immediately afterwards, Ahasuerus and Haman attend Esther's second banquet. The King promises to grant her any request, and she reveals that she is Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, including herself (7:1–6). Overcome by rage, Ahasuerus leaves the room; meanwhile Haman stays behind and begs Esther for his life, falling upon her in desperation (7:7). The King comes back at this very moment and thinks Haman is sexually assaulting the queen; this makes him angrier and he orders Haman hanged on the very gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai (7:8–10).
Unable to annul a formal royal decree, the King instead adds to it, permitting the Jews to join and destroy any and all of those seeking to kill them (8:1–14).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> On 13 Adar, <a href="/facts/Sons_of_Haman/vFMP9BL0">Haman's ten sons</a> and 500 other men are killed in Shushan (9:1–12). Upon hearing of this Esther requests it be repeated the next day, whereupon 300 more men are killed (9:13–15). In the other Persian provinces, 75,000 people are killed by the Jews, who are careful to take no plunder (9:16–17). Mordecai and Esther send letters throughout the provinces instituting an annual commemoration of the Jewish people's redemption, in a holiday called <a href="/facts/Purim/ElgjG2jg">Purim</a> (lots) (9:20–28). Ahasuerus remains very powerful and continues his reign, with Mordecai assuming a prominent position in his court (10:1–3).

<h2 id="authorship-and-date">Authorship and date</h2>

The Megillat Esther (Book of Esther) became the last of the 24 books of the <a href="/facts/Hebrew_Bible/y8yblF9f">Hebrew Bible</a> to be canonized by the Sages of the <a href="/facts/Great_Assembly/hBhzpIT3">Great Assembly</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Talmud/8416nnBV">Talmud</a>, it was a <a href="/facts/Redaction/yyM9ayJ6">redaction</a> by the Great Assembly of an original text by Mordecai.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> It is usually dated to the 4th century BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a>
The Greek book of Esther, included in the <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a>, is a retelling of the events of the Hebrew Book of Esther rather than a translation and records additional traditions which do not appear in the traditional Hebrew version, in particular the identification of Ahasuerus with <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_II/ScNA55Yd">Artaxerxes II</a> and details of various letters. It is dated around the late 2nd to early 1st century BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> The <a href="/facts/Copts/8WUut9kG">Coptic</a> and <a href="/facts/Christianity_in_Ethiopia/LHcXsLXV">Ethiopic</a> versions of Esther are translations of the Greek rather than the Hebrew Esther.
A Latin version of Esther was produced by <a href="/facts/Jerome/0qVqVA73">Jerome</a> for the <a href="/facts/Vulgate/RCVJAlJE">Vulgate</a>. It translates the Hebrew Esther but interpolates translations of the Greek Esther where the latter provides additional material. Predating the Vulgate, however, the Vetus Latina ("Old Latin") was apparently translated from a different Greek version not included in the Septuagint.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>
Several Aramaic <a href="/facts/Targum/FpdFfN7f">targumim</a> of Esther were produced in the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a>, of which three survive – the <a href="/facts/Targum_Rishon/Rj3GtxtV">Targum Rishon</a> ("First Targum" or 1TgEsth) and <a href="/facts/Targum_Sheni/uRMFDamg">Targum Sheni</a> ("Second Targum" or 2TgEsth)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a> dated c. 500–1000 CE,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> which include additional legends relating to Purim,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a> and the Targum Shelishi ("Third Targum" or 3TgEsth), which <a href="/facts/Abraham_Berliner/yGlDmEHT">Berliner</a> and <a href="/facts/Moshe_Goshen-Gottstein/rmDKt3GQ">Goshen-Gottstein</a> argued was the ur-Targum from which the others had been expanded, but which others consider only a late recension of the same. 3TgEsth is the most manuscript-stable of the three, and by far the most literal.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a>

<h2 id="historicity">Historicity</h2>

The apparent historical difficulties, the internal inconsistencies, the pronounced symmetry of themes and events, the plenitude of quoted dialogue, and the gross exaggeration in the reporting of numbers (involving time, money, and people) all point to Esther as a work of fiction, its vivid characters (except for Xerxes) being the product of the author's creative imagination.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a> There is no reference to known historical events in the story; a general consensus, though this consensus has been challenged,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30">30</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31">31</a> has maintained that the narrative of Esther was invented in order to provide an <a href="/facts/Etiology/Bz8MAeSq">etiology</a> for <a href="/facts/Purim/ElgjG2jg">Purim</a>, and the name Ahasuerus is usually understood to refer to a fictionalized <a href="/facts/Xerxes_I/477I20nQ">Xerxes I</a>, who ruled the <a href="/facts/Achaemenid_Empire/avlzWxF0">Achaemenid Empire</a> between 486 and 465 BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32">32</a>
The book of Esther has more <a href="/facts/Akkadian_language/esQDlrFw">Akkadian</a> and <a href="/facts/Aramaic_language/FpvKez1w">Aramaic</a> loanwords than any other biblical work and the names of the key protagonists, Mordecai and Esther, for example, have been read as allusions to the gods <a href="/facts/Marduk/uPuPP06D">Marduk</a> and <a href="/facts/Inanna/vt9chb3G">Ishtar</a>, who, symbolizing respectively Babylonia and Assyria, were twin powers that brought about the fall of <a href="/facts/Susa/9zlRMpKX">Susa</a>, where the narrative of Esther is set and where the <a href="/facts/Elam/qzj9ATAt">Elamite</a> god <a href="/facts/Humban/8aSTY1ns">Humban</a>/Humman (compare Haman)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33">33</a> exercised divine sovereignty. Purim practices like eating “<a href="/facts/Hamantash/ad4agLoS">Haman's ears</a>”, ear-shaped loaves of bread or pieces of pastry are similar to those in Near Eastern ritual celebrations of Ishtar's cosmic victory.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34">34</a> Likewise other elements in Purim customs such as making a racket with a <a href="/facts/Grager/aJrs57GU">ratchet</a>, masquerading and drunkenness have all been adduced to propose that such a kind of pagan festival akin to rites associated with Ishtar of <a href="/facts/Nineveh/yl44Guzj">Nineveh</a>, which shares these same features, lay behind the development of this story.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a>
Biblical scholar <a href="/facts/Michael_Coogan/df19jX1A">Michael Coogan</a> further argues that the book contains specific details regarding certain subject matter (for example, Persian rule) which are historically inaccurate. For example, Coogan discusses an inaccuracy regarding the age of Esther's cousin (or, according to others, uncle) <a href="/facts/Mordecai/suzPVVG9">Mordecai</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a> In Esther 2:5–6, either Mordecai or his great-grandfather Kish is identified as having been exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King <a href="/facts/Nebuchadnezzar_II/YW4JMqq3">Nebuchadnezzar II</a> in 597 BCE: "Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with <a href="/facts/Jeconiah/SClrF593">Jeconiah</a> king of Judah". If this refers to Mordecai, he would have had to live over a century to have witnessed the events described in the Book of Esther.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a> However, the verse may be read as referring not to Mordecai's exile to Babylon, but to his great-grandfather Kish's exile.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a>
In her article "The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling", biblical scholar <a href="/facts/Adele_Berlin/XnTkmr2P">Adele Berlin</a> discusses the reasoning behind scholarly concern about the historicity of Esther. Much of this debate relates to the importance of distinguishing history and fiction within biblical texts, as Berlin argues, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the history of the Israelite people.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a> Berlin quotes a series of scholars who suggest that the author of Esther did not mean for the book to be considered as a historical writing, but intentionally wrote it to be a historical novella.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a> The genre of novellas under which Esther falls was common during both the Persian and <a href="/facts/Hellenistic_period/q6BgQsaF">Hellenistic periods</a> to which scholars have dated the book of Esther (see for example the deuterocanonical <a href="/facts/Book_of_Judith/Rdgv6dDe">Book of Judith</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a>
However, there are certain elements of the book of Esther that are historically accurate.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a> The story told in the book of Esther takes place during the rule of Ahasuerus, who <a href="/facts/Ahasuerus/UuYSN7q6">amongst others</a> has been identified as the 5th-century Persian king <a href="/facts/Xerxes_I/477I20nQ">Xerxes I</a> (reigned 486–465 BCE).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47">47</a> The author also displays an accurate knowledge of Persian customs and palaces.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48">48</a> However, according to Coogan, considerable historical inaccuracies remain throughout the text, supporting the view that the book of Esther is to be read as a historical novella which tells a story describing historical events but is not necessarily historical fact.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49">49</a>

<h2 id="historical-reading">Historical reading</h2>

Those arguing in favour of a historical reading of Esther most commonly identify Ahasuerus with <a href="/facts/Xerxes_I/477I20nQ">Xerxes I</a> (ruled 486–465 BCE),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50">50</a> although in the past it was often assumed that he was <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_II/ScNA55Yd">Artaxerxes II</a> (ruled 405–359 BCE). The Hebrew Ahasuerus (ʔaḥašwērōš) is most likely derived from <a href="/facts/Persian_language/jfUYbHbt">Persian</a> Xšayārša, the origin of the Greek Xerxes. The Greek historian <a href="/facts/Herodotus/hTgRSAnv">Herodotus</a> wrote that Xerxes sought his <a href="/facts/Harem/Xwy27HSl">harem</a> after being defeated in the <a href="/facts/Greco-Persian_Wars/avlfmxyh">Greco-Persian Wars</a>. He makes no reference to individual members of the harem except for a domineering <a href="/facts/Queen_consort/z6d39GDh">Queen consort</a> named <a href="/facts/Amestris/CqqRF8aE">Amestris</a>, whose father, <a href="/facts/Otanes/l0C0Yr3L">Otanes</a>, was one of Xerxes's generals. (In contrast, the Greek historian <a href="/facts/Ctesias/n8bshjCv">Ctesias</a> refers to a similar father-in-law/general figure named Onaphas.) Amestris has often been identified with <a href="/facts/Vashti/vPXC2bjP">Vashti</a>, but this identification is problematic, as Amestris remained a powerful figure well into the reign of her son, <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_I/FfKPENFp">Artaxerxes I</a>, whereas Vashti is portrayed as dismissed in the early part of Xerxes's reign.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51">51</a> Alternative attempts have been made to identify her with Esther,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52">52</a> although Esther is an orphan whose father was a Jew named Abihail.
As for the identity of Mordecai, the similar names Marduka and Marduku have been found as the name of officials in the Persian court in over thirty texts from the period of Xerxes I and his father <a href="/facts/Darius_I/SnfdjGyK">Darius I</a>, and may refer to up to four individuals, one of whom might be the model for the biblical Mordecai.
The "Old Greek" Septuagint version of Esther translates the name Ahasuerus as Artaxerxes,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53">53</a> a Greek name derived from the Persian Artaxšaθra. <a href="/facts/Josephus/RgFoKIYH">Josephus</a> too relates that this was the name by which he was known to the Greeks, and the <a href="/facts/Midrash/I7xJG8jn">Midrashic</a> text Esther Rabba also makes the identification. <a href="/facts/Bar_Hebraeus/nP2Ran1N">Bar Hebraeus</a> identified Ahasuerus explicitly as Artaxerxes II; however, the names are not necessarily equivalent: Hebrew has a form of the name Artaxerxes distinct from Ahasuerus, and a direct Greek rendering of Ahasuerus is used by both Josephus and the Septuagint for occurrences of the name outside the Book of Esther. Instead, the Hebrew name Ahasuerus accords with an inscription of the time that notes that Artaxerxes II was named also Aršu, understood as a shortening of Aḫšiyaršu the Babylonian rendering of the Persian Xšayārša (Xerxes), through which the Hebrew ʔaḥašwērōš (Ahasuerus) is derived.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54">54</a> <a href="/facts/Ctesias/n8bshjCv">Ctesias</a> related that Artaxerxes II was also called Arsicas which is understood as a similar shortening with the Persian suffix -ke that is applied to shortened names. <a href="/facts/Deinon/DEb7Un5e">Deinon</a> related that Artaxerxes II was also called Oarses which is also understood to be derived from Xšayārša.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55">55</a>
Another view attempts to identify him instead with Artaxerxes I (ruled 465–424 BCE), whose Babylonian concubine, Kosmartydene, was the mother of his son <a href="/facts/Darius_II/8Lj6mIJz">Darius II</a> (ruled 424–405 BCE). Jewish tradition relates that Esther was the mother of a King Darius and so some try to identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I and Esther with Kosmartydene.
Based on the view that the Ahasuerus of the <a href="/facts/Book_of_Tobit/VpT2lxSe">Book of Tobit</a> is identical with that of the Book of Esther, some have also identified him as Nebuchadnezzar's ally <a href="/facts/Cyaxares/1oM246L9">Cyaxares</a> (ruled 625–585 BCE). In certain manuscripts of Tobit, the former is called Achiachar, which, like the <a href="/facts/Greek_language/pzDd6eIz">Greek</a> Cyaxares, is thought to be derived from Persian Huwaxšaθra. Depending on the interpretation of Esther 2:5–6, Mordecai or his great-grandfather Kish was carried away from <a href="/facts/Jerusalem/PKJ8LT0Y">Jerusalem</a> with <a href="/facts/Jeconiah/SClrF593">Jeconiah</a> by <a href="/facts/Nebuchadnezzar_II_of_Babylon/YW4JMqq3">Nebuchadnezzar</a>, in 597 BCE. The view that it was Mordecai would be consistent with the identification of Ahasuerus with Cyaxares. Identifications with other Persian monarchs have also been suggested.
Jacob Hoschander has argued that the name of Haman and that of his father Hamedatha are mentioned by <a href="/facts/Strabo/dzQ59zwn">Strabo</a> as Omanus and Anadatus, worshipped with Anahita in the city of <a href="/facts/Zile/yuCU3hob">Zela</a>. Hoschander suggests that Haman may, if the connection is correct, be a priestly title and not a proper name.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56">56</a> Strabo's names are unattested in Persian texts as gods; however the Talmud<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57">57</a> and Josephus<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58">58</a> interpret the description of courtiers bowing to Haman in Esther 3:2 as worship. (Other scholars assume "Omanus" refers to <a href="/facts/Vohu_Mana/MAJVKAzo">Vohu Mana</a>.)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59">59</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60">60</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61">61</a>
In his Historia Scholastica <a href="/facts/Petrus_Comestor/5UGgCfQU">Petrus Comestor</a> identified Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) as <a href="/facts/Artaxerxes_III/4RIUaLLS">Artaxerxes III</a> who reconquered Egypt.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62">62</a>

<h2 id="interpretation">Interpretation</h2>
In the Book of Esther, the <a href="/facts/Tetragrammaton/ylhCItp5">Tetragrammaton</a> does not appear, but some argue it is present, in hidden form, in four complex <a href="/facts/Acrostic/cHvNEjaA">acrostics</a> in Hebrew: the initial or last letters of four consecutive words, either forwards or backwards comprise YHWH. These letters were distinguished in at least three ancient Hebrew manuscripts in red.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:63" href="#fn:63">63</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:64" href="#fn:64">64</a>
<a href="/facts/Christine_Hayes/hECH3aMH">Christine Hayes</a> contrasts the Book of Esther with <a href="/facts/Apocalyptic_literature/YohqhDC6">apocalyptic writings</a>, the <a href="/facts/Book_of_Daniel/m22qUIWF">Book of Daniel</a> in particular: both Esther and Daniel depict an existential threat to the Jewish people, but while Daniel commands the Jews to wait faithfully for God to resolve the crisis, in Esther the crisis is resolved entirely through human action and national solidarity. God, in fact, is not mentioned, Esther is portrayed as <a href="/facts/Cultural_assimilation/hwrCtR9q">assimilated</a> to Persian culture, and Jewish identity in the book is an <a href="/facts/Jewish_peoplehood/kYtJ7vzT">ethnic category</a> rather than a <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">religious one</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:65" href="#fn:65">65</a>
This contrasts with traditional Jewish commentaries, such as the commentary of the <a href="/facts/Vilna_Gaon/JkqcMH46">Vilna Gaon</a>, which states "But in every verse it discusses the great miracle. However, this miracle was in a hidden form, occurring through apparently natural processes, not like the Exodus from Egypt, which openly revealed the might of God."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:66" href="#fn:66">66</a> This follows the approach of the <a href="/facts/Talmud/8416nnBV">Talmud</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:67" href="#fn:67">67</a> which states that "(The Book of) Esther is referenced in the Torah in the verse 'And I shall surely hide (in Hebrew, 'haster astir,' related to 'Esther') My Face from them on that day.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:68" href="#fn:68">68</a> 
André Lacocque also sees the Book of Esther as being fundamentally theological and that its main message was to correct the mistakes of ancestors. These mistakes included being lenient against Amalekites and plundering goods, which <a href="/facts/King_Saul/0zNv3lna">King Saul</a> was guilty of. Another message was that diasporic Jews were responsible for the welfare of their host community, who held unpredictable views about Jews. These views ranged from violent antisemitism to passionate <a href="/facts/Philosemitism/C1A87jHY">philosemitism</a>, where Jews are arbitrarily promoted to higher positions due to being 'sexy'. Lacocque compares this to <a href="/facts/Joseph_(Bible)/wDLUeI6t">Joseph</a>'s governance of Egypt in the <a href="/facts/Book_of_Genesis/uFEgtYrb">Book of Genesis</a>, which benefitted native Egyptians and Hebrew immigrants.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:69" href="#fn:69">69</a> 
Although <a href="/facts/Interfaith_marriage_in_Judaism/HERozq8P">marriages between Jews and Gentiles</a> are not permitted in <a href="/facts/Orthodox_Judaism/8PGzTQaL">orthodox Judaism</a>, even in case of <a href="/facts/Pikuach_nefesh/NSkTs9DT">Pikuach nefesh</a>, Esther is not regarded as a sinner, because she remained passive, and risked her life to save that of the entire Jewish people.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:70" href="#fn:70">70</a>
Azīz Pajand, a Persian Jew, published "Purim" in 1966, which offered an Iranophilic interpretation of the Book of Esther. Here, Haman was the Amalekite enemy of 'pure-blooded Iranians' and Jews. Thus, Purim became a holiday that celebrates salvation for all Iranians from the 'Hamanites'. He also emphasizes the role of Jewish-Persian cooperation in realizing the Book of Esther's denouement. Pajand justified his interpretation to dispel accusations that the Book of Esther was anti-Iranian and because he believed that Iranians were "travellers in the way of truth". In contrast, Haman violated the <a href="/facts/Zoroastrianism/rM0QUMtg">Zoroastrian</a> ideal of “Good thoughts; Good words; and Good deeds”.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:71" href="#fn:71">71</a> Lacocque likewise observes that the "enemies of the Jews" were never arbitrarily branded as Amalekites before being killed, in comparison to Haman and his sons, which discredits any motive of Jewish ultranationalism.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:72" href="#fn:72">72</a>
<a href="/facts/Albert_Barnes_(theologian)/EAxIPSpz">Albert Barnes</a> similarly argues that the <a href="/facts/Philosemitism/C1A87jHY">philosemitic</a> Persian establishment was perplexed at Haman's decree (<a href="https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Esther%203:15&version=nrsv">Esther 3:15</a>),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:73" href="#fn:73">73</a> and that they were supportive of Esther's efforts against the "enemies of the Jews". The latter were mostly found "among the idolatrous people of the subject nations", whom the Persians did not care for.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:74" href="#fn:74">74</a> The ones in Susa, however, consisted of Haman's faction, led by his ten sons,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:75" href="#fn:75">75</a> and fugitives who believed they were free to kill the Jews once the latter's "privileges have expired", thus why they were killed the next day.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:76" href="#fn:76">76</a> <a href="/facts/Matthew_Poole/dsG4pykJ">Matthew Poole</a> sees the subsequent hanging of Haman's sons as a cruel Jewish and Persian custom that punishes offenders for 'abusing' the king.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:77" href="#fn:77">77</a>
John Gill sees the conversion of Persian allies (<a href="https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Esther%208:17&version=nrsv">Esther 8:17</a>) as an example of '<a href="/facts/Forced_conversion/FNkkSDM4">conversion under duress</a>' but does not discount alternative explanations. They include being impressed by the 'Divine Providence' working in the Jews' favor and seeking the favor of Esther and Mordecai, who gained immense power.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:78" href="#fn:78">78</a> But ultimately, the Persian allies and Jews celebrated Purim together and taught their children to read the Book of Esther (<a href="https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Esther%209:27&version=nrsv">Esther 9:27</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:79" href="#fn:79">79</a>
According to Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, there is a code in the Book of Esther which lies in the names of Haman's 10 sons. Three of the Hebrew letters—a tav, a shin and a zayin—are written smaller than the rest, while a vav is written larger. The outsized vav—which represents the number six—corresponds to the sixth millennium of the world since creation, which, according to Jewish tradition, is the period between 1240 and 2240 CE. As for the tav, shin and zayin, their numerical values add up to 707. Put together, these letters refer to the Jewish year 5707, which corresponds to the secular 1946–1947. In his research, Neugroschel noticed that ten Nazi defendants in the Nuremberg Trials were executed by hanging on 16 October 1946, which was the date of the final judgement day of Judaism, <a href="/facts/Hoshana_Rabbah/5tBaGhJD">Hoshana Rabbah</a>. Additionally, <a href="/facts/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring/IvYCDBuy">Hermann Göring</a>, an eleventh Nazi official sentenced to death, committed suicide, parallel to Haman's daughter in Tractate Megillah.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:80" href="#fn:80">80</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:81" href="#fn:81">81</a>

<h2 id="additions-to-esther">Additions to Esther</h2>

An additional six chapters appear interspersed in Esther in the <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a>, an early Greek translation of the Bible. This was noted by <a href="/facts/Jerome/0qVqVA73">Jerome</a> in compiling the Latin <a href="/facts/Vulgate/RCVJAlJE">Vulgate</a>. Additionally, the Greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. Jerome recognized the former as additions not present in the <a href="/facts/Tanakh/04qRIX0c">Hebrew Text</a> and placed them at the end of his Latin translation. This placement is used in Catholic Bible translations based primarily on the Vulgate, such as the <a href="/facts/Douay%E2%80%93Rheims_Bible/c9Drjv5v">Douay–Rheims Bible</a> and the <a href="/facts/Knox_Bible/rVLaW8pr">Knox Bible</a>, with chapters numbered up to 16.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:82" href="#fn:82">82</a> In contrast, the <a href="/facts/Nova_Vulgata/EXNdcIBJ">Nova Vulgata</a> incorporates the additions to Esther directly into the narrative itself, as do most modern Catholic English translations based on the original Hebrew and Greek (e.g., <a href="/facts/Revised_Standard_Version_Catholic_Edition/KCnYr4I8">Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</a>, <a href="/facts/New_American_Bible/AqcXpSc0">New American Bible</a>, <a href="/facts/New_Revised_Standard_Version_Catholic_Edition/Y3wsaV12">New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</a>). The numbering system for the additions therefore differs with each translation. The Nova Vulgata accounts for the additional verses by numbering them as extensions of the verses immediately following or preceding them (e.g., Esther 11:2–12 in the old Vulgate becomes Esther 1:1a–1k in the Nova Vulgata), while the NAB and its successor, the NABRE, assign letters of the alphabet as chapter headings for the additions (e.g., Esther 11:2–12:6 in the Vulgate becomes Esther A:1–17). The RSVCE and the NRSVCE place the additional material into the narrative, but retain the chapter and verse numbering of the old Vulgate.

<h3>Contents</h3>
These additions are:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:83" href="#fn:83">83</a>

<ul><li>an opening prologue that describes a dream had by Mordecai, printed ahead of chapter 1 in RSVCE</li>
<li>the contents of the decree against the Jews, included within chapter 3 in RSVCE</li>
<li>an extension to the dialogue between Hathach and Mordecai, placed after 4:8 in RSVCE</li>
<li>prayers for God's intervention offered by Mordecai and by Esther, both in chapter in RSVCE</li>
<li>an expansion of the scene in which Esther appears before the king, with a mention of God's intervention, included in chapter 5 in RSVCE</li>
<li>a copy of the decree in favor of the Jews, added to chapter 8 in RSVCE</li>
<li>a passage in which Mordecai interprets his dream (from the prologue) in terms of the events that followed, added to chapter 10 in RSVCE</li>
<li>a colophon appended to the end of chapter 10, also referenced as 11:1, which reads:</li></ul>
In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding Letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.— (NRSV)
It is unclear to which version of Greek Esther this colophon refers, and who exactly are the figures mentioned in it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:84" href="#fn:84">84</a>
By the time the Greek version of Esther was written, the foreign power visible on the horizon as a future threat to Judah was the kingdom of <a href="/facts/Macedonia_(ancient_kingdom)/g0F1DEgc">Macedonia</a> under <a href="/facts/Alexander_the_Great/8N3gLElj">Alexander the Great</a>, who defeated the Persian empire about 150 years after the time of the story of Esther; the <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a> version noticeably calls Haman a "Bougaion" (<a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek_language/LIK7NlUh">Ancient Greek</a>: βουγαῖον), possibly in the Homeric sense of "bully" or "braggart",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:85" href="#fn:85">85</a> whereas the Hebrew text describes him as an <a href="/facts/Agagite/qSL6Wfds">Agagite</a>.

<h3>Canonicity</h3>
The canonicity of these Greek additions has been a subject of scholarly disagreement practically since their first appearance in the <a href="/facts/Septuagint/jGpbyr2n">Septuagint</a>. – <a href="/facts/Martin_Luther/7nwEeL0L">Martin Luther</a>, being perhaps the most vocal <a href="/facts/Protestant_Reformation/9ClEbhnL">Reformation</a>-era critic of the work, considered even the original Hebrew version to be of very doubtful value.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:86" href="#fn:86">86</a>
The <a href="/facts/Council_of_Florence/aaA8rq7a">Council of Basel–Ferrara–Florence</a> confirmed its status as canonical between 1431 and 1445.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:87" href="#fn:87">87</a>
The <a href="/facts/Council_of_Trent/vRPIBssJ">Council of Trent</a>, the summation of the <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation/NLk0bSr6">Counter-Reformation</a>, reconfirmed the entire book,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:88" href="#fn:88">88</a> both Hebrew text and Greek additions, as canonical. The Book of Esther is used twice in commonly used sections of the Catholic <a href="/facts/Lectionary/dsPDGTog">Lectionary</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:89" href="#fn:89">89</a> In both cases, the text used is not only taken from a Greek addition. The readings also include the prayer of <a href="/facts/Mordecai/suzPVVG9">Mordecai</a>, and nothing of <a href="/facts/Esther/8N8LqwAV">Esther</a>'s own words is ever used. The <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodox_Church/5n20Akh5">Eastern Orthodox Church</a> uses the Septuagint version of Esther, as it does for all of the Old Testament.
In contrast, the additions are included in the <a href="/facts/Biblical_apocrypha/jN7uJrm5">Biblical apocrypha</a>, usually printed in a separate section (if at all) in <a href="/facts/Protestant_bible/YjW1RNkx">Protestant bibles</a>. The additions, called "The rest of the Book of Esther", are specifically listed in the <a href="/facts/Thirty-Nine_Articles/CSkN7gYN">Thirty-Nine Articles</a>, Article VI, of the <a href="/facts/Church_of_England/A1CoKeGz">Church of England</a> as non-canonical, though "read for example of life and instruction of manners".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:90" href="#fn:90">90</a>

<h2 id="modern-retelling">Modern retelling</h2>
<table><tbody><tr><th>Year</th><th>Type</th><th>Cast or Creator</th><th>Description</th></tr><tr><td>1511</td><td>Painting</td><td><a href="/facts/Michelangelo/uKw8rLk4">Michelangelo</a></td><td>There are several paintings depicting Esther and her story, including The Punishment of Haman by <a href="/facts/Michelangelo/uKw8rLk4">Michelangelo</a>, in a corner of the <a href="/facts/Sistine_Chapel_ceiling/3NF8e4Nm">Sistine Chapel ceiling</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:91" href="#fn:91">91</a></td></tr><tr><td>1660</td><td>Painting</td><td><a href="/facts/Rembrandt/LPDxP9XQ">Rembrandt</a> van Rijn</td><td>In 1660, <a href="/facts/Rembrandt/LPDxP9XQ">Rembrandt</a> van Rijn's painting of Esther's Banquet depicts how Esther approached the men at their level to make the request of erasing the decree.</td></tr><tr><td>1689</td><td>Poem</td><td><a href="/facts/Lucrezia_Tornabuoni/5m5E3hA0">Lucrezia Tornabuoni</a></td><td>The <a href="/facts/Italian_Renaissance/BqPWuNmz">Italian Renaissance</a> poet <a href="/facts/Lucrezia_Tornabuoni/5m5E3hA0">Lucrezia Tornabuoni</a> chose Esther as one of biblical figures on which she wrote poetry.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:92" href="#fn:92">92</a></td></tr><tr><td>1689</td><td>Stageplay</td><td><a href="/facts/Jean_Baptiste_Racine/j9E6UmsM">Jean Baptiste Racine</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Jean_Baptiste_Racine/j9E6UmsM">Jean Baptiste Racine</a> wrote <a href="/facts/Esther_(drama)/6FfwhMDp">Esther</a>, a <a href="/facts/Tragedy/dapwNdf8">tragedy</a>, at the request of <a href="/facts/Louis_XIV/2LseeIlj">Louis XIV</a>'s wife, <a href="/facts/Fran%C3%A7oise_d%27Aubign%C3%A9,_marquise_de_Maintenon/1YUXd6Po">Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>1718</td><td>Stageplay</td><td><a href="/facts/Handel/jVAUntvy">Handel</a></td><td><a href="/facts/Handel/jVAUntvy">Handel</a> wrote the oratorio <a href="/facts/Esther_(oratorio)/DnlkRR7R">Esther</a> based on Racine's play.</td></tr><tr><td>1881</td><td>Poem</td><td><a href="/facts/Christina_Rossetti/xvGK1Sgy">Christina Rossetti</a></td><td>The eighth poem of 14 in Rossetti's sonnet-of-sonnets sequence Monna Innominata portrays Esther as brave, beautiful, wise and witty, as 'subtle as a snake', and the woman who 'built her people's house that it should stand'.</td></tr><tr><td>1958</td><td>Book</td><td><a href="/facts/Gladys_Malvern/Cs6BgBet">Gladys Malvern</a></td><td>In 1958, a book entitled Behold Your Queen! was written by <a href="/facts/Gladys_Malvern/Cs6BgBet">Gladys Malvern</a> and illustrated by her sister, <a href="/facts/Corinne_Malvern/63ngbrCC">Corinne Malvern</a>. It was chosen as a selection of the Junior Literary Guild.</td></tr><tr><td>1960</td><td>Stageplay</td><td><a href="/facts/Saunders_Lewis/DfBHNqAA">Saunders Lewis</a></td><td>The play entitled Esther (1960), written by Welsh dramatist <a href="/facts/Saunders_Lewis/DfBHNqAA">Saunders Lewis</a>, is a retelling of the story in <a href="/facts/Welsh_language/4Pz8r6yk">Welsh</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>1960</td><td>Movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Joan_Collins/6hpS41vV">Joan Collins</a></td><td>A 1960 movie about the story, <a href="/facts/Esther_and_the_King/v7K0bcmf">Esther and the King</a>, starring <a href="/facts/Joan_Collins/6hpS41vV">Joan Collins</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>1978</td><td>Miniseries</td><td><a href="/facts/Victoria_Principal/N5D0FI3r">Victoria Principal</a></td><td>A 1978 <a href="/facts/Miniseries/J7KVThLr">miniseries</a> entitled The Greatest Heroes of the Bible starred <a href="/facts/Victoria_Principal/N5D0FI3r">Victoria Principal</a> as Esther, <a href="/facts/Robert_Mandan/k5usJSrv">Robert Mandan</a> as Xerxes, and <a href="/facts/Michael_Ansara/PL0uATsD">Michael Ansara</a> as Haman.</td></tr><tr><td>1979</td><td>TV movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Olivia_Hussey/LpjWfvrr">Olivia Hussey</a></td><td>A 1979 <a href="/facts/Television_film/gsGGUltR">television film</a> entitled The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther and aired on <a href="/facts/American_Broadcasting_Company/WGxg4vRX">ABC-TV</a>, starring <a href="/facts/Olivia_Hussey/LpjWfvrr">Olivia Hussey</a> as Esther, <a href="/facts/Tony_Musante/AKjzIuGB">Tony Musante</a> as King Ahasuerus, and <a href="/facts/Harris_Yulin/Nea4jUAf">Harris Yulin</a> as Haman.</td></tr><tr><td>1981</td><td>Animation</td><td><a href="/facts/Superbook_(1981_TV_series)/qMtEnt3M">Superbook</a></td><td>Episode 25 of the 1981 <a href="/facts/Anime/d5j1by0m">anime</a> series <a href="/facts/Superbook_(1981_TV_series)/qMtEnt3M">Superbook</a> involves this story</td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>Musical</td><td><a href="/facts/J._Edward_Oliver/eF7FgBzu">J. Edward Oliver</a>,Nick Munns</td><td>The 1983 <a href="/facts/Musical_theatre/KQ2Y35SQ">musical</a> entitled <a href="/facts/Swan_Esther/zIcur0dA">Swan Esther</a> was written by <a href="/facts/J._Edward_Oliver/eF7FgBzu">J. Edward Oliver</a> and Nick Munns and released as a concept album with <a href="/facts/Stephanie_Lawrence/cg3V5kPv">Stephanie Lawrence</a> and <a href="/facts/Denis_Quilley/AyeUqPPF">Denis Quilley</a>. <a href="/facts/Swan_Esther/zIcur0dA">Swan Esther</a> has been performed by the <a href="/facts/Young_Vic/zQR4H0Ju">Young Vic</a>, a national tour produced by <a href="/facts/Bill_Kenwright/5un71U0G">Bill Kenwright</a> and some amateur groups.</td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>Movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Amos_Gitai/dhSnddWt">Amos Gitai</a></td><td>Israeli film directed by <a href="/facts/Amos_Gitai/dhSnddWt">Amos Gitai</a> entitled <a href="/facts/Esther_(1986_film)/eKzNP0bq">Esther</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>1987</td><td>Book</td><td><a href="/facts/Tomie_dePaola/9YJm7ESf">Tomie dePaola</a></td><td>Children's book titled Queen Esther written and illustrated by award-winning American author <a href="/facts/Tomie_dePaola/9YJm7ESf">Tomie dePaola</a> and published by <a href="/facts/HarperCollins/HHLz5lk5">HarperCollins</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>1992</td><td>Animation</td><td><a href="/facts/Helen_Slater/zepbmkRz">Helen Slater</a></td><td>In 1992, a 30-minute, fully animated video, twelfth in <a href="/facts/Hanna-Barbera/hI750v8v">Hanna-Barbera</a>'s <a href="/facts/The_Greatest_Adventure:_Stories_from_the_Bible/mHtzx5v6">The Greatest Adventure</a> series, titled Queen Esther features the voices of <a href="/facts/Helen_Slater/zepbmkRz">Helen Slater</a> as Queen Esther, <a href="/facts/Dean_Jones_(actor)/3CmP9AAq">Dean Jones</a> as King Ahasuerus, <a href="/facts/Werner_Klemperer/fmTxktAT">Werner Klemperer</a> as Haman, and <a href="/facts/Ron_Rifkin/DzCa8pcS">Ron Rifkin</a> as Mordecai.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:93" href="#fn:93">93</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:94" href="#fn:94">94</a></td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>TV movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Louise_Lombard/wIe8jKWw">Louise Lombard</a></td><td>TV movie from the Bible Collection that follows the biblical account very closely, <a href="/facts/Esther_(1999_film)/V5X32bus">Esther</a>, starred <a href="/facts/Louise_Lombard/wIe8jKWw">Louise Lombard</a> in the title role and <a href="/facts/F._Murray_Abraham/z7wzEooV">F. Murray Abraham</a> as Mordecai.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:95" href="#fn:95">95</a></td></tr><tr><td>2000</td><td>Animation</td><td><a href="/facts/VeggieTales/kqSpu6nY">VeggieTales</a></td><td><a href="/facts/VeggieTales/kqSpu6nY">VeggieTales</a> released "<a href="/facts/Esther..._The_Girl_Who_Became_Queen/nVFM53Lj">Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen</a>".</td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Book</td><td>Ginger Garrett</td><td>Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther by Ginger Garrett. 2005, NavPress.[importance?]</td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Tiffany_Dupont/IXR6dKqM">Tiffany Dupont</a>,<a href="/facts/Luke_Goss/Vog8YNMb">Luke Goss</a></td><td>A <a href="/facts/Film/wM3b9Kk3">movie</a> about Esther and Ahasuerus, entitled <a href="/facts/One_Night_with_the_King/NcNdg96Y">One Night with the King</a>, stars <a href="/facts/Tiffany_Dupont/IXR6dKqM">Tiffany Dupont</a> and <a href="/facts/Luke_Goss/Vog8YNMb">Luke Goss</a>. It was based on the novel <a href="/facts/Hadassah:_One_Night_with_the_King/KW9bwEs9">Hadassah: One Night with the King</a> by <a href="/facts/Tommy_Tenney/eLKQ0A1l">Tommy Tenney</a> and Mark Andrew Olsen.</td></tr><tr><td>??</td><td>??</td><td>??</td><td>Esther is one of the five heroines of the <a href="/facts/Order_of_the_Eastern_Star/Pqyvz1cQ">Order of the Eastern Star</a>.[importance?]</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Song</td><td><a href="/facts/Maccabeats/sDlm0Xzb">Maccabeats</a></td><td>On March 8, 2011, the <a href="/facts/Maccabeats/sDlm0Xzb">Maccabeats</a> released a music video called "Purim Song".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:96" href="#fn:96">96</a></td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>Book</td><td>J. T. Waldman</td><td>In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the Book of Esther was illustrated by J. T. Waldman and appeared in volume one of <a href="/facts/The_Graphic_Canon/YrglESV5">The Graphic Canon</a>, edited by <a href="/facts/Russ_Kick/0jbyeafn">Russ Kick</a> and published by <a href="/facts/Seven_Stories_Press/XJg4uYWn">Seven Stories Press</a>.</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Movie</td><td><a href="/facts/Jen_Lilley/vcby0uzg">Jen Lilley</a></td><td><a href="/facts/The_Book_of_Esther_(film)/E97fUINE">The Book of Esther</a> is a 2013 movie starring <a href="/facts/Jen_Lilley/vcby0uzg">Jen Lilley</a> as Queen Esther and Joel Smallbone as King Xerxes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:97" href="#fn:97">97</a></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Book</td><td>Angela Hunt</td><td>Hunt, Angela "Esther: Royal Beauty" (A Dangerous Beauty Novel) (2015)</td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>Book</td><td>Rebecca Kanner</td><td>Kanner, Rebecca, "Esther" (2016)</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Book</td><td>Joan Wolf</td><td>Wolf, Joan,"A Reluctant Queen: The Love Story of Esther" (2011)</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Book</td><td>Roseanna M. White</td><td>White, Roseanna, M. "Jewel of Persia" (2011)</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Book</td><td>Jill Eileen Smith</td><td>Smith, Jill, Eileen."Star of Persia: Esther's Story" (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Book</td><td>H.B. Moore</td><td>H.B. Moore."Esther the Queen" (2013)</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Movie</td><td>CJ Kramer</td><td>"Megillas Lester", an animated comedy loosely based on the Book of Esther, where a boy named Daniel Lesterovich (a.k.a., "Lester") is knocked out and travels back in time to the story of the Megillah, and nearly changes history by accidentally saving Queen Vashti. (2014)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:98" href="#fn:98">98</a></td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Book</td><td>Elizabeth Mack</td><td>Mack, Elizabeth. "The Queen of Persia" (2020)</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>Book</td><td>Diana Taylor</td><td>Taylor, Diana, Wallis."Hadassah, Queen Esther of Persia" (2019)</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>Stageplay</td><td><a href="/facts/Sight_%26_Sound_Theatres/zY1RA0cM">Sight & Sound Theatres</a></td><td>Sight & Sound Theatres produced "Queen Esther," a stage production (2020)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:99" href="#fn:99">99</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:100" href="#fn:100">100</a></td></tr></tbody></table>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Crypteia/YHUfKbk5">Crypteia</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Grager/aJrs57GU">Grager</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<h3>Citations</h3>

<h3>Sources</h3>

<ul><li>Clines, David J.A. (1984). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=PBediPzesQ0C&pg=PA9">The Esther Scroll</a>. A&C Black. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780567157133. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231111154150/https://books.google.com/books?id=PBediPzesQ0C&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q&f=false">Archived</a> from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2017-08-30.</li>
<li>Jobes, Karen H. (2011). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=P-LPe-LlivkC&pg=PA40">Esther</a>. Zondervan. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780310872146. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231111154150/https://books.google.com/books?id=P-LPe-LlivkC&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q&f=false">Archived</a> from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2017-08-30.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Timothy_Beal/rFaLWX1m">Beal, Timothy K</a>. The Book of Hiding: Gender, Ethnicity, Annihilation, and Esther. NY: Routledge, 1997. Postmodern theoretical apparatus, e.g. <a href="/facts/Jacques_Derrida/ln1TBjEn">Jacques Derrida</a>, <a href="/facts/Emmanuel_Levinas/Wq5VmzrU">Emmanuel Levinas</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060114082336/http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Purim/TO_Purim_History/Esther_830.htm">Extract from The JPS Bible Commentary: Esther by Adele Berlin</a>: Liberal Jewish view.</li>
<li>Grossman, Jonathan, Esther: The Outer Narrative and the Hidden Reading, Winona Lake, IN.: Eisenbrauns, 2011.</li>
<li>Fox, Michael V. (2010). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=7YTSRwAACAAJ">Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther</a>. Wipf and Stock Publishers. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781608994953.</li>
<li>Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd (2023). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=RYSmEAAAQBAJ">Ancient Persia and the Book of Esther</a>. Bloomsbury Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781786736352. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231029150445/https://books.google.com/books?id=RYSmEAAAQBAJ">Archived</a> from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.</li>
<li>Sasson, Jack M. "Esther" in Alter and Kermode, pp. 335–341, literary view</li>
<li><a href="http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_esther.html">The Historicity of Megillat Esther</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110927011437/http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_esther.html">Archived</a> 2011-09-27 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a>: Gil Student's survey of scholarship supporting a historical reading of Esther</li>
<li>Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the Ancient Near East by <a href="/facts/Theodor_Gaster/eCdtAN9I">Theodor Gaster</a>. 1950.</li>
<li>White, Sidnie Ann. "Esther: A Feminine Model for Jewish Diaspora" in Newsom</li>
<li><a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15782">Esther (Judaica Press)</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060219180810/http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15782">Archived</a> 2006-02-19 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> translation [with <a href="/facts/Rashi/yRPFhQvc">Rashi</a>'s commentary] at Chabad.org</li>
<li>Cumming, Rev. J. Elder DD The Book of Esther: Its spiritual teaching London: The Religious Tract Society, 1913</li>
<li>Fischer, James A. Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther. Collegeville Bible Commentary. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1986.</li>
<li>Hudson, J. Francis Esther: For Such a Time as This. From Character and Charisma series. Kingsway, 2000.</li>
<li>Kalimi, Isaac (2023). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HvnAEAAAQBAJ">The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity</a>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781009266123. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231029150447/https://books.google.com/books?id=HvnAEAAAQBAJ">Archived</a> from the original on 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2023-10-29.</li>
<li>Levenson, Jon D. Esther. Old Testament Library Series. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1997.</li>
<li>McConville, John C. L. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1985.</li>
<li>Moore, Carey A. Esther. Anchor Bible, vol. 7B. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lewis_B._Paton/6pm8CJrr">Paton, Lewis B</a>. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Esther. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1908.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Yoram_Hazony/k2uLs8sT">Hazony, Yoram</a>. God and Politics in Esther. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016.</li>
<li>Shurpin, Yehuda, <a href="https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/628769/jewish/How-Could-Esther-Marry-a-Non-Jewish-King.htm">How Could Esther Marry a Non-Jewish King?</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201023034355/https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/628769/jewish/How-Could-Esther-Marry-a-Non-Jewish-King.htm">Archived</a> 2020-10-23 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a>, <a href="/facts/Chabad.org/xexBNrUe">Chabad.org</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Esther,_Book_of">"Esther, Book of" </a>. <a href="/facts/New_International_Encyclopedia/k0NUmBoF">New International Encyclopedia</a>. 1905.</li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_New_International_Encyclop%C3%A6dia/Esther,_Apocryphal_Book_of">"Esther, Apocryphal Book of" </a>. <a href="/facts/New_International_Encyclopedia/k0NUmBoF">New International Encyclopedia</a>. 1905.</li></ul>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Bush, Frederic W. (1998). <a href="https://doi.org/10.5325%2Fbullbiblrese.8.1.0039">"The Book of Esther: Opus non gratum in the Christian Canon"</a>. Bulletin for Biblical Research. 8: 39–54. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.5325%2Fbullbiblrese.8.1.0039">10.5325/bullbiblrese.8.1.0039</a>. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1065-223X">1065-223X</a>. <a href="/facts/JSTOR_(identifier)/YTeVmaJ7">JSTOR</a> <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/26422154">26422154</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:64672092">64672092</a>.</li>
<li>Friedrich Justus Knecht (1910). <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Practical_Commentary_on_Holy_Scripture/LXXXI._Esther">"Esther" </a>. A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. B. Herder.</li>
<li>McMahon, Arthur Lawrence (1909). <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Esther">"Esther" </a>. In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). <a href="/facts/Catholic_Encyclopedia/GKufVzBf">Catholic Encyclopedia</a>. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Book of Esther.

<a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has original text related to this article:
Esther

<a href="/facts/Wikisource/TrMdylNf">Wikisource</a> has original text related to this article:
The King James Version of Rest of Esther

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Eliezer_Melamed/2jD7FHfc">Eliezer Melamed</a>, <a href="https://ph.yhb.org.il/en/category/zemanim/05-15/">Purim and Reading the Megillah</a> in <a href="/facts/Peninei_Halakha/uBCyA8Ec">Peninei Halakha</a> site.</li></ul>
<h3>Text and translations</h3>
<ul><li>Jewish translations
<ul><li><a href="http://www.chabad.org/library/archive/LibraryArchive2.asp?AID=15782">Esther (Judaica Press)</a> translation [with <a href="/facts/Rashi/yRPFhQvc">Rashi</a>'s commentary] at Chabad.org</li>
<li><a href="http://www.torahvort.com/torah-topics/purim">Purim insights to Megillat Esther</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/t/t33.htm">Mechon Mamre</a> Full text, <a href="/facts/Aleppo_Codex/AjXgHq3o">Aleppo Codex</a>: text of Esther in Hebrew</li></ul></li>
<li>Christian translations
<ul><li><a href="http://www.vts.edu/ftpimages/95/download/FM.Crawford.Esther.pdf">Introduction to the Book of Esther</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150906131449/http://www.vts.edu/ftpimages/95/download/FM.Crawford.Esther.pdf">Archived</a> 2015-09-06 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li></ul></li>
<li> <a href="https://librivox.org/search?title=17:+Esther&author=&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced">Bible: Esther</a> public domain audiobook at <a href="/facts/LibriVox/FF71kJKC">LibriVox</a></li></ul>
<h3>Physical relics</h3>
<ul><li><a href="https://cja.huji.ac.il/esther/browser.php?mode=main">Catalogue of Illuminated Esther Scrolls by Dagmara Budzioch</a>, the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, the <a href="/facts/Center_for_Jewish_Art/6doLWjLA">Center for Jewish Art</a> at the <a href="/facts/Hebrew_University_of_Jerusalem/aEpNukpQ">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://cja.huji.ac.il/browser.php?mode=set&id=1106">Scroll of the Book of Esther</a>, illustrated, Italy, 1747.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Blumenthal, David R. "Where God is Not: The Book of Esther and Song of Songs". Archived from the original on January 17, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2016. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190117232755/http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/EstherSong.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190117232755/http://www.js.emory.edu/BLUMENTHAL/EstherSong.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Browning, W. R. F., ed. (2009). "Ahasuerus". A Dictionary of the Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-954398-4. Archived from the original on 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2020-04-17. The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim. <a href="978-0-19-954398-4" target="_blank">978-0-19-954398-4</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Baumgarten, Albert I.; Sperling, S. David; Sabar, Shalom (2007). Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 18 (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference. p. 216. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Larkin, Katrina J.A. (1996). Ruth and Esther (Old Testament Guides). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press. p. 71. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Crawford, Sidnie White (1998). "Esther". In Newsom, Carol A.; Ringe, Sharon H. (eds.). Women's Bible Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox. p. 202. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Middlemas, Jill (2010). Becking, Bob E.J.H.; Grabbe, Lester (eds.). Between Evidence and Ideology. Leiden: Brill. p. 145. ISBN 978-9004187375. <a href="978-9004187375" target="_blank">978-9004187375</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Baumgarten, Albert I.; Sperling, S. David; Sabar, Shalom (2007). Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 18 (2 ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference. p. 216. <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Larkin, Katrina J.A. (1996). Ruth and Esther (Old Testament Guides). Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press. p. 71. <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Moore, Carey A. (1971). Esther (Anchor Bible). Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. xxxv. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">E.A.W. Budge, The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus, Gorgias Press, reprint 2003 <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">E.A.W. Budge, The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus, Gorgias Press, reprint 2003 <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Historia Scholastica/Esther – Wikisource". Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2017-12-17. <a href="https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Historia_Scholastica/Esther#De_Ocho_seu_Artaxerxe." target="_blank">https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Historia_Scholastica/Esther#De_Ocho_seu_Artaxerxe.</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Clines 1984, p. 9. - Clines, David J.A. (1984). The Esther Scroll. A&C Black. ISBN 9780567157133. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2017-08-30. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=PBediPzesQ0C&pg=PA9" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=PBediPzesQ0C&pg=PA9</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Jobes 2011, pp. 40–41. - Jobes, Karen H. (2011). Esther. Zondervan. ISBN 9780310872146. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2017-08-30. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=P-LPe-LlivkC&pg=PA40" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=P-LPe-LlivkC&pg=PA40</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"Esther – Chapter 8". Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-10-20. <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16481/jewish/Chapter-8.htm" target="_blank">https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16481/jewish/Chapter-8.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">"Esther: Bible | Jewish Women's Archive". Archived from the original on 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2018-10-20. <a href="https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/esther-bible" target="_blank">https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/esther-bible</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Baba Bathra 15a <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">NIV Study Bible, Introductions to the Books of the Bible, Esther, Zondervan, 2002 <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Fishbane, Michael, eds. (2004). The Jewish Study Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 1625. ISBN 978-0195297515. <a href="978-0195297515" target="_blank">978-0195297515</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C.; Beck, Astrid B. (2000). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 428. ISBN 978-0802824004. Archived from the original on 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2023-06-23. <a href="978-0802824004" target="_blank">978-0802824004</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">George Lyons, Additions to Esther, Wesley Center for Applied Theology, 2000 <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Bellmann, Simon; Portier-Young, Anathea (2019-08-21). "The Old Latin book of Esther: An English translation". Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha. 28 (4): 267–289. doi:10.1177/0951820719860628. S2CID 202163709. Archived from the original on 2021-02-10. Retrieved 2021-02-05. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0951820719860628" target="_blank">https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0951820719860628</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Prof. Michael Sokoloff, The Targums to the Book of Esther, Bar-Ilan University 's Parashat Hashavua Study Center, Parashat Tezaveh/Zakhor 5764 March 6, 2004 <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">S. Kaufman, Cal Targum Texts, Text base and variants, The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Alan J. Hauser, Duane Frederick Watson, A History of Biblical Interpretation: The Ancient Period, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003 <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">Prof. Michael Sokoloff, The Targums to the Book of Esther, Bar-Ilan University 's Parashat Hashavua Study Center, Parashat Tezaveh/Zakhor 5764 March 6, 2004 <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Goshen-Gottstein, M. H. (1975). "The "Third Targum" on Esther and Ms. Neofiti 1". Biblica. 56 (3): 301–329. ISSN 0006-0887. JSTOR 42610736. Archived from the original on 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-02. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42610736" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/42610736</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">S. Kaufman, Cal Targum Texts, Text base and variants, The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">Meyers, Carol (2007). "16. Esther". In Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. p. 325. ISBN 9780199277186. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2019-03-24. Genre and Purpose <a href="9780199277186" target="_blank">9780199277186</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">David J. A. Clines, The Esther Scroll: The Story of the Story, Archived 2023-11-11 at the Wayback Machine A&C Black, 1984 ISBN 978-0-905-77466-4 pp. 26, 50, 155ff. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=GV2tAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=GV2tAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">Tsaurayi Kudakwashe Mapfeka, Esther in Diaspora: Toward an Alternative Interpretive Framework, Archived 2023-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Brill, 2019 ISBN 978-9-004-40656-8 pp. 2, 15, 28ff <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1MuiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=1MuiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA15</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:32">Browning, W. R. F., ed. (2009). "Ahasuerus". A Dictionary of the Bible (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199543984.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-954398-4. Archived from the original on 2020-09-03. Retrieved 2020-04-17. The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim; the book contains no references to the known historical events of the reign of Xerxes. <a href="978-0-19-954398-4" target="_blank">978-0-19-954398-4</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:33">Paul Wexler, Silk Road Linguistics, Studies in Arabic Language and Literature, Harrassowitz Verlag 2021 ISBN 978-3-447-11573-5 vol.10 p.694 notes an alternative derivation from Elamite Humpan>Human, the divine name doubling as an anthroponym. <a href="/wiki/Paul_Wexler_(linguist)" target="_blank">/wiki/Paul_Wexler_(linguist)</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:34">Wexler p.695: ‘Any resemblance between Ishtar's ear-shaped pastries and Haman's ear-shaped pastries may be the accidental result of later practice, but a common denominator is also possible, in that the original function of sacrifice is thought to be partaking of, and eating, the god. The eating of Haman represents symbolically the eating of a slain enemy god in order to absorb his power, such as is expressed in the Cultic commentaries <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:35">Wexler 2021 pp.694-695 <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:36">Coogan, Michael David, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 396. <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:37">Sidnie White Crawford, "Esther", in The New Interpreters Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, ed. Walter J. Harrison and Donald Senior (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 689–90. <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:38">Coogan, Michael David, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 396. <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:39">New King James Version, translation of Esther 2:6 Archived 2019-02-20 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=esther%202:6&version=NKJV" target="_blank">http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=esther%202:6&version=NKJV</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:40">Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. (1982). "Book of Esther". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume II. Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. p. 159. ISBN 9780802837820. <a href="9780802837820" target="_blank">9780802837820</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:41">Wiersbe, Warren W. (2004). Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament History. David C Cook. p. 712. ISBN 9780781435314. <a href="9780781435314" target="_blank">9780781435314</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:42">Adele Berlin, "The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling", Journal of Biblical Literature 120, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 3–14. <a href="/wiki/Adele_Berlin" target="_blank">/wiki/Adele_Berlin</a> <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:43">Berlin, 2001: 6. <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:44">Coogan, Michael David, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 396. <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:45">Adele Berlin, "The Book of Esther and Ancient Storytelling", Journal of Biblical Literature 120, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 3–14. <a href="/wiki/Adele_Berlin" target="_blank">/wiki/Adele_Berlin</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:46">Sarbanani, Morteza Arabzadeh (2023). "Revisiting the Book of Esther: Assessing the Historical Significance of the Masoretic Version for the Achaemenid History". Persica Antiqua. 3 (4): 19–32. doi:10.22034/pa.2022.344449.1009. <a href="/w/index.php?title=Persica_Antiqua&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">/w/index.php?title=Persica_Antiqua&action=edit&redlink=1</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:47">Middlemas, Jill (2010). Becking, Bob E.J.H.; Grabbe, Lester (eds.). Between Evidence and Ideology. Leiden: Brill. p. 145. ISBN 978-9004187375. <a href="978-9004187375" target="_blank">978-9004187375</a> <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:48">Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. (1982). "Book of Esther". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume II. Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. p. 159. ISBN 9780802837820. <a href="9780802837820" target="_blank">9780802837820</a> <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:49">Coogan, Michael David, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 396. <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:50">Middlemas, Jill (2010). Becking, Bob E.J.H.; Grabbe, Lester (eds.). Between Evidence and Ideology. Leiden: Brill. p. 145. ISBN 978-9004187375. <a href="978-9004187375" target="_blank">978-9004187375</a> <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:51">Esther 1:19 <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Esther+1:19&version=nkjv" target="_blank">https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Esther+1:19&version=nkjv</a> <a href="#fnref:51" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:52">Hubbard, Robert L. (2007). "Vashti, Amestris and Esther 1,9". Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. 119 (2): 259–271. doi:10.1515/ZAW.2007.020. S2CID 170144015. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:52" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:53">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/17-esther-nets.pdf Archived 2014-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Note on two Greek versions of the book of Esther. <a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/17-esther-nets.pdf" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/17-esther-nets.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:53" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:54">Jacob Hoschander, The Book of Esther in the Light of History, Oxford University Press, 1923 [page needed] <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" target="_blank">/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources</a> <a href="#fnref:54" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:55">Jacob Hoschander, The Book of Esther in the Light of History, Oxford University Press, 1923 [page needed] <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" target="_blank">/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources</a> <a href="#fnref:55" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:56">Jacob Hoschander, The Book of Esther in the Light of History, Oxford University Press, 1923 [page needed] <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" target="_blank">/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources</a> <a href="#fnref:56" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:57">"Sanhedrin 61b". www.sefaria.org. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-02-17. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.61b" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org/Sanhedrin.61b</a> <a href="#fnref:57" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:58">"Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI". penelope.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 2023-07-02. Retrieved 2021-02-17. <a href="https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-11.html" target="_blank">https://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-11.html</a> <a href="#fnref:58" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:59">Matassa, Lidia D.; Silverman, Jason M. (2011). Text, Theology, and Trowel: New Investigations in the Biblical World. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1-60899-942-2. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2021-02-17. <a href="978-1-60899-942-2" target="_blank">978-1-60899-942-2</a> <a href="#fnref:59" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:60">Handbuch der Orientalistik: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten. Brill. 1991. ISBN 978-90-04-09271-6. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. Retrieved 2021-05-13. <a href="978-90-04-09271-6" target="_blank">978-90-04-09271-6</a> <a href="#fnref:60" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:61">Dhalla, Maneckji Nusservanji (1914). Zoroastrian Theology: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. s.l. Archived from the original on 2023-11-11. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=XtYVloWlvUgC&q=%22omanus%22+%22vohu+manah%22&pg=PA187" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=XtYVloWlvUgC&q=%22omanus%22+%22vohu+manah%22&pg=PA187</a> <a href="#fnref:61" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:62">"Historia Scholastica/Esther – Wikisource". Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2017-12-17. <a href="https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Historia_Scholastica/Esther#De_Ocho_seu_Artaxerxe." target="_blank">https://la.wikisource.org/wiki/Historia_Scholastica/Esther#De_Ocho_seu_Artaxerxe.</a> <a href="#fnref:62" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:63">The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, appendix 60, Companion Bible. <a href="http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html" target="_blank">http://www.therain.org/appendixes/app60.html</a> <a href="#fnref:63" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:64">These are Est 1:20; 5:4, 13 and 7:7. Additionally, Est 7:5 there is an acrostic referring to the title of God of Exodus 3:14. <a href="#fnref:64" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:65">Hayes, Christine (2006). "Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible): Lecture 24 – Alternative Visions: Esther, Ruth, and Jonah". Open Yale Courses. Yale University. Archived from the original on 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2016-01-05. <a href="/wiki/Christine_Hayes" target="_blank">/wiki/Christine_Hayes</a> <a href="#fnref:65" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:66">Commentary of the Vilna Gaon to the Book of Esther 1:1 <a href="#fnref:66" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:67">Chullin 139b <a href="#fnref:67" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:68">Deut. 31:18 <a href="#fnref:68" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:69">Lacocque, André (1987). "HAMAN IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER". The Ohio State of University. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240616065136/https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5084b1af-994a-58d0-96eb-1ae79a4e985f/content" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240616065136/https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5084b1af-994a-58d0-96eb-1ae79a4e985f/content</a> <a href="#fnref:69" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:70">Yehuda Shurpin: How Could Esther Marry a Non-Jewish King? Archived 2020-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, Chabad.org. <a href="https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/628769/jewish/How-Could-Esther-Marry-a-Non-Jewish-King.htm" target="_blank">https://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/628769/jewish/How-Could-Esther-Marry-a-Non-Jewish-King.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:70" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:71">Silverstein, Adam J. (2018). Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story: The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–63. ISBN 978-0198797227. <a href="978-0198797227" target="_blank">978-0198797227</a> <a href="#fnref:71" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:72">Lacocque, André (1987). "HAMAN IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER". The Ohio State of University. Archived from the original on June 16, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240616065136/https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5084b1af-994a-58d0-96eb-1ae79a4e985f/content" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240616065136/https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/5084b1af-994a-58d0-96eb-1ae79a4e985f/content</a> <a href="#fnref:72" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:73">"Esther 3 Barnes' Notes". Biblehub.com. 2024. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240213005602/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/esther/3.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240213005602/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/esther/3.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:73" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:74">"Esther 9 Barnes' Notes". TheTorah.com. 2024. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240212110948/https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-deliberately-flawed-divine-torah" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240212110948/https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-deliberately-flawed-divine-torah</a> <a href="#fnref:74" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:75">"Esther 9 Gill's Exposition". Biblehub.com. 2024. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240212112631/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/9.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240212112631/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/9.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:75" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:76">"Esther 9 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary". Biblehub.com. 2024. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240212115033/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/esther/9.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240212115033/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/esther/9.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:76" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:77">"Esther 9 Matthew Poole's Commentary". Biblehub.com. 2024. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210711212910/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/esther/9.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210711212910/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/poole/esther/9.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:77" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:78">"Esther 8 Gill's Exposition". Biblehub.com. 2024. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240301085645/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/8.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240301085645/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/8.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:78" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:79">"Esther 9 Gill's Exposition". Biblehub.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240423022220/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/9.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20240423022220/https://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/esther/9.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:79" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:80">"Tractate Megillah 16a". www.sefaria.org.il. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2018. <a href="https://www.sefaria.org.il/Megillah.16a.11?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en" target="_blank">https://www.sefaria.org.il/Megillah.16a.11?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en</a> <a href="#fnref:80" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:81">French bestseller unravels Nazi propagandist's cryptic last words about Purim Archived 10 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Times of Israel 28 December 2012 <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-best-seller-unravels-nazis-cryptic-last-words-about-purim/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/french-best-seller-unravels-nazis-cryptic-last-words-about-purim/</a> <a href="#fnref:81" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:82">The Holy Bible – Knox Translation: The Book of Esther, Chapter 16 Archived 2022-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 31 December 2022 <a href="http://catholicbible.online/knox/OT/Est/ch_16" target="_blank">http://catholicbible.online/knox/OT/Est/ch_16</a> <a href="#fnref:82" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:83">See the NRSV online Archived 2022-04-29 at the Wayback Machine for the additions <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Greek+Esther+1&version=NRSV" target="_blank">https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Greek+Esther+1&version=NRSV</a> <a href="#fnref:83" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:84">Angiolillo, Patrick (2019). "Lysimachus". Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception. 17: 273. doi:10.1515/ebr.lysimachus. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515%2Febr.lysimachus" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1515%2Febr.lysimachus</a> <a href="#fnref:84" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:85">"Bougaean – Encyclopedia of The Bible – Bible Gateway". www.biblegateway.com. Archived from the original on 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-01. <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Bougaean" target="_blank">https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Bougaean</a> <a href="#fnref:85" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:86">Bush, Frederic W. (1998). "The Book of Esther: Opus non gratum in the Christian Canon" (PDF). Bulletin for Biblical Research. 8: 39–54. doi:10.5325/bullbiblrese.8.1.0039. JSTOR 26422154. S2CID 64672092. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2008. <a href="https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bbr/esther_bush.pdf" target="_blank">https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bbr/esther_bush.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:86" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:87">Fathers, Council (2024-01-31). "Council of Basel 1431-45 A.D. Council Fathers". Papal Encyclicals. Retrieved 2024-08-12. <a href="https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm" target="_blank">https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:87" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:88">Fathers, Council (2024-01-31). "General Council of Trent: Fourth Session". Papal Encyclicals. Retrieved 2024-08-12. <a href="https://www.papalencyclicals.net//councils/trent/fourth-session.htm" target="_blank">https://www.papalencyclicals.net//councils/trent/fourth-session.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:88" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:89">"Lectionary: Scripture Index - Deuterocanonical Books". catholic-resources.org. Retrieved 24 August 2024. <a href="https://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Index-Deuterocanonicals.htm" target="_blank">https://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Index-Deuterocanonicals.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:89" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:90">Church of England, Articles of Religion Archived 2019-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 31 December 2022: they are included in the section headed: "And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:..." <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#VI" target="_blank">https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#VI</a> <a href="#fnref:90" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:91">The Punishment of Haman <a href="/wiki/File:The_Punishment_of_Haman.png" target="_blank">/wiki/File:The_Punishment_of_Haman.png</a> <a href="#fnref:91" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:92">Robin, Larsen and Levin. Encyclopedia of women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England. p. 368. <a href="#fnref:92" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:93">Books of the Bible Christian Bookstore. "I Have A Song – Shannon Wexelberg". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2007-05-31. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110928063806/http://www.booksofthebible.com/p1958.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110928063806/http://www.booksofthebible.com/p1958.html</a> <a href="#fnref:93" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:94">"The Internet Antique Shop – The Web's largest antiques & collectibles mall serving collectors since 1995". Archived from the original on 2007-10-21. Retrieved 2007-05-31. <a href="http://www.earthling.com/cgi-bin/google.fcgi/itemKey=1923000071" target="_blank">http://www.earthling.com/cgi-bin/google.fcgi/itemKey=1923000071</a> <a href="#fnref:94" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:95">Mertes, Raffaele (director) (1999). Esther. The Bible Collection. Pure Flix Entertainment. <a href="/wiki/Pure_Flix_Entertainment" target="_blank">/wiki/Pure_Flix_Entertainment</a> <a href="#fnref:95" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:96">"The Maccabeats – Purim Song". YouTube. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-11-08. Retrieved 2011-08-09. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgJInVvJSZg&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgJInVvJSZg&feature=player_embedded</a> <a href="#fnref:96" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:97">White, David A. R. (director) (11 June 2013). The Book of Esther. Lux Vide. <a href="#fnref:97" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:98">Kramer, C. J. (director) (2014). Megillas Lester. Kolrom Multimedia. <a href="#fnref:98" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:99">"First Ever Live Broadcast of a Sight & Sound Theater Show to Air Labor Day Weekend - Live!". CBN.com - The Christian Broadcasting Network. 2020-07-29. Archived from the original on 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-13. <a href="https://www1.cbn.com/television/first-ever-live-broadcast-sight-sound-theater-show-air-labor-day-weekend-live" target="_blank">https://www1.cbn.com/television/first-ever-live-broadcast-sight-sound-theater-show-air-labor-day-weekend-live</a> <a href="#fnref:99" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:100">"Sight & Sound Theatres | Bible Stories Live on Stage". www.sight-sound.com. Archived from the original on 2022-10-13. Retrieved 2022-10-13. <a href="https://www.sight-sound.com/shows/branson/queen-esther/2023" target="_blank">https://www.sight-sound.com/shows/branson/queen-esther/2023</a> <a href="#fnref:100" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Book of Esther open-in-new

Book of Esther