The book of esther explained

The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. The book of esther in the bible is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. The book of esther opens with a description of an enormous 180day party thrown by king achashverosh in his 3rd year as king of the persian empire, ruling over 127 provinces. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The seeming improbability of other passages, if not entirely explained, can be sufficiently explained to destroy the conclusion, on this ground, that the book is not historical. The jewish historian josephus names mordecai as author of the book. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. As with most of the ot writings the author of the book of esther esther meaning star is not mentioned. Hence it belongs to the bestknown otbooks with the jews and it is also the book, which has the oldest copies. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. What is the status of the chronological debate for the megillah.

Frederic bush ruthesther word biblical commentary, 1996. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. Esther 6 mordecai honored that night the king bible gateway. The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage. Mar 03, 20 the book of esther, which is read on purim and to which that holiday is dedicated, has been interpreted many ways. Jun 24, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The extensive records from the persian empire do not mention mordecai or the b. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old.

In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. This series is an overview of the entire bible, piece by piece. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. This summary of the book of esther will help with many different forms of bible study. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be.

Watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a part of his harem. It purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god. God is always active in esther, even though it is behind the scenes. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. The book of esther does not specifically name its author. The book of esther does not mention the name of god. For those seeking a more extensive commentary on the book of esther, frederic bushs work in the wbc series is a good place to start. The book is set during the period after the babylonian exile in which the nation of persia present day iran ruled judah. According to most scholars, the name esther is derived from the mesopotamian goddess ishtar andor the persian word stara, star the book of daniel provides accounts of jews in exile being assigned names relating to babylonian gods and mordecai is understood to mean servant of marduk, a babylonian god. The book of esther explained pastor jonathan shelley. Thats obvious, given that the book is named after her though she gets about the same amount of stage time as some of the other major characters like ahasuerus, haman, and mordecai.

Esther hadassah esther is the heroine, the main character. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. This book and the book of ruth are the only old testament books named after women.

In esther, god providentially uses two exiled israelites to rescue his. The book of esther has served the jewish people as support of their national hope and especially so in the days of persecution. Mordecai is brought into prominence at the right time 6. Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. God is trying to explain to you that he needs you stay obedient and stay on the beaten path the path that he has carved out specifically for you. It is a short story similar to the book of ruth, starting in the palace of shushan susa, one out of the three capitals of the persian empire. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Esther is a young and beautiful jewish girl, orphaned but cared for by her. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. The book of esther may remind you of a classic, once upon a time childrens story with a wealthy king, his beautiful queen, and an evil villain.

Esther 6 new international version niv mordecai honored. Its one of the most beautiful books in the bible and so full of great takeaways for the modern christian woman today. Ill give this message the title gods providential poetic justice. But while the characters might resemble a fairy tale, the book of esther depicts actual events that shaped jewish history and instituted the festival of purim. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. The hatred haman had for mordecai had only intensified as he saw the king exalt mordecai and not himself before the adoring crowds. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. In fact, god is not directly mentioned by name in the book of esther.

In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. Well be studying the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters today. Esther chapter 2 verse by verse bible commentary matthew. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings, and also appears in the protestant canon and in the roman catholic canon.

As to artful contrasts and climax to which appeal is made as evidences that the book is the work of a mere romancer, it may be said with driver. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and published by seven stories press. Queen esther came to the throne for just such a time 4. We might even think that he does not care about us. This commentary is based on the premise that the book of esther is written with the intention of presenting factual history, something supported by the fact that it was as a factual history that it was received into the jewish canon, even though it. The most popular traditions are mordecai a major character in the book of esther, ezra, and nehemiah who would have been familiar with persian customs.

The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. The close of the last study in esther chapter 6 saw the events drawing to a dramatic conclusion. Summary of the books of esther the story of the bible. Esther is written during the period of the captivity. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. The book of esther tells of hamans plot against the jews of the ancient persian empire, and how the beautiful queen esther and her uncle mordecai defeated his purpose.

The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. Information and translations of book of esther in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. Like song of solomon, obadiah, and nahum, the new testament does not quote or allude to esther. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. Apr 19, 2020 the book of esther explained pastor jonathan shelley stedfast baptist church. Most likely, the book of esther doesnt have the name of god because it shows how god works behind the scenes. The book of esther was likely written between 467 and 350 b. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king.

The book of esther is different from all other books in the old testament. He did not always interpret scripture l iterally and so was amillennial he interpreted revelation as a historicist which led him to interpret the. The book of esther is one of the most exciting books in all the old testament and is nearly unique in employing a woman as its leading character. Although a bit too technical for most readers, it will be of benefit to seminary students and others doing indepth study of the text. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. Poetic justice happens in literature when good wins andor evil is punished. Lets open our bibles to the 5th chapter in the book of esther for this esther 5 sermon. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him.

It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of. Yet there is much to be understood by analyzing the story in terms of political. This book is also the reason why the jewish people created the jewish festivity of purim, which is celebrated annually amongst all jewish people in. Read and study esther 1 with the versebyverse bible commentary. As the days of feasting draw to a close, he summons his wife, vashti, to show off her beauty by appearing wearing only her crown.