At the meal she pleaded for the Jews, thus revealing herself as Jewish, and accused thiswickedHaman of plotting the annihilation of her people. Her jar allowed her to find a voice in a situation where she could feel voiceless. Whereas her husband had persecuted the Pharisees, in her reign as solitary queen, Shelamzion was particularly supportive of the Pharisees, promoting their vision of Judaism and perhaps ensuring their popularity for generations to come (Josephus, Jewish War 1:110). Wake up to the day's most important news. point). For today's Bible studies, we're going to discuss 10 characteristics of Esther in the Bible. As a result, the king reversed his decree and the Jews were saved from death. The king agreed, not knowing that Esther, his beloved queen, and Mordecai, the man to whom he owed his life, were both Jews. This, then, is the meaning of(Esth. 12:2], 5:11). How old was Esther when she became queen? Instead, Haman was hanged, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. This also leads to a different understanding of Mordecais involvement, as he walks about in the royal courtyard out of concern for his wife. Esther, on the other hand, was taken every day and, like them, she requested miracles. In order to recognize Mordecais efforts, the king made him his minister and gave him a royal robe and princely apparel. He was a Jew living in the Persian city of Susa, and he became a prime minister in the Persian court of King Ahasuerus. 5). 22:26). Esther had been made queen to save her people; her mission and her faith shaped her character and inspired her to act and succeed. Mordechai discovered a plot to kill King Xerxes and foiled it by informing the King through his cousin Esther. Most people have never heard of Queen Shelamzion Alexandra. No biblical law specifies that only men can reign, although hundreds of years after Shelamzions reign, the rabbis of would interpret Deuteronomy 17:14, which states You will set a king over you as a king, not a queen (Sifre Deuteronomy 157).[3]. The events of Esther took place between 483 and 473 BC, during the first part of King Xerxes's reign when he appointed Esther as his queen. Persian King would have probably not been interested in a 35 year Rabbah10:13). If her queenship was unprecedented in the second temple period, it was not unprecedented in the Jewish imaginationQueen Esther had made it possible to imagine a Jewish queen positively. cit.). assumed in to the next King's harem (also possiblealthough a Mordechai later adopted Esther as his daughter after her parents died. He became King of Persia in 485BC at the age of 33. It seems unlikely that Esther was ever Queen of Persia, so we can not say at what age Xerxes married her. Three ministering angels were appointed to aid her at that moment: one made her head erect, one endowed her with charm, and one stretched out the scepter(BTMegillah15b). Also called the "Festival of Mazzot"; the "Festival of Spring"; Pesah.Passover. As Esther poured her tears and anguish into the jar, it became a bridge between her innermost feelings and the outside world. The moral of the story of Esther is to stay true to yourself and never give up on your beliefs. Esther 5:2-3; 7:4-6 Image A new decree to save the Jews. Esthers story culminates when the beloved queen is faced with the decision to either continue to disguise her Jewish heritage and maintain her safety or jeopardize everything to advocate for her people. assassinated 20 years earlier (he was probably bout 20-25 years Mordechais loyalty and faithfulness to the King were key elements in the unfolding of the events. But she does not reveal her Jewish heritage to the king and learns of a plan to kill all Jews by the kings advisor, Haman. Saul, a Benjaminite, did not reveal to his uncle that he had been anointed to be king; likewise, Esther did not disclose her identity(Gen. Rabbah71:35). She was 96. Ahasuerus promised Esther that he would grant her request, even to half the kingdom(Esth. case we can not say how old she was. The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll.Megillah13a). Her reign lasted less than a decade but still longer than a two-term presidency. Institution: National Library of Israel, Jerusalem. How old was Esther when she became queen of Persia? Meir, Tamar. 2:7). Upon realizing this, Mordecai subdued the enemy and turned the wickedness of Haman back onto himself and his family. Nevertheless, this must not have an easy decision for her; just one generation before her, the wife of the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus was starved to death by her son when she tried to remain queen. The Bible; the Pentateuch; Tanakh (the Pentateuch, Prophets and Hagiographia)Torah scholars. The Rabbis compare Esther to the son of the uncle who redeems an ancestral landholding(Lev. Esther was a Jewish woman who lived in Persia during the period following the destruction of the First Holy Temple, when many Jews had been taken as slaves to Babylonia, which was subsequently overtaken by Persia. In addition, she serves as an example of how to effectively use your voice and influence to make a difference. Given new belongings (Esther 2:9). The Queen described in the Book of Nehemiah is Queen Esther. He married Esther in 479BC (Esther 2:16), when he was 40. Mordecai and Esther respond to this that the story in the Book of Esther was already recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Media and Persia(Esth. He deposed Queen Vashti in 483/482BC when he was 36 ( Esther 1:3 ). Another angel pushed Haman onto Esthers couch (BTMegillahloc. Additional traditions maintain that not only did Esther become pregnant by Ahasuerus, but she was also the mother of the last Darius (idem) or of Cyrus (Kallah Rabbati2:15). Esther gained even greater favour with Ahasuerus after she helped thwart an assassination plot against him that Mordecai overheard at the palace gate. What is the answer punchline algebra 15.1 why dose a chicken coop have only two doors? Yes, Mordechai was indeed Esthers cousin. Rabbah8:3). But to approach the king without being summoned was not only illegal, but it could very well result in death for impertinence. In post-Temple times, a small piece of dough set aside and burnt. Updates? Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). Consequently, Esther was not considered to be a married woman who willingly engaged in adultery, and she was therefore permitted to Mordecai; indeed, the Rabbis maintain that she continued to live with the latter, at the same time that she was married to Ahasuerus (BT Megillah 13b). script>. cit. As a result of her mother's death . They did not have the riches that Esther had. brought him up to be favorable to the Jews and he later rebuilt the Esther would have been in her early to mid 60's when the Narrator: After Haman died, King Ahasuerus gave a second decree to preserve the Jews and give them power to destroy their enemies within the kingdom. The bleeding jar in Esthers story is significant because of the deep symbolism behind it. Sadly, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, aged 96, on September 8, 2022. The situation was even more serious according to the tradition that Esther was married to Mordecai (the Babylonian tradition), for then, as a married woman, she committed adultery. 100). To hide her identity as a Jew, he tells her to go by the name of Esther. cit.). 2:7states: Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter [literally: took herle-vat], which the midrash understands as: Mordecai took herle-bayit, that is, as a wife (BTMegillahloc. She understood why she had to suffer through her relationship with this irritable king. Esther took place or at the very least was too young to remember The Jews were well acquainted with the command of God, which stated that they must not bow down to false gods nor to those enemies of God who idolized them. The combined symptoms in Esther signify that she was suffering from a serious psychiatric illness, but the precise diagnosis remains unclear. As early as 1215, Rabbi Menachem Ha-Hevroni wrote that while visiting the Galilee, he came across the tomb of Queen Esther, "who, during her lifetime, had instructed her son Cyrus to bring her there [for burial]". Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). Am Yisrael Chai "scroll." Esth. These words persuaded Esther to approach the king and she requested a private dinner for him and Haman. The Rabbis accordingly relate her to the MatriarchRachel, the mother of the tribe of Benjamin. Other sources say that the the woman "Esther" in the bible, married. The Book of Esther relates that Esther told no one of her Jewish origins, as Mordecai had ordered her. The book of Nehemiah begins in 444 BC, so they probably She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. In Shelamzions period, there were no precedents for powerful queens in Judeanot unless one counts Jezebel, the most notorious queen in Israelite history, or her daughter Athaliah. This prayer also mentioned her situation, which contrasted with that of Sarah andRebekah: they were taken for a single night to the court of a foreign king and miracles were performed for them. According to one tradition, he could not find a wet nurse and he himself miraculously had milk and nursed her(Gen. Rabbah30:8). Esther, the orphaned cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai, won the kings devotion and was chosen to be the new queen; Mordecai had instructed her to not reveal that she was Jewish. A day was set aside for the slaughter, and a decree issued to every corner of the empire. Queen Elizabeth II has died today aged 96. Esthers jar was a tangible expression of her emotional devastation, her loss of hope, and her feelings of utter helplessness. She was compared to the dawn, for just as the dawn breaks at the end of each night, so, too, Esther [i.e., the miraculous delivery of the Jews] came after there had been no miracles [during the period of exile and darkness](BTYoma29a). She reigned in the first century BCE, sixty years after the Hasmoneans achieved independence from the Seleucid Empire and a few decades before King Herod. She is the author of several books, including On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture (University of California Press, 2021). Esther would then be aged18 when she wins the beauty contest, 22 when she becomes queen (Esther 2:16-17), and 27 when she helps to defeat Haman's genocide scheme. Esther was given seven maids to serve her in the harem; the Rabbis comment that she used them in order to count the seven days of the week [to know when the Sabbath fell, so that she could observe it even in the harem]. Another question that concerned the Rabbis was that of the children from the union of Esther and Ahasuerus. Fortunately, the king was able to get to the bottom of the plot and expose the would-be assassins before any harm came to Mordecai or the king. Lit. The king held a party in his honor one day. During Jacob's stay, he fell in love with Rachel . Hearing the horror of the planned genocide, the light went on: Esther connected with her inner self and understood why she had been made queen. 726. was the wife of the Persian King Xerxes [aka "Ahasuerus" in many It is believed that Esther's life 31 December 1999. When Esther pointed and declared(Esth. Midrash adds that Esther's father died during her mother's pregnancy, and the latter died during childbirth (Esth. She overtook Queen. Esther wanted to speak with Xerxes about Haman's hatred toward the Jews. Rabbah 6:5; BT Megillah 13a). Queen Esther by Edwin Long in 1878. This tradition results from the desire to equate Esthers age with that of Abraham when he left his native land forThe Land of IsraelErez Israel upon Gods command. In the midrashic exposition, Ahasuerus tries to discover Esthers origins, explaining that this would be beneficial for her relatives, since he would appoint them to important positions (Midrash Panim Aherimloc. What episode does Squidward say the F word. Elizabeth I is one of England's most well-known monarchs. In reference to her lineage, the Rabbis state that she continued the way of the members of her tribe: Rachel, Benjamin, and Saul(Gen. Rabbah71:35; see below: Esther Does Not Reveal Her Origins). Esther replaced Queen Vashti, who had been sentenced to death because she had refused to display her beauty to the King's feast attendants. Once upon a time a Jewish queen ruled the land. 25:49) because she was the niece of Mordecai and Israel was delivered through her (Esth. What is the reflection of the story of princess urduja? When we talk about Esther in the Book of Esther, we can't ignore many other characters in the book as they seem to play roles almost as important as hers. Her loyalty to her people is admirable, as is . As the Queen died on the Isle of Wight, her body was carried on board the HMY Alberta with several yachts taking the mourners and King Edward VII to Gosport in Hampshire and then by train to Victoria station in London. 100-105 and 127-154. [4] Tal Ilan devotes a chapter to discussing the name Shelamzion inSilencing the Queen, 259ff. She was Jewish but never revealed her nationality or family background as Mordecai had. 114 BCE: see Carey Moore, On the Origins of the LXX Additions to the Book of Esther,JBL92.3 (1973): 382-83. King Xerxes: King Xerxes married Esther when he was 41 years old. One tradition asserts that Esther used a resorbent, that is, she employed a contraceptive device to prevent any pregnancy by Ahasuerus. Victoria, in full Alexandrina Victoria, (born May 24, 1819, Kensington Palace, London, Englanddied January 22, 1901, Osborne, near Cowes, Isle of Wight), queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1837-1901) and empress of India (1876-1901). Old Testament Stories: Queen Esther When she approached the king, he held out his scepter. She is mentioned several times throughout the Book of Esther. Help JWA continue to lift up Jewish womens stories, this month and every month, by. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Esther-biblical-figure, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Esther. When events took a turn for the worst and Esther learned that Prime Minister Haman planned to kill all Jews in the Persian Empire, on a single day, she decided to act quickly to prevent the genocide. It is believed that Mordecai was married before the events of the book, as the King of Persia issues a decree for all unmarried women to come to the palace for beautification treatments. Lit. Esther was taken to the royal harem despite her being married, which further aggravated her sorry condition. Esther before she died (I'm guessing she died in 464 BC) and maybe She died in her sleep at the Royal Lodge, Great Windsor Park, which is now the main residence of her grandson. The Rabbis even find proof that God concurred with the activity of Mordecai and Esther, since it is written(Esth. Queen Esther is an orphan raised by her uncle Mordecai and is eventually married to King Ahasuerus. [3] See discussion in Ilan, Daughters of Israel, Weep for Rabbi Ishmael!: The School of Rabbi Aqiva vs. the School of Rabbi Ishmael,Silencing the Queen: The Literary Histories of Shelamzion and Other Jewish Women(Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006). We see, however, that this was a stratagem on Mordecais part, so that Esther would not be frequently summoned to the king. 49). She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). One school of thought takes the numerical value ofHadassah= 74 (or 75, including the name itself as a unit) to determine Esthers age(Gen. Rabbah39:13; see below: Esthers Age). Horev], chap. She had one son with Another tradition has Esther reciting this psalm during the three days of fasting that preceded her going to Ahasuerus: My God on the first day, my God on the second day, and why have You abandoned me? on the third. Rabbah28:6). Esthers Origins and Her Adoption by Mordecai, Esther Delivers Up Haman and Reveals Her Identity. 2). Jewish Women's Archive. cit.). It can also be assumed from the story that Mordecai was well aware that bowing to Haman may compromise his loyalty to the Jews and God, and thus put him in a dangerous situation. Esther was the heroine and central figure in the Book of Esther, which is now recognised by Biblical scholars to have been a second-century-BCE Jewish novel. The Book of Esther was probably written in the 2nd centurybce. The Midrash adds that Esther's father died during her mother's pregnancy, and the latter died during childbirth ( Esth. Mordecais wife is an unnamed woman from Susa. It is most unlikely that there ever was a Queen Esther, in which What happened to Queen Esther in the Bible? Just as the myrtle is sweet-smelling but has a bitter taste, so Esther was sweet to Ahasuerus, but bitter to Haman (Esth. Mordecai, the leader of the Jewish community in the city of Susa, heard the news of the decree and went to Queen Esther, his cousin, to plead with her to plead to the king on their behalf and to save them from the impending danger. These actions demonstrated the kings respect and admiration for Esther and earned her the loyalty of her people. The Rabbis also offer various proofs that the Book of Esther was written with the spirit of divine inspiration. We don't know, though tradition teaches that she lived a long life. Esther, heroine and central figure in the Book of Esther of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Their relationship was instrumental in saving the Jews from extermination and is one of the main themes of the Book of Esther. The Bible doesn't say how old Esther was when she married him, but if she was 17 this would make her born in 500BC. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Commenting on Deuteronomy 11:13-14, which describes rain falling in its season as a reward for keeping the commandments, Sifre Deuteronomy writes (42): In other words, Rabbi Nathan observes that in the days of Queen Shelamzion, the people actually obeyed the commandmentsthey were all good for a change!and God rewarded the Israelites with plentiful rain from heaven. One of these officials was the biblical Mordecai. It was Mordecai who helped Esther win the favor of the King, who then chose her to be his queen. Torah and history converge in a remarkable way in the life of Shelamzion. Theodor-Albeck], MS. Vatican, para. Rabbah6:4). All Her . "scroll." Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). 4:11): Now I have not been summoned to visit the king for the last thirty days(Ex. (Viewed on March 4, 2023)
. A seven-day festival to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt (eight days outside Israel) beginning on the 15. The Book of Esther, which does This status completely changed when Esther went to Ahasuerus of her own free will, in order to persuade him to cancel Hamans decree(Esth. Similarly, Shelamzion had to succeed against all odds to maintain her queenship. Her name was Shelamzion Alexandra. Rabbah 6:5; BT. On returning, he found Haman falling on the couch where Esther was. The king mistook Hamans frantic pleas for mercy as an attack upon the queen. Features thousands of biographic and thematic essays on Jewish women around the world. According to the view that Esther was Hadassahs second name, the Rabbis explain that she was given this name because she concealed (histirah) her origins. Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. Esther's Origins and Her Adoption by Mordecai. Seeking a new queen, the king appointed commissioners to bring all the beautiful young virgins from every province into his harem for a year of cosmetic treatments so that he might select a new bride. Themidrashrelates that Esther hid from Ahasueruss agents who sought women for the king. Esther stood in the middle of the fourth department; the guards of the first department could no longer touch her, while those of the last department could not yet approach her. There is not one correct rendering of her name in any rabbinic manuscript (260). Mordecai remained a close confidant to Esther and played a pivotal role in helping her save the Jewish people. point. Ahasueruss intimates attempted sorcery, so that her hands and feet would look like leather hides, but a miracle was performed for her and they began to shine like sapphires (Midrash Tehilim, onPs. Other problems that also call into question the story's reliability include Mordecai being identified as sent into exile by Nebuchadnezzar - an event that must have place over a century before Xerxes assumed power. Rabbah15:6). Rabbah1:41; BT Megillah 16a). Esther: A Queen Under Control. We need to put the Book of Esther into an historical context to better understand Esther's choice. There was no King Ahasuerus of Persia, but many Bible commentaries observe that Ahasuerus is likely the Hebraicised version of King Xerxes, the Achaemenid leader who ruled from 486 to 465 BCE.Historians say that Queen Amestris was Xerxes' only known wife and was definitely still queen at the time the biblical account says that Xerxes married Esther, casting doubt on the biblical story. Answer (1 of 5): I don't about my husband Ahaserus, but I, Haddasha aka Esther never died, for here I Am. The Rabbis describe at length Esthers activities after she learned of Hamans decree against the Jews. In contrast with other women, whom Ahasuerus married without recording the nuptials or the date of the marriage, Esthers marriage was documented, and the date of her marriage was recorded (Pesikta de-Rav Kahana,Ha-Hodesh ha-Zeh["This monthEx. No, Esther and Mordecai were not married. Routing number of commercial bank of Ethiopia? She succeeded in remaining concealed for four years but was eventually found and brought to the royal palace. Esthers first husband was Mordecai. When Esther is chosen as the queen, unknown to her, Mordecai discovers a plan by the kings wicked advisor, Haman, to kill all the Jews. Sat 30 Mar 2002 15.27 EST Buckingham Palace announced today that the Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at 3.15 this afternoon at the age of 101. Rabbah5:3). i. Read Esther 4:1-17. We just don't know. She and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman. There is support for this too in the Talmud (Yoma 29a).4) Esther comes from the Median "astra," meaning "myrtle." 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. When she relayed Mordecais information to the king, she attributed it to Mordecai(Esth. Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, was born in 1930. Mordecais wife is never directly named, but it is presumed that she was originally from Susa, based on her residence in the city at the time of the story. Save the flock of Your pasture from these foes who have arisen against us, for nothing prevents You from winning a victory by many or by few. She had one. Esther remained passive and allowed the King to rape her repeatedly. It is a remarkable moment in Jewish history, in which we can see one of the times when Jews were connecting to each other from Jerusalem to the Diaspora and establishing the holidays that we take for granted today. They were honored with royal garments and a decree was written to protect all Jews. She appears to be a loyal wife to Mordecai, as she supports him throughout his efforts to save the Jewish people from Hamans plot. Until Esther was chosen, no woman could compare with Vashti in beauty. Ahasuerus consulted with Mordecai how to discover Esthers secret, and Mordecai advised him to arouse Esthers jealousy by inviting other women to him, thus motivating her to disclose her secret (BT Megillah 13a). Since Nehemiah was a leading figure in Jerusalem by 432 BC, Mordecai argued that these three days fast happened to include the Passover night, which shouldn't be a night of fasting. 22:25). In another exposition, she was given this name by the Gentiles, after the celestial body Istahar (BTLit. As a result of his heroic actions, Mordecai was honored by King Ahasuerus for his bravery, and he was made Prime Minister with great authority. The myrtle has a good smell, just like Esther, who performed good deeds; the myrtle does not dry out either in summer or in winter, just as the righteous dry up neither in this world nor in the World to Come (Midrash Panim Aherim, version B, para. Esther was a young Jewish girl taken into the palace of the king of Persia, King Ahasuerus. Mordecai then spoke these famous words, Do not think to yourself that in the kings palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your fathers house will perish. Codification of basic Jewish Oral Law; edited and arranged by R. Judah ha-Nasi c. 200 C.E. Queen Esther and Bella Abzug: Costumes, Leadership, and Identity, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. This meant the king was happy to see her and would not put her to death. When Esther sought to deliver up Haman, she revealed her identity as a Jew in the act. She was married to King Achashverosh, whom some identify as Artaxerxes (), 1 king of Persia. them clearly. She had two grown sons (Aristobulus and Hyrcanus II), but she decided not to step aside for them; perhaps she foresaw that the rivalry between the younger and older son would not end well. Launched Shavuot 5773 / 2013 | Copyright Project TABS, All Rights Reserved, script type="text/javascript"> someone died doesn't mean they didn't exist. Instead, he anticipates Peter's thought in 1 Peter 2:17, before Peter ever wrote it: Fear God. Ultimately, Mordecais wife remains an unknown figure in the story, but her role in supporting her husband and protecting the Jewish people demonstrates her dedication and strength. Mordecai was instrumental in thwarting a murderous plot by one of the kings advisers, Haman, to annihilate the Jewish people. Her son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, is now King Charles III, as the world grieves his mother, Britain's longest-reigning monarch. probably lived at the same time. He even granted permission for the Jews to arm themselves with weapons and deliver the kings edicts throughout the kingdom. During the Temple period, the dough set aside to be given to the priests. This book therefore has the same sanctity as the other books of Scripture. Hi, I'm Mordecai, Esther's older cousin. Mordecai would walk about in front of the harem in order to rule for Esther regarding menstrual spotting; another exegetical exposition has Esther showing the spotting from her menstruation to theTorah she-bi-khetav: Lit. The Queen died in the afternoon of September 8, 2022. Plath famously battled depression and other mental illnesses, and the same is true of Esthers condition in the novel. The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. Seeing the Letter Tet in a Dream: 9th Anniversary, Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship, By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use, Jewish Queens: From the Story of Esther to the History of Shelamzion, https://thetorah.com/article/jewish-queens-from-the-story-of-esther-to-the-history-of-shelamzion. Who is Jason crabb mother and where is she? In post-Temple times, a small piece of dough set aside and burnt. I'm going to guess that he was born before 464 BC, so yes they Rabbah8:6). Have an update or correction? Solomon. Esther invited Ahasuerus and Haman to a feast and the Rabbis ask: why did she invite Haman? When Esther's parents died, I adopted Esther and took care of her like she was my daughter. older than her (do the math a 37 year old king marrying a 14 year Rachel was silent when she saw that Jacob married her sister instead of herself. 20). Thisdevarbuilds on Ilans work: her oeuvre is well known to academics but is not as well known as it could be tothe reading public.
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