She overtook Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015 - Victoria had served for 63 years and lived to the age of 81. Esther would have been in her early to mid 60's when the Rachel is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 29 when Jacob happens upon her as she is about to water her father's flock. He was a Jew living in the Persian city of Susa, and he became a prime minister in the Persian court of King Ahasuerus. Some may have stumbled upon the street named after her in downtown Jerusalem, but otherwise, she is generally only briefly mentioned, marginalized, and almost written out of the historical record. Josephus tells us that she was loved by the masses of the Jewish people (Jewish Antiquities 13:407). 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). 464 BC. She had one. When, several years later, Nehemiah asked the Persian King for permission to return to Zion and rebuild Jerusalem, "the Queen is seating by him" (Nehemia 2:6), and she influenced the King's decision to approve Nehamia's request. assassinated 20 years earlier (he was probably bout 20-25 years According to the tradition that she was previously unmarried, she was now married to and lived with a non-Jewish king. During the . Lit. [1] In preparation for Purim and the reading of Megillat Esther, the story of this forgotten Jewish queen is worth recounting. After more than 70 years on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. Her son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, is now King Charles III, as the world grieves his mother, Britain's longest-reigning monarch. This meant the king was happy to see her and would not put her to death. She invited both Haman and Ahasuerus to a private banquet, stirring up jealousy in the King's mind. The Rabbis compare Esther to the son of the uncle who redeems an ancestral landholding(Lev. Until Esther was chosen, no woman could compare with Vashti in beauty. When Esther's parents died, I adopted Esther and took care of her like she was my daughter. They derive this from the various verses that reflect the thought of the characters, or that attest to actions of which a normal person could not be cognizant, such as Haman said to himself(Esth. The Jewish festival ofPurimcelebrates this event. Vashti (Hebrew: , romanized: Vat; Koin Greek: , romanized: Astn; Modern Persian: , romanized: Vti) was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim.She was either executed or banished for her . Prince Charles, who is next in line for the throne, was by her side. The short answer is that we'll never know. She was a beautiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Rabbah28:6). tradition is that Queen Esther's tomb is in Hamadan, also known as 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. The BT presents this in the opposite way: the king first talked with her by means of an interpreter, but when she told him that she was descended from King Saul, he spoke with her directly, out of respect (Lev. He killed Haman in 473BC, when he was 45 ( Esther 3:7 ). This last event was around the same time that Esther became Queen. When Esther pointed and declared(Esth. Esther was the best-looking woman, and Ahasuerus picked her to replace Vashti as Queen. Esthers first husband was Mordecai. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2','ezslot_12',154,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-leader-2-0');Throughout the course of the story, Esther suffers from a major depressive episode, possibly accompanied by severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. 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. Mordecai was elevated to second-in-command in the kingdom. 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. During this historical period, the first group of Jews who had returned to Judah struggled to revive temple worship by Moses' Law. Esther and Mordecai then obtained a royal edict allowing Jews throughout the empire to defend themselves on the day set for their extermination. Furthermore, because of her passivity, her life with Ahasuerus was not thought to entail illicit sexual intercourse (a grave sin, for which one should be killed rather than transgress")(BTSanhedrin74b). 9:23): The Jews accordingly assumed an obligation [ve-kibel] that which they had begun to practice.Ve-kibelis written in the singular, thus alluding to God(Ruth Rabbah4:1; BT Megillah 7a). According to various traditions, at this time she recitedPsalm 22(For the leader; onayelet ha-shahar): in the Rabbinic exegesisayelet ha-shaharis Esther, and the content of the psalm is applied to her. 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. When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 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). Rabbah26:8;Lam. Am Yisrael Chai [7] Queen Esther risks her own life when she goes to the kings chambers uninvited: If I must die, so be it, she says (Esther 4:16). What did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while. He deposed Queen Vashti in 483/482BC when he was 36 ( Esther 1:3 ). Hi, I'm Mordecai, Esther's older cousin. Upset, the king stepped out into the palace gardens. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-leader-3','ezslot_14',155,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-leader-3-0');Furthermore, Esthers actions become increasingly irrational and her behavior can be classified as psychotic. . Esther was a good queen. "scroll." The Queen was the oldest monarch to have reigned in Britain before she passed away in September 2022, aged 96. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. How old was King Xerxes when he married Esther? and Nehemiah may have known each other personally. cit.). Her reign lasted less than a decade but still longer than a two-term presidency. There is support for this too in the Talmud (Yoma 29a).4) Esther comes from the Median "astra," meaning "myrtle." That day, Esther told the king about Haman's plan to massacre all Jews in his kingdom, and she acknowledged her own Jewish ethnicity. Queen Elizabeth II has died today aged 96. According to one tradition, Esther was responsible for Mordecais being seated at the palace gate, since she told Ahasuerus that all the great kings seated a Jewish advisor at the gate (Midrash Abba Gurionloc. The Book of Esther was probably written in the 2nd centurybce. Taken to the palace of King Ahasuerus of Persia, she exposed the plot of the evil Haman, who had convinced the king to allow the annihilation of all the Jews in his extensive empire. After she came to the fourth department, Ahasueruss ire was aroused and he remembered Vashti, who did not come into him despite his repeated requests, while Esther came into him without permission, like a harlot. The Rabbis perceived this going as having sexual connotations, which therefore had tragic consequences for Esther and for Mordecai(BTMegillah16a; see below: Esther Comes to the Rescue of Her People). The Bible depicts Esther as an orphan who was raised in the house of her uncle Mordecai(Esth. 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. Despite the close bond they had, they remained uncle and niece and were not married. Ahasuerus first tried to turn his face so that he would not look upon Esther, but the ministering angels forcibly turned his head, until he cried out. Her loyalty to her people is admirable, as is . While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. When the king saw his queen, Xerxes lowered his golden scepter to invite Esther into his presence. As a result, the King promoted Mordechai to a high position in the court. What episode does Squidward say the F word. She was the second daughter of Laban, Rebekah's brother, making Jacob her first cousin. When she relayed Mordecais information to the king, she attributed it to Mordecai(Esth. [2] But Shelamzion remained queen and lived up to her name, maintaining the peace of Zion with a strong army, careful diplomacy, and the support of the Jews of ancient Israel and beyond. Rabbah6:5). script>. This understanding of the Book of Esther is linked to the perception of Esther as a prophet: she is included in the list of seven women prophets(BTMegillah14a; Seder Olam Rabbah21). She and her cousinMordecaipersuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the kings chief minister, Haman. One tradition states that she was served Jewish food in the harem, while another asserts that she was given chines of pork. She understood why she had to suffer through her relationship with this irritable king. 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 had been made queen to save her people. Queen Esther and Bella Abzug: Costumes, Leadership, and Identity, The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women, Copyright 19982023, Jewish Women's Archive. 100-105 and 127-154. These actions demonstrated the kings respect and admiration for Esther and earned her the loyalty of her people. He also arranged for the Jews to gather and fast for the protection of their lives. Rabbah6:9). In contrast, the BT also cites a tradition that Esther had a greenish [sallow] complexion, and therefore was called Hadassah; according to this tradition, Ahasuerus was drawn to her because she was endowed with great charm (BTMegillahloc. The spirit of divine inspiration descended on Esther shortly before she went to Ahasuerus, thus leading to her inclusion in the list of the seven women prophets(BTMegillah14a; 15a). Alexandra the Maccabee (died ca. What is error code E01-5 on Toyota forklift. brought him up to be favorable to the Jews and he later rebuilt the (Viewed on March 4, 2023)
. Before she went to Ahasuerus, Esther uttered the prayer: O Lord, the God of Israel, who has reigned from days of yore and created the universe, help, please, Your handmaiden who has remained an orphan without father and mother, and who is compared to a pauper who begs from door to door. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The grave of Mordecai and Esther still stands in Hamadan; and the Jews of Iran, to this day, are referred to as "the children of Esther.". What happened to Queen Esther in the Bible? She notes that Josephus only knew this queen by her Greek name, Alexandra, while the Rabbis only knew her by her Semitic name. At first, Esther was hesitant to approach the king, as anyone who approached him without his invitation was put to death unless the king extended his top scepter. Mordecai was instrumental in thwarting a murderous plot by one of the kings advisers, Haman, to annihilate the Jewish people. It was only when Esther came that Ahasuerus removed the likeness of Vashti and replaced it with that of Esther (Esth. cit.). Instead, Haman was hanged, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. As Esther poured her tears and anguish into the jar, it became a bridge between her innermost feelings and the outside world. Esther was taken to the royal harem despite her being married, which further aggravated her sorry condition. Meir, Tamar. 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). Fear strikes in the hearts of many, including Mordecai, as he realizes Hadassah will be taken. The book of Nehemiah begins in 444 BC, so they probably In common parlance, the braided loaves blessed and eaten on the Sabbath and Festivals. book of Nehemiah began, although her husband, King Xerxes was Her story is one of faith, courage, and resilience, and her bravery serves as an inspiration to others to never give up fighting for what you believe in. Esther is then remembered and celebrated in the annual festival of Purim. The King also issued a proclamation throughout the land to honor Mordecai. Daniel probably died shortly after Darius took the throne in 521 She was married to King Achashverosh, whom some identify as Artaxerxes (), 1 king of Persia. 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. He became King of Persia in 485BC at the age of 33. The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll. Designation of the five scrolls of the Bible (Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther). This makes Esther 60 years younger than her cousin Mordecai. Jacob had traveled a great distance to find Laban. 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. See also Susan Niditch,A Prelude to Biblical Folklore: Underdogs and Tricksters(Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2000). What is the answer punchline algebra 15.1 why dose a chicken coop have only two doors? Haman, too, was troubled by the question of Esthers origins. 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). Esther becoming queen was a massive step up in the world, but that was probably because her husband was The King You Didn't Mess With. The BT lists a number of possible reasons: (1) she wanted Haman to be near her (so that she could say what she wanted about him at the appropriate moment); (2) she wanted to set a trap for him; (3) she planned to act toward Haman in a way that would lead Ahasuerus to suspect that she had engaged in an improper relationship with the former and thus cause the king to kill them both. 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). The bleeding jar in Esthers story is significant because of the deep symbolism behind it. 6:6), or the definite statement, that could be known only to God: but they did not lay hands on the spoil (9:10). Gaalya Cornfeld, ed.,Josephus: The Jewish War; Zondervan Publishing House, 1982). In the biblical book named after her, Esther is a young Jewish woman living in the Persian diaspora who finds favor with the king, becomes queen, and risks her life to save the Jewish people from destruction when the court official Haman persuades the king to authorize a pogrom against all the Jews of the empire. The Rabbis also offer various proofs that the Book of Esther was written with the spirit of divine inspiration. Other sources say that the the woman "Esther" in the bible, married. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Perhaps there is room for a role model of the leader who advocates peace, piety, and diplomacy as well. The Midrash adds that Esther's father died during her mother's pregnancy, and the latter died during childbirth ( Esth. cit.). The murdered queens name does not survive in the historical record. King Ahasuerus, named Darius, who became King Darius II. The king agreed, not knowing that Esther, his beloved queen, and Mordecai, the man to whom he owed his life, were both Jews. 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. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'coalitionbrewing_com-large-mobile-banner-1','ezslot_10',152,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-coalitionbrewing_com-large-mobile-banner-1-0');Her true identity was kept hidden from everyone, until she was forced to reveal it in order to save her people from the decree of death from Persias ruling king. Rabbah10:13). Decades ago, the historian Elias Bickerman drew attention to a marvelous coincidence: a postscript in the Greek translation of Esther tells us that in 78 or 77 BCE, just one year before Queen Shelamzion began to rule by herself, Megillat Esther was translated into Greek and sent to the Jewish communities of ancient Alexandria. Haman (the bad guy) represented the Jews' first enemy Ernest Normand/Wikipedia Esther's story is full of symbolism, which really helped the case for being accepted into the Bible. Queen Esther died in 473 BCE, so she was likely in her late fifties or early sixties at the time of her death. That being said, Esther remained passive and allowed the King to rape her repeatedly. [11] According to the colophon to Greek Esther, a delegation of Jews from Jerusalem went to Egypt with the translation of the story of Megillat Esther and asked the Jews of Alexandria to begin celebrating the festival of Purim. her death is not known. It is most unlikely that there ever was a Queen Esther, in which Esth. Esther had been made queen to save her people; her mission and her faith shaped her character and inspired her to act and succeed. She oversaw a peaceful and prosperous period. movie). Alexandra the Maccabee. For today's Bible studies, we're going to discuss 10 characteristics of Esther in the Bible. What is the moral of the story of Esther? There is not one correct rendering of her name in any rabbinic manuscript (260). By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the midrashic account, Ahasuerus initially ruled the entire world. Esther exposes Haman's evil plan. When Esther sought to deliver up Haman, she revealed her identity as a Jew in the act. 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]. At that banquet, she heightened the tension between the two by inviting both men to a second banquet. The Book of Esther, which does As a result of her mother's death . Elizabeth reigned for almost forty-five years and was the last monarch of the Tudor Dynasty, having died childless.
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