The origins & reasons of the feast of Purim. Summary of the book of esther pdf audio. But what is most striking about Esther, is that it makes no mention of God. 10, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993), 288. Mordechai, as the spiritual leader of the Jewish people, and Esther, declare that henceforth the 14th of Adar shall be a day of feasting in all of the outlying provinces, but the 15th shall be a day of feasting in the city of Shushan, for these were the days on which the threat was abated. The author's central purpose was to record the institution of the annual festival of Purim and to keep alive for later generations the memory of the great deliverance of the Jewish people during the reign of Xerxes.
For Mordechai the Jew was King Achashverosh's viceroy, the leader of the Jews, and accepted by most of his brethren, promoting his people's welfare and preaching peace for all their descendants" (Esther 10). All rights reserved. Summary of the book of esther pdf 1. Chapter# 9 – The Jews Destroy Their Enemies. To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. All this is worth nothing to me, every time I see Mordechai the Jew sitting at the king's gate!
In addition to that, as Jobes points out, neither of the. "(Esther 4:13-14) Summoning all of her courage, Esther agrees to go to the king but she first asks Mordechai to request all the Jews to fast for three days and repent for their own sins while praying for the heavenly decree against them to be reversed. Although the name of God is never mentioned in this book, it is apparent that the Jews of Susa sought His intervention when they fasted for three days (Esther 4:16). The hand of God is evident, in that what appears to be a bad situation is indeed very much under the control of the Almighty God, who ultimately has the good of the people at heart. According to tradition, King Darius II, who allows the Jews to rebuild the Holy Temple, was the son of Esther and Achashverosh. Summary of the book of esther pdf download. This gives good reasons for exploring the concepts of honor, shame. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1985), 154; cited in Breneman, 288. Mordecai would not bow to Haman.
Had she not been thus afflicted, she would not have limited her behavior in any way. With great trepidation and dressed in her most beautiful robes, Esther approaches King Achashverosh. Esther, however, is afraid to approach the king. Reward Your Curiosity. Haman was mortified and furious as he led Mordecai through the streets. A Brief Synopsis of the Book of Esther. Throughout much of the story the author calls to mind the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Amalekites (see notes on 2:5; 3:1-6; 9:5-10), a conflict that began during the exodus (Ex 17:8-16; Dt 25:17-19) and continued through Israel's history (1Sa 15; 1Ch 4:43; and, of course, Esther). Overcome by anger, the king went out to "the garden orchard, while Haman stood up to plead for his life from Queen Esther…The king then returned from the garden orchard to the wine feast chamber, [just as] Haman was falling on the couch on which Esther was lying.
Now Haman the minister to the Persian king plotted to eradicate the Jewish race. King got annoyed with Haman and Haman himself got doomed. Esther: Esther was a prophetess who possessed exceptional beauty and modesty. At the center of this story is the ongoing division between the Jews and the Amalekites, which was recorded to have begun in the Book of Exodus. Beginning with a brief survey of previous research on the book of Esther. It stands out from the crowd of the biblical literature at least for several reasons. However, it appears that the author has deliberately refrained from mentioning God or any religious activity as a literary device to heighten the fact that it is God who controls and directs all the seemingly insignificant coincidences (see, e. g., note on 6:1) that make up the plot and issue in deliverance for the Jews. It is clear that the author was a Jew, both from his emphasis on the origin of a Jewish festival and from the Jewish nationalism that permeates the story. Both stories involve foreign monarchs who control the destiny of the Jews. Uncle Mordecai was a Jew who was taken from Israel during the Babylonian captivity. Persian law and Persian king in the book of Esther (Chapter 5) - Esther in Ancient Jewish Thought. King Ahasuerus could not sleep that night—possibly because someone was building a gallows in town. A Plot Against The King.
Vashti was the daughter of Bal'shatzar (the last Babylonian king who was defeated by Darius and Cyrus) and the great-granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzer (who destroyed the First Holy Temple and Jerusalem). On his way, however, he passes Mordechai, who once again refuses to bow, reigniting Haman's fury. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006), 213. When they come to take her to the palace, Mordechai, insightfully instructs her not to reveal that she is a Jewess or who her family is. There are ten banquets: (1) 1:3-4, (2) 1:5-8, (3) 1:9, (4) 2:18, (5) 3:15, (6) 5:5-6, (7) 7:1-10, (8) 8:17, (9) 9:17, (10) 9:18. Synopsis of The Book of Esther | PDF | Book Of Esther | Hebrew Bible. Esther was actually her Persian name, her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which means myrtle branch. Haman feared for his life. However, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. She is an orphan who was raised by her uncle, Mordechai, one of the leaders of the Jewish people in exile. The movement of Esther...
The introductory chapter concludes with a presentation and critique of honor and shame studies in anthropology and psychology as applied to the study of cultures. When their enemies are vanquished, the Jews celebrate their survival with great feasts, thus the 14th (outside of Shushan) and the 15th are the days for celebrating Purim. This book also gives us the origin of the Feast of Purim, which celebrates God's goodness in delivering the Jews from Haman. But was not rewarded. The king again asked Esther what her request was. King Ahasuerus gave his ring to Mordecai—the ring he had previously given to Haman when Haman became the king's right-hand man. Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, electronic ed., vol.
Chapter# 6 – King came to know that Mordecai had saved the king before. Neither does anyone seem concerned about the law. But Vashti refuses to come and the king, following his ministers' advice, has her banished. Just as Haman is defeated on the gallows he built for Mordecai, so does Christ use the very weapon that his enemy devised to destroy Him and His spiritual seed.
Her only request was that Haman's ten sons (who had already been killed) be publicly hanged on the gallows. He then quotes McConville's evaluation of Esther, namely that Esther is "by any standards a brilliantly written story, to be savored—even chuckled over. In fact, during the reading of the Megillah, many also boo and hiss when her name is read. The greatest being that God protects His people. Chapter# 4 – Mordecai asked Esther to plead with the king. Thinking that the king is referring to him, Haman suggests that the king dress the subject in the king's finest robes and have him led around town on the king's steed. Esther 7:3 - If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life - this is my petition, and the life of my people - this is my request. Ontario SHAME AND HONOR IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER. The book explains the origin of the only biblical Jewish festival whose roots are outside of Torah, namely the festival of Purim. One of the chief servants of King Ahasuerus was Haman. God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe and we can be assured that His plans will not be moved by the actions of mere evil men. The future existence of God's chosen people, and ultimately the appearance of the Redeemer-Messiah, were jeopardized by Haman's edict to destroy the Jews. In fact, the Midrash teaches that she did not refuse to come before the king because of modesty, but because her beauty was marred by a sudden affliction of a skin disease (leprosy). Events in the Persian city of Susa threatened the continuity of God's purposes in redemptive history.
As mentioned, Purim is one of two non-levitical feasts.