Esther : The Servant Leader

The Persian Empire is arguably one of the greatest and largest empires ever in the history of the world. It was in place from approximately 550 to 334 BCE in Asia Minor and Persia. Throughout the time the empire was in place there were multiple kings that ruled it changing the cultures of the people living in the empire. The Book of Ester is a book from the Hebrew Bible written during the fourth century BCE that tells the story of a Persian king Achashvairosh. In the story information is given on how Persian Kings were able rule their vast empire for such a long period of time. The Persian Kings that ruled the Persian Empire were able to do their job successfully, deal with problems they faced, and keep their empire culturally vast because

Also seen in the Old Testament, Esther parallels Joseph by assimilating from being a passive commoner to a queen, the highest royal position for a woman. Her life entirely changes when she marries King Ahasuerus

The book of Esther is full of mysteries that has grasped the attention of Biblical scholars and audiences throughout ages and still presents some challenges to the contemporary audiences. It is important to understand the purpose and theme of the book in order to better understand the text in its context. Many Christian scholars and audiences’ alike eisegesis the text instead of using exegesis therefore there have been many misconceptions regarding Esther. The book of Esther is a very important book for it is the only book in the bible to be without the name of God in its entire text. Though there is no reference to God or Torah in the text does not necessarily mean that God is not revealed through circumstances and challenges faced by His

The book of Esther tells the faithfulness of one woman and her uncle. It is only one of two books that contain the heroism and bravery of a woman heroine. The story of Esther accomplishes two profound things, the first: “To demonstrate God’s providential care of his people, even those outside the land of Israel, and 2) to commend the observance of the feast of Purim by relating how it originated” (Breneman 289).Unlike the rest of the Bible the story of Esther does not directly state or talk about God, but instead shows God’s plans for all of our lives and how in all frightening moments of life, He remains faithful to those who trust and have faith in Him. “In spite of the omission of any name for deity, there is no other book in all the

Jewish history and its overall themes are expressed through The Book of Esther, which is in The Holy Bible. This sacred text takes place in 486 BC, when King Xerxes I ruled Persia. This story is an historical interpretation of the life of Queen Esther along with the lives of the Jewish people. Even though The Book of Esther is only ten chapters, it contains many rich themes. Also, the characters exercise many different traits such as: fortitude, empathy, and divine providence. The Book of Esther explores many themes, such as faith, manipulation, and courage in order to show the Jews, who are living in exile, that it is possible to gain success in the country of one’s exile without showing one’s true identity.

Esther’s madness is presented as a consequence of her rebellion against the archetypes of gender roles, which she is surrounded by in the novel. Chodorow argues that, in our subjective understanding of gender relations, individuals ‘create new meanings in terms of their own unique biographies.’ Chodorow’s argument is evident in how Esther understands gender relations through her experience with Buddy Willard. His mother believes that ‘what a man is is an arrow into the future and what a woman is is the place the arrow shoots off from’ (Plath, 67). In the juxtaposition of a place and an arrow, the woman is presented as a constant and a base which enables the man to progress. Esther’s awareness of this outlook and her rejection of it allows

The motivation of the Book of Esther is to prove to Jews living in prison that it is possible to gain success in the country of one’s imprisonment without giving up one’s character as a Jew. In this, the Book of Esther is very similar to books in the bible such as Daniel or actually to the historical character Nehemiah. The Book of Esther is unique in two important higher opinions. First, “the protagonist of the book, and the one with who the viewers should identify, is the woman.”(jwa.org). this selection of a women hero serves an important attribute in the story. Women were, in the world of the Persian culture, essentially defenseless members of society. Even if they resided to the governing culture. They could not simply reach out and gain power, as a man could. Whatever power they could get was gained through the manipulation of the community holders of power. In this perception the imprisoned Jew could identify with the woman. He or she was pretty much powerless, and power could be gained only through one’s wits and talents. As the undertaking of Esther demonstrates, this can definitely be done. By using her beauty, charm, and intelligence, and by taking one risk, Esther saves the Jewish people, brings downfall on her enemy, and raises Mordecai to the highest position in the palace. Esther becomes the mold for the Jewish women living in exile.

She disappears and runs away from her family to be with a soldier. The patriarch requires the woman to obey the man, whether it be her father or her husband. She becomes pregnant and is abandoned by her lover. The child dies leaving Esther completely alone. She shows herself as an incapable mother as she fails to nurture her child. She then becomes a prostitute to support herself as she has been exiled from society and rejected by her family. This is act is a clear breech of the patriarch, law, religion, and family ISAs. As an alcoholic, she returns to Manchester in attempts to help Mary avoid her fallen behaviour. “Prejudice (or policy) has endeavoured, and indeed too successfully, to last an odium on what is called a masculine woman; or, to explain the meaning of the word, a woman of enlightened understanding”(Robinson 72). Her actions in resisting the church’s ideology of a chased modest woman proves defiance is unacceptable. She seems to be a lively and unstoppable person which forces the community to punish and exploit her by sending her to prison. Prostitution is exposed and problematized which makes Esther an abject by society. Robinson notes, “were a woman to attempt such an expedient[sin], however strong her sense of injury, however invincible her fortitude, or important the preservation of character, the would be deemed a murdress”(Robison 5). Society continuously attempts to reform Esther through ISAs into an appropriate lady; however, she dramatically objects by preforming the

In addition, Esther wanted to be accepted as who she was, she never wanted to die, she needed help. Correspondingly, in this novel there were a number of different things that may have made her feel worthless, abnormal, or morose. To carry on, while Esther was considering suicide she also thought to herself, “I knew catholics thought killing yourself was an awful sin. But perhaps, if this was so, they might have a good way to persuade me out of it.” (p.164). Esther knew she was suicidal and at some points she might’ve even been fearful of herself. On the contrary, she also knew that a little part of her wanted to survive and do what makes her contented. Esther was not comparable to any other girls during this time period, for example, if any

Esther’s mother and society’s expectation as a woman, which is to be a good wife and a mother, suffocate and demoralize Esther’s dream as a professional writer. Esther’s mother wants her to “...learn shorthand after college, so I’d have a practical skill as well as a college degree” (Plath 40). Her mother believes that Esther cannot further advance her education as a writer and simply wants her to be a secretary since professional career for women was uncommon and discouraged because it disturbs the role as a married woman. These pressures often obliged her to fall into the societal expectations, to give up her higher education, and to marry somebody. However, she knew that the marriage and the babies were not for her, “because cook and clean and wash were just about

The book of Esther is a story of a young, beautiful, Jewish girl who ultimately became queen. At the time, King Ahasuerus reigned over the Persian Empire. He threw lavish banquets for his officials as well as all the people in Susa. The night of the seventh banquet, he called for Queen Vashti so he can flaunt her in front of the people but she refused to come. He sought council on how to handle the queen’s actions, he gave a decree and then ordered her to leave the kings presence and her position is to be given to someone more deserving.

Esther is like the Proverbs 31 woman; like Ruth and Judith, when Esther is queen she puts on not only her beautiful royal clothing on, but also strength and dignity which are represented through the clothing. Because Queen Vashti does not listen to King Ahasuerus, the king sent letters to every province, “declaring that every man should be mater in his own household” (Esther 1:22). The king’s order is backward of the Proverbs 31 woman, who oversees the house. Esther is chosen by Ahasuerus to replace Vashti as queen. After selected, she was given months of cosmetic treatments (2:8-9). Esther then won the kings favor from the group of young virgins he systematically raped. Up until this point, Esther has been under the protection of Mordecai

At first read the book of Esther is a story of a Queen who was able to achieve a heroic act that saved her people from being destroyed. However as you examine the story it’s more than a historic story of triumph, but through the actions of the characters in the story it becomes a blueprint for many aspects of leadership. By examining the different dimensions of the leadership traits of King Ahasuerus, Haman, Mordecai and Esther will represent the different facet of developing into a leader.

The Book of Esther, Purim and its Babylonian origins: Esther, a beautiful Jewish woman, was chosen by a Babylonian King, Ahasuerus, and, with the help of her uncle Mordechai, saved the Jewish people from a massacre ordered by the wicked Hamman. This book, included in the Jewish and Christian Bible, is the occasion of the feast of Purim. Yet this story has nothing to do with the Jewish people and contains historical mistakes: The Persian history ignored a Jewish queen named Esther. The Book of Esther said that the king send his order to exterminate the Jewish peoples in 128 countries. Yet this decree was discovered nowhere during any archaeological excavations. This explains why the book of Esther

Esther was an orphan who was raised by her uncle, Mordecai, and with age she grew to be exceptionally beautiful. So when King Ahasuerus was looking for a new wife, all the beautiful women in Persia were gathered and brought to him; but in the king’s eyes Esther was loved “more than all the women, and she found favor and kindness with him” (2:17). After she became queen, her uncle refused to bow down and pay his respects to Haman, high official of the king, because Mordecai only believed in worshipping God; however, with this action Haman became infuriated and planned to destroy all the jews in the kingdom because of his pride. As Mordecai finds out of this plot and reports it to Esther. However, she doesn’t act brashly but plans two banquets where she asks the king for the protection of her Jewish people and Mordecai. The king out of anger of what Haman has done, has Haman hung, where he had built to destroy all the Jews. Queen Esther took initiative in order to benefit her people, Susan Grant took initiative to help America, and I will take initiative by caring, not fearing, new discoveries (good or bad) all with the help of