The Setting Under The Rule Of King Ahasuerus And The Capital Of Shusan / Susa

Slowly declining from the mental strain of school and work and relationships, Esther begins to question her reason for being here, introducing a more obvious form of her mental state, “How could I write about life when I’d never had a love affair or a baby or even seen anybody die?” (Plath 121). Esther realizes that she hasn’t really lived life. During her downfall into depression, she begins to realize that she doesn’t have control over herself and that the future that she envisioned for herself isn’t the future she will in fact

To begin with Esther was a jewish girl that was hiding her jewish identity(Esther: Bible). She became Queen of the Persian Empire because of her youth and beauty and married King Ahasuerus. Esther's cousin, named Mordecai, was trying to gain power from Haman who was an enemy of Israel. Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman. Haman got angry and made a plan to put Mordecai to death along with all

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 is one of the most important women from the Bible. Of all the women in the Bible, Esther is mentioned the most ("The Book of Esther"). The name Esther means hidden. The meaning of her name connects to her story because she kept her Jewish status a secret for many years. Her Jewish name is Hadassah, which is translated to myrtle ("ESTHER in the BIBLE. Heroine Who Saved the Jewish People"). Esther was raised by her cousin, Mordecai ("Sharing StoriesInspiring Change"). Esther’s first appearance in the Bible is when King Xerxes chose Esther to be his new wife, which resulted in her becoming the new Queen of Persia. Esther did not tell Xerxes that she identified as a Jew. ("Bible Gateway Passage: Esther 2 - New International Version"). Not long after Esther became Queen, Mordecai was involved in a disagreement with the grand vizier, Haman. Haman plotted to kill all the Jews in the kingdom out of frustration, but Mordecai heard about this plan and ran and told Esther. At first Esther, was hesitant about approaching the king with this issue because of her background, but she eventually gave into Mordecai’s pleas because she

Esther was an orphan who was raised by her cousin Mordecai (Leath, 2010). There came a time that she would go from orphan to queen. Esther lived in Persia, where King Ahasuerus ruled. A day arrived that Queen Vashti refused to obey King Ahasuerus and was soon replaced by Esther (Leath, 2010). During this time, the King held ultimate power and everyone was subject to the king’s authority. Consequently, Queen Vashti displayed disobedience by not obeying the King and was punished by being removed as queen (Leath, 2010). However, the removal of Queen Vashti paved the way for Esther and she was purposefully placed in position as queen. This seized

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.

“...And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). Throughout all of history many women have been persecuted for simply being a woman. In many countries in the Middle East today,"persecution against women and girls includes frequent beatings, rapes, kidnapping of girls and forced marriages to their kidnappers, discrimination in education and jobs based on gender and religion, and much more." (Vessey) However, during the time of Esther, formerly known as Haddassah, women were actually treated with respect. Women were considered vital parts to society and were thought very highly of. Although many women in the Middle East suffer from brutal attacks frequently, archaeological evidence shows

King Ahasuerus ruled the vast Persian Empire from modern day India to Ethiopia during the time period the events from The Book of Esther take place. Historians believe that Ahasuerus was a stereotype of King Xerxes, one of the kings from the Achaemenid Persian period who reigned from 486-465 BCE. The king had total authority and control over the kingdom affairs and all people within its borders, he had the power to issue law and punish citizens at will. Jews were living in diaspora, seen as foreigners and second class citizens, they had low social status and often hid their ethnicity. Women were subservient to men, they had rights and privileges less than those of men in this patriarchal society.

The Historical world allows us to view the world outside the text, or in other words behind the text. It is making an observation about the time, and culture of the story. This section also allows us to see the geographical setting that relates with the book of Esther. The book of Esther is the seventh book written in the Bible by historian, which came after Nehemiah and before the book of Job. The book of Esther describes events that took place during the years 486-465 B.C.E under the ruler king Ahasuerus.

Esther was determined to become the queen. However, this would not be an easy task, so she used her resources to increase her chances of becoming queen. The new hero would also take her surroundings into account in order to make decisions that guide her toward her goals. Previous to going before the king, “each lady was allowed to adorn herself with whatever apparel or jewelry she desired,” so Esther proceeded to ask the eunuch to pick her outfit because he knew what the king liked (MacArthur 133). Her subtle manipulation ended up working in her favor, causing Ahasuerus to fall in love with her. The new hero would do whatever it takes to achieve her goals; just like Esther, she would use manipulation only for the greater good. Furthermore, Esther persevered through the obstacles that came along with saving her people from being annihilated. It was known that “no one could appear before the king without his express invitation,” but Esther committed to this task because she wanted to save the Jewish race (MacArthur 138). No, Esther was not fearless. No, Esther was not confident about going before the king. No, Esther was not pleased to face him. She was afraid. Esther did not know whether she would emerge from the room alive or bruised. Yet, she was determined to risk it all because she knew their lives were valuable.

Daniel was well aware of the atrocities committed by his new king and aware that he had been enslaved. He did not stand up to the king over these things, but over a law that would have consequences for all of his enslaved brothers and sisters. The new law would have been a cultural sledgehammer to the Israelites - they would have to worship the king for 30 days. If you are unaware of Israelite customs, this was a terrible insult to their religion and to their cultural identity, but under the law, the penalty for praying to anyone other than the king was

Daniel is not only known as Daniel the prophet; he is also known as one of the most influential figures in the Book of Daniel who served the King and his successors in Babylon with loyalty, while remaining true to God of Israel. Daniel’s life and prophecies are recorded in the Book of Daniel. Great Prophet Daniel was descended

The book of Daniel, however, is even more allusive and parabolic perhaps due to it's politically prophetic nature. The author of the book of Daniel also wanted his people to view the troubling times of Antiochene reign as period of trial. They were to follow God’s law as best they could and

In the story of Esther, Esther is able to marry the king and win his heart through her uncle Mordecai’s instructions. The king decided to order the slaughter of the Hebrew people in response to the claims Haman made about the Jewish people. Upon finding out about the law Mordecai instantly goes into a state of mourning and tells Esther. Once Esher found out she prepared a meal for the king and Haman and let the king know in the second dinner that she informs the king that she is a Hebrew and the king grants Esther permission to eliminate the law.

Esther appears as a woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adopted father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king 's favors with him for the good of the Jewish people. In short,