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Haddassah, more commonly known as Esther (אֶסְתֵּר, Standard Hebrew Ester, Tiberian Hebrew ʾEstēr) was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her.
The name
According to the Book of Esther she was a Jewish woman originally named Hadassah. When she entered the royal harem she received the name Esther by which she was henceforth known. Hadassah means "myrtle" in Hebrew and the name Esther is most likely related to the Median word for myrtle, astra, and the Persian word setareh meaning star — the myrtle blossom resembles a twinkling star.
Esther can also be understood to mean "hidden" in Hebrew, and her name is interpreted thus in Midrash, where it is told that Esther hid her nationality and lineage as Mordecai had advised. In addition God's workings are hidden in the events of the Book of Esther even though he is never mentioned explicitly. Therefore, in Hebrew, "The Book of Esther" can be understood as "The Book of Hiddenness," representing God's hiddenness in the story.
The Targum provides another Midrashic explanation claiming that she was as beautiful as the Evening Star, which is astara in Greek. Critics of the historicity of the Book of Esther attempt to derive the name from Ishtar, the pagan goddess associated with the Evening Star, although the usual Hebrew rendition of the latter name is the phonetically unrelated Ashtoreth. (Although the Semitic name Ishtar resembles Indo-European words for star, the words are not related, the Semitic root beginning with a gutteral ayin and the sh sound deriving from an earlier th sound.)
The story
Esther was the daughter of Abihail, a Benjamite. She resided with her cousin Mordecai, who held some office in the household of the Persian king at "Shushan in the palace."
Ahasuerus, having rid himself of Vashti, chose Esther to be his wife and queen. Soon after this he gave Haman the Agagite, his prime minister, power and authority. Haman without the kings knowledge plans to kill and extirpate all the Jews throughout the Persian empire. This attempted genocide was averted when Esther reveals this to the king and the king gives the Jews license to defend themselves against all who try to kill them. The king orders Haman and his 10 sons to be hanged on the gallows, just as Haman had planned for Mordecai. The fight begins on the 13th of Adar and thousands lost their lifes from both sides across the empire, the other side being enemies of the jews from various nations.
Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their wonderful deliverance. According to traditional Jewish dating this took place about fifty-two years after the Return.
Esther appears in the Bible 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 favour with him for the good of the Jewish people. That she was raised up as an instrument in the hand of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and to afford them protection and forward their wealth and peace in their captivity, is manifest from the Scripture account.
For a discussion of the historicity of Esther, see Book of Esther.
Modern retelling
In 1718 Handel wrote an oratorio Esther based on a play by Jean Racine.
The play entitled Esther (1960) written by Welsh dramatist Saunders Lewis is a retelling of the story in the Welsh language.
A movie about the story: Esther and the king
There is a fictional book by Rebecca Kohn called "The Gilded Chamber" that retells the story of Queen Esther.
A 1978 miniseries entitled "The Greatest Heroes of the Bible" starred Victoria Principal as Esther, Robert Mandan as Xerxes, and Michael Ansara as Haman.
A movie that reflects the exact words from the bible: Esther
In 2001, VeggieTales, a company that uses CGI vegetables to teach children lessons from the Bible in a comical way, released Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen, which retells the story of Esther. A movie about Esther and Ahasuerus, entitled The Call of Destiny, is rescheduled for a 2006 release.
See also
Jewish prophets | Tanakh people | Achaemenid dynasty | Persian queen consorts
External links
Königin Ester | Ester | Ester | Esther (Bible) | אסתר המלכה | エステル (人物) | Estér | Ester
"Esther"