![]() ![]() It is the only book in the biblical canon that is overtly political, in which God’s role is inferred rather than explicit. For another, God is never mentioned in the entire book. True, Esther is all but Mordechai’s puppet in the palace, but she shows courage in the face of danger, and she saves an entire people from certain death. For one thing, a woman plays the central role. ![]() And it is a wonderful and altogether unusual story to be included in the Hebrew Bible. The story exists for reasons other than verisimilitude. ![]() There is no extra-biblical proof for the events recorded in the book of Esther: no decree for the extermination of the Jews, nor any evidence of the killing spree that the Jews supposedly indulged in once Haman is found out and hanged. The story is full of deception and intrigue: Esther, whose Hebrew name is Hadassah, doesn’t let on that she’s a Jew until the climactic moment when she reveals Haman for the scoundrel he is palace guards plot to kill the king, only to be thwarted by Mordechai, Esther’s uncle and guardian Haman, a deeply anti-Semitic man (if such a word even applies to biblical-era Persia), has to parade Mordechai through the streets, proclaiming the king’s gratitude. The biblical book of Esther tells the story of a beautiful Jewish girl who marries the king of Persia and is able to save all the Jews from the evil plot cooked up by Haman, the king’s chief advisor. ![]() Hadassah: One Night with the King - book review ![]()
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