Esther

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.

Esther as imagined by Julia Margaret Cameron . Esther ( Hebrew : אֶסְתֵּר , Modern : Ester , Tiberian : ʼEstēr ), born Hadassah , is the eponymous heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther . According to the Bible she was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus (traditionally identified with Xerxes I ). Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.

Esther ( / ˈ ɛ s t ər / ; Hebrew : אֶסְתֵּר , Modern : Ester , Tiberian : ʼEstēr ), born Hadassah , is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther . According to the Hebrew Bible , Esther was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus . Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I during the time of the Achaemenid empire . Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition.

Biblical Jewish queen of Persia and Medes This article is about the heroine of the Book of Esther. Esther (originally Hadassah ) is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther . In it, Ahasuerus , the king of the Achaemenid Empire , seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti , is deposed for disobeying him. Esther is chosen to fulfill this role due to her beauty. Ahasuerus' grand vizier, Haman , is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian, Mordecai , due to his refusal to prostrate himself before Haman. Consequently, Haman plots to have all the Jewish subjects of Persia killed, and convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing Haman's eradication plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to kill their enemies instead, as royal edicts (including the order for eradication issued by Haman) cannot be revoked under Persian law. The Book of Esther provides the traditional explanation for the Jewish holiday of Purim , celebrated on the date given in the story for when Haman's order was to go into effect, which is the day that the Jews killed their enemies after the plan was reversed. The book exists in two related forms: a shorter Hebrew -sourced version found in Jewish and Protestant Bibles, and a longer Greek -sourced version found in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).

Biblical Jewish queen of Persia and Medes This article is about the heroine of the Book of Esther. Esther ( / ˈ ɛ s t ər / ; Hebrew : אֶסְתֵּר ‎ , romanized : ʾEstēr ), originally Hadassah ( / h ə ˈ d ɑː s ə / ; Hebrew : הֲדַסָּה ‎ , romanized : haˈdasa ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible . According to the biblical narrative, which is supposed to be set in the Achaemenid Empire , the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and marries her. His grand vizier Haman is offended by Esther's cousin and guardian Mordecai because of his refusal to bow before him ; bowing in front of another person was a prominent gesture of respect in Persian society, but deemed unacceptable by Mordecai, who believes that a Jew should only express submissiveness to God . Consequently, Haman plots to have all of Persia's Jews killed, and eventually convinces Ahasuerus to permit him to do so. However, Esther foils the plan by revealing and decrying Haman's plans to Ahasuerus, who then has Haman executed and grants permission to the Jews to take up arms against their enemies; Esther is hailed for her courage and for working to save the Jewish nation from eradication. The Book of Esther's story provides the traditional explanation for Purim , a celebratory Jewish holiday that is observed on the Hebrew date on which Haman's order was to go into effect, which is the day that the Jews killed their enemies after Esther exposed Haman's intentions to her husband, the king. Most scholars agree that the Book of Esther is fictional, likely based on Persian myths or rituals repurposed to explain the Jewish festival of Purim. Two related forms of the Book of Esther exist: a shorter Biblical Hebrew -sourced version found in Jewish and Protestant Bibles, and a longer Koine Greek -sourced version found in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles.