Writings
אֶסְתֵּר
Esther
A court tale of reversal in which God is never named.
Hebrew nameEster, meaning estherChapters10Position8 of 11 in Writings
What is in it
A Persian king, a beauty contest, a genocidal plot, and a woman with no real power who uses the access she has. Every element that looks like a coincidence turns out to matter.
It is the source of Purim, and the only book in the Hebrew Bible that never mentions God, which readers have found either a scandal or the whole point.
If you read one chapter
Esther 4
The chapter where she decides, and the line about such a time as this.
Passages worth knowing
- Esther 3:7The lot cast, which gives the festival its name.
- Esther 4:13 to 17Who knoweth whether thou art come for such a time as this.
- Esther 6A sleepless night, and the reversal turning.
- Esther 9:20 to 32The festival established by letter and agreement.
Questions to sit with
- 01
God is never named. Does that make the deliverance more or less pointed?
- 02
Chapter 9 is violent. What do you do with an ending you would rather skip?