The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. Surely there were many people who would have knowledge of persian customs and jewish scriptures. He will assume that the reader has already read the preceding article on this topic, the true purim and the untold truth, for the only purpose of a better understanding of this study. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. The book of esther in one sense is the most remarkable in the bible, and that is because the name of god is not mentioned in this book at all. If that is the case, the book dates to the 900s bc. Tradition says mordechai wrote the book of esther, but surely he wouldnt have gotten the timing of his own expulsion a century wrong. Josephus affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 4. The following dates are not always exact but are very good estimates. Ezranehemiah they are treated as a single book in the talmud, josephus, and the canon of melito ad 171. According to rashi on chapter 9, verse 20 of the book, mordecai was the author. And mordechai inscribed these things and sent letters to all the jews. Introduction from the niv study bible go to esther. The book of esther describes the jewish heroine esther and is the source of the.
This means it took roughly more than 1,200 years to write the only bible available to. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. Queen esther petitioned the sages to have it included in scripture. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Now in shushan the palace there was a certain jew, whose name was mordechai who had been carried away from jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with. Although it is never said who wrote the book of esther, from inside evidence it is possible to make some guesses about the author and when it was written. Included are the writings of moses, the apostles paul and john. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the kings service, bred from the royal stud. The book of esther does not specifically name its author. These bible writers wrote as they were inspired by the holy spirit see 2 timothy 3. It is generally thought to have been mordechai who wrote the book of esther. Traditionally, it was assumed that the book of esther was the product of an. This story is an historical interpretation of the life of queen esther along with the lives of the jewish people.
Part of a larger story both these plots are episodes in a larger plot. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. Joshua wrote the book of joshua, until his death, at which point the high priests eleazar and phinehas picked up the narrative. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Humanly speaking, the bible was written by approximately 40 men of diverse backgrounds over the course of 1500 years. The book of esther was likely written between 460 and 350 b.
According to recent research the book of esther was written in the middle of the. The next answers to the question of who wrote the bible come from the books of joshua, judges, samuel, and kings, generally believed to have been written during the babylonian captivity in the middle of the sixth century b. The book of psalms not only contains the shortest and longest chapters of scripture, but also the very center of the bible. Biblical scholars say that the book of esther was written as a novel in the second century bce. The present author will keep this approach in this study as well, in order to find the answer to the question. Some bible scholars have suggested these possible authors.
Many people contributed to the writing of the bible. The author was a jew, because he where the jewish festival came from and from the. Moses may have compiled the book based on jobs records psalms, written by david, and several others including asaph, ezra, the sons of korah, heman, ethan, moses and a host of unnamed authors proverbs, written by solomon. Others would argue for an unknown author, and put the date of composition around 390 bc. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. Agur and lemuel are specifically named as the writers of proverbs 30 and 31. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the. And mordechai inscribed these things and sent letters to all the.
The italian renaissance poet lucrezia tornabuoni chose esther as one of biblical figures on which she wrote poetry. The book was written no earlier than 470 bc and probably no later than 424 bc, during the reign of xerxes son artaxerxes. Rashi, who is invariably loyal to the words of the talmudsages, is not debating the talmud which ascribes esther to the men of the great assembly. Moses was the first person to write portions of scripture while john, the disciple of jesus, was the last. Open up a megillah book of esther and read the following two quotes. Now in shushan the palace there was a certain jew, whose name was mordechai who had been carried away from jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with jeconiah king of judah, whom nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had carried away esther 2. The book was written no earlier than 470 bc and probably no later than 424 bc, during. The pentateuch the first five books by moses would have been written after the time of the patriarchs, so job would be, by default, the oldest book in the bible. Jesus told his disciples, after his resurrection, that what happened to him was prophecied to.
Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. The bible book of esther contains powerful examples of faith and courage and a demonstration of gods ability to deliver his people out of trials. Also called the books of writings include the following books. The first five books of the bible are known by various names. The book of esther says mordechai was exiled from judah with king jeconiah.
Matt slick is the president and founder of the christian apologetics. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Samuel, the talmud says, wrote the book of judges and the. Tracing the history of the book of esther and jewish festival purim. The babylonian talmud attributes the writing of esther to the men of the great synagogue. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is. Books of the bible list with the name of each book, the writer, place written, and time covered. Some rabbinic circles also affirmed that mordecai wrote the book of esther 5. It is clear that the author was a jew, both from his emphasis on the origin of a jewish festival and. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. Malachi authored the last book included as part of the canonized old testament around 400 b.
The book of job was written 400 years before moses in a land east of edam. However, the talmud in baba batra 15a ascribes the book. Esther is the only book in the bible not to mention the name of god. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide. Even though the book of esther is only ten chapters, it contains many rich themes. This sacred text takes place in 486 bc, when king xerxes i ruled persia. Intro to esther biblica the international bible society. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls. In fact, the bible is a diverse collection of writings from about 40 main contributors30 in the old testament and 10 in the new testament. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. Isaiah was a prophet, ezra was a priest, matthew was a taxcollector, john was a fisherman, paul was a tentmaker.
The bible gives guidance in our journey through life to eternity, as well as leads us to a. A literary masterpiece of the english language, the original king james bible is. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author and the date of composition. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings, and also appears in the protestant canon and in the roman catholic canon. The most popular traditions are mordecai a major character in the book of esther, ezra, and nehemiah who would have been familiar with persian customs.
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