As with most of the ot writings the author of the book of esther esther meaning star is not mentioned. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. Read esther 1 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. During world war ii she spent 21 months in a japanese concentration camp as a prisoner. The thing that makes the book of esther so fascinating is this is our story. In the hebrew bible the book of esther is placed in the third main part, that is the writings hebr. The book belongs to the socalled five scrolls hebr. Over 100 years earlier, nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had attacked jerusalem. A history of controversy the book of esther is a fascinating story that has a lot of stuff going on that isnt readily apparent to the reader. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole.
The book of esther is counted as an historical book in our english bibles, but in the jewish scriptures it is among the writings. It is one of only two books that has no mention of god in it, the other song of solomon. University, fukuoka, japan and editor of european judaism. Even the name of the book, esther, is significant because that name when translated from the persian means something hidden. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. Despite such questions the book of esther sits comfortably in the hebrew. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. Esther the niv application commentary kindle edition by jobes, karen h download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Introduction from the niv study bible go to esther.
This little gem, tucked away in an obscure corner of the old testament is a very rich book. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon. Thus esther was the only hope for their deliverance. The pride of ahasueruss heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made an extravagant feast. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries. As scripture reveals, esther is a jewish woman living in persia and reared by her cousin mordecai. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading esther the niv application commentary. Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. Read esther commentary using john gills exposition of the bible. His son, artaxerxes figures in the later chapters of ezra and in nehemiah.
It is one of only two bible books named after women, the other is ruth. In addition, according to one opinion esther is already married to mordechai, himself a righteous jew, a prophet and the leader of his generation. The book of esther depicts other citizens living in this section as well. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. He is the persian king who invaded greece and was so badly defeated, 480479 b. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use. An orphan raised by her uncle, young esther was taken against her will as a beautiful virgin to persian king ahasueruss harem. Esther intro to esther biblica the international bible society. Xerxes this is the ahasuerus of the book of esther. Esther commentary john gills exposition of the bible. In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j.
The books of ezra and nehemiah were written during his reign. He eventually chose esther as his queen, and by her influence the jews were saved from destruction. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and the chassidic masters. Adele berlins commentary in the jps series is better suited for a critical look at the hebrew text. The writer of esther clearly intended the book to explain the origin of the celebration of purim, to institutionalize it as a commemoration of the great deliverance of the jews during the persian period see note on esther 9. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on. This slide contain the book of esther and also the bible in many. It is a drama not of fiction, however, but of genuine fact. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons.
We must pay close attention to the text as we continue our study of the book of esther. J sidlow baxter writes that esther is a crisis book. See all of our coronavirus resources here toggle navigation. The jewish historian josephus names mordecai as author of the book. The book of esther is read every year to the assembled congregations of the jewish people in their synagogues to the present day. The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found in the introduction. Such a reading would, however, limit the resources of god, who brought this about, and transplant the. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. Esther the niv application commentary kindle edition.
Ja japanese japanese living bible pdf audio nt jacalteco. Esther is a young and beautiful jewish girl, orphaned but cared for by her. Judaism is the essence of esther and she has no desire to live under further duress by having to maintain her jewish observance in secret, as wife of achashverosh. You can find the best commentary on esther for you using the tools on the right side. All other books of the bible make it obvious who and what is influencing the actions of the characters, namely.
In a satiric portrayal, even a minor domestic disagreement is resolved through a sweeping international edict. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Esther 1 niv queen vashti deposed this is what bible gateway. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. In esther nivac, karen jobes is our guide for an insightful and unexpected look at the book of esthera book brimming with practical lessons, but seemingly without a theology.
Et omnia quae libri hujus, qui vocatur esther, historia continentur. How the providence of god watched over the jews that had returned out of captivity to their own land, and what great and kind things were done for them, we. Ntroduction i the main plot of esther begins in chapter 3, with the description of hamans decree and the developments that follow. The targum says, and by the word of esther all these things relative to purim were confirmed.
It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. As we read esther, we might regard it as a commentary on our own. In 1934 annie became a missionary in china with oms. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. The irrevocable nature of the decree is intended to increase its force, but creates problems if. The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the books. Yet, the books theological message is powerful and shines through the daily faithfulness of esther as she faithfully obeys the god of israel and saves her people. Book of prophecy that reveals gods magnificent plan of salvation through the person and work of jesus christ. Artaxerxes this man was son of xerxes and stepson of esther. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is.
Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. The book of esther is a very realistic commentary on life, and it is possible that its author wanted to make his readers ponder carefully gods involvement in it. We can see how accurately it illustrates what is happening to us when god is at work in the human heart. Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. This is my favorite commentary on any book of holy scripture. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. He was a jew, dwelling in shushan, and upright and intelligent man. Japanese and german children were considered worthy of. Megillah with indepth commentaryside by side version. Jobes volume is best for those seeking a biblicaltheological commentary on the book of esther.
Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. The book is set during the period after the babylonian exile in which the nation of persia present day iran ruled judah. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. But as we are getting close to judging the book of esther unforgivingly. Vashti is sent for by the king, but refuses to come, esther 1.
G campbell morgan on the book of esther there is no situation in human life. The events that the first chapter of the book of esther describes happened about 483 bc before christ. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. He prepared to go on a bombing rain on japoccupied islands. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible.
And all things which are contained in the history of this book, which is called esther. Esther 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. He overcame the jews and he took many jews to babylon. Weibe suggests that this translation fits the context of the book of esther much better than the traditional rendering. The book was originally written in hebrew, but the ancient greek translation known as the septuagint abbreviated lxx is also a very important witness to the text.