Esther

(star) (Esth. 2:7, 9) — formerly called Hadassah (myrtle) — a young and beautiful Jewess, daughter of Abihail, of the tribe of Benjamin, who became queen, consort of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes) Longimanus. Left an orphan in childhood, Esther was raised by her kinsman Mordecai, who held the office of gatekeeper at the royal court in Susa. When Ahasuerus, angered at his consort Vashti, divorced her, beautiful maidens were gathered from the whole kingdom to Susa for the king to choose a wife from among them, and Esther was among them.

On her the king’s choice fell, and she took the place of the discarded Vashti. Not knowing that Esther belonged to the Jewish people, Ahasuerus permitted his chief nobleman, Haman, who hated the Jews, to put to death all the Jews in his kingdom on a certain day and seize their possessions. And since Mordecai openly showed contempt for Haman and did not render him due honor, Haman resolved at once to seek the king’s permission to hang Mordecai, for whom a gallows had already been specially prepared.

But before Haman could obtain this permission, the king recalled Mordecai’s great personal service to him, and learned from those close to him that Mordecai had never been rewarded for his deed; so, the moment Haman appeared before the king, he received orders to honor Mordecai with a special distinction. And so, by the wondrous working of God’s Providence, Haman himself soon perished on the very gallows, while all the Jews were saved from the destruction that had threatened them, and Esther and Mordecai were exalted still further.

All these circumstances are described in detail in the book of Esther. In commemoration of this wondrous deliverance, Mordecai and Esther established, on the 14th and 15th days of the month Adar (Esth. 9:21), the feast of Purim, or “lots,” because Haman had cast lots in choosing the day for the destruction of the Jews (see Purim).