Bart Ehrman
For a great explanation of the Book of Esther, see Bart Ehrman’s post Another Fantastic Scriptural Short Story: Esther – December 19, 2021. The italicized paragraphs below were extracted from that post.
The book of Esther is another short story with a woman as the main character, and it too is about an intermarriage of a Jew and a non-Jew. But in this case it is Esther who is the Jew; her husband is a pagan figure of rather grand importance. He is, in fact, the King of Persia.
One of the most startling features of the book of Esther is that even though it is about the protection and salvation of the Jewish people from certain destruction, there is almost nothing Jewish about the story per se. By that I mean that unlike all the other narratives we have considered (think of the stories of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Ezra, even Ruth), there is no reference to the Jewish Ancestors, to Moses, to the Torah, to the covenant, or to Jerusalem in this book. Even more, God is never mentioned. Not once! This has startled not a few readers.
At the same time, the narrative can easily be read as providentially, divinely driven. Without God being mentioned, one can easily think of God as working behind the scenes, through human action, to protect and deliver his people. In this case he does so through a woman’s bold and daring use of her good looks, sexuality, and influence.
Christine Hayes
Below was extracted from the Transcript of Christine Hayes’ Lecture 24 in the Yale Series, RLST 145: Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)
But for all of that there are some very important and striking themes in the story. First, there’s the ethnic element of Jewish identity, rather than religious, that comes to the fore in the book of Esther. The presentation is secular, the Jews are described as a people, an ethnos. Esther is fully assimilated to her gentile environment. Unlike Daniel, who prays towards Jerusalem daily in the court of the king and observes the dietary laws in the court of the king, we hear nothing like this about Esther at all.
There’s also a very human and very anti-apocalyptic message in this story. It gives expression to the conviction that solidarity and heroic resistance are necessary in the face of overwhelming anti-Jewish aggression to ensure Jewish survival. This, according to the book of Esther, so different from the book of Daniel, is the lesson to be learned from Israel’s history.
If the book of Esther presents one alternative to the post-exilic eschatologies in which Yahweh’s enemies are afflicted and consumed for their wickedness, then the book of Jonah offers another perspective.
Joel Baden
Below was extracted from Joel Baden’s Week 7, Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, and Esther
From Part 1’s Study Guide here.
Setting the Scene – The book of Esther takes place in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes. There were multiple Persian Kings named Xerxes, however, so it is unclear which Xerxes is referenced. This story centers Jewish experience in the diaspora. The period of Babylonian exile had ended and many Jews had already returned to the land of Israel. Yet the Jewish characters in Esther’s narrative appear to be assimilated within Persian culture.
From Part 2’s Study Guide here
God, Gender and Diaspora – God is never explicitly mentioned in the book of Esther. A Rabbinic reading might say that “God is everywhere, but God is concealed.” Yet there are no coincidences in Esther. Everything seems to happen because of the characters’ own agency and decision-making. Others read this story within its second temple period context, saying that God is not actually present here, but is instead in Jerusalem with the temple and God’s people.
The text centers female characters and agency within the plot, which can be interpreted through a feminist lens. It is possible, however, that the book of Esther uses gender more so as a model to talk about “otherness” in Jewish diasporic life. Jewish experience is at the center of this text, as well as the kinds of strategies and anxieties that are required to live as a subordinate. It is a story of negotiating oppression and, ultimately, survival.
Sidnie White Crawford
From Esther: Bible by Sidnie White Crawford, updated by Joshua Aaron Alfaro, June 23, 2021, here.
The apparent irreligiosity of the book has been a source of puzzlement as well as critique for many of its readers. Although very popular among the Jewish people, especially because of its connection with the festival of Purim, its status as a holy book was called into question due to its lack of the divine name of God. The rabbis were troubled by Esther’s failure to live as a Jew: she has sexual intercourse with and marries a Gentile, lives in the Persian court, and does not follow Jewish dietary laws (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, tries to remedy this by adding prayers and repeatedly invoking God, as well as having Esther declare that she loathes her present lifestyle). In addition, Esther has been taken to task by both female and male commentators for her apparent willingness to participate in Persian harem customs, and by Christian commentators for her evident bloodthirstiness in destroying Gentiles (Esth 9:1–15)*. All of these criticisms continue to provoke discussion about the purpose of the book.
The Purpose of the Book of Esther
The purpose of the Book of Esther is open to different interpretations. It can be understood as commending human responsibility instead of misguided dependence on God: the Jews in the book must take matters into their own hands to preserve their existence, rather than wait for God to act. Alternatively, despite not mentioning God directly, the many apparent “coincidences” in the book have often been seen as alluding to God working behind the scenes of history. Still another interpretation of the book views its message as an implied critique of diaspora Jews who have become assimilated to the culture around them, disregarded traditional Jewish law, and neglected God, yet are nevertheless destined to overcome their enemies.
‘*’ Ester 9 is about “The Jews Destroy Their Enemies” (NRSV’s Chapter title). The armed Jews killed hundreds as well as the 10 sons of Haman.
Marg Mowczko
She has a 4-part blog post that begins with Esther’s Story (1): Setting the Scene.
