Esther, who bore the Hebrew name Hadassah, was a Jewish woman of the Persian exile who became queen to King Ahasuerus and, at the risk of her own life, interceded with the king to avert the destruction of her people. Her story is told in the biblical Book of Esther, set in the Achaemenid Empire whose capital was Susa (Shushan); the king is commonly identified with Xerxes I. Orphaned in her youth, she was raised by her cousin Mordecai and, on his counsel, concealed her Jewish heritage when she was taken into the royal household.
The Orthodox Church numbers her among the Holy Forefathers — the righteous ancestors of Christ according to the flesh who lived before and under the Law — commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ. In Christian tradition she has also been read typologically as a foreshadowing of the Virgin Mary, the queen who intercedes on behalf of her people.
Reign of AhasuerusRaised to queenAfter King Ahasuerus deposed his queen Vashti, young women were gathered to the palace at Susa, and Esther was chosen and crowned queen. Following Mordecai's instruction, she did not disclose that she was Jewish.
Haman's decreeThe plot against the JewsThe king's vizier Haman, enraged that Mordecai would not bow to him, obtained royal permission to destroy all the Jews of the empire and, casting lots ('purim'), fixed the slaughter for the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.
The intercessionApproaching the kingUrged by Mordecai to plead for her people, Esther fasted for three days and then approached the king unsummoned — an act that risked death — and invited him and Haman to two banquets.
The reversalHaman's downfall and the deliveranceAt the banquet Esther disclosed her Jewish identity and exposed Haman's scheme; the king ordered Haman hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Unable to revoke his earlier decree, the king issued a new one permitting the Jews to defend themselves, and on the thirteenth of Adar they prevailed over their enemies.
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Setting and Sources
The narrative unfolds across the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, with the action centered at the capital Susa. Mainstream scholarship reads the book as a historical novella composed to explain the origin of the festival of Purim, while noting its accurate familiarity with Persian court customs. The Book of Esther is distinctive among the books of the Hebrew Bible as one of only two that never explicitly name God, a feature traditionally understood as portraying divine providence working hiddenly through ordinary events.
In the Hebrew canon the book stands among the Writings (Ketuvim) as one of the Five Megillot. The Septuagint, the Greek text received in the Orthodox Church, contains six additional passages (the Additions to Esther), including a prologue recounting a dream of Mordecai, the texts of the royal decrees, and prayers placed in the mouths of Mordecai and Esther.
Legacy
The deliverance of the Jews under Esther and Mordecai gave rise to the annual feast of Purim, whose name derives from the lots ('purim') Haman cast to set the date of the intended destruction. The Orthodox Church commemorates Esther among the Old Testament righteous ancestors of Christ honored on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers before the Nativity, alongside such figures as the patriarchs, the prophets, and the other righteous women of the Old Covenant.
Notes
Among the Holy Forefathers, commemorated on the Sunday before the Nativity of Christ.
Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints
