Queen Esther

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Esther and Mardochai, steel engraving after a painting by Aert de Gelder

Queen Ester ( Hebrew : אֶסְתֵּר, 'Ester , German spelling also Esther ) is a Jewish orphan (father: Abihajil) with the Hebrew name Hadassa (Hebrew "myrtle, myrtle shrub"), adopted daughter of her cousin Mordechai , according to the Old Testament book of Esther in the 5th century BC Chr. In the Persian Diaspora lived and wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus ( Xerxes I ) was.

history

The biblical story in the Book of Esther describes the reversal of a planned genocide (genocide) against the Jews in the Persian Empire : the king and his court feel offended by the disobedient behavior of Queen Vashti . Waschti is expelled from the court. Virgos are selected from which a new queen is to be chosen. The orphan Ester is also brought to the palace as a possible queen. Her grace makes her the new wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus, but hides her Jewish ancestry, as her cousin Mordechai has ordered.

Mordecai has a post at the gate of the royal palace. He overheard the king's bodyguards who are planning to murder him. With Ester's help, he warns the king and thus wins his favor.

However, Mordechai is a thorn in the side of the highest government official, Haman , because he is unwilling to bow to him . Haman is called "Agagite" and is therefore probably the descendant of the Amalekites (cf. Agag ), a people who have been hostile to Israel since the Exodus . Out of anger at Mordechai, Haman takes advantage of the king's trust and convinces him to destroy the Jewish people in the Persian Empire, because their rites and laws supposedly do not match the other peoples. With a royal seal it is proclaimed throughout the empire that on the 13th day of the 12th month ( Adar ) the Jewish population, including their children, is outlawed and may be destroyed.

Esther learns that Mordechai, wrapped in mourning clothes, laments the coming catastrophe in the middle of Susa (one of the three residential cities of Persia). She sends messengers to him to find out why. Mordechai calls on them to stand up for their people with the great king. Since the court protocol provides for the death penalty in the event of an unauthorized appearance before the king, she initially hesitates, but then takes the risk.

The king is gracious, listens to Ester's story and realizes that Haman has abused his trust. He does not want the people of the man who once saved him from death to be destroyed in his name. Haman is immediately hung on the gallows that he had set up for Mordechai.

Jewish mausoleum of Esther, the wife of Xerxes I , and Mordechai , Hamadan , Iran

The first royal decree, however, cannot be withdrawn, not even by the king himself. Esther and Mordechai, meanwhile empowered with a royal seal, therefore issue a second decree that allows the Jews to fight for their lives on the same 13th Adar themselves now for their part to destroy their enemies. In contrast to Haman's previous decree, this news brings joy and jubilation in Susa. At the direction of Mordechai, the Jews gather in all cities and kill their enemies with the sword. Intimidated by the second decree, nobody dares to obey Haman's decree and oppose the Jews. Out of fear, many non-Jews even profess Judaism ( Est 8.17  EU ) - or “pretended to be Jews” (the latter corresponds better to the Hebrew text). On Adar 13, 500 men, the ten sons of Haman and 75,000 other men in all 127 provinces are killed in Susa. Esther asks the king to extend the validity of the edict in Susa by one day, whereupon another 300 men are killed in Susa on Adar 14. The planned genocide of the Jews turns into a mass murder of the enemies of the Jews. The text emphasizes that the Jews did not get rich from the property of the enemy they killed. There is also no mention of the killing of women and children. Both were provided for in the first decree against the Jews. In view of the total population at the time, this crowd seems very large.

The Jews celebrate the festival of Purim to commemorate their rescue by Esther . Purim (plural of Hebrew pure ) means "lots". Haman consulted a lottery oracle to determine when the Jews were exterminated. But the oracle was fulfilled in the opposite form.

The figure of Esther also appears in pictorial representations of the Nine Good Heroines , she is a representative of Judaism in this iconographic series.

Historical classification

A Jewish wife of the Persian king Xerxes I is as little verifiable as Waschti and her repudiation. Other motifs in the narrative also do not fit into the historical context or seem rather magical.

A relationship with the name of the Babylonian / Assyrian Ishtar (and thus the name of the Syrian / Canaanite goddess Astarte ) is not to be assumed, since the story of the book does not take place in Iraq, but in Persia (more precisely: in the Persian capital Susa ).

A more detailed consideration of the historical classification can be found in the article Book of Esther .

Remembrance day

Catholic feast day is May 24th ; this is also the day of remembrance on the calendar of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod . On the penultimate Sunday in Advent , the Orthodox Church commemorates Esther, who here, unlike in the Roman Catholic Church, is considered a saint.

literature

filming

Web links

Commons : Esther  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Queen Esther
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hadassa (Hebrew)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I)
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century BC BC or 5th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 5th century BC BC or 4th century BC Chr.