Guide to Esther

From RationalWiki

The Book of Esther is a work from the Tanakah in the Hebrew bible, or the "Old Testament" in the Christian Bible. The book is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim.

[edit] The Story

Esther is a beautiful Jewish women, sent to serve the Persian King Mordichai (who is secretly Jewish, himself). After dumping his first wife for not showing off, Mordichai sees Esther and takes her for his Queen. So, some time passes and Mordichai pisses off another King (Hamon), who in retribution demands that all Jews in Persia be killed cause he figured out Mordichai's religion. Esther and Mordichai's plan is to fast, cause that's worked so well in the past, don't you know. Esther then goes to head King (Ahasuerus) and feeds him. Ahasuerus suffers from insomnia that night, and decides that reading boring court records will put him to sleep. But, in his reading he discovers a plot against Mordichai by Hamon, and eventually plays a "role reversal" trick on Hamon, elevating Mordichai into Hamon's favored place, and of course humiliating Hamon.

So, then the great king Ahasuerus decides to have a feast in Mordichai's honor, and at the feast Esther reveals Hamon's further plot to kill all Jews, and states that both she and Mordichai are Jewish. Ahasuerus in a peak of rage at Hamon, leaves the room, then returns to find Hamon begging in Esther's lap. Ahasuerus determines that Hamon is assaulting Mordichai's queen, so he orders Hamon killed in the very gallows that Hamon had prepared for Mordichai.

[edit] Moral

What goes around comes around, and sometimes a man in a woman's lap is really just begging for his life.

[edit] Babylonian Roots

Like many of the Biblical stories, the similarities of Esther text to Babylonian seasonal myths or the Ugaritic texts suggests that the story was imported into the Hebrew religion. Esther herself is likely a modified version of Ishtar, though she has lost her divinity. Mordichai is likely a linguistic corruption of the Babylonian god, Marduk.