Esther

I.                   Place and Time

Set in the Persian Empire approxiamately 483 BC-473BC during the reign of Ahasuerus also know as Xerxes, the son of Darius.

A.                 Timeline

1.                  Babylonian Exile

The siege and exile begins in 597 BC Jerusalem falls in 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon

The exile lasts for 70 years until the reign of Cyrus the Great of Persia

In 538 BC Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Jersalem

In 516 BC the temple is rebuilt

Ezr 6:14-15

They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia. 15 The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.

                Who is missing from this list of kings? Why?

B.                 Characters

1.                  On Scene

Ahasuerus or Xerxes – King of Persia

Vashti – Queen of Persia

Mordecai – Uncle of Esther

Esther or Hadassah – Queen of Persia after Vashti

Haman – Advisor to the King, Author of plot to destroy Jews

2.                   Behind the Scenes

God and His covenant with Israel

Discuss the basic character of each person. Watch for how they develop as the story unfolds.

C.                 Characteristics of the Book

1.                   Religion and Worship during the diaspora

With the destruction of the temple, emphasis shifted from prayer and sacrifice in the temple to scripture (specifically the Torah), and the keeping of the law which would set the Jews apart from the pagan culture around them.

We see the rise of the synagogue and the scribes, whose job was to learn and interpret the Torah. The Jews were a minority faith that could no longer depend on the priests or the king to preserve correct worship.

Which laws would most likely set them apart from the culture around them?