An Overview of the Book of Esther

The book of Esther is a harrowing story of God’s faithfulness and love, but with God Himself seemingly absent. But is God actually absent in this Old Testament book? Of course not. Learn more about the book of Esther below.

Who Wrote the Book of Esther and When Was It Written?

The book of Esther was apparently compiled from several different sources. This is not to say that the book is exclusively the product of human activity, but rather that the writer-compiler(s) was superintended by the Holy Spirit to express the precise meaning that God intended. Evidence of this compilatory aspect of Esther (even if the compiling and writing were undertaken by one person) is suggested by: (1) the relating of the specific content and procedural enactment of royal decrees (3:12-15; 8:9-13); (2) the references to various events in the book being recorded in the royal “chronicles” (2:23; 6:1-2; 10:2); and (3) the references to Purim (the holiday commemorating the redemptive events in Esther) as a well-established, yearly “custom” (9:19, 27-28), implying the passing of some time since the initial recording of the events.

Nevertheless, several facts show that the book was compiled or written during the Persian period (559–330 BC). Although many scholars say that the book is primarily a fictional narrative written during the period of Greek rule over Judaea (330–63 BC), the following reasons argue for a date in the Persian period. (1) The writer-compiler(s) clearly had intimate knowledge of administrative practice and life in the Persian court. (2) The Hebrew of Esther is similar to that of the other Persian-period narratives in Ezra-Nehemiah (originally one book) and Chronicles. (3) More Persian loanwords are in Esther than in any other Bible book (i.e., about 60 Persian words for the book’s 165 verses. (4) The book has a few syntactical Persianisms, instances in which a Hebrew phrase is constructed in a manner reflective of either Old Persian or Persian Aramaic syntax, as in the expression “invited by her” (qaru’ lah) in 5:12, the omission of the definite article from “Pur” in 3:7, and the double entendre of Haman’s request in 6:8 (for the details, see comments there).

According to early Jewish tradition, Esther (along with Ezekiel, the Minor Prophets, and Daniel) was “written down” by “the men of the Great Synagogue” (Babylonian Talmud, Bava’ Batra’ 15a), a Persian-period institution traditionally ascribed to (i.e., founded by) Ezra.

What Is the Purpose of the Book of Esther?

Most conservative scholars conclude that the purpose of Esther is to highlight the providence of God, that is, God’s sovereign ability to provide for His people. If, however, one takes the rest of Scripture into account, it becomes apparent that the goal, of the book is to express His faithfulness—all the more so, since the benefactors of His faithfulness, Israel, are in the land of their exile on account of their sins. God is faithful in upholding His unconditional covenant with Abraham, in blessing His people Israel (Gn 12:1-3; Jr 31:36; Zch 3:9; 12:10) and to “all families of the earth” (Gn 12:3; Gl 3:8). The latter is seen in the mass conversion by Gentiles from multiple ethnicities in Est 8:17: “And many among the peoples of the land became Jews” (without question describing a religious conversion). Of course, God’s providence is present in the book, but His providence is both founded on and directed toward the expression of His covenant faithfulness.

What is the Background of the Book of Esther?

The book of Esther is among the most—if not in fact the most—disparaged book in the Bible with respect to its canonicity and inspiration. That is due in no small part to Esther being the only book of the Bible that has no explicit reference to God. In the writings of the early church fathers Esther is often simply ignored. Yet among later writers appears the statement by Martin Luther (AD 1483–1546) in his De servo arbitrio (ed. Jena, 3:182) that, “though they [i.e., the Jews] have this (book) in the canon, in my judgment it deserves more than all to be excluded from the canon.” And Franz Delitzsch stated that “in the book of Esther we perceive nothing of the impulses which the exile was to give to the people in the direction of the New Testament, nothing of prophetic afflation” (Old Testament History of Redemption [Edinburgh: Clark, 1881], 158-59).

The first piece of evidence that Esther was not yet considered canonical in the first century is derived from the Babylonian Talmud, a collection of ancient rabbinic legal discussions (codified around AD 500). The evidence consists of two statements in which a dissenting opinion is given either about Esther’s canonicity (in B. Tal. Megilla 7a, by Rav Samuel—who nonetheless affirms Esther’s inspiration) or its sanctity (in B. Tal. Sanhedrin 100a—though this may also simply be a question of canonicity, not inspiration—by Rav Levi bar Samuel and Rav Huna bar Hiyya). In both instances, however, these dissenting opinions by ancient rabbis are clearly presented as unacceptable—in the first instance because it contradicts the established view of the older rabbinic majority, and in the second instance because it is immediately dismissed as heretical by the principal rabbi (i.e., Rav Judah bar Ezekiel). Moreover, both of these dissenting opinions, which stem from the third century AD, run contrary to the older (i.e., no later than the second century) talmudic statement explicitly listing Esther among the accepted canonical books in B. Tal. Bava’ Batra’ 14b (and by implication in the first-century sources represented by Josephus in his Against Apion i.37-43, and the apocryphal work 2 Esdras 14:45-46).

The second main piece of evidence suggesting Esther’s unestablished canonicity at the time of Christ is its absence from the biblical fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, among which every other one of the 39 books of the Old Testament (enumerated as 24 books in Jewish tradition) is represented. However, in addition to the obvious weakness of such “evidence,” a careful study of the parabiblical Scrolls (i.e., apocryphal and apocrypha-like works based on the figures and events contained in the canonical books) reveals that Esther was in all likelihood viewed as canonical by the Dead Sea Scrolls community. Among such parabiblical scrolls is a work that is apparently based on the book of Esther and

intended to be read as a (fictional) “prequel” to it. Since such apocrypha-type works are based, as a rule, on recognized canonical books, the implication of such a “prequel” is that Esther was indeed viewed as canonical. These factors indicate that the book of Esther is inspired by God and deserves to be included in the Hebrew canon.

Where Is God in the Book of Esther?

As biblical scholar Michael Rydelnik writes, God is not mentioned explicitly in the book of Esther. So, how are we supposed to find Him there? Here are some ways to look for (and find) God in the book of Esther.

Finding God in Hiding

The Mosaic Foundation

As is well known, Esther is the only book of the Bible in which there is no explicit mention of God—either by name or title/common noun. Rather than a “drawback,” however, this may well be an intentional reflection of one of the book’s central points. This omission should be understood as a device meant to underscore God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promise (i.e., threat) to hide His presence (“face,” panim) in the place of Israel’s exile (cf. Dt 31:17; Is 59:2). Moreover, excluding God’s name is a literary strategy used to demonstrate that, even when Israel forgot their God (hence the exclusion of His name), God did not forget Israel, and acted covertly through His providence to show His covenant faithfulness.

The Terminological Allusion

This theme of God hiding His “presence” is borne out on a terminological level by the unmistakable similarity between the name of the book’s central protagonist—’ester (“Esther”)—and the phrase by which God expressed His threat—’astir (“I will hide”; Dt 31:18; cf. Ezk 39:23-24). Moreover, the Hebrew consonants of these two terms makes them almost identical, as the name “Esther” was ’str and the phrase “I will hide,” ’styr. This similarity, as a reminder that God (both in name and in deed) is meant to be hidden in the book, was recognized and affirmed early in Jewish interpretive history, as attested in the Babylonian Talmud Chullin 139b.

Finding God in Israel’s Deliverance

The Abrahamic Foundation

The book’s central narrative event of the deliverance of the Jewish people from complete annihilation by Haman’s decree (3:13) is itself a testimony to God’s active involvement in the events described. The divine orchestration of Israel’s deliverance in Esther is also borne out by the clear, compelling, and unquestionably intentional parallels between the various elements, both textual and historical, surrounding that deliverance and those surrounding God’s first covenant-motivated deliverance of the nation as recorded in the book of Exodus.

The Exodus Connection

The book of Esther has clear signs that it is meant to be viewed as a parallel to the deliverance narrative in Exodus.

The close parallels between Esther and the Exodus narrative show that the two were meant to be juxtaposed. Parallels are seen in content (including phraseology), and in the festal commemoration of the narrative events. Content parallels include the following:

• Both narratives concern the comprehensive deliverance of the entire Jewish people, set outside the promised land.
• In both narratives the deliverance comes through a specific Jewish individual strategically placed in the Gentile king’s own family (Moses and Esther) with the assistance of an immediate family member (Aaron and Mordecai).
• In both narratives the key protagonist is initially hesitant to mediate the deliverance (Ex 3:11; 4:13; Est 4:11-14).
• Both narratives are peppered throughout with references to either the key protagonist or Israel as a whole enjoying “favor” (hen) or “grace” (chesed) with the king, key officials, or the Gentiles at large—with the consistent difference that in Exodus God is explicitly identified as the one “granting” (natan) that favor (Ex 3:21; 11:3; 12:36), whereas in Esther it is always “found” (naśa’ or masa’) by the benefactor (Est 2:9, 15, 17; 5:2; 8:5).
• In both narratives the “turning point” from affliction to deliverance is initiated in the same month, apparently on the same day of that month (i.e., Nisan 14, underscoring as well the uniquely shared typology of these two events.
• In both narratives the deliverance of the Jewish people results in the large-scale evangelism and/or proselytism of Gentiles to faith in the true God (Ex 12:38; Est 8:17).

Festal parallels include the following:

• The feasts elaborated by the two narratives—i.e., Passover (Unleavened Bread) and Purim—are the only yearly feasts (of eight in the Hebrew Bible) commemorating past events of deliverance of the Jewish people.
• Passover (Unleavened Bread) and Purim are the only yearly feasts celebrated in the months of Nisan and Adar, which are juxtaposed by virtue of their being the first and last (12th) months, respectively.
• Passover and Purim are the only yearly feasts that are celebrated on the 14th day of any month (see Ex 12:18; Est 9:19).

Thus linked, the two feasts may be seen as

“mirrored bookends,” occurring as they do on the same day in the first and last month of the Jewish calendar, at opposite ends of Israelite biblical history (and of the traditional Jewish canon). In this way they call attention to the year-round—and hence “circular” or unending—faithfulness of God toward the people He has sworn eternally to preserve.

Finding God in Queen Esther

The Typological Starting Point

There is no direct messianic prophecy in Esther, which is consistent with God’s promise/threat to “hide” His presence through a prophet or supernatural phenomena. This does not mean, however, that Esther has no contribution to the presentation of the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible. In fact it must have something to say about the Messiah, as is clear in Lk 24:27, that “He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (italics added). Since the Scriptures of Jesus’ day included Esther, it logically follows from this statement that there is something “concerning Himself ” in the book of Esther. If it is not in the form of direct, or verbatim, prophecy, then it must be in the form of indirect or non-verbatim prophecy—what is designated by the expressions “shadows” (Heb 10:1) or “types” (Heb 11:19). The specific presence of such “shadows” or “types” in Esther is further indicated by Paul’s statement in Col 2:16–17 regarding all of Israel’s holy days: “Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to . . . a festival [heortes] or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow [skia] of what is to come, but the substance [soma; lit., “body”] belongs to Christ.” Since Purim is one of Israel’s eight yearly “festivals” (to which the Gk. term heorte is clearly applied in the LXX, cf. Lv 23) so must the events underlying that feast as described in Esther contain prophetic “shadows” that outline the “substance” belonging to Messiah.

The Typology

The “shadows” or “types” in the book of Esther that center on the protagonist herself may be summarily presented in the following seven pairs of “shadow” and “substance” (all of which, except the first pair, are discussed in detail by the present writer in Bibliotheca Sacra 154 [1997], 275–84).