It is erroneous to believe that biblical greek does not have a basic word order just. Esther the book of esther easyenglish bible god is in control esther a commentary by robert bryce. Af, which most scholars regard as later additions to the book. Esther is the name of a book in the tanakh the hebrew bible and the old testament, and also its title heroine. During world war ii she spent 21 months in a japanese concentration camp as a prisoner. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch.
This little gem, tucked away in an obscure corner of the old testament is a very rich book. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. Classical sources such as josephus, the jewish commentary esther rabbah and the. The book of esther has been preserved in ancient texts that diverge greatly from each other. There have been several explanation of this particular translation.
In 1934 annie became a missionary in china with oms. The prayers of esther and mordecai are especially noteworthy. The jews still commemorate this deliverance in the yearly festival purim, on the 14th and 15th of adar february, march. History is wholly silent about both vashti and esther. We might even think that he does not care about us. The book of esther in hebrew is secular in nature, in that the name of god, the temple, and prayer are not mentioned. The greek book of esther, included in the septuagint, is a retelling of the events of the hebrew book of esther rather than a translation and. I have already mentioned brenemans commentary in my post on the top five ezranehemiah commentaries. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. She sent clothes for mordecai to put on instead of the sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Further artificialities are clear in the way characters are paired e. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Esther the niv application commentary kindle edition by jobes, karen h download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Xerxes this is the ahasuerus of the book of esther.
This informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. Instead of a translation, i have rendered the meaning of the verses, in clear and modern english. Esther was originally written in hebrew, which is represented by ch. Keith mathison agrees with the other experts when he says, karen jobes has written the most engaging, interesting, and helpful commentary on the book of esther presently available. The book belongs to the socalled five scrolls hebr. Esther 1 easy english bible easy 1 this happened when king xerxes ruled over 127 parts of the kingdom of persia. The book of esther does not mention the name of god. Jon levenson capably guides readers through both versions, demonstrating their coherence and their differences. However, sometimes ezra calls them the people of israel. The book of esther is about a jewish girl adopted by her uncle, mordecai, after her parents died. God saves the jews esther the book of esther easyenglish bible god is in control esther a commentary by robert bryce short outline of esther. There are a number of other helpful commentaries on the book of esther. Esther ebd the queen of ahasuerus, and heroine of the book that bears her name. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history.
Christian commentaries on the book began to emerge in the later medieval period, they were. On the day that the enemies of the jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the jews themselves overpowered those who. Esther 8 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. He eventually chose esther as his queen, and by her influence the jews were saved from destruction. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control. Violence and the survival of israel in the book of esther. His predecessor was king darius 522485 bc who is mentioned in ezra 4. The events of the book of esther occurred during the reign of king ahasuerus, xerxes i. The information structure of the book of esther in the septuagint by. The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the book s.
Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use. He took esther as the new persian queen, not knowing she was an israelite. Jun 24, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The new jerome biblical commentarys njbc considerable detail, its comprehensiveness, and the arrangement of the books of the bible generally by the estimated date of the composition of each book make it not quite as easy to use as the oxford bible commentary or the harpercollins bible commentary, but the conclusions reached in each books. The book of esther page 2languages the literal, physical heart in literature is a reference to the thinking portion of a persons soul. The book of esther is renowned for its literary artistry, which functions as the principal vehicle for the books.
Watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. See all of our coronavirus resources here toggle navigation. Esther says to the christian that antijewish hostility is intolerable to god. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. She was a jewess named hadassah the myrtle, but when she entered the royal harem she received the name by which she henceforth became known. Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the kings command and his decree to be executed. God gave jacob the name israel when he promised to make jacob s descendants god s special people genesis 32. She commanded him to find out what was bothering mordecai, and why.
I always appreciate it when there is clear consensus on the best commentary on any given book of the bible. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. Book of esther simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The working preacher team believes that god uses good biblical preaching to change lives. Esther free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and. He that will lose his life for god, shall save it, or find it in a better life. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries.
Most of the families who returned from exile were originally from judah. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on. Yet i myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days. Overview of the book of esther third millennium ministries. We can see how accurately it illustrates what is happening to us when god is at work in the human heart.
Xerxes, the persian king, rejected his wife queen vashti, and fell in love with esther at a beauty contest. Megillat esther, the book of esther in the form that we have it in the hebrew bible, provides the story of the origin of purim, the blueprint for its celebration, and the authorization for its observance in perpetuity. Esther the niv application commentary kindle edition. The thing that makes the book of esther so fascinating is this is our story. The book was originally written in hebrew, but the ancient greek translation known as the septuagint abbreviated lxx is also a very important witness to the text. The events that the first chapter of the book of esther describes happened about 483 bc before christ. The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. The original text of the megillah book of esther with a running commentary culled from the talmud and midrash, the great torah commentators and the chassidic masters. Much that is in the book deals with the relationship of jews and gentiles.
The book of esther, according to the original text, and original chapter and verse system, explained in modern terms. The books of ezra and nehemiah were written during his reign. You can find the best commentary on esther for you using the tools on the right side. Although there are unfortunately those today who suggest that some of the stories in the old testament are legends, there is substantial evidence that the events of esther actually occurred. The author of the books of kings used a book called the history of the acts of solomon. He overcame the jews and he took many jews to babylon. Megillah with indepth commentaryside by side version. The greek septuagint remedied this situation by adding six passages which include the name of god. The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found in the introduction. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third. Artaxerxes this man was son of xerxes and stepson of esther. The book of esther is read every year to the assembled congregations of the jewish people in.
The means taken by esther to avert this great calamity from her people and her kindred are fully related in the book of esther. In other languages, the heart may be the emotional arena of the soul, and, in still others, heart may refer to the emotional part of the soul in reference to love. Study the bible online using commentary on esther 8 and more. Esther 1, new living translation nlt the bible app. In esther, god providentially uses two exiled israelites to rescue his. Each verse has been translated into an english sentence that means what the original hebrew verse means.
Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. Esther the niv application commentary kindle edition by. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings. The old testament library provides fresh and authoritative treatments. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and published by seven stories press. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. During the second banquet, queen esther revealed her origin to the king, begged. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483.
Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing esther as comedy and as diaspora literature. The book of esther is unusual gods name is not mentioned once, yet gods hand is. It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. The writer of esther clearly intended the book to explain the origin of the celebration of purim, to institutionalize it as a commemoration of the great deliverance of the jews during the persian period see note on esther 9. Vashti is sent for by the king, but refuses to come, esther 1. That he might show it to esther and explain it to her. Over 100 years earlier, nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon had attacked jerusalem. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading esther the niv application commentary. The book of esther is the only one not found in the dead sea scrolls.
The book of esther is read every year to the assembled congregations of the jewish people in their synagogues to the present day. Read esther 1 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Book of prophecy that reveals gods magnificent plan of salvation through the person and work of jesus christ. Working preacher is a ministry brought to you by luther seminary. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. The book of esther is counted as an historical book in our english bibles, but in the jewish scriptures it is among the writings. Read esther 8 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. We have enlisted hundreds of friends biblical scholars, theologians, homileticians and pastors dedicated to the craft of biblical preaching to provide you timely, compelling and trustworthy content. Mervin breneman ezra, nehemiah, esther new american commentary, 1993. This little gem, tucked away in an obscure corner of the old testament, is a very rich book, and it is historical. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. The story itself is implausible as history and, as many scholars now agree, it is.
Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. On the mystical level king achashverosh alludes to gd, the king of the world. How the providence of god watched over the jews that had returned out of captivity to their own land, and what great and kind things were done for them, we. It took place in the days of israels captivity when.
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