One of my favorite holidays of the year is the festival of Purim. Unlike other Jewish holidays in which there are strict observances set forth in the Torah, the only command for Purim is that it is to be celebrated on the 14th day of the Jewish month Adar (which occurs in February or March on the Gregorian calendar.) This year Purim will be celebrated from sunset on February 25 through sunset on February 25. Purim is mostly a holiday filled with lots of fun events and eating good food!
The Basics
The entire holiday of Purim is set aside to celebrate the Jews triumphal victory over the wicked Haman and his evil plot to exterminate the Jews as detailed in the Book of Esther. During the holiday, the Book of Esther is read in synagogue. (And I would suggest, if you wish to appreciate all the characters and things associated with Purim, it would be very beneficial to read the Book of Esther as well.) When the book is read, any time Queen Esther or Mordecai are mentioned, the audience breaks out into spontaneous cheers and shouts of joy. When the evil character Haman is mentioned, the crowd stomps its feet and shouts out booing.
The word Purim is derived from the Persian language which translated into English means lots. In the Book of Esther, Haman casts lots (i.e., throws dice or uses some sort of divination) to determine when he should carry out his evil plan of exterminating the Jews. The 13th of Adar (Adar is the 12th month on the Jewish calendar) was slated to be the date. On the 13th of Adar, the Jews and the Persians fought. On the 14th of Adar, the Jews in the Persian kingdom celebrated a glorious victory over their foes. (The Jews in the Persian capital city of Sushan fought for a second day on the 14th of Adar. On the 15th of Adar they held a giant celebration.) From this time forth, the 14th of Adar has been remembered and celebrated as a joyous day when the Jews defeated their enemies.
Other Facts
Esther's pagan name is derived from the Hebrew astir. Astir means hidden. This is symbolic in that God’s name is not mentioned in the Book of Esther; hence, God is “hidden”. Esther's Hebrew name is Hadassah. Hadassah is derived from the Hebrew word hadas which means myrtle tree. According to Jewish tradition, a myrtle trees represents righteousness in Scripture. The sages in the Midrash take this one step father and say just as a myrtle tree has a sweet smell and a bitter taste, so too Esther was good and listened (sweet) to the righteous Mordecai. She was adverse (bitter) to the wicked Haman.
The Book of Esther, known as "the Scroll" (Megillah) in Hebrew, is a book in the third section (Ketuvim "Writings") of the Jewish Bible. It is one of five scrolls (Megillot) in the Hebrew Bible. The Books of Esther and Song of Solomon are the only books which do not explicitly mention God in the text.
The book of Esther consists of an introduction in chapters 1 and 2; the main action occurs in chapters 3 to 9:19; and a conclusion is given in chapter 9:20-10:3. The plot is structured around banquets (mishteh), a word that occurs 20 times in the Book of Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Hebrew Bible. This is apropos given that the Book of Esther describes the origin of a Jewish feast, the feast of Purim.
The Book of Esther became the last of the 24 books of the Tanakh (Old Testament) to be canonized by the Sages of the Great Assembly. It is usually dated to the fourth century BC. The Greek Book of Esther included in the Septuagint is a re-telling of the events of the Hebrew Book of Esther rather than a translation. The Greek book includes additional traditions which do not appear in the original Hebrew version. One such addition is the identification of Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes and includes details of various letters. The Coptic and Ethiopian versions of the Book of Esther are translations of the Greek version rather than the Hebrew version of the Book of Esther.
(Side note: The Tanakh also called the Mikra or the Hebrew Bible, is the canonical collection of Jewish texts, which is the textual source for the Christian Old Testament. These texts are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic. The traditional Hebrew text is known as the Masoretic Text. The Tanakh consists of 24 books.
Tanakh is an acronym of the first letter of each of the Masoretic Text's three subdivisons: Torah ("Teaching", also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings"). Hence it is called TaNaKh. The name Mikra, meaning "that which is read", is another Hebrew word for the Tanakh. The books of the Tanakh were passed on by each generation, and according to rabbinic tradition, they were also accompanied by oral tradition called the Oral Torah.)
When did the Book of Esther take place?
The story of Esther happens directly after the Book of Daniel. It occurs in Persia during the New Persian Empire, which began about 550 B.C. with the reign of King Cyrus and ended around 330 B.C. The end of the Book of Daniel takes places at the beginning of the New Persian Empire.
We know that the setting for the Book of Esther is sometime between 485 B.C. and 460 B.C. It cannot be later than about 460 B.C. because Ezra, the Levite Priest who would lead a delegation of Hebrews back to Judah to complete the rebuilding of the Temple and restoring Jerusalem’s walls is involved in the story of Esther. So, the Book of Esther had to happen before Ezra headed back to Israel to complete those tasks. Esther occurs after the time of the Persian King Cyrus (who reigned at the end of the Book of Daniel). So, we get around a 25 years window when the events of Esther seem to have occurred.
The Story in a Nutshell
The Persian Empire of the 4th Century BC extended across 127 lands from northern Africa and Asia Minor in the east across to India in the west. All the Jews living in this region were ruled by the Persians. When King Ahasuerus has his wife, Queen Vashti, dethroned for failing to follow his orders, he arranged for a search to find a new queen. (I like to call this the very first beauty pageant, Miss Queen of Persia.) A young Jewish woman, Esther, found favor in the king's eyes and became the new queen. Under the command of her cousin, Mordecai, Esther never divulges her Jewish nationality.
Subsequently, Haman, a Jew-hating man, was appointed as prime minister of the empire. Mordecai defies the king's orders and refuses to bow down to Haman. Haman becomes infuriated and convinces the king to issue a decree ordering the extermination of all the Jews on the 13th day of the month Adar, a date picked via casting lots (purim).
When the decree is made public, Mordecai rallies the Jews, convincing them to repent, fast and pray. Moreover, he entreats Esther to ask the king to rescind his decree. Esther bravely goes before the king's throne and asks him (and Haman) to join her for a feast. After her courage fails her the first day, Esther asks the King and Haman to join her on the following day for another feast. At the second feast, Esther reveals to the king her Jewish identity. Haman begs the queen's forgiveness, but the king orders Haman to be hung. When Esther reveals to the king that Mordecai is her cousin, the king appoints Mordecai to be prime minister. A new decree is issued, granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against their enemy.
On the 13th of Adar, the Jews kill many of their enemies. On the 14th of Adar, they rest and celebrate their triumphant victory. In the capital city of Sushan, the Jews take one more day to finish killing their enemies.
Who is Haman
Central to the story if Esther is the man Haman. Haman was a man filled with jealousy when Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman. We are told in the Book of Esther (chapter 3 verse 1) Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite.It is believed the term Agag was a dynastic name for the kings of Amalek similar to Pharaoh being the dynastic name for the kings of Egypt.
Support for this can be seen in Numbers chapter 24. Remember Balaam is a prophet hired by the king of the Moabites to prophesy against Israel. Instead, God tells Balaam he cannot speak evil about Israel. Balaam gives his third prophecy which speaks about Agag being a highly exalted king:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:5-7)
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