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Names of the Book
| English: | Esther |
| Hebrew: | אסתר |
| Transliterated: | Ester |
| Other names: |
Who
| Wrote the book: | unknown, possibly Mordecai |
| Are the key people: | Esther, Mordecai, King Zerxes I, Haman |
| Is it written to: | The people of Israel |
What
| Esther is chosen and becomes queen (Esther 1:1-2:23) |
| The Jews are threatened and fear extinction (Esther 3:1-4:17) |
| Esther intercedes and seeks the king's favor (Esther 5:1-8:17) |
| The Jews are delivered and overcome their enemies (Esther 9:1-10:3) |
When
| Was it written: | c 520 BCE |
| Did the events occur: | c 532-521 BCE |
| Was it canonized: | c 499-100 BCE |
| (see the Timeline of the Tanakh) | |
Where
| Was it written: | Persia |
| Did the events occur: | Susa |
Why
| Esther was written to inform us that: |
| G-d is sovereign over all of history. |
| The enemies of G-d seek the destruction of the Jews. |
| G-d provides deliverance for the Jews. |
| G-d expects us to act where He places us. |
| G-d provides wisdom. |
Introduction
The book of Esther never mentions G-d's name, yet G-d clearly orchestrates all of the events in it. In this historical narrative, Esther, a Jew living among the exiles in Persia, becomes queen of the empire. Haman, a Persian official, seeks to annihilate all the Jews in the kingdom (Esther 3:12), but God had prepared Esther "for such a time as this" to save his chosen people. The book documents the origins of the Jewish observance of Purim, which celebrates the events of the book: Israel's survival and God's faithfulness.
Scripture- Book Selection