The book of Esther

 The book of Esther

Note: I read the Bible to consider whether a specific passage comports to my weak-comprehension of the perhaps 5,000-year-old Sumerian philosophy expressed by Hebrew scholars 3,000 years ago in Genesis 1:28:  Female& male-human-being can& may, independent of other entities, constrain political chaos on earth. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer.

I perceive that the 10,000-year-old Sumer civilization ought to be considered, in order to increase civic-integrity while appreciating private spiritual pursuits in 2022 and beyond.

There are scholarly synopses Online at each Part 2: Eunuchs: Eunuchs in the Old Testament - Theology At the Edge and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Esther, yet I share my bias:

1:1-14 Banquet with abundant wine, separate party for the women hosted by Vashti. She refused Xerxes’s 7 officers sent to summons beauty to the men’s jealousy.

1:15-22 The men feared Vashti’s arrogance would spread, so a prince advised Xerxes to suddenly remove her from office and find an obedient queen; he tried, with fanfare.

2:1-11 Xerxes’s attendants searched for a young, beautiful virgin. In Susa was Mordecai, of Jair, of Shimei, of Kish of Noah. He reared orphaned, beautiful, cousin Hadassah, known as Esther, as his daughter. Under racial secrecy, he offered her for the harem.

2:12-18 After 12 months’ beauty treatments, she slept with the king then returned to the harem. She could go to the palace only if the king summoned her by name. He did and made her queen to replace Vashti.

2:19-23 Mordecai monitored Esther-politics from outside. Overhearing conspiracy to assassinate King Xerxes, he shared the information with Esther, who reported it to the king, crediting Mordecai. The king killed the conspirators.

3:1-9 King Xerxes made Haman the highest noble, but Mordecai would not kneel to a Gentile. The gate keepers hounded Mordecai, who explained he was a Jew. They told Haman, who planned to kill all the Jews.

3:10-15 King Xerxes accommodated Haman’s plan: throughout the land, kill man, woman, and child on a specific day. People of every nationality were to aid; some were bewildered.

4: 1-17 All the Jews panicked, including Mordecai and Esther, especially for her “caring” cousin. Mordecai gave the details and asked Esther to plead with the king. Esther reminded Mordechai that approaching the king without invitation meant death, unless the king extends mercy. Signs were not good: the king had not called for Esther in 30 days. Mordechai argued that she could not save herself with silence, and she may be there to save her people. Esther asked Mordechai to get all the capital Jews to pray during fasting for 3 days. Then she would go to the king, placing her life at the king’s mercy. Mordechai did his part.

5: 1-8 Esther dressed and presented herself to the king, and he was pleased, inviting, and asked her request. She said she’d like to discuss it at table with Haman. The king agreed. Over wine, he again asked her need. She delayed, requesting to meet again the next day.

5: 9- Haman was happy until he saw Mordecai, who showed neither fear nor respect. Haman was cautious. He counselled with family& friends. They suggested tomorrow hanging Mordecai 75 feet in the air.

6:1-11 That night the king recalled Mordecai had saved King Xerxes from an assassination plot, and had not yet been honored. Haman arrived to propose the hanging. First, Xerxes asked Haman how he should honor someone. Haman, expecting the honor, suggested a public parade. The king surprised Haman to honor Mordecai. Haman did.

6:12-13 Mordecai returned outside. Haman rushed home and shared grief. Haman’s wife said Mordecai was a Jew and Haman would come to ruin.

7:1-5 Haman and the king went to Esther’s wine banquet. The king asked Esther’s request. She announced her plea to spare her people, who had been purchased for slaughter rather than for slavery, which would not distress the king. Xerxes asked: who dared such a thing?

7:6-10 Esther named Haman. The king went into the garden in a rage. Haman begged Esther and was compromised to her when Xerxes returned. They hung Haman on the pole he provided for Mordecai.

8:1-10 Xerxes gave Esther Haman’s estate. Queen Esther summoned Mordechai, and the king gave him Haman’s authority. She asked the king to reverse Haman’s orders to slay the Jews. He granted her request with Mordecai in charge.

8:11 “The king’s edict granted the Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves; to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children,^[b] and to plunder the property of their enemies.” 

8:17 “And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.”

9:1-32 Mordecai became powerful. “The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them.” But they did not plunder. Xerxes kept track and asked Esther what else she wanted. She asked that Haman’s 10 sons be hung. Good times continued and rural Jews set up a monthly gift day. It became an annual celebration, Purim, in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom.

10:1-3 Mordecai . . . worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews.

The ideas I glean from Esther include the follow:

This reader never lost the perception that the Esther-writer assumed the reader knew that each character’s God, if not the-God, was in each character’s mind, excluding many occasions when wine or sex controlled the-particular God-facing-death. In other words the author did not feel the need to write qualifiers like “the Lord said”. Note however, that Esther’s request for prayer with fasting in the capital city is spiritualism, theism, and Judaism.

Immediately, Vashti expresses the independence of women, and that supports my gender-reversal to female& male-human-being in expressing Genesis 1:28. Also, Haman’s wife perceives the ruin Haman invites. Often in history, the woman made more civic-sense than the man. It reminds me of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon on his proposal to sacrifice their daughter so the Greek navy could gain favorable winds.

It seems Mordechai intended to use cousin Esther long before this story begins, and I suspect he perceived in her rare psychological potential, beyond physical beauty.

Esther took her life in her own hands. It reminds me of Huckleberry Finn, who said, “Alright then, I’ll just go to Hell”, except that Esther employed sex and food& wine to manage her challenge.

Human-purchase for slavery was taken for granted (for slaughter, not so much). I’m reminded of papal bulls “authorizing” the African slave trade in the 15^th century.

Granting the Jews the right to defend themselves reminds me of the 1776 declaration of war against England and the eventual dominance of the USA in world affairs as long as we did not plunder. However, mistreating people based on the belief that they hate you is immoral. I am reminded of St. John’s false use of “hate” in John 15:18-23. I am a non-Christian with humble-appreciation toward whatever-controls-the-consequences-of-each-human-choice, and am in no position to judge another human-being’s appreciative-humility.

Esther lost reliability when she hung the sons of Haman. Mordecai became powerful, I assert as he intended when he adopted Esther.

The Jews are portrayed as ruthless, which may be twice arrogant toward Genesis 1:28, perhaps authored by Jesus. (Recall Jesus reportedly said, “Before Abraham was born I am.”) Not only is ruthlessness arrogant, but the scholar who misrepresents defense as ruthlessness is wrong. I don’t blame Martin Luther for considering to purge Esther from his canon. However, the story would still be available.

I found the Book of Esther rich in arrogance to avoid in 2022’s troubled time.