If Esther had not been that beautiful: dealing with a hidden God in the Book of Esther - Hebrew

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Winter, 2001 by Sabine M.L. Van Den Eynde

The letters that are sent by Esther and Mordecai allow the Jews to defend themselves and to destroy their attackers. The wording resembles Haman's decree, but some important changes are made (Fox: 102). The Jews may defend themselves, and the people risking slaughter are precisely those who afflict the Jews. The context for all this is the whole reign of Ahasuerus, and the people who should be ready for the day are the Jews. The non-Jewish people of the Persian kingdom are now brought into a difficult position. The Greek version of the text avoids the problem by offering them no choice: the letter of Esther and Mordecai annuls the one of Haman and orders the Persians to help the Jews. But the Hebrew text retains the idea that a law of the Medes and the Persians cannot be annulled. Legally, the Persians are therefore obligated to destroy the Jews, but at the same time they risk their lives doing so since the Jews may defend themselves. In this situation of injustice, no easy choices can be made. Scared to death, many of the Persians become Jews. Their leaders make another choice and support the Jews in their fight. On the day when the Jews should have been killed, they triumph over their enemies. The day of doom becomes a day of joy. Mordecai and Esther even make of it an official day of celebration. The celebration of Purim is the feast of the drawing of the lot, Pur--in the plural, Purim--when fortunes are reversed.

Change: More Than Merely Reversal

At this point, I come back to the theme of power and wealth. The celebration of the change would be incomplete if the power relations remained the same. But the changes in the story do not mean that the persons merely assume another role: Esther queen instead of Vashti, Mordecai as the second man instead of Haman, the nations victims instead of the Jews. Within the limits of what they dare and think to be possible, people resist the ruling and the exploitative power relations: Vashti against Ahasuerus, Mordecai against Haman, Esther against Haman and Ahasuerus. It may be noticed that Ahasuerus remains in his powerful position all the time. He is as easy to manipulate at the end of the story as at the beginning. Esther and Mordecai can therefore make the difference. Like Vashti before her, Esther too resists the king. Unlike Vashti, however, Esther is personally involved with her people. Whereas Vashti's choice not to obey the king was her own decision, Esther went because her uncle urged her to do so, and moreover, she sought the support of her people, asking them to fast for her (Esth 4:16). Esther's actions are intended to save her people (Esth 8:6). Also the man-woman relations undergo a transformation: Esther obeys and disobeys Mordecai's orders according to her own best lights by making her family relationships known.

Mordecai, refusing to capitulate to the evil confronting him in Haman, sends Esther to act on behalf of his people. When he is in a position to do this himself, he becomes a mighty person, feared by the other leaders. But at the same time, Mordecai is dear to his people; the quest for his people's happiness and the plea for peace for his descendants guide his ruling (Esth 10:3).