Last update May 12, 2001. Notes by Linda Monyak

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Topics

Law in Esther

What is Persian law from the perspective of Esther's author?

Results of Persian Law

The problem of violence in Esther

A different law

Connections between Esther and Deuteronomic Law

Religious themes in Esther

Marduk and Mordecai

Ishtar and Esther

Law in Esther

• Word for law is Persian loan word - td* 

• Can also mean decree, edict or commission

• Appears only in Esther with 2 exceptions

  • -Deut 33:2 - a corrupt text that literally reads "fire was law to them"

  • -Ezra 8:36 - in which it refers specifically to Persian edicts

• Used 19 times in Esther, a book with only 10 chapters

What is Persian law from the perspective of Esther's author?

• First used in connection with the law on drinking at the king's banquet (Esth 1:8) - each reveler is to drink as much as he desires (Note the absurdity of this - a law to enforce personal indulgence)

• At same banquet, king expects to find a law to deal with recalcitrant queens (Esth 1:15)

  • -King's advisors propose a law to deal with this situation (Esth 1:19) - now Vashti's refusal to appear before the king is made law

  • -Author informs us that this law is irreversible

  • -Contrast between gravity of unchangeable law and the spontaneous, off-hand method of law-making by the king is ironic

• By law, the gathered virgins must undergo 12 months of beauty treatments (Esth 2:12) - the beauty of the most beautiful from India to Cush needs to be enhanced for this king

• Law of Haman is countenanced by the king's handing over of the signet ring

  • -All citizens of Persia are called on to kill a specific ethnic group (Esth 3:14)

  • -The law which is good in Haman's eyes is a command to kill the neighbor

• Esther and Mordecai's law

  • -Also condoned by the giving of the signet ring and a command to write what is good in their eyes (Esth 8:8)

  • -Though written in terms of self-defense, still results in a massive loss of life

  • -This violence continues with Esther's request for a second day of fighting (Esth 9:13-14)

Results of Persian Law

• Kingdom is left without queen - even the king feels loss (Esth 2:1)

• Young women are gathered for the king's collection of beautiful women

• Confusion and anarchy result from the joint venture of the king and Haman  - the entire city of Susa is perplexed (Esth 3:15)

  • -Entire Jewish community can only grieve and mourn (Esth 4:3)

  • -Haman and the king celebrate with a drink

• Death

  • -Haman's edict commands the death of all Jews (Esth 4:8)

  • -Esther risks death by approaching the king unbidden - this law has escape clause (Esth 4:11)

  • -Hope for survival of Jewish community means death for the enemies of the Jews (Esth 8:13)

  • -Inflexibility of Persian law contributes to this outcome

The problem of violence in Esther

• Esther's request is that the king write to revoke or reverse the edict of Haman (Esth 8:5)

• King replies that Esther should be happy to write her own edict which cannot be reversed (Esth 8:8)

• Demonstrates the actual powerlessness of King Ahasuerus - bound in the straitjacket of laws that were pleasing in someone's eyes

• King's refusal to seize the opportunity which Esther presents to him is really what dooms his citizens

  • -King reaction to the violence and mayhem even in his capitol city is curiously low-key (Esth 9:12)

• Esther's author may also be saying something about the consequences of evil which, once set in motion cannot be entirely reversed, at least not without great cost

• Traditional explanations of the violence in Esther

  • -The violence is in line with the exaggeration which lends the book its cartoon-like character

  • -Simple acceptance of the Persian law as unchangeable

  • -Contrast the violence of the non-historical tale of Esther and the actual historical violence of the holocaust

A different law

• Haman states the truth - "their law is different from all of the people and the law of the king" (Esth 3:8)

• Jewish hrt  or instruction is different from Persian td*

• Citizens of Susa demonstrate better judgement than the king

  • -They express dismay over Haman's law

  • -They rejoice at Mordecai's rise to power

• Persian law is based on power - as exemplified by horses

• Esther's author may have been presenting a case for the observance of Deuteronomic law

Connections between Esther and Deuteronomic Law

• Passover is the foundation for God's law (Deut 6:20-25)

• Can Israel have a king?  (Deut 17:14-20)  Compare this with Judges 21:25.

• How is government to be run? (Deut 16:18-20)

• How are the outcasts (the widow, orphan, alien) of society to be treated? (Deut 24:14-15, 17-22, Deut 26:4-15)

Religious themes in Esther

• No references to the usual names of God:  Yahweh, Elohim

• Contrasts starkly with 2 major characters named after Babylonian deities

• Wouldn't any Persian or Babylonian names have underscored the assimilation of the exiles?

• Esther does have a Jewish name, Hadassah (myrtle), which is referred to once

• Humorous intent?  "The Babylonian gods are really Jewish."

• Could Esther and Mordecai be a stand-in for the apparently absent Yahweh? (It takes 2 Babylonian gods to approximate the activity of Yahweh.)

Marduk and Mordecai

• Marduk created the world and humans by doing battle with Tiamat the chaos monsterHaman's name is based on same root as a verb which means to rage or be turbulent (Ezek 5:7)

• Commands of Tiamat are irrevocable just like the laws of Persia

  • -"Powerful are her decrees, irresistible are they." Enuma Elish

• Tiamat gives this same power to her husband Kingu

  • -"As for thee, thy command shall not be changed, the word of thy mouth shall be dependable!"  Enuma Elish

• Marduk contests this power of Tiamat

  • -"The command of my lips shall not return void, it shall not be changed."  Enuma Elish

  • -"Reliable is his word, unalterable is his command."  Enuma Elish

  • -Compare with Isaiah 55:11

• Other biblical authors, especially of Exodus have exploited this ancient story of Marduk vs. Chaos

  • -Egyptians perish in the tehomot (Tiamat)

  • -Yahweh makes a path through the sea using wind, just as Marduk uses wind to slay the monster Tiamat

  • -Yahweh splits the sea; Marduk splits Tiamat

  • -Battle takes place at Baal-zephon (Exod 14:2), the local place of worship of Baal who vanquished the chaos monster Yamm (the sea) (from McCurley, Ancient Myths and Biblical Faith)

• Given the strong relationship of Esther to Passover, is Esther's author saying that Yahweh is once again acting like Marduk?

• Marduk is the god who controls the fates in Babylon (Note:  Ancient audiences must have howled when Haman cast the pur in order to determine the best possible date for the defeat of Mordecai and his people.)

• Marduk is honored at beginning of each year with processional which culminates in a boat ride, during which the Enuma Elish is recited

  • -Haman casts the pur in the first month of the year

  • -Mordecai is led through the streets in procession fit for a king, or a god

• Tale of Zu (p. 46)

  • -Haman covets the power of the king

  • -Haman thinks of the king's clothing as synonomous with honor

  • -Haman approaches the king in the morning

  • -Other pagan hymns speak of Marduk as the god "who crushed the skull of Zu"

  • -Other versions of the story say that Shara, the eldest child of Ishtar, recovers the possessions of Enlil

Ishtar and Esther

• Ishtar has other names:  Inanna (Sumeria), Anath, Astarte (Canaan)

• Associated with fertility, war, and the suffering of humanity

• The goddess of whores and the evening and morning stars

• If Esther does mean star in Persian, it doesn't eliminate the further association with Ishtar

• Ishtar is also associated with fate

  • -"The goddess - with her there is counsel.  The fate of everything she holds in her hand." (Haman doesn't just defy one god of fate, but 2 and Esther has the eyes and ears of the king.)

• Ishtar participates in a sacred marriage to the king as part of her role in fertility

  • -Esther may not have had a choice, nonetheless, her one night with the king has everything to do with the choice of the next queen

• Ishtar descends to the underworld in search of her lover, Tammuz

  • -Passes through 7 gates

  • -Stripped of an article of clothing at each gate

  • -Questioning of gatekeeper elicits response that these are the rules of the underworld

  • -Ishtar is killed by Allatu

• Esther goes to king with expectation of death

  • -Her clothing is given great importance in preparation for this event (she literally wears the kingdom)

  • -Haman asks for the clothing of the kingdom; Mordecai wears the clothing of the kingdom; Esther clothes herself with the kingdom.

  • -How can the king promise Esther half the kingdom when she is already wearing it?