![]() The book has received a mixed reception from Christians. There is also an echo of Esther in the Letter to the Hebrews. Some Christians are intrigued by the “suffering hero” theme, but most New Testament writers ignore Esther, other than Mark 6:22-23 where the words of Ahasuerus are echoed when Herod tells a girl dancer, “Whatever you wish, I will give it to you, even half of my kingdom”. Immanuel Lewy counted it among “the three dramatic narratives in ancient Hebrew literature, the stories of Joseph, Job and Mordecai” - three stories, he wrote, which “portray a suffering hero”. It is not the Book of Haman or Ahasuerus, but the Book of Esther (some call it the Book of Mordecai) and its focus is on the Jews, not the gentiles. But in spite of the gentile celebrities - the weak and foolish King Ahasuerus (Xerxes), the obstinate Queen Vashti, the egotistical prime minister Haman and his wife Zeresh, plus all the courtiers, the nobles, and the ordinary people - Esther is an unmistakably Jewish book and the gentiles are the supporting cast. ![]() The dramatis personae of the story are partly gentile, partly Jewish. Next week begins the light-hearted Jewish folk-festival of Purim, which celebrates the events related in the Book of Esther.
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