King ahasuerus xerxes plays a prominent role in the book of esther. Book of esther, in the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god. He ruled from 486 bc until his assassination in 465 bc at the. In chapter 1 he gives a great banquet for his nobles and, after several days of eating and drinking, orders that the queen vashti appear at the banquet so the men there might see her great beauty. Ironically, four years later, xerxes would return from greece, having been defeated. Address requests for additional permissions in writing to leadership and adult publishing.
No less than three such works have appeared in the last decade. Here we take an in depth look at king xerxes and how he and his lineage has played a roll in gods plan for israel. It purports to explain how the feast of purim came to be celebrated by the jews. He is famous for his exped itio n against greece and how the greeks defeated his tremendous fleet at the battle of salamis in 480 bc. Permission is granted to store, print, and distribute this document for its intended use. The story of esther took place between the return of xerxes after his defeat at salamis and his assassination by the captain of his bodyguard.
During this time the enemies of israel hired counselors to bring false accusations to the ears of the different persian kings. His persian name, spelled in english letters, reads thus. They are a people for whom god has a particular purpose and who have been given special promises. Persian kings in the bible barnes bible charts cyrus 539530 koorush cyrus isaiah 45, daniel ezra cambysses 530521 cambujieh ahasruerus ezra 46 pseudo smerdis 521 berooyeh doroughi artaxerxes ezra 4. Herodotus confirms xerxes anger in the persian wars, and the. This map reveals the persian empire in 580 bc under its greatest ruler darius i. But for those who know the larger story of the bible, gods hidden hand can be discerned in these events, working to protect and preserve israel.
The story of xerxes is an excellent example of proverbs 21. The book of esther begins with in the days of aha suerus 1. Scripture quotations marked nlt are taken from the holy bible, new living translation. This principle is dramatically illustrated in the life of haman. Xerxes was flexing his military muscles and garnering support for his own campaign against greece. Esther 1 queen vashti deposed 1 this is what happened during the time of xerxes, a the xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from india to cush b. The book of esther, like much of the bible, tells the story of gods involvement with his people.
He ruled from 486 bc until his assassination in 465 bc at the hands of artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard. The persian king traditionally identified as the husband of esther is xerxes the great, who succeeded darius and fought the second persian war. Like his father and predecessor darius i, he ruled the empire at its territorial apex. This is what happened during the time of xerxes, the xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from india to cush.
This week our story begins with a proud king and some poor advice. Xerxes glory, described in verses 18, was also likely the great war council of 483 bc. The bible also indi cates what the king must have with him at all times deuteronomy 17. The name is an attempt to transliterate into greek xerxes the persian khshayarsha. Xerxes banquet, vashti removed as queen, 3rd year of reign esther 1. Fulfilling lifes mission introduction why read this book. Ezra and nehemiah were the recipients of his royal favors see ezra, chapter 710 and continuing in the book of nehemiah. They are listed, at least as it seems, in chronological dating order. The story of esther takes place during the reign of king xerxes i of persia, primarily in the kings palace in susa, the capital of the persian empire. Very few bible scholars believe now in the historicity of the book of esther, but what is really incomprehensible is that their conclusion is based only on the following prejudice. The bible is the most amazing book on earth and it. The other king who some historians believe to be the ahasuerus of the book of esther is the persian king xerxes. Leave comments, share and subscribe for more content on biblical discussions. The remaining four books contain hymns to god and practical directions for men.
In a similar way the jerusalem bible official bible translation of catholicism explains in its introduction to the book of esther. On the surface, it appears to be a story about survival, prejudice, and politics. The persian empire enlarge pdf for print freely distributed map of the achaemenid persian empire at its greatest extant 490 bc. That is a transliteration from the original language. The extrabiblical events recorded about xerxes reign4 can be correlated. Gods choice of israel as his treasured possession guaranteed that hamans intent to exterminate the jewish people would fail deut. Being a jew, mordecai refused to do obeisance to haman son of hammedatha, the agagite, xerxes favorite noble. Though unseen, he is on the scene accomplishing his purposes in this world. The ahasuerus of the book of esther is also known in secular history as xerxes, king of persia 485465 bc. The same word in unpointed hebrew took the form chshwrsh, probably pronounced achshawarash, but at a later time it was wrongly vocalized so as to produce achashwerosh, from whence ahasuerus in english versions of the bible comes. He is best known for his massive invasion of greece from across the hellespont 480 bce, a campaign marked by the battles of thermopylae, salamis, and plataea. Which persian monarch was the ahasuerus of the book of esther. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings, and also appears in the protestant canon and in the roman catholic canon. He discovered mordecais heroism in having saved his life from assassins and realized that mordecai had not been honored for it 2 haman just happened to be outside to ask the king for permission to hang ths same.
Xerxes, the name of several rulers of the persian empire. He was the son of darius the great, and successor to his throne. Xerxes i the great, king of persia geni family tree. All during this time, king xerxes was showing the great wealth of. And when h e sits on the throne of his kin gdom, he shall write for himsel f a copy of. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. The preservation of the jews the church of christ in. Esther chapter 1 john karmelich receive bible study. Pdf queen esther wife of xerxes fairy tale or history.
When king xerxes ruled the land bend arm and extend, like scepter but her people were in trouble put hands on cheeks, raise eyebrows, like oh no because of hamans plan rub hands together, wrinkle eyebrows, to be evil go, tell it to the king walk fingers on. The bible says, let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth proverbs 27. He was the son and successor of darius the great and his mother was atossa, a daughter of cyrus the great, the first achaemenid king. In 480 it supplied ships to xerxes and was subsequently harried by the greek fleet. His ultimate defeat spelled the beginning of the decline of the achaemenian empire.
You may believe you deserve praise, or even a raise, for a job well done. The career of xerxes was the preliminary to the collapse of the achaemenid house under alexanders conquest. Have you ever wondered if god is really involved in the circumstances of your life. He married esther the name xerxes does not appear in the king james bible, the new king james version, the new american standard bible, the new revised standard version, or the english standard version. In the weeks to come, we will see how god used an obedient jewish girl to keep the promises that he made long ago. The book of esther illustrates israels unique place in gods plan. The story of esther turns on a series of seeming coincidences. Haman, however, determined to get his revenge against mordecai and his people.
Archaeology and the book of esther andrews university. Pdf the religious policy of xerxes and the book of esther. The kings heart is a stream of water in the hand of the lord. Mordecais question to esther encapsulates the great lesson of this book. Towards the close of the reign of darius there was a fresh revolt in egypt.
Xerxes i, commonly known as xerxes the great, was the fourth king of kings of the achaemenid empire, ruling from 486 to 465 bc. He was the 458 the holy scriptures assumed a settled form. Xerxes i, persian king 486465 bce, the son and successor of darius i. The pomp and drunken revelry of the first scene has died down.
Artaxeres, son of xerxes, was the persian monarch 465 424 b. The army leaders and important leaders from all of persia and media were there. Xerxes9 invasion of greece by charles hignett,11 xerxes at sahmis by peter green,12 and persia and the greeks by a. Late in year xerxes returns to asia, leaving his generals to. He ruled from 486 bc until his assassination in 465 bc at the hands of artabanus, the. The essential personality of xerxes as presented by herodotus and his own inscrs.