Esther, apocryphal book of the 1901 jewish encyclopedia. Be sides the many minor deviations from the hebrew, there are six important additions in the septuagint and the other ancient versions of the book of esther. While modern roman catholic scholars openly recognize the greek additions as clearly being additions to the text, the book of esther is used twice in commonly used sections of the catholic lectionary. The book of esther is designed to show gods providential care of his people. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. This librarians note records that the greek esther, including the additions, was brought from jerusalem, where it had been translated, to egypt in the fourth year of ptolemy and cleopatra. Although the term apocryphal had been in use since. The additions are designed to be inserted at six points into the basic text, and in the septuagint text of greek esther they are thus interspersed. Apocryphal additions to esther canonical, book, mordecai, septuagint, version, edict, english, people and god page. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible.
Additions to esther chapter 16 1 the great king artexerxes unto the princes and governors of an hundred and seven and twenty provinces from india unto ethiopia, and unto all our faithful subjects, greeting. Its portrayal of esther herself, however, is appreciably different, primarily because of additions c and d add esth. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. Addition e the decree that rescinds the first decree. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. Esther, additions to the book ofthe book of esther in the. Mordecai josephus, some rabbinic circles claim mordecaic authorship author seems to have been a resident of persia not palestine possible author.
The book of esther is a 20 movie starring jen lilley as queen esther and joel smallbone as king xerxes. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Additions to esther chapter 10 kjv king james version. For an explanation of the greek additions to the book of esther see fritzsche, l. Besides the many minor deviations from the hebrew, there are six important additions in the septuagint and the. Biblical literature greek additions to esther britannica. Although the book of esther was questioned by some early christians, even st. In the present translation, the greek additions are indicated by the. Esther additions introduction, king james version with. In 2012, a graphic adaptation of the book of esther was illustrated by j. The additions to esther consist of six extended passages 107 verses that have no counterpart in the hebrew version. He was a jew residing in the city of susa, a prominent man who served at the. Additions to esther 1 in the second year of the reign of artaxerxes the great, on the first day of nisan, mordecai son of jair son of shimei son of kish, of the tribe.
Jerome, the whole book, including the greek additions, was included in the canon of scripture by the council of trent. Book of esther, book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Apocryphal additions to esther canonical, book, mordecai. This is the audio version of the apocryphal book of esther.
Please check the reference to make sure it is correct. The greek version of the hebrew bible book of esther is designated additions to esther and preserves many details of the hebrew account. It belongs to the third section of the judaic canon, known as the ketuvim, or writings. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. In the jewish bible, esther follows ecclesiastes and lamentations and is read on the festival of purim, which commemorates the rescue of the jews from hamans plottings. Esther, apocryphal additions to the book of biblical cyclopedia. However, his plot was foiled by the heroism of the jewish queen esther and. 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. In the greek, the additions appear throughout the text, and are fully incorporated into the rest of the narrative. Luthers complaints against the book carried past the point of scholarly critique, and led in part to the complaint of antisemitism frequently made against him.
Through the name of god is not mentioned, the hand of god, ruling and overruling. The biblical book of esther tells the story of how a wicked man, haman, tried to destroy all the jews in ancient persia. Additions to esther encyclopedia of the bible bible. This summary of the book of esther provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of esther. Their whole purpose is to provide the missing religious dimension to this story. Biblical literature biblical literature greek additions to esther. The disordered chapter numbers come from the displacement of the additions to the end of the canonical book of esther by jerome in his latin translation and. The greek version of esther is simply an elaborated version of the hebrew text, expanded to bring out the role of god in the story. The date of the additions is witnessed to by the unusual colophon or conluding bibliographic notice attached to the book at 11. The hebrew book of esther had a religious and social value to the jews during the time of greek and roman antisemitism, though the hebrew short story did not directly mention gods intervention in historyand even god himself is. Nehemiah nehemiah would have known about purim, as proclaimed in esther nehemiah was literate, had access to royal archives the. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her.
Some christian churches include some or all of the same texts within the body of their version of the old testament. These six additions are known in the kjv as the rest of the chapters of the book of esther. The additions, called the rest of the book of esther, are specifically listed in the thirtynine articles, article vi, of the. The story line is the same in each versiona romantic history that tells how a beautiful woman, esther, becomes queen of persia and foils a plot by haman to kill all jews in persia. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings. Whether all the additions were present in the text at the time of the tr. The book contains several historical, chronological and cultural details, which would lead us to believe that it is intended to be read as actual history, rather than as a parable.
There is a large degree of variety in the presentation of the greek additions to the book of esther. Contentsshow information the book is named after the character esther author unstatedunknown possible author. These additions mention god more than fifty times, and often underscore the role of gods gracious providence in these tumultuous events. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman. The meaning of esther and its integration with the bible wheel. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third.
The most popular traditions are mordecai a major character in the book of esther, ezra and nehemiah who would have been familiar with persian customs. Book of additions to esther nrsa bible study tools. The book of esther focuses on a ten year period 483473 b. Additions to esther chapter 10 kjv king james version 4 then mardocheus said, god hath done these things 5 for i remember a dream which i saw concerning these matters, and nothing thereof hath failed 6 a little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water. Although we do not know who wrote the book of esther, from internal evidence it is possible to make some inferences about the author. Addition b hamans edict, written in the kings name. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. Apocrypha esther greek of the king james bible 1611. Ueen esther also, being in fear of death, resorted unto the lord.
The book of esther does not specifically name its author. The apocryphal book, additions to esther, consists of six passages 107 vv, inserted into the gr. Esther, additions to the book ofthe book of esther in the septuagint, followed by the old latin version, contains six passages comprising 107 verses that are not found in the hebrew text. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people. Waldman and appeared in volume one of the graphic canon, edited by russ kick and. With these additions, the book of esther becomes a religious tale whose characters adhere to jewish traditions, such as praying to god, following the torah. Scripture 7 so the king and haman went to queen esthers banquet, 2 and as they were drinking wine on the second day, the king again asked, queen esther, what is your petition. Additions to esther 1 nrsa bible bible study tools. The roman catholic council of trent, the summation of the roman catholic counterreformation, declared the entire book, both hebrew text and greek additions, to be canonical. Esther in the greek bible has been expanded by the addition to the scroll of some prayers which the greek jews felt esther should have prayed.
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