The main purpose of a summary is as a simplification highlighting the major points from the original and much longer version of the subject. Study guide on the book of esther, on line bible commentary for book of esther, niv commentary esther, free esther commentary, best commentaries on esther. Though the name of god be not in this book, the finger of god is shown by minute events for the bringing about his peoples deliverance. The pride of ahasueruss heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made an extravagant feast. It is the last of the five scrolls ruth, song of songs, ecclesiastes, lamentations, and esther, and is read at the feast of purim. Mordecai is said to have been one of those that were carried captive from jerusalem ch. Ray stedman calls esther a strange book for the bible for many this little book is a. The form of esther is a very faint type, but a very true prophecy, of that great victory, which is ever drawing nearer, which shall show wickedness prostrate, righteousness supreme. And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish 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. At the start of the book, he says when it happened. People of the roman catholic faith can this useful short summary of these bible scriptures. An introduction to the book of esther an argument of the book of esther selected bibliography of the book of esther j.
Esther chapter 1 comments official king james bible online. The status of esther as a canonical book of the bible has historically been under dispute. The book of esther was likely written between 460 and 350 b. Esther overview thomas coke commentary on the holy bible. It is the only book in the bible where god is hidden like this, but he is there. The purpose of the book of esther is to display the providence of god, especially in regard to his chosen people, israel. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. It has been well said that the book of esther is a record of wonders without a miracle, and therefore, though equally revealing the glory of the lord, it sets it forth in another fashion from that which is displayed in the overthrow of pharaoh by. Esther bible story summary what christians want to know. Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. At the end of the book, he says that the official records included the story about esther. A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of esther in easy english.
Esther bible study chapter 2 the preperation for the king. Study guide for jeremiah 18 by david guzik blue letter bible. Esther commentary john gills exposition of the bible. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible. The kings chief adviser, haman, is offended by esthers cousin and guardian, mordecai, and gets permission from the king to have all the jews in the kingdom killed. Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing esther as comedy and as diaspora literature. Mordecai learned of a plot to kill the king and made it known to esther who passed the news to the king. Addition a has mordecai inform the king directly, whereas in 2. Watching the potter at work, jeremiah noticed a lump of clay that seemed uncooperative. In the hebrew bible the book of esther is placed in the third main part, that is the writings hebr. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control.
Despite such questions the book of esther sits comfortably in the hebrew. Students will gain an understanding of how over the ensuing centuries the. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. Esther 2 one of the princes in the kingdom was haman. The book belongs to the socalled five scrolls hebr. The events in the book of esther occurred from 483. We might even think that he does not care about us.
Esther free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. This shows the immense treasures in the hand of the. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the others stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays to rise. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. People of the roman catholic faith can this useful short summary of these bible scriptures for an online catholic bible study course or biblical studies. And king ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. Click here for an exhaustive list of content on esther. Queen esther came to the throne for just such a time 4. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide. This is why many presume that the book was written in the second half of the fifth century bc. Berlins literary approach to the book of esther is a very well done, and filled with important information. The book of esther is one of the latest of the canonical books of scripture, having been written late in the reign of xerxes, or early in that of his son artaxerxes longimanus b. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole.
Study esther 1 using matthew henrys bible commentary concise to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. In the book of esther this information is casually presented as unimportant, but comes up later in the story. There are many surprises hidden in the book of esther, where things are not what they seem. This informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter, so he made it again into another vessel. This region was called ethiopia in graecoroman times, and included within its borders most of modern sudan and some of presentday. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons. Tom constables expository notes on esther this is also available in the net. Esther is a young and beautiful jewish girl, orphaned but cared for by her. Jan 01, 2001 this informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. I am encouraged when i read of her obedience to her uncle m. Could this be a lesson for us to go boldly before our king. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. We have detailed a brief summary of the book of esther for bible study or sunday school lessons.
Esther is described in the book of esther as a jewish queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use. I heard a story where a group of literature critics gathered monthly to read, analyze and critique various works of literature poems, plays, short stories and novels. Esthers approach to dealing with the threat of hamans decree reiterated the true priority of the jew, and evoked gds reassertion of his singular providence over the fate of israel. The book of esther is one of the most exciting books in all the old testament and is nearly unique in employing a woman as its leading character. What follows is an an organized and curated list of content. Study guide for esther 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. Finally, although esther is part of the bible, the book famously never mentions god by.
For example, in the first several centuries of christianity, esther does not appear in the lists of books produced by melito, athanasius, cyril, gregory of nazianzus, and others. Bobdeffinbaugh graduated from dallas theological seminary with his th. The above summary details the bible people and summary of important events which occur in the douay rheims version of the catholic bible scriptures of the book of esther. It is a deeply profound and moving narrative of historical events that displayed the providence of god. This unlikely contestant for a beauty pageant was crowned queen of persia and renamed esther, meaning star. But the writer wants us to know that the story is true.
Cush is the ancient name of the extensive territory south of the first cataract of the nile river. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is. Bob is a pastorteacher and elder at community bible chapel in richardson, texas, and has contributed many of his bible study series for use by the foundation. Esther 1 introduces the reader to the main characters of the book of esther, and sets up the plot for this amazing story. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. Up to this time esther had been a queen but in name. The book of esther does not mention the name of god.
Esthers approach to dealing with the threat of hamans decree reiterated the true priority of the jew, and evoked gds reassertion of his singular providence. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. It is in this passage in the book of esther that we see a father grieving for his daughter and a daughter, selflessly giving herself for the sake of her people. The book is named for the star of the story, a young jewish girl named hadassah who was taken from her guardian, mordecai, and forced to compete for the affection of the king. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel. Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of media and persia. Based on the rebbes talks on purim 5722 1962 and 5727 1967 8. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Lightfoot thinks that he was that artaxerxes who hindered the building of the temple, who is called also ahasuerus ezra iv. But the megillahs mandate differs from the torahs in one crucial respect. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. In the hebrew bible, the book of esther is found in the third section of the canon, the writings.
Bible study magazine volume 11, issue 2, janfeb, 2019. Esther chapter 1 comments official king james bible. In fact, god is not directly mentioned by name in the book of esther. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Ezra 7 begins in the seventh year of artaxerxes i longimanus i. Esther is read during the purim feast on 14th and 15th adar februarymarch. In the hebrew bible the book of esther is placed in the third main part, that is. Esther 1, new international version niv the bible app. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Summary of the book of esther genuine leather bible. The book is set during the period after the babylonian exile in which the nation of persia present day iran ruled judah. The book of esther serves as the authorizing document for purim, a holiday that is not mentioned in the torah. In the narrative, ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, vashti, refuses to obey him, and esther is chosen for her beauty.
We find in this book, that even those jews who were scattered in the province of the heathen, were taken care of, and were wonderfully preserved, when threatened with destruction. Thus the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. Sleep is taken from ahasuerus at precisely the right time 6. David guzik commentary on esther 1, where queen vashti refuses to display her. The potter decided to start again, making something that seemed good to the potter to make. The bible does not mention the book of esther anywhere else. It is careful not to say that god commanded the observance of purim. The book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation. The heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit.
An interpretation of the dream that relates its features to the plot of the book is given in f. True, it is the only biblical book not to be found in the dead sea scrolls, but this absence may simply. Mordecai is brought into prominence at the right time 6. This summary of the book of esther will help with many different forms of bible study. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. Read esther commentary using john gills exposition of the bible. Esther overview, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary was written by the thomas coke, one of the founders of the methodist church in the united states. The book of esther shows how the hand of god can move in a supernaturallynatural way.
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