Posted by: Author | October 15, 2010

Friday Facts- October 15, 2010- Esther

Interesting tidbit about the Book of Esther in the Old Testament:  it is the only book of the Old Testament that doesn’t mention God. Bet ya didn’t know that one, now did ya? 

This book in the Bible deals with a  woman of  Jewish ethnicity that lived as a non-Jew.  She was married to King  Ahasuerus.  She learned of a plot by a prince name Haman to kill all the Jewish people in Persia over a perceived slight by one, who happened to be Esther’s cousin. When Esther told the King, he put a stop to it and decreed that the Jews could destroy those who had planned to destroy them. (this is a major paraphrasing of this book- I suggest a read of it as it is intriguing).

The day after the battle, there was a feast and that feast is the origin of the Purim Festival that is celebrated to this day. One of the the ways to celebrate is a recitation of the Book of Esther and a celebratory meal. The festival is also celebrated by giving charity to the poor. 

Esther as Painted by del Castagno 1423-1457


Responses

  1. Lynn Rush's avatar

    Oh wow. We just studied Esther at church last weekend for our HEROES series. She’s such a hero. I could only WISH to be as bold as her!

    • Author's avatar

      Lynn- seems like it’s a trend to study Esther and I’m glad. She WAS amazing. My two secretaries just studied her as well- at two different churches. That’s so awesome! And she was a real hero.


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