Two Sides of Esther's Morality

THE MASTER’S SEMINARY WAS THE QUEEN ESTHER MORALLY RIGHTEOUS? BY ROMANS SENDRIKS SUN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA NOVEMBER 2017 i The Table of Contents Introduction I. ……………………………………………………………………………………..1 Ancient Textual References for Esther’s Moral Righteousness.............................................. 3 A. II. Esther’s Character Portrayed in the Masoretic Text ........................................................... 3 Two Views Concerning Esther’s Moral Righteousness. ..................................................... 5 A. Esther as a Passive and Manipulative Woman .................................................................... 5 B. Esther as a Hero of the Jewish Nation................................................................................. 8 III. The Problems Concerning Esther’s Moral Character as an Ethical Role Model .............. 12 IV. Solution ............................................................................................................................. 15 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 17 i Romans Sendriks Old Testament Introduction 796 Introduction One of the challenging features alongside the absence of any mention of the name God in the book of Esther, is the obscurity of moral and ethical practices by the main characters. The student writing this research paper has observed that many scholars who have produced commentaries on the book of Esther, whether in the past or in recent times, have found reason to debate the moral issues that seem to appear in the book of Esther. The main character of the Book of Esther, coincidentally enough, is an orphaned Jew named Esther, who became Queen of Persia. For centuries, she has been wholeheartedly praised and roundly criticized by various scholars.1 From one side Esther is praised for her heroic decision and actions that preserved the nation of Israel from destruction.2 From the other side, she is viewed as a weak, immoral or ungodly, selfish, passively obedient woman who gets her own way by using her beauty and feminine charm.3 For example, Michael V. Fox points out that in the scholarship of the Book of Esther, there are two types of attitudes expressed toward Esther’s character. Feminists, along with some evangelical scholars who have written commentaries on the book of Esther, have disparaged Esther as one who failed in personal moral virtues. By contrast, the ancient rabbis and medieval 1 F. B. Huey, Jr. “Irony as the Key to Understanding the Book of Esther.” In Southwestern Journal of Theology vol. 32 no 3 (Sum. 1990). 36-39. 2 Linda Day, Three Faces of a Queen: Characterization in the Books of Esther, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplements Series 186 (Sheffield: England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 13. 3 Day, Three Faces of Queen, 12. 1 2 commentators hold Esther in high regard. She is viewed as a model of excellence of Jewish values.4 In centuries past, Martin Luther was one Protestant scholar who expressed a negative attitude toward Esther. He stated that he was a great enemy of the Book of Esther, along with the second book of Maccabees, due the presence of so many heathen [craziness]. He argued that the Jews, in their ceremonies, honored the book of Esther rather than the holy prophets such as Isaiah or Daniel, who prophesied about the coming of Christ.5 In modern-day scholarship of the book of Esther, Karen H. Jobes and F. B. Huey have expressed a critical attitude toward Esther’s character in their writings. For example, Huey argues that Esther could also be interpreted as another example of the postexilic failure of the Jewish people, who have failed to be what God commanded them to be.6 Despite the negative viewpoints concerning Esther’s manipulative moral behavior and its challenging problems, this student, based on the textual evidences in the Book of Esther itself, chapters 5-8, seeks to present his view that Esther was a morally righteous woman. The text of the Book of Esther indicates that her response to the Jews’ impending holocaust at the hands of the enemy, should be considered as morally righteous. Furthermore, this student, based on the research findings, will also seek to offer a solution to the various challenging problems that Esther’s actions and character present. 4 Michael V. Fox, “Three Esthers,” in The Book of Esther in Modern Day Research Journal for the Studies of the Old Testament Supplement Series 380, ed. Leonard Greenspoon and Sidnie White Crawford (London, NY: T&T Clark International, 2003), 51. 5 Martin Luther, The Table Talks of Martin Luther, ed. Thomas S. Kepler and transl. William Bazlitt (Mineola, NY: Dover Publication, 2005), 21. 6 F. B. Huey, “Esther” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The New International Version, vol. 4, ed. Franke Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Regency Reference Library, 1987), 784-787. 3 I. Ancient Textual References for Esther’s Moral Righteousness. The story of Esther’s moral character is found in three ancient texts – the Septuagint, the Alexandrian, and the Masoretic Text. In each of these sources, there are slight differences in the story. Since the Masoretic Text is the primary and authoritative text for both Jews and the majority of Christians, this student will attempt to evaluate Esther’s moral character from that source. A. Esther’s Character Portrayed in the Masoretic Text Based on the Masoretic Text, against the backdrop of Queen Vashti losing her royal status as a result of her refusal to appear in the presence of the lustful king and his noblemen, Esther, as one of the main characters alongside Xerxes the king, Mordecai, and Haman,7 is introduced as an orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai. By the decree of King Ahasuerus (a Hebrew variant of Xerxes), Esther is taken into the palace along with many other young virgins to be examined and tested to determine if she is suitable to be Queen of Persia. As the story develops, Esther gains favor in the eyes of Hegai, who was in the charge of the harem. Because Hegai is so pleased by Esther, he positions her so that she receives special treatment and food that further enhances her physical beauty. Esther not only wins favor in the eyes of Hegai, but she also wins favor in the eyes of the king, and after gaining that favor, she becomes the Queen of Persia. Everything would have gone well for Esther as the queen, if she had not been informed by Mordecai of the murderous decree against her people, and his request that she go to the king and plead with him to spare their lives. 7 Roger L. Omanson and Philip A. Noss, Handbook on Esther: The Hebrew and Greek Texts, United Bible Societies Series (New York: NY: United Bible Societies, 1997), 3. 4 After her initial refusal to enter the courts of the king and Mordecai’s forceful challenge, Esther decides to risk her life by unlawfully entering the king presence in order to intercede on behalf of her people. She moves from being directed by Mordecai, to becoming an active leader of her own people. Having made her decision, she instructs Mordecai to gather the Jews in the city and fast with her for three days. On the third day of her people’s fasting, Esther illegally approaches the king, and by the grace of God, he extends his scepter to her, sparing her life. Esther does not immediately ask the king to spare her people from Haman’s destruction, but instead she requests the king and Haman to come to a banquet she has organized for them. Even at the banquet, she declines to make her request, instead asking them to attend a second banquet the next day. The invitation to two banquets has a double purpose. First, it boosts Haman’s pride since Esther makes him feel very special, in order to prevent his continuing his conspiracy against her people. Second, it delays the queen’s declaration of the actual “favor” she wants from the king, in order to find the right moment to defeat the enemy.8 Michael V. Fox suggests that the second delay is actually to keep her true Jewish identity a secret from Haman until the right time.9 One can read from the Masoretic Text that these banquets that Esther purposely prepares, work out very well. Between the two banquets taking place, Mordecai gets a promotion in the courts of the king, which provides the perfect opportunity for Esther to expose Haman’s plot to kill her people, to reveal her true identity, and to stop the decree for the genocide of the Jews from being implemented. 8 Adele Berlin, The JPS Bible Commentary Esther (Philadelphia, PHL: Jewish Publication Society, 2001), 9 Michael V. Fox, “Three Esthers”, 53. 49. 5 II. Two Views Concerning Esther’s Moral Righteousness. In this section, the discussion will center on two contrasting views regarding Esther’s moral righteousness. Esther’s twofold character can be seen in the book that bears her name. From one side, Esther’s passive character is seen in her early years as she enters the beauty contest through which the next queen will be selected. The author introduces Esther as strictly obedient to her cousin Mordecai (2:20), who has raised her as his own daughter. Based on the text, Esther’s immediate authority was not her mother as would seem normal for a girl, but a male. Michael V. Fox makes this point, that the mother would normally be the primary authority and role model for a girl, but not in Esther’s case. In her case, it is apparent that Esther did not have any choice regarding her parents. Instead of being raised according to God’s design, with a father and mother, she was a victim of unavoidable circumstances that left her an orphan.10 On the other side, Esther’s character is shown as being very active – she is presented as a responsible woman and a queen who looks after the welfare of her people. A. Esther as a Passive and Manipulative Woman Various scholars have criticized Esther’s moral integrity based on several passages that are found throughout the book. She has been criticized for being compliant and compromising her morals in order to become the queen of Persia. According to some scholars, chapter two exposes Esther as being a person of manipulative and misbehaving character. Karen H. Jobes goes even further, seeing Esther as not being a morally righteous woman. She evaluates Esther’s character in this way: 10 Michael V. Fox, Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther, Second Edition (Grand Rapids: WB Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001), 97. 6 Beyond the fact that the book of Esther is conspicuously nonreligious, the two main characters, Esther and Mordecai, do not seem to reflect the character of other great biblical heroes and heroines. Unlike Daniel and his friends, Esther shows no concern for the dietary laws when she is taken into the court of a pagan king. Instead of protesting, she conceals her Jewish identity and plays to win the new-queen beauty contest. Esther loses her virginity in the bed of an uncircumcised Gentile to whom she is not married, and she pleases him in that one night better than all the other virgins of the harem. When Esther risks her life by going to the king, she does so only after Mordecai points out that she herself will not escape harm even if she refuses to act. Furthermore, Esther displays a surprising attitude of brutality. When she hears that the Jews have killed five hundred people in Susa, she asks that the massacre be permitted for yet another day and that the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be impaled on the city gate. As a result, three hundred more Gentiles died.11 The text does not document Esther’s age, other than that she was a young woman. As one of the main characters in the book of Esther, she is criticized for not observing the Jewish dietary laws, for participating in the beauty contest, and for losing her virginity in the king’s bed. She is accused of having an attitude of brutality for allowing a massacre to extend for another day. In addition to having these crimes attributed to her leadership, Esther is blamed for hanging Haman’s entire family.12 If these accusations are true, then Esther almost sounds like a queen of crime. But how else should she act, or what other decisions should she make, in order to preserve her people’s lives? Esther is the queen of all Persians, as well as being the queen of her own people. In that role, does she not have the responsibility to prevent her people being wiped out? By way of analogy, another question could be asked here. If someone tries to break into a man’s house, intending to kill the man’s wife and children, what is the first thing the husband would do, as the 11 Karen H. Jobes, Esther, The NIV Application Commentary: From Biblical Text to Contemporary Life (Grand Rapids, Zendervan, 1999), 20 12 Timothy S. Laniak, “Esther” in Ezra, Nehamiah, Esther, New International Biblical Commentary, ed. Robert L. Hubbard Jr. and Robert K. Johnston (Peabody, MS: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 182. 7 leader of that household? Would he not try to defend his family? Would that not be the right thing for to do – to fight for and defend his own family members, even if it meant taking the life of the intruder? Would not the husband’s actions be called morally defensible? Timothy S. Laniak has responded in this way: Criticism of ethics represented in the Esther narrative is likely due to a misunderstanding of biblical ethics and biblical narrative. The moral code of the story is really a code of honor. Esther and Mordecai are the champions of their people because they are loyal to them. They courageously resist an enemy who seeks [Israel’s] destruction, acting only in self-defense. The Jews resist greed, refusing to take the spoils they deserve. The author insists that the Jews acted only within the boundaries of the law. Once every person in the empire was given the opportunity to take sides, the Jews were authorized to execute justice. The Book of Esther portrays evil as a reckless reality successfully arrested by force and by law.13 Furthermore, Laniak reminds his readers that the rest of the Hebrew Bible promotes these ethics, especially in the conquest traditions. He shows that threatening God’s chosen people eventually and inevitably brings divine judgment, which may either take the shape of supernatural intervention, or it may be expressed through the armies of Israel.14 Sometimes it is easy to impose current cultural opinions onto the biblical text, particularly in the book of Esther. It is much more difficult to enter into the reality of their situation, to thoughtfully reflect on what options Esther and Mordecai really had, when their lives, along with those of all the other Jewish people, were hanging by a thread. As for Esther participating in the beauty contest and later entering into the king’s bedroom and losing her virginity, one question remains unanswered by the scholars who attack Esther’s moral integrity is this, “Did Esther choose to participate in the contest willingly or was 13 Timothy S. Laniak, “Esther,” 182 – 183. 14 Ibid., 183. 8 it mandatory?” If the contest was mandatory then Esther did not have the choice to decline, but may have participated against her will. The text itself does not answer this question, either way. In a culture where the monarch has absolute authority, there is no right to appeal. It is true that her actions are not consistent with the Mosaic law, and should not be considered to be. The Mosaic law prohibited both Jewish males and females from entering into any type of relationship with Gentiles that would cause them to turn away from God and lead them to worship pagan gods. Solomon’s case illustrates this point, but in the case if Esther, we have no way of knowing if she had a choice in the matter. B. Esther as a Hero of the Jewish Nation While one group of scholars criticizes and questions Esther’s moral behavior, another group praises her actions for saving the twelve tribes. Long before Martin Luther existed, Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian (A. D. 37-100), and the Apostolic Father Clement of Rome, viewed Esther as a woman of faith who risked her life and humbled herself in order to save her people. Clement of Rome (A.D. 96) states: To no less peril did Esther also, who was perfect in faith, expose herself, that she might deliver the twelve tribes of Israel, when they were on the point to perish. For through her fasting and her humiliation she entreated the all-seeing Master, the God of the ages; and He, seeing the humility of her soul, delivered the people for whose sake she encountered the peril.15 Considering Esther’s moral righteousness, the book of Esther was traditionally held in high regard even by the twelfth century Jewish rabbis. One such rabbi was Moses Maimonides, the twelfth century Jewish philosopher, who ranked the book of Esther equal to the Pentateuch. Joseph Barber Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer. The Apostolic Fathers. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1891). 80 15 9 He states that when Messiah comes, the other books of the Hebrew Bible may pass away, but the Book of Esther and the Torah will abide forever.16 The positive view on Esther moral righteousness is based on chapters 4-9, in which the reader can learn that Esther took the risk that Mordecai urged her to take, and entered into the courts of the king in order to preserve her people. Mervin Breneman views this action as an act of obedience to God in faith. He states: In the characters Esther and Mordecai, we find examples of how to live the obedient life. Like Joseph and Daniel in foreign courts, so Esther and Mordecai were obedient to God’s direction and plan. Esther was a model disciple of God we should imitate. She constantly did the right thing, made the right decisions, and said the right words. Esther embodied faith.17 The positive view that shows Esther as a morally righteous woman reflects the evidence better than the view that suggests she was a passive and manipulative woman who used her beauty and charm to get her way. A few major considerations support this position. The first comes from the text itself, where the reader can see that when Esther was urged by Mordecai to take action, she did so in order to prevent the enemy from raising his evil hand against the twelve tribes (4:15-17). Elaine Phillips calls attention to the progress in Esther’s character, from passivity to taking action: At this critical moment, Esther chooses publicly to identify with her people even at the probable cost of her life. She has been adept at managing the delicate balance of obedience to her guardian and responsiveness to the demands of the pagan court. At this point, however, her strength of character is manifested 16 Thomas Witton Davies, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther: Introduction, Revised version with notes, maps and index (New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 1909), 294. 17 Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, volume 10, NAC (Nashville, TN: Broadmans Holman Publishing Company, 1993), 297. 10 in her resolve to defy the king’s law, reveal her Jewish identity, and confront the second most powerful person in the empire.18 Esther not only takes these dangerous steps, but she also instructs Mordecai to gather her people to fast for three days, which was common in Old Testament times. Esther joins them in the fast, and even requires the young women in the palace who attend to her, to participate. Joyce G. Baldwin explains the assumption that prayer accompanied the fasting: Though prayer is not mentioned, it was always the accompaniment of fasting in the Old Testament, and the whole point of fasting was to render the prayer experience more effective and prepare oneself for communion with God (Ex. 34:28; Dt. 9:9; Jdg. 20:26; Ezr. 8:21–23). ‘In practice, fasting in the setting of religious rites and as a defense against trouble was common in the whole of the ancient world.’6 Persians would therefore have thought it strange if the Jews had not called a fast at such a time.19 It is really hard to imagine the woman who is called a queen of crime, the woman with a manipulative and selfish character, the one who is morally corrupt, to come up with such an idea. It seems unlikely that a person who is completely corrupt morally would resort to fasting and praying in the hope that God would intervene and protect His own people. Here this student does not suggest that Esther was saved, but he does suggest that these types of actions indicate that Esther was a morally righteous woman. If that were not true, then as the queen of Persia, she would just forget about her people’s distress, and continue to live in luxury and comfort. There is another example in the text that seems to indicate that Esther had moral integrity. In chapter 8, verses 3-6, the text shows Esther continuing to act for her people’s welfare. As the 18 Elaine Phillips, “Esther” in 1 Chronicles – Job, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, revised edition, vol. 4, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Gerald (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 635-36. 19 1984), 80. Joyce G. Baldwin, An Introductory Commentary on Esther (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 11 queen of both nations, Esther used her influence with the king to request that the Jews be spared the approaching massacre. Debra Reid describes the queen’s request before the king: In contrast to the inflammatory audience with the king in the previous chapter, Esther now fulfils more closely the wish of Mordecai that she should go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him. The physical actions that accompany her plea (falling and weeping) add melodrama at a point where the reader might already think the crisis is over. They also portray Esther as someone who intercedes humbly on behalf of her people. The narrator explains that Esther identified the plan against the Jews as being devised by Haman the Agagite, making no reference to Xerxes’ role. The emphasis lies upon Haman’s ill intentions and deliberate planning (cf. Jer. 11:19 and Dan. 11:25). Esther asks the king to ‘revoke’ (lit. ‘pass over/reverse’) the evil of Haman and his plot. The negative tone cannot be missed.20 These actions of Esther cannot, indeed, be forgotten in the backdrop of the debates and attacks on her moral integrity. Only a wicked, evil queen would ignore the danger of her own people’s lives. A second major support for the view that Esther was morally righteous, is the importance given to the Jewish nation’s celebration of Purim, which they have traditionally celebrated from March to April as a remembrance of the victory over their enemies. During this festival, the Jewish people read the scroll of Esther in remembrance of the victory over their enemies. J. S. Wright gives a short description of the festival: A Jewish festival is celebrated during the 13–15th days of the month Adar. On this occasion, the book of Esther is read, and traditionally the congregation in the synagogue shouts and boos whenever the name of Haman is mentioned. The book of Esther gives the origin of the festival. In the reign of Ahasuerus, probably 20 Debra Reid, An Introductory Commentary on Esther, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, vol. 13 (Downers Grove, IL, 2008), 132. 12 Xerxes (486–465 B.C.) but possibly Artaxerxes II (404–359 B.C.), Haman, the vizier, determined to massacre all the Jews. Since he was a superstitious man, he cast lots to find an auspicious day. The word pûr, which in Est. 3:7; 9:24, 26, is said to mean ‘lot’, is not a Hebrew word, but is almost certainly the Assyrian puru, which means a pebble, or small stone, which would be used for casting lots.21 As is recorded in Esther 9:20-32, one of the main highlights of this festival is promoting goodness by giving gifts to neighbors and poor people on the streets. As well as reading the book of Esther during the festival of Purim, the Jewish people also bless the name of God who delivered them from the hands of their enemies. III. The Problems Concerning Esther’s Moral Character as an Ethical Role Model In addition to the question concerning whether Esther freely chose to participate in the beauty contest, scholars have raised other questions. Some of the questions are as follows: • How should the book of Esther be applied in believers’ lives, particularly when it is preached from the pulpit? • Should Esther’s character be promoted as a role model in matters of ethics? • How can Esther’s actions of killing enemies be applied in modern day culture when believers are taught to love their enemies and pray for them? • Can Esther be a role model for girls today? • What examples of Esther’s actions should be applied and what actions should be disregarded? 21 J. S. White, “Purim,” in New Bible Dictionary, Third edition, ed. D. R. Wood (Downers Grove, IL, Intervarsity Press, 1996), 991. 13 When reading a good dynamic book, a reader tends to associate himself or herself with one of the characters in the book. This might not be true with the book of Esther. Many commentators have touched on this issue, whether they defend Esther’s character or criticize it. While the church struggles to find ways to use the main characters in the book of Esther as positive examples, the Jewish people just celebrate the book in the National Holidays of Purim. Jo Carruthers expresses her observations of how the Reformation has affected Protestant approaches to the characters found in the book of Esther: It is within the Reformation and the Protestant relegation of Mary that Esther become a puzzling member of the canon, and Protestant commentaries and sermons are rich sites for gleaning creative elaborations. In many instances Esther’s significance is narrowed from any wide theological applications to much narrower concerns: it becomes a site through which to comment upon monarchy, female nature or response to threat.22 Carruthers also points out that Esther’s story has prompted many artists to paint the theme of Esther approaching the king, or even some themes that may contain disturbing ideas that promote sin.23 If these observations are true, then it seems that it would be very challenging for Bible educators to preach and teach something good from the book of Esther due the presence of so much evil and the absence of the name of God and lifestyles of piety. Timothy S. Laniak contends that Christian interpreters have avoided Esther because of its overt Jewishness and because of its perceived inferior morality. The episode most disturbing to the modern-day reader 22 Jo Carruthers, Esther Through Centuries, Blackwell Bible Commentaries (Malden, MA: Blackwell: Publishing, 2008), 13. 23 Ibid., 13. 14 is Esther’s request that Haman’s sons be hanged and for a second day of killing more enemies, as seen in Esther 9:13.24 Lewis Bayles Paton makes this case even more critically. He states: “For this horrible request no justification can be found. A second massacre was in no sense an act of self-defense. This shows a malignant spirit of revenge more akin to the teaching of the Talmud. And Esther’s request for hanging Haman’s dead sons clearly shows the vengeance of Esther pursuing them even after they are dead.”25 If defeating her people’s enemies is not justified from Esther side, would she be justified to passively take no action and allow an entire nation to be wiped out? This is one of the questions that the scholars do not ask as they advance their attacks on Esther’s character. Is it possible that the Jews knew at the end of the first day that not nearly all of their deadly enemies had been destroyed, and that if the others were left to regroup, the problem would surface again? Would that not make the “second massacre” for which “no justification can be found” “an act of self-defense?” Is it possible that hanging Haman’s sons was not “clearly” an act of vengeance, but a public statement to cast fear into the hearts of others who might plot similar crimes of genocide? These scholars have no way of accurately assessing the political climate of Esther’s day, or knowing the degree of danger that ethnic rivalry carried with it in that culture, yet they seem to portray Esther as an evil woman with no capacity for distinguishing between right and wrong. As the problems of moral ethics in the book of Esther are analyzed, some questions still remain. Can the book of Esther offer something good to the western churches or believers around 24 25 T. S. Laniak, “Esther,” 182. Lewis Bayles Paton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Esther, The ICC Series (New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908), 96. 15 the world? Can some practical ideas be drawn from the main two characters, Esther and Mordecai, on how to live a life of piety? If the book of Esther has so much evil in it, according to some liberal and Christian scholars, why do they spend so much time producing commentaries on it? IV. Solution In many Jewish people communities, the book of Esther and its two main characters make perfect sense, but for Christian believers who wholeheartedly believe that every book in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God, it is very difficult to see how the two main characters of the book of Esther can serve as good examples in terms of their daily life of piety. Many Christian scholars hold Esther responsible for actions that seem wrong to the scholars today. Mordecai is blamed for pressing Esther to conceal her Jewish identity in a way that would possibly compromise her testimony of faith in the pagan king’s courts. Mordecai is held responsible for causing all the trouble to his people. What is the solution to these dilemmas that readers face in the book of Esther? Several suggestions can be made, since the motives of the two main characters cannot necessarily be known from their actions. First, the readers can still learn that despite God’s people’s shortcomings, God still can use them to accomplish His divine will. God still uses sinful people for His own glory, as it is seen throughout the Old Testament. Second, everything that was written in the past, including the book of Esther, was written to teach God’s people how to endure and be faithful in a wicked and hostile world without compromising the truth. It is definitely true that readers can still learn great things from these two main characters, Esther and 16 Mordecai. The reader can ask this question: what would I do if I were in Esther’s or Mordecai’s shoes? Third, even if the reader of the book of Esther does not see anything good in these two main characters, they can definitely focus on God’s divine providence, which is seen throughout the entire book. God used “such times as these” to save His people. God used Mordecai to raise his beautiful cousin Esther for that particular moment to prove His faithfulness to His own people, to demonstrate that no one will ever be able to destroy God’s precious nation, Israel. Finally, as the reader reads this book, he can trace God’s promise back to the book of Genesis in which God promised Abraham that He would bless those who bless him, and would curse those who curse him (Gen 12). The same promise that God made to Abraham is seen working faithfully in the storylines of the book of Esther. Conclusion In conclusion, this student, despite the various critical arguments directed toward Esther’s character, views Esther as a morally righteous woman. The text itself shows that Esther was able to distinguish between good and evil. She was very concerned about her people’s welfare. As far as entering in the presence of king, God was the one who gave Esther the king’s favor, as it was in Joseph’s case in Egypt and Daniel’s case in Babylon. In all the challenging circumstances that were present in the life of Esther, Mordecai, and Israel, God was most definitely in control, and nothing that happened to them was wasted by God. All things work together for good for those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose. 17 Bibliography Baldwin, Joyce. Esther: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1984. Berlin, Adele. Esther. The JPS Bible Commentary. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001. Breneman, Mervin. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. The New American Commentary. Vol. 10. Nashville, TN: broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993. Bush, Fredric W. Ruth, Esther. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 9. Dallas, TX: Word Books, Publishers, 1996. Corruthers, Jo. Esther Through the Centuries. 1st edition. Malden, MA: Blackward Publishing Company, 2008. Day, Linda. Three Faces of a Queen: Characterization in the Books of Esther. Library of Hebrew Bible/ Old testament. Sheffield, United Kingdom: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995. F. B. Huey, Jr. "Irony as the Key to Understanding the Book of Esther." Southwestern Journal of Theology, vol. 32 no 3 (Sum. 1990): 36-39. Fox, Michael V. Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther. Second Edittion. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001. Goldman, Stan. "Narrative and Ethical Ironies in Esther." In Journal for the Old Testament Studies, vol. 15 no 47 (Jun 1990): 15-31. Greenspoon, Leonard J., and Crawdford, Sidnie White, ed. The Book of Esther Modern Research. London: T&T Clark International, 2003. Hancock, Rebbecca S. Esther and the Politics and Negotion: Public and Private Space and the Figure of the Female Royal Counselor. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013. Howard, David M. "Esther." In New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and and Exegesis, edited by Willem A. VanGemen, 582-585. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997. Laniak, Timothy S. Shame and Honor in the Book of Esther. SBL Dissertation Series 165. Atlanta, George: Scholars Press, 1998. Lapsley, Joel B. Green and Jaqueline E. eds, ed. The Old testament and Ethics: A Book - by Book Survey. Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2013. 18 Merrill, Eugene H. "Esther." In The World anf the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament, by Eugene H. Merril, Mark F. Rooker, & Michael A. Grisanti, 22:354 - 360. Nashville, TN: B&H Publisher Group, 2011. Mills, Mary E. Biblical Morality: Moral Perspective in Old Testament Narratives. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2001. Moore, Carrey A. "The Book of Esther." In The Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by David Noel Freedman, 633 - 643. New York, NY: DoubleDay Dell Publishing Group, 1992. Phillips, Elaine. "Esther." In 1 Chronicles - Job, edited by Tremper Longman III and David E Garland, 569 - 674. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. Walfish, Barry Dov. Esther in Medieval Garb: Jewish Interpretation of the Book of Esther in the Middle Ages. New York, NY: State University of New York Press, 1993. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Toward Old Testament Ethics. Grand Rapids: Academia Books, 1983. Wright, John Stafford. Esther. Vol. 2, in The Zondervan Encyclopedia, edited by Merril C. Tenney, 408 - 409. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.