hadassah) she was of ideal hei… Question: "Did Esther have sex with Xerxes before they were married?" 15a), though some say that she was of sallow complexion but endowed with great charm. It has been alleged that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth year of Ahasuerus (Xerxes). If not, did Esther commit adultery by marrying Achashverosh? 13a), and she was brought up by Mordecai as his daughter. Mordecai informed Esther of Haman’s plot against the Jews, telling her to go before the king and plead for the Jews’ lives (Esther 4:8). Esther despaired throughout her first six years in the palace. Some Rabbis contend that Esther was Mordecai's wife and if she was, that raises a lot of legal questions and yet in Holy Scriptures we cannot find anything except that … [4] This leads to some confusion between third-person and first-person verb forms, but it is fairly widespread. Mordecai informed Esther of Haman’s plot against the Jews, telling her to go before the king and plead for the Jews’ lives (Esther 4:8). We rely on the support of readers like you. 13:00 Fax: 972-3-561-3699 For international customers: The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 7AM and 6PM  Many details about Esther recall and resemble details that describe Joseph. The term bat is understood as bayyit, which often carries the meaning “wife” in rabbinic exegesis. She was a young woman who was "beautiful in appearance and fine in aspect," but her natural beauty, which was the reason she was chosen by Haggai "the keeper of the women" to be brought before the king, was not sufficient. Esther 10:3 describes Mordechai as ratzui le-rov ehav, understood classically to mean that he was preferred or liked by the majority of his people. Esther remained passive and allowed the King to rape her repeatedly. Mordechai could have married Esther to protect her. At this, Esther balked—she did not have freedom to enter the king’s presence without a summons; to approach the … Among this group was Esther, a Jewess who kept her ethnic background hidden (verse 8). As to records of Mordecai and Esther the ancient historian Ctesias may record them in his writings as follow: “Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes . In fact, a common word for “wife” in the Talmud’s Aramaic is “דביתהו,” meaning “of his house.” The second generation Amora Yossi ben Chalafta, actually sites this as “good practice” (Ruth Rabba, parasha 2): B. Sometime later, Mordecai discovered and successfully foiled an assassination plot … He regularly teaches Bible, the History of Jewish Interpretation of the Bible, and a course on Jewish, Christian and Muslim scriptures and their interpretations. As Esther was an orphan, her cousin Mordechai brought her up. When she was orphaned, Mordechai adopted her. Why, at this time of success, he should not have earned everyone ’s respect bothered many commentators, … The Bible doesn't say anything about Vashti being killed. Both Esther and Mordecai are strikingly similar to Joseph. The Talmud reveals that Esther's relationship with Ahasuerus wasn't a romantic one. WRITER:Unknown. The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests: Her father died soon after her conception and her mother when she was born (Meg. No traditional rabbinic text claims that Mordechai was Esther’s uncle, but the idea has both popular currency[7] and support in early texts. 7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. Mordechai "takes her as his daughter," and "she is taken" by the king's messengers, and she acts in accordance with Mordechai's instructions: "Esther did not reveal her nationality… because Mordechai had so commanded her." She risked execution. There are people who have questions on Esther coming to get married to king Ahasuerus, but this is not the session to unravel and show why that marriage happened. Thus, bat and bayyit may have been phonetically equivalent to the authors of the midrash, perhaps even sounding identical. KEY VERSE: 4:14 For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then Esther must have been a "teenager" based on the historical and Biblical facts above. Did Reuben Lie with Bilhah? Toll Free number in Israel only 1-800-574-574  Darius must be 37 years old (62 minus 25) when he got married to Esther. As it happens, her cousin Mordecai is more scrupulous in keeping Jewish law, which after some time puts him in conflict with Ahasuerus’ highest official, Haman (Es. What was the biological relationship between Esther and Mordechai? The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai … 2. Following this, she was adopted by her cousin, Mordecai (‘Esther’ 2:7). I suggest that the phrase has been misunderstood. [8] The above is Ralph Marcus’s translation from the Loeb edition. To most parents it would have been a rare honor and a great privilege to have a daughter married to the … The relationship between Queen Esther and Mordecai is described in the Book of Esther chapter 2 from verses 5 to 7. Biblical proper names beginning with the letter, Ancient Samarian ostraca spell “wine” as ין, In various targumim we also find third-person imperfect verb forms that are spelled with initial. If Esther was Jewish and she married a non-Jewish king, why are so many Jews against intermarriage? Esther Finds Favor … 6 He had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah. Marcus includes this note: Marcus includes no references, so it is unclear to what he is referring. It is a common misconception that Mordechai was Esther's uncle. The decree for the Jews to be permitted to defend themselves and destroy their enemies was extended for one day in the citadel of Susa (Esther … To support this reading, the Talmud sites Nathan’s parable of the poor man with his pet sheep, which he allowed to sleep in his “bosom” and treated like a “daughter.” The Talmud says that this must be a euphemism, since wives, not daughters, sleep in men’s “bosoms.” Hence we see that the word בת can refer to a wife. But this is only speculation. Esther identified with the oppressed and used her position to fight for them. [9] E.g., Saadiah, Hai, Ibn Ezra, Rambam, Ibn Aknin, Ramban, and many others. - Proverbs 21:1 Props:Clear glass pitcher (a clear drinking glass would work for a small group of students), water, 4 colors of food coloring, salad oil - as clear as possible, large spoon He was bringing her up in the norms of the day. Struck by the beauty of Esther, the king went on to marry her and made her the queen. The society at hand largely viewed women as the property of men, so marriage meant men wouldn't mess with (or kidnap) Esther because to do so was to offend Mordechai. Among this group was Esther, a Jewess who kept her ethnic background hidden (verse 8). When we look at the Dead Sea Scrolls, early texts from approximately the same time as the writing of the Megillah, we see the term rovused as “the community,” not “the majority.” Perhaps, then, the meaning of the phrase is actually “liked by the community of his people.”. https://thetorah.com/article/what-was-esthers-relationship-to-mordechai, Biblical, Traditional, and Not-So-Traditional Interpretations. The story of Esther happened after Cyrus, the first Persian King, called for all deported Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the House of God (538 B.C., Ezra 1:2). A group of beautiful young virgins from the city of Susa was selected (verse 3). Key Verse: The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. [5] Tosafot noted that this spelling occurs elsewhere. This means it's very possible Mordechai never slept with Esther. The fact that Esther was married to Mordechai is not explicitly stated in the Bible. Question: "Did Esther have sex with Xerxes before they were married?" Silence, too, is desirable in women, and thus Esther "did not request anything" when she "was taken" to King Ahasuerus. . Most of the Jews preferred the comfortable life of the Persian Empire to an arduous life rebuilding their devastated homeland. If Esther was married to Mordecai, then sexual relations between a man and a married woman are forbidden. Yes, No, We Don’t Talk About It! Haman secured the king's permission to massacre of all the Jews in the empire. As to records of Mordecai and Esther the ancient historian Ctesias may record them in his writings as follow: “Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes . According to the tradition that she was previously unmarried, she was now married to and lived with a non-Jewish king. There are total five translations: including the earliest two Greek texts from the Septuagint (200s BC) and St. Lucian of Antioch (AD 200s), one Aramaic Targum (AD 200s), and one Latin Vulgate by St. Jerome (AD 400s), and the latest one Hebrew Masoretic text (AD 900s). Esther, for example, marries an unstable, goyische king at the behest of her cousin Mordechai, who may be married to her according to some of … Persians are modern day Iranians and they are not Jews. EVERY ESTHER NEEDS A MORDECAI. Illuminated Esther scroll. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king's trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. In a blatant affront to God, on the first day of the Jewish calendar, he ordered a lottery be administered to fin… Rabbi Meir presents us with an al tiqre-style midrash, which substitutes one word for a similar-sounding biblical one. ESTHER This is one of the two books of the Old Testament named for a woman. Esther and Mordechai  Medium steel engraving. Some Rabbis contend that Esther was Mordecai's wife and if she was, that raises a lot of legal questions and yet in Holy Scriptures we cannot find anything except that she was raised by him and that she was like his daughter! This issue has been explored in some depth by Ari Zivotofsky in an English article for Jewish Action called, “Tzarich Iyun: Mordechai and Esther,” and in a Hebrew article on the Bar Ilan website called “על מרדכי ואסתר”. It may be possible that Xerxes married Vishtaspa’s daughter, in other words princess Vishtaspa. circa 1845 Albert Henry Payne. Consequently, Esther was not considered to be a married woman who willingly engaged in adultery, and she was therefore permitted to Mordecai; indeed, the Rabbis maintain that she continued to live with the latter, at the same time that she was married to Ahasuerus (BT Lit. No doubt, Mordecai loved Esther on multiple levels; but in the end, his forced loss of her to a pagan king led to the salvation of the Jewish people in Persia. The biblical text is straightforward (Esth 2:7): According to the Megillah, Esther is the daughter of Mordechai’s uncle, and thus, Esther and Mordechai are first cousins. E-mail: subs@jpost.com, Sign up for The Jerusalem Post Premium Plus for just $5, Upgrade your reading experience with an ad-free environment and exclusive content, Copyright © 2021 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved. Nevertheless, when we comb through rabbinic texts, we can see that many medieval rabbis (even some Ashkenazim) made use of “non-traditional” sources,[9]including the Septuagint, the Peshitta, the Apocrypha, and, yes, even the Vulgate. This means it's very possible Mordechai never slept with Esther. Feminist women who have studied the Scroll of Esther have emphasized the way in which Esther's character is shaped by the perspectives of the men in the story. 1615. But the words of Esther do not necessarily lead to this conclusion. 3:1-6). Both Esther and Mordecai are strikingly similar to Joseph. Esther 2:7,11,20. As Josephus has not had the same effect on popular culture as the Vulgate, it seems likely that the Jewish sources that describe Mordechai as Esther’s uncle may have been influenced by the Catholic version of the biblical text, though they are probably not aware of this. At this point we must ask the question that bothered the rabbis in the Talmud. 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