Introduction

What started out as a thesis statement to keep myself on track turned out to work well as an introduction:

Esther is an interesting book for many reasons. The characters mentioned are found in the halls of history (as opposed to say...Job). The main character was a woman, the only other instance of this is found in the book of Ruth. Unlike Ruth, however, Esther was NOT an ancestor of Jesus and her story does not appear to be directly related to Christ in any way, which is rare for a book in the Old Testament. Lastly, God is not an active character in this drama. He is mentioned and alluded to but does not appear to take an active hand. In this sense, perhaps the events that unfold would be most relatable to those of us who've never encountered burning bushes that handily tells us where to go next in life.

There are many ways one can view this book; traditionally, Esther is seen as the heroine who saved the Jews in exile and inaugurated the Purim holiday. A Cinderella story before there was a Cinderella. On the other hand, a more contemporary (and noticeably feminist) approach to reading Esther views her predecessor, Queen Vashti, as the true heroine who stood up to male dominion and refused to allow her gender or her sexuality define her identity. Conversely, Esther is seen as weak-willed and submissive, an irrelevant archtype of an outdated model of female subserviencey. Fascinating as that debate would be, this study is not meant to pitch men against women (which would put me in an even more uncomfortable position than I already am). The book of Esther was not meant to incite a gender war but offer a biblical model of behaviour. It is an enlightening book that has a lot to say about what one should and shouldn't base one's identities upon, where one's worth comes from, the value of humility and obedience, and how even submission and meekness can be the wisest course to guide the events of history (and one's household). I look forward to learning with you all!