Biblical Literacy, pages 118-125
It’s hard to believe, isn’t it, that there’s a book in the Bible that doesn’t mention God? The original Hebrew text has no mention of the deity. The translators into the Greek version called the Septuagint, however, added some six passages that do reference God. But the New Revised Standard Version translated from the ancient Hebrew Masoretic text. And so, in our Bibles, there is no reference to God in the Book of Esther.
Purim this year will be celebrated from the evening of March 7 until the evening of March 8. There are several interesting and wonderful Jewish practices surrounding this feast, including fasting from a hour before sunrise until sunset on the day before. Observant Jews will listen to two live readings of the Esther story—one the night of March 7 and one on the day itself. There is the custom of donating to two needy people, and of bringing two dishes of food to a friend (preferably delivered by a third party).
In Jewish schools, the children will dress up, perhaps to commemorate the fact that Esther did not reveal that she was Jewish until the very end. The kids will bring their noisemakers, or gragers, and they will boo and stamp their feet every time the wicked Haman’s name is mentioned in the story. They will eat pastries named after him and have a great time. Their elders will be sure to serve alcohol on Purim and there is an old tale that the ancient rabbis gave everyone permission to drink to excess on Purim.
There are so many fascinating aspects of this story. Why do you think it ended up in the Bible? What parts of the story enthrall you? Is it the ethno-national part—the amazing relationship between the Jews and the Persians—Jews obeying the intransigent Persian law but still keeping a strong sense of their own identities? Is it the transformation of Esther from a young girl who obeys her father into someone willing to marry a gentile, sleep with the king, risk her life for the sake of her people (“if I perish, then I perish”), and finally ends up giving orders to both the King and to her father, Mordecai?
There is a lot going on in this story—not all of it explicit. Only some research will tell you that Haman’s being an Agagite means that he was related to King Agag, leader of the Amalekites, who were longtime enemies of the Israelites. He and Mordecai, leader of the Jews, were set up for conflict by their very ancestry. Both would try to exterminate each other, although the wording of Haman’s edict sounds like genocide, and perhaps the retaliation of Mordecai only sought victory over enemies, not annihilation. Still, in chapter nine, which probably is not read to children, Queen Esther demands her husband hang the ten sons of Haman so their bodies would be subject to public disgrace. These were not pleasant times.
We do much in life with no reference to God. We shop, travel, deal with children, work at our jobs, clean the house, take the car in for maintenance, eat meals, watch TV. Some of us save “God-stuff” for Sundays or funerals. But many commentators through the ages look back on the story of Esther and see God’s hand at work, even if only in the heroics of this beautiful woman. And many of us, looking back on the mundane details of our daily living, can catch a glimpse of a golden thread or of some leather strap to hold onto as life speeds up and lurches around corners. As the wise man puts it: “God comes disguised as our life!”
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