Esther (Book and Person) -- Medieval Judaism

Horizons in Biblical Theology, 2007

In the present study of I shall demonstrate that the Book of Esther is a high-grade numerical composition, in which the divine name numbers 17 and 26 are woven in different ways into the text to signify the presence of God in the events described in the story. This makes it a genuine religious writing despite the absence of the name of YHWH, as in the Song of Songs and Qoheleth, where God is not visualized onstage but behind the scenes. I shall argue in passing that Esther was historically the last to come in on the list of canonized writings, because it came into existence after 70 C.E., the year in which remnants of the archives in Jerusalem were brought into safety in caves at the Dead Sea. This explains why there has as yet no trace of the book been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Furthermore, Esther is also much more than a story explaining the origin of the Feast of Purim: it deals with the perennial threat of genocide of the Jews and their ultimate survival.

Women in Judaism a Multidisciplinary Journal, 2012

2009