Queen Esther

In ‘Queen Esther’s Reflection’, Ann Platz portrays Queen Esther as a perfect role model of grace, courage and excellence for women of today. From charming hospitality and wisdom-inspired mentoring to extending grace and social graces to others, the young and attractive Esther is an amazing and incredible person to emulate. Esther was the queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus.

The first part of this article presents technical information clarifying the original function of the scenes known as the Stories of Esther by Jacopo del Sellaio (Florence, ca. 1441/1442 – Florence, 1493). The five fragments, now divided between Florence, Paris and Budapest, have long been recognised as belonging to the same ensemble, but there has been no consensus among scholars about their original arrangement and physical setting. The new technical results published here prove that all five paintings are fragments of two front panels from a pair of “cassoni” (wedding chests), rather than being parts of a frieze, a lettuccio (daybed) or a spalliera (painted backboard or wainscoting), as most researchers in the last thirty years have suggested.
The reconstruction of the two wedding chests also affects how the paintings are interpreted, for the fact that they once decorated two separate items of furniture that could be easily compared with each other accentuates the didactic message of the depictions. Iconographical analysis in the second part of the article suggests that this pair of wedding chests exploits the interpretative possibilities of the Old Testament story to present the bride with both a positive and a negative model of wifely conduct.
At present, the Florence–Paris–Budapest wedding chests seem unique in that the space allotted by the commissioner to Vashti’s story is equal to that given to Esther’s, and for this reason it would be more appropriate to call their subject the Stories of Vashti and Esther.

Originally written for an RTS class on Judges-Esther. I had to rework the paper for length, focusing only on Mordecai and cutting most of the material on Ahasuerus. This is the paper with the additional material added back in, though that material is not expanded upon nor always developed fully. It is a broad brush overview, touching on a number of points, all of which are worthy of further consideration, which I hope to give them at some point.

The choice made by Themistocles to meet Xerxes remains an enigma for most historians. Why did this brilliant strategist, who defeated the imperial armies of Xerxes at Salamis and was a fervent defender of a workers’ democracy rather than an owners’ democracy, go to Persia to make a pact with the enemy? Why did Artaxerxes I, when he arrived at the imperial court in 474 BCE, welcome him as a hero, appoint him governor of Magnesia and even give him the right to mint his own currency? Why did Themistocles (536-471) want to confer with Amestris, i.e. Queen Esther (510-426), mother of Artaxerxes I (Ne 2:6), and why did Socrates encourage his faithful follower, the strategist Alcibiades, before the Peloponnesian War began (in 431 BCE), to benefit from Amestris’ wisdom? An absolute chronology of this period gives the answer to all these puzzling questions: Zoroaster (614-536), whom Socrates considered the first magus, was the diviner whom Cyrus met after the fall of Babylon (Daniel). Impressed by this “magus” who had revealed to him that God himself had appointed him to rule the world (Is 44:24-45-4), his co-regent issued an imperial decree (Dn 6:24-28) stipulating that: “From now on, the Persians are to worship the Lord Wisdom (Ahura Mazda), the only god, creator of heaven and earth, creator of man's happiness”, which was the motto of all the Achaemenid kings. Themistocles, who had wanted to meet with Xerxes to secretly replace the Persian protectorate with a partnership, in order to avoid war with the imperialist Athenians, was convinced by Amestris’ much wiser secret plan of a non-interventionist policy.

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As for the overall historicity of the book —despite widespread dismissal from skeptics— there is likewise a remarkable body of evidence for it, including the historical identity of Queen Esther herself. For more on this, read a thorough investigation by Gerard Gertoux (The Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology https://armstronginstitute.org/674).

A moda é usada como um dos meios de expressar as personalidades existentes no ser humano. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho de conclusão é criar uma ligação entre a moda e o meio evangélico, dando mais identidade a este público. O trabalho fala sobre os costumes cristãos e os seus desejos em relação a seguir suas doutrinas, mas também seu desejo de estar sempre atento no que há de novo no mundo da moda, principalmente quando se trata da geração Z e Y. Este projeto se baseia em pesquisas bibliográficas do meio evangélico e da moda. No trabalho foi empregada a pesquisa qualitativa e para alcançar os objetivos foi realizado um questionário com o público feminino da igreja Congregação Cristão no Brasil da cidade de Fortaleza, Ceará. O resultado desta pesquisa foi a criação de uma coleção de moda que atendesse ao público acima citado.

Abstract: this article argues that Molière’s Le Tartuffe ou l’imposteur has much in common with the biblical Book of Esther. Adopting the mythocritique theoretical perspective, the paper first demonstrates that both narratives unfold through a similar story featuring the psychological domination of a villain over a powerful man; the concoction of a secret plot by the villain; its discovery through a counter-plot; and its thwarting. In both cases, the traitors and their plots are discovered in a similar scene in which both deceived patrons see their former confidant lusting after their wives. Only then do they realize the extent of the villain’s plot: the villain’s desire to have sex with their wives symbolizes his willingness to usurp their patron’s position and assets. This paper also presents an analogy between the characters: Ahassuerus corresponds to Orgon, Haman to Tartuffe, Esther refers to Elmire, and Mordechai to Cléante. Finally, the paper shows that this parallel emphasizes the political dimension of the play and explains its Deus ex machina and its relevance to the historical context.