Background to the Book of Esther

Spread the love

Esther 1:1 “Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces).”

Here is a brief background of the book of Esther from the Believers Bible Commentary to those who want to study it:

“The events in this book took place between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra, during the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), king of Persia. The book is concerned with those Jews who decided to remain in Babylon rather than go back to Jerusalem with the small remnant that returned to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel (Ezra 2). It derives its name from its principal character, Esther, the orphan girl who became queen. Esther, her Persian name, means “star” and may have been derived from the goddess Ishtar. Hadassah, her Hebrew name, means “myrtle.” Ahasuerus held court in Shushan (Susa, NKJV marg.), one of three principal capital cities in Persia, the others being Achmetha (Ecbatana, NASB), and Babylon. Shushan is the Hebrew name and means “lily.” The Prophet Daniel spent time there. Nehemiah served there after Esther’s day (Neh. 1). It is there that our story takes place, beginning in the year 483 BC. (Xerxes came to power in 486 BC; chapter 1 opens in the third year of his reign – v. 3.)’

On the spiritual side, this book is an allegory of our Christian life. There are 4 characters that you need to look out in this book that represent our Spiritual life: Esther, King Ahasuerus, Mordecai and Haman. Esther represents our spirit, King Ahasurerus represents our Soul, Mordecai represents the Holy Spirit and Haman represents our Flesh. Brilliant indeed!