In this Esther 8 commentary, Haman is dead but his murderous edict is still very much alive. King Xerxes gives Esther all of Haman's vast wealth and presents Mordecai with his signet ring making Mordecai the most powerful man in the court. Esther pleads…
In this Esther 6 commentary, a sleepless King Xerxes stumbles upon a forgotten record of Mordecai's loyalty, setting off a breathtaking chain of reversals. Haman is forced to honor the man he came to execute. Esther exposes his plot at the second banquet. And…
In this Esther 5 commentary, we watch Queen Esther courageously step before King Xerxes uninvited, risking death to save her people. The king extends his scepter, sparing her life and granting her request. She invites him and Haman to two private banquets, and while…
In Esther Chapter 4, Mordecai tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth and ashes, and wails at the King's Gate. Through his trusted eunuch Hathak, Mordecai delivers the devastating news to Queen Esther and demands she act. His three undeniable arguments push Esther from passivity…
In today's Esther 3 commentary, King Xerxes promotes Haman to chief officer. But when Mordecai refuses to bow, Haman's wounded pride explodes into a plot to annihilate every Jew in the Persian Empire. He manipulates the king into signing an irreversible decree. Yet behind…
During the four years between Vashti's banishment and Esther's coronation, King Xerxes fights and loses a war with Greece. Upon his return, the advisors devise a national beauty competition to distract the king and save themselves. Young Hadassah, a Jewish orphan raised by her…
The Book of Esther, the final History Book of the Old Testament, is set in post-exilic Persia around 486–465 BC. It’s a story about the Jews who stayed behind rather than return to Jerusalem. It opens in the opulent court of King Xerxes, where…
