Study · Person
Esther
Esther is one of the most dramatic figures in the Hebrew Bible — a Jewish orphan girl who rose to become Queen of Persia and, at the risk of her own life, delivered her people from annihilation. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah ('myrtle'), but she was known by the Persian name Esther, likely derived from the Persian for 'star' or possibly related to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, though her story makes clear she worshipped the God of Israel. Raised by her older cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents, Esther was brought into the palace of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) and chosen as queen. When the royal official Haman plotted to exterminate all Jews in the Persian Empire, Mordecai urged Esther to intervene with his famous words: 'Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' (Esther 4:14). Esther called a three-day fast among her people, then approached the king uninvited — an act punishable by death — and through extraordinary courage and wisdom outmaneuvered Haman and secured her people's deliverance. Her story gave rise to the Jewish festival of Purim.
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Esther is one of the most dramatic figures in the Hebrew Bible — a Jewish orphan girl who rose to become Queen of Persia and, at the risk of her own life, delivered her people from annihilation. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah ('myrtle'), but she was known by the Persian name Esther, likely derived from the Persian for 'star' or possibly related to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, though her story makes clear she worshipped the God of Israel. Raised by her older cousin Mordecai after the death of her parents, Esther was brought into the palace of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) and chosen as queen. When the royal official Haman plotted to exterminate all Jews in the Persian Empire, Mordecai urged Esther to intervene with his famous words: 'Who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' (Esther 4:14). Esther called a three-day fast among her people, then approached the king uninvited — an act punishable by death — and through extraordinary courage and wisdom outmaneuvered Haman and secured her people's deliverance. Her story gave rise to the Jewish festival of Purim.
Name meaning: Star