Esther Through the Centuries Jo Carruthers Esther Through the Centuries Blackwell Bible Commentaries Series Editors: John Sawyer, Christopher Rowland, Judith Kovacs, David M. Gunn John Th rough the Centuries Ecclesiastes Th rough the Centuries Mark Edwards Eric S. Christianson Revelation Th rough the Centuries Esther Th rough the Centuries Judith Kovacs & Christopher Rowland Jo Carruthers Judges Th rough the Centuries Psalms Th rough the Centuries: David M. Gunn Volume One Exodus Th rough the Centuries Susan Gillingham Scott M. Langston Galatians Th rough the Centuries John Riches Forthcoming: Leviticus Th rough the Centuries Th e Minor Prophets Th rough the Mark Elliott Centuries 1 & 2 Samuel Th rough the Centuries Jin Han & Richard Coggins David M. Gunn Mark Th rough the Centuries 1 & 2 Kings Th rough the Centuries Christine Joynes Martin O’Kane Luke Th rough the Centuries Psalms Th rough the Centuries: Larry Kreitzer Volume Two Th e Acts of the Apostles Th rough the Susan Gillingham Centuries Song of Songs Th rough the Centuries Heidi J. Hornik & Mikael C. Parsons Francis Landy & Fiona Black Romans Th rough the Centuries Isaiah Th rough the Centuries Paul Fiddes John F. A. Sawyer 1 Corinthians Th rough the Centuries Jeremiah Th rough the Centuries Jorunn Okland Mary Chilton Callaway 2 Corinthians Th rough the Centuries Lamentations Th rough the Centuries Paula Gooder Paul M. Joyce & Diane Lipton Hebrews Th rough the Centuries Ezekiel Th rough the Centuries John Lyons Andrew Mein James Th rough the Centuries Jonah Th rough the Centuries David Gowler Yvonne Sherwood Pastoral Epistles Th rough the Centuries Jay Twomey Esther Through the Centuries Jo Carruthers © by Jo Carruthers blackwell publishing Main Street, Malden, MA - , USA Garsington Road, Oxford OX DQ, UK Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria , Australia Th e right of Jo Carruthers to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act . All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act , without the prior permission of the publisher. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are oft en claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Th e publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Th is publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. First published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Carruthers, Jo. Esther through the centuries / Jo Carruthers. p. cm.—(Blackwell Bible commentaries) Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN ---- (hardcover: alk. paper) . Bible. O.T. Esther— Commentaries. I. Title. 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For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website at www.blackwellpublishing.com For my Father Bernard Ashton Smith – Contents List of Plates xi Series Editors’ Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 Why Reception? 2 An Irredeemable Book? 7 Jewish Tradition 10 Christian Tradition 12 Summary of Works 13 Godless Scripture 21 Allegory 28 Providence, Chosenness, Nationhood 32 viii Contents Political Application 46 Esther as Literature 49 Esther 1:1–9 52 1:1 Th e King and Empire 53 1:3 Th e King’s Feast 57 1:4 Display of Wealth 58 1:8 No Compulsion to Drink 59 1:9 Women’s Feast 60 Vashti 61 Esther 1:10–22 68 1:12 Disobedience 68 1:13–22 Th e Empire Strikes Back 83 1:19 Vashti’s Punishment 88 1:22 Th e Decree 89 Esther 2:1–7 93 2:1 Th e King Remembers Vashti 93 2:2–4 To the Harem 95 2:5–6 Mordecai 98 2:7 Hadassah- Esther 103 Esther 2:8–23 109 2:8–14 Esther in the Harem 109 2:15 Esther’s Beauty 121 2:16–18 Esther Becomes Queen 125 Esther 3 133 3:1 Haman 134 3:2 ‘But Mordecai did not bow down’ 139 3:7 Casting Lots 143 3:8 (Mis)Representing Jews: A People Set Apart 145 3:8 Evil Counsellors 151 3:12–15 Genocidal Edicts 155 3:15 ‘Th e King and Haman sat down to drink’ 157 Esther 4:1–14 160 4:1–3 ‘Great mourning among the Jews’ 160 4:4–14 Esther and Mordecai Confer 163 4:14 ‘From another quarter’ 174 Contents ix Esther 4:15–17 176 4:15 ‘Fast ye for me’ 176 4:16 ‘If I perish, I perish’ 180 Esther as Exemplar of Resolve 184 4:17 ‘Mordecai [. .] did everything as Esther had ordered him’ 191 Esther 5 192 Esther before Ahasuerus 192 5:4–8 Esther’s First Banquet 215 5:9–14 Haman’s Wrath 218 Esther 6 221 Th e King’s Sleeplessness 222 6:11 Th e Triumph of Mordecai 227 Esther 7 and 8 233 7:1–6 Esther’s Second Banquet 233 7:7–8 Haman’s Fate 238 8:1–6 ‘How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’ 244 8:7–14 Th e Irreversible Decree 244 8:15–17 ‘Th e Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour’ 249 Esther 9 and 10 254 9:2 Scenes of Slaughter 256 9:7–10 Ten Sons of Haman 265 9:26 Purim 267 9:29 & 32 ‘Th en Esther the Queen . wrote with all authority’ 275 10 Th e Greatness of Mordecai 277 Bibliography 280 Primary Sources Pre- 1500 280 1500–1800 281 Post- 1800 284 Esther Secondary Sources 289 Other Secondary Sources 293 Index 296 Plates 1 Michelangelo, Punishment of Haman. Th e Sistine Chapel, Vatican 31 2 Rembrandt van Rijn, Ahasuerus Seated at a Table 54 3 Jewish synagogue and naked female fi gures. Megillah, John Rylands Hebrew MS 22 63 4 Vashti’s execution. Megillah, John Rylands Hebrew MS 22 63 5 Vashti’s tails. From the facsimile of the Duke of Alba’s Castilian Bible (1422–33) 70 6 Haman shooting an arrow at a sign of the zodiac. Megillah (Cracow and Holland, 1716) 144 7 Tintoretto, Esther before Ahasuerus, c.1547–8 196 8 Nicolas Poussin, Esther before Ahasuerus, c.1640s 197 9 Rembrandt van Rijn, Esther Fainting before Ahasuerus, c.1645–50 198 10 Valentin Lefevre, Esther before Ahasuerus, c.1675–1700 199 xii Plates 11 Antoine Coypel, L’ Ev a n o u i s s e m e nt d’ E s t h e r (Th e Swooning of Esther), c.1704 200 12 Esther before King Ahasuerus. Designed by Bernard Picart. Etched and engraved by Cornelis Huyberts. Amsterdam: P. Mortier, c.1700 201 13 Purim plate. Victoria and Albert Museum 229 14 Antonio Gionima, Th e Condemnation of Haman by Ahasuerus, c.1725–30 239 15 Esther writing the edict. Megillah (Italy, eighteenth century) 248 16 Massacre (etched out). Megillah (Italy, eighteenth century) 258 17 Th e hanging of Haman and his ten sons. Megillah (Poland, Pinczow, eighteenth century) 258 18 Esther’s petition and the hanging of Haman’s ten sons. Esther Scroll 266 19 Chasidic Purim, Williamsburg, New York, 2005 268 Series Editors’ Preface Th e Blackwell Bible Commentaries series, the fi rst to be devoted primarily to the reception history of the Bible, is based on the premise that how people have inter- preted, and been infl uenced by, a sacred text like the Bible is oft en as interesting and historically important as what it originally meant. Th e series emphasizes the infl uence of the Bible on literature, art, music and fi lm, its role in the evo- lution of religious beliefs and practices, and its impact on social and political developments. Drawing on work in a variety of disciplines, it is designed to provide a convenient and scholarly means of access to material until now hard to fi nd, and a much- needed resource for all those interested in the infl uence of the Bible on Western culture. Until quite recently this whole dimension was for the most part neglected by biblical scholars. Th e goal of a commentary was primarily, if not exclusively, to get behind the centuries of accumulated Christian and Jewish tradition to xiv Series Editors’ Preface one single meaning, normally identifi ed with the author’s original intention. Th e most important and distinctive feature of the Blackwell Commentaries is that they will present readers with many diff erent interpretations of each text, in such a way as to heighten their awareness of what a text, especially a sacred text, can mean and what it can do, what it has meant and what it has done, in the many contexts in which it operates.