An Encomium on Mordecai (10:1–3)
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WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY VOLUME 9 ESTHER FREDERIC W. BUSH ——————General Editors—————— David A. Hubbard Glenn W. Barker* ——————Old Testament Editor—————— John D. W. Watts ——————New Testament Editor—————— Ralph P. Martin WORD BOOKS, PUBLISHER • DALLAS, TEXAS TO MY WIFE, BERNICE WITHOUT WHOSE SUPPORT, TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE, THIS WORK WOULD NEVER HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY (Ruth 3:11b) and to David Allan Hubbard (who went to be with the Lord the very day this dedication was written) For his constant encouragement, his insightful critique, and his warm friendship [ (Prov 17:17a) Word Biblical Commentary RUTH, ESTHER Copyright © 1996 by Word, Incorporated All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Main entry under title: Word biblical commentary. Includes bibliographies. 1. Bible—Commentaries—Collected works. BS491.2W67 220.7‘7 81-71768 ISBN 0-8499-0208-8 (v. 9) AACR2 Scripture quotations in the body of the text are the author‘s own. The author‘s own translation of the text appears under the heading Transl Table of Contents Editorial Preface Author‘s Preface RUTH Main Bibliography INTRODUCTION ACT 1: PROLOGUE AND PROBLEM: DEATH AND EMPTINESS (1:1–22) SCENE 1: SETTING AND PROBLEM. A JUDEAN FAMILY DIES IN MOAB: NAOMI IS LEFT WITHOUT HUSBAND AND SONS (1:1–6) Scene 2: Emptiness Compounded: Naomi and Her Daughters-in-law on the Road to Judah (1:7–19a) Scene 3: Emptiness Expressed: Naomi Arrives at Bethlehem with Ruth (1:19b–22) ACT 2: RUTH MEETS BOAZ, NAOMI‘S RELATIVE, ON THE HARVEST FIELD (2:1–23) SCENE 1: RUTH GOES TO GLEAN—AND HAPPENS UPON THE FIELD OF BOAZ, NAOMI‘S RELATIVE (2:1–3) Scene 2: Ruth and Boaz Meet on the Harvest Field: Boaz Is Exceedingly Generous (2:4–17a) Scene 3: Naomi Evaluates the Meeting: Boaz Is One of Their Redeemers (2:17b–23) ACT 3: NAOMI SENDS RUTH TO BOAZ ON THE THRESHING FLOOR (3:1–18) SCENE 1: NAOMI REVEALS HER PLAN FOR A HOME AND HUSBAND FOR RUTH (3:1–5) Scene 2: Ruth Carries out Naomi‘s Plan, and Boaz Offers to Be the Redeemer (3:6–15) Excursus: The Relationship between Ruth‘s Request and the Question of Levirate Marriage Scene 3: Naomi Evaluates the Encounter: Boaz Will Act (3:16–18) ACT 4: RESOLUTION AND EPILOGUE: LIFE AND FULLNESS (4:1–22) SCENE 1: BOAZ ACQUIRES THE RIGHT TO REDEEM NAOMI AND RUTH (4:1–12) Excursus: The Nature of the Transaction Proposed by Boaz in vv 3–5a Excursus: Levirate Marriage in the Old Testament Scene 2: A Son Is Born to Ruth and Boaz: Naomi Is Restored to Life and Fullness (4:13–17) Scene 3: Epilogue: A Judean Family Restored: The Line of David (4:18–22) ESTHER Main Bibliography INTRODUCTION ACT 1: INTRODUCTION AND SETTING: ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN OF PERSIA (1:1–2:23) SCENE 1: THE DEPOSAL OF QUEEN VASHTI (1:1–22) Scene 2: Esther Becomes Queen (2:1–18) Scene 3: Mordecai Uncovers a Plot (2:19–23) ACT 2: THE CRISIS: HAMAN‘S PLOT TO DESTROY THE JEWS (3:1–15) SCENE 1: HAMAN DECIDES TO ANNIHILATE THE JEWS (3:1–6) Scene 2: Haman sets in motion a plot to annihilate the Jews (3:7–15) ACT 3: MORDECAI‘S STRATAGEM: ESTHER MUST CONSENT TO APPEAL TO THE KING (4:1–17) SCENE 1: MORDECAI AND ALL THE JEWS LAMENT OVER HAMAN‘S EDICT (4:1–3) Scene 2: At Mordecai‘s command Esther consents to appeal to the king (4:4–17) ACT 4: ESTHER BEGINS HER APPEAL: SHE INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN TO A BANQUET (5:1–8) SCENE 1: ESTHER INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN TO A BANQUET (5:1–5A) Scene 2: Esther again invites the king and Haman to a banquet (5:5b–8) ACT 5: HAMAN‘S STRATAGEM BACKFIRES: HE IS HUMILIATED AND MORDECAI HONORED (5:9–6:14) SCENE 1: HAMAN‘S HUBRIS: HIS WIFE AND HIS FRIENDS PERSUADE HIM TO ASK THE KING TO HANG MORDECAI (5:9–14) Scene 2: Haman‘s humiliation: the king commands him to honor Mordecai (6:1–11) Scene 3: Haman‘s end: his wife and his friends predict his downfall (6:12–14) ACT 6: ESTHER MAKES HER APPEAL: THE FALL OF HAMAN (7:1–10) ACT 7: ESTHER APPEALS AGAIN TO THE KING: SHE AND MORDECAI COUNTER HAMAN‘S PLOT (8:1–17) SCENE 1: ESTHER AND MORDECAI ACQUIRE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE A COUNTERDECREE (8:1–8) Scene 2: Mordecai issues the counterdecree (8:9–17) ACT 8: THE JEWS ARE VICTORIOUS: THEY PUT ALL THEIR ENEMIES TO THE SWORD (9:1–5) ACT 9: THE FESTIVAL OF PURIM IS INSTITUTED: MORDECAI, ESTHER, AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY SET ITS DATES AND ESTABLISH ITS CHARACTER (9:6–32) SCENE 1: THE EVENTS THAT OCCASION THE CELEBRATION OF PURIM OVER TWO DAYS (9:6–19) Scene 2: Mordecai, Esther, and the Jewish community set the dates of Purim and commit themselves to its perpetual celebration (9:20–32) EPILOGUE: AN ENCOMIUM ON MORDECAI (10:1–3) EDITORIAL PREFACE The launching of the Word Biblical Commentary brings to fulfillment an enterprise of several years‘ planning. The publishers and the members of the editorial board met in 1977 to explore the possibility of a new commentary on the books of the Bible that would incorporate several distinctive features. Prospective readers of these volumes are entitled to know what such features were intended to be; whether the aims of the commentary have been fully achieved time alone will tell. First, we have tried to cast a wide net to include as contributors a number of scholars from around the world who not only share our aims, but are in the main engaged in the ministry of teaching in university, college, and seminary. They represent a rich diversity of denominational allegiance. The broad stance of our contributors can rightly he called evangelical, and this term is to be understood in its positive, historic sense of a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation, and to the truth and power of the Christian gospel. Then, the commentaries in our series are all commissioned and written for the purpose of inclusion in the Word Biblical Commentary. Unlike several of our distinguished counterparts in the field of commentary writing, there are no translated works, originally written in a non-English language. Also, our commentators were asked to prepare their own rendering of the original biblical text and to use those languages as the basis of their own comments and exegesis. What may be claimed as distinctive with this series is that it is based on the biblical languages, yet it seeks to make the technical and scholarly approach to a theological understanding of Scripture understandable by—and useful to—the fledgling student, the working minister, and colleagues in the guild of professional scholars and teachers as well. Finally, a word must be said about the format of the series. The layout, in clearly defined sections, has been consciously devised to assist readers at different levels. Those wishing to learn about the textual witnesses on which the translation is offered are invited to consult the section headed Notes. If the readers‘ concern is with the state of modern scholarship on any given portion of Scripture, they should turn to the sections on Bibliography and Form/Structure/Setting. For a clear exposition of the passage‘s meaning and its relevance to the ongoing biblical revelation, the Comment and concluding Explanation are designed expressly to meet that need. There is therefore something for everyone who may pick up and use these volumes. If these aims come anywhere near realization, the intention of the editors will have been met, and the labor of our team of contributors rewarded. General Editors: David A. Hubbard Glenn W. Barker* Old Testament: John D. W. Watts New Testament: Ralph P. Martin Author‘s Preface It is impossible to complete the writing of a commentary on a book of the Bible without, on the one hand, being immensely aware of how much one is indebted to the work of those who have gone before and without, on the other hand, feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the insight, understanding, and stimulation that their work has provided. In particular, most valuable has been the work on semantic structure by J. Beekman, J. Callow, and M. Kopesec; that on narrative interpretation by R. Alter, A. Berlin, and M. Sternberg; and above all, for the book of Ruth, the fine commentaries by E. F. Campbell, R. L. Hubbard, P. Joüon, W. Rudolph, and J. M. Sasson; and those of H. Bardtke, D. J. A. Clines, M. V. Fox, and C. A. Moore for Esther. My indebtedness to these and many other scholars in the difficult task of ―commenting‖ on Ruth and Esther will be evident on almost every page. In writing this commentary, particularly the Comment sections, I have always had (quite unconsciously at the beginning, I must confess) the needs and interests of the students who have sat for some thirty-one years now in courses on the grammar and exegesis of Hebrew and the other Semitic languages that it has been my privilege to teach at Fuller Theological Seminary. Hence, these sections are far more liberally sprinkled with grammatical explanations and with references to the standard grammatical and exegetical reference works than is normally the case in a work of this kind. I crave the general reader‘s indulgence in this regard, an aspect that otherwise would at times, I fear, seem unnecessary, and perhaps even pedantic.