Esther Questions and Answers All Chapters New King James Chapter 1
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Week #: 33 Text: Esther 1-10 Title: Feast of Purim Songs
Week #: 33 Text: Esther 1-10 Title: Feast of Purim Songs: Videos: Purim Song – The Maccabeats Audio Reading: Book of Esther Feast of Purim Purim is an annual celebration of the defeat of an Iranian mad man’s plan to exterminate the Jewish people. Purim is celebrated annually during the month of Adar (the second month of Adar) on the 14th day. In years where there are two months of Adar, Purim is celebrated in the second month because it always needs to fall 30 days before Passover. It is called Purim because the word means “lots” – referencing when Haman threw lots to decide which day he would slay the Jews. The fourteenth was chosen for this celebration because it is the day that the Jews battled for their lives and won. The fifteenth is celebrated as Purim also because the book of Esther says that in Shushan (a walled city), deliverance from the scheduled massacre was not completed until the next day. So the fifteenth is referred to as Shushan Purim. Traditions for the Feast of Purim: It is customary to read the book of Esther – called the Megillah Esther – or the scroll of Esther. It means the revelation of that which is hidden While reading it is tradition to boo, hiss, stamp feet and rattle noise makers whenever Haman’s name is mentioned for the purpose of “blotting out the name of Haman”. When the names of Mordechai or Esther are spoken, hoots and hollers, cheering, applause, etc., are given as they are the heroes of the story. -
GOD in the ORDINARY Text: Esther 6 Topic: God's Timing
LIFE GROUP GUIDE Title: GOD IN THE ORDINARY Text: Esther 6 Topic: God's timing MAIN POINT Those who oppose the purposes of God will face God’s judgment. DELIVER – Use this space to take notes during the sermon. Additional commentary is also available to rightly understand and teach God’s Word. Sermon Notes: 1. God doesn't forget His children (v. 1-5) 2. Left to ourselves, we will work for our own glory (v. 6-9) 3. Our pursuit determines out future (v. 10-14) DISCIPLE – Use these questions to engage people in discussion on a personal level. Ask everyone to open their sermon notes and Bibles. ➢ Read (or have a volunteer read) Esther 6:1-5 ➢ Review the sermon point: “God doesn’t forget His children” Share from your notes and ask group members for insights. 1. What was Haman on his way to do when he entered the king’s court? 2. How does God show that he is providentially working to protect Mordecai? 3. What would have happened if Mordecai had been honored for his efforts to protect the king when he did it five years ago? 4. What do these verses contribute to the idea that God providentially cares for us like he did with Mordecai: Phillipians 4:19; Jude 24; Hebrews 13:6; 2 Timothy 4:18? Haman was on his way to convince the king that it would be a good idea to kill Mordecai because of his lack of reverence (and because he is a Jew). However, God was working through the timing of his arrival. -
“Seeing God at Work” Esther 8:3–9:3, 26-28
watch the sermons | plymouthchurch.org “Seeing God at Work” Esther 8:3–9:3, 26-28 Brett Younger Senior Minister July 11, 2021 The Eighth Sunday of Pentecost Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. The king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have won his favor, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, “See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.” The king’s secretaries were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. -
Prints and Johan Wittert Van Der Aa in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.[7] Drawings, Inv
Esther before Ahasuerus ca. 1640–45 oil on panel Jan Adriaensz van Staveren 86.7 x 75.2 cm (Leiden 1613/14 – 1669 Leiden) signed in light paint along angel’s shield on armrest of king’s throne: “JOHANNES STAVEREN 1(6?)(??)” JvS-100 © 2021 The Leiden Collection Esther before Ahasuerus Page 2 of 9 How to cite Van Tuinen, Ilona. “Esther before Ahasuerus” (2017). In The Leiden Collection Catalogue, 3rd ed. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and Lara Yeager-Crasselt. New York, 2020–. https://theleidencollection.com/artwork/esther-before-ahasuerus/ (accessed October 02, 2021). A PDF of every version of this entry is available in this Online Catalogue's Archive, and the Archive is managed by a permanent URL. New versions are added only when a substantive change to the narrative occurs. © 2021 The Leiden Collection Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) Esther before Ahasuerus Page 3 of 9 During the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, the beautiful Jewish orphan Comparative Figures Esther, heroine of the Old Testament Book of Esther, won the heart of the austere Persian king Ahasuerus and became his wife (Esther 2:17). Esther had been raised by her cousin Mordecai, who made Esther swear that she would keep her Jewish identity a secret from her husband. However, when Ahasuerus appointed as his minister the anti-Semite Haman, who issued a decree to kill all Jews, Mordecai begged Esther to reveal her Jewish heritage to Ahasuerus and plead for the lives of her people. Esther agreed, saying to Mordecai: “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. -
07.07.13 Final
ORDINARY PEOPLE DOING EXTRAORDINARY GOOD Selected scriptures from Esther 07.07.2013 TWO LIFE LESSONS FROM THE STORY OF ESTHER 1. WHEN SIN IS ________________________, IT _______________ EXPONENTIALLY. “And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.” Esther 3:4-6 “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15 (NLT) 2. GOD DOES _______________________________ THINGS THROUGH _________________________ PEOPLE. [Mordecai]: “…was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. ….when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.” Esther 2:7 [Amos]: “…I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the LORD called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’” Amos 7:14-15 (NLT) “When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, "Stand up; I too am just a man.” Acts1 10:25-26Part Epic, MAKE IT PERSONAL: 1. -
A REWRITTEN BIBLICAL BOOK the So-Called Lucianic
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN THE ‘LUCIANIC’ TEXT OF THE CANONICAL AND APOCRYPHAL SECTIONS OF ESTHER: A REWRITTEN BIBLICAL BOOK The so-called Lucianic (L) text of Esther is contained in manuscripts 19 (Brooke-McLean: b’), 93 (e2), 108 (b), 319 (y), and part of 392 (see Hanhart, Esther, 15–16). In other biblical books the Lucianic text is joined by manuscripts 82, 127, 129. In Esther this group is traditionally called ‘Lucianic’ because in most other books it represents a ‘Lucianic’ text, even though the ‘Lucianic’ text of Esther and that of the other books have little in common in either vocabulary or translation technique.1 The same terminology is used here (the L text). Some scholars call this text A, as distinct from B which designates the LXX.2 Brooke-McLean3 and Hanhart, Esther print the LXX and L separately, just as Rahlfs, Septuaginta (1935) provided separate texts of A and B in Judges. Despite the separation between L and the LXX in these editions, the unique character of L in Esther was not sufficiently noted, possibly because Rahlfs, Septuaginta does not include any of its readings. Also HR 1 Scholars attempted in vain to detect the characteristic features of LXXLuc in Esther as well. For example, the Lucianic text is known for substituting words of the LXX with synonymous words, and a similar technique has been detected in Esther by Cook, “A Text,” 369–370. However, this criterion does not provide sufficient proof for labeling the L text of Esther ‘Lucianic,’ since the use of synonymous Greek words can be expected to occur in any two Greek translations of the same Hebrew text. -
Bible Grade 3 Esther Curriculum Review Sheets Teacher
Name Date Esther Look at the underlined word to determine if the statement is true or True–False false. If the statement is true, write true in the blank. If the statement is false, write false in the blank. true 1. Haman wanted to kill Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to him. false 2. Haman was rewarded for saving the king’s life. (Mordecai) true 3. Mordecai sent a message to Esther that she should ask the king to save the lives of the Jews. false 4. Mordecai, Esther, and their friends fasted ten days and nights. (three) true 5. Esther risked her life by going before the king when he had not sent for her. false 6. Esther invited the king and Haman to three banquets. (two) true 7. Haman had to lead Mordecai through the city and proclaim that he was being honored by the king. true 8. Although the name of God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, the book tells of God’s protection for His people. Discuss: Explain why the false answers are incorrect statements. Short Answer Read each question carefully, and write your answer in the blank. 1. How did Haman trick King Ahasuerus into sending out a decree to kill all the Jews? He pretended to be concerned about the entire kingdom and told the king that the kingdom would be better off without the Jews. over Copyright © mmxviii Pensacola Christian College • Not to be reproduced. Esther • Lesson 125 231 Esther • page 2 2. What should King Ahasuerus have done before allowing the decree to be sent out? Answers vary. -
Esther 1 Reading Guide
Esther: The Faithfulness of an Unseen God Some stories are so compelling and powerful that they deserve to be told over and over again. The book of Esther represents one such story. It was written as a means to help shape the corporate identity of the Jewish people several thousand years ago, written to remind the people of God living in a broken and hostile world that their God would be faithful to deliver them. But as we come to Esther all these centuries later, we recognize that it is a challenging book for us to engage and apply in some ways. It wasn’t written to serve primarily as a moral how-to book. It doesn’t possess the same sense of gospel-shaped exhortation that we might find in a New Testament epistle, nor does it offer the multi-faceted view of the Kingdom of God as do the Gospels. It is not Wisdom Literature, nor is it a prophetic book filled with apocalyptic images and warnings for God’s people. It does not even offer the same exemplary lives to emulate as did Ruth’s narrative. It’s devoid of the name of God, devoid of any explicit mention of God, and it shares a murky and messy picture of what it means to live as an exile in a world that can be hostile toward God and his people. So one of the questions we have to wrestle with as we read through it is, how am I to understand truth in this story and apply it to my life? It’s a story that was written, and then read, with the purpose of growing God’s peoples’ collective confidence in his faithful deliverance. -
Haman the Heartless Esther 3 Intro
Haman the Heartless 3) You begin to understand Haman’s Esther 3 hatred for the Jews Intro: • He was a descendant of those A) In chapter 1 we discussed …. who attacked a weary Israel after 1) The king and his corruption they fled from Egypt 2) Queen Vashti and her character • God delivered them into the hands 3) The world and its ungodly counsel of Israel B) In chapter 2 we continued with …. • Saul didn’t obey and utterly 1) The lonely problem of the king destroyed them 2) The procedure to find a queen • They now are facing the results of 3) The providence of God through it all this disobedience • We ended with King Ahasuerus’ 4) A neat thing to acknowledge is …. life being spared because of • Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, Mordecai failed to destroy the Amalekites C) In chapter 3 our narrative introduces • But Mordecai, also a Benjamite, another character, Haman took up the battle and defeated 1) Haman is an “ancient day” Hitler Haman • He is waiting 5) Everything about Haman is hateful 2) Haman is an Agagite (from empire • You can’t find a good quality in known as Agag) anything written about him • Agag was king of the Amalekites • Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things • I Samuel 15:2 “Thus saith doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are the Lord of hosts, I remember that an abomination unto him: A proud which Amalek did to Israel, how he look, a lying tongue, and hands that laid wait for him in the way, when shed innocent blood, An heart that he came up from Egypt.” deviseth wicked imaginations, feet • I Samuel 15:8 “And he took Agag that be swift in running to mischief, the king of the Amalekites alive, A false witness that speaketh lies, and utterly destroyed all the people and he that soweth discord among with the edge of the sword.” brethren.” • Saul actually disobeyed His Lord in • You will notice each quality as you not destroying all the Amalekites read of Haman D) Let’s study and see several aspects C) His vanity (Vs. -
The Treasure Principle
The Treasure Principle Ch 2: Ahasuerus approves a plan to find a new queen by searching the The Treasure of Influence empire (25 mill women) for the most graceful & stunning woman. Narrow the Esther 1:1-10:3 search down to 400 (Josephus), & give those women 1 year at the spa, becoming as gorgeous as possible before the king makes his final pick. Intro: Today’s message will be quite different than any I’ve preached before. Normally, we grab a few verses of the bible & work through them in an Among the Jews still living near the palace, we find a man named Mordecai. outline format. However, today, I am going to cover an entire book of the Bible (don’t leave), making observations & applications. If you’d like to join “He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for me in this journey, you can take your Bible (seatback or online) & find the she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure Old Testament book of Esther. and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.” Esther 2:7 Setting: 2,500 years ago (486 BC) in the Persian Empire, the son of King Darius, the grandson of Cyrus the Great was preparing to invade Greece to Esther was chosen as one of the 400 young women who would receive a year settle an old score for his deceased father. Most of history remembers this of spa treatments in preparation to meet the king as a potential queen. -
That Sounds Familiar: Esther Esther 4 Katherine C. Kerr First Presbyterian Church – Charlotte August 9, 2015 This Summer's S
That Sounds Familiar: Esther Esther 4 Katherine C. Kerr First Presbyterian Church – Charlotte August 9, 2015 This summer’s sermon series title, “That sounds familiar” probably rings true for many of the stories you have heard this summer, but I imagine that for a decent number of folks today, the story of Esther does not, in fact, sound familiar. Though it is a full book of the Old Testament, the story of Esther is not typically found on any top ten lists of well-known and oft-recited biblical stories. Set in 5th century Persia, this book is centered around a young Jewish woman named Esther, an orphan being raised by her uncle. The Jews were one of several minority groups in the Persian empire under the rule of King Ahasuerus (or Xerxes). When the book opens, the king is throwing a huge party for the ministers and army. For 180 days, we read, he “displayed the great wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and pomp of his majesty.” (1:4). Following that, he gave a week- long banquet for the people of the capital city. Well, he gave a banquet for the men, and had his wife, Queen Vashti, give a banquet for the women. The men’s banquet was a debaucherous affair, full of revelry and wine. At the end of the banquet, the king summoned his wife to appear before the men- she was a beautiful woman, and he wanted to show her off. But Queen Vashti refused to come. Whether it was because she was in a bad mood or upset with the king, or didn’t want to be paraded in front of a huge group of overserved men, the book doesn’t say. -
PRACTICES in TEXTS and CONTEXTS by Kelly A. Whitcomb
RELIGIOUS AND COMMUNAL PRACTICES IN THREE TRADITIONS OF ESTHER: PRACTICES IN TEXTS AND CONTEXTS By Kelly A. Whitcomb Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Vanderbilt University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Religion May 2013 Nashville, TN Approved: Douglas A. Knight Annalisa Azzoni Ted A. Smith Kathy L. Gaca Herbert Marbury Jack M. Sasson Copyright © Kelly A. Whitcomb All Rights Reserved To my late grandparents, Beverly D. Stewart, George T. Stewart, Edith L. Whitcomb and Wilson F. Whitcomb, who were unable to see me obtain my Ph.D. but who taught me life's most important lessons— Love one another and let kids be kids. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................... viii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................1 Introduction..............................................................................................................1 Judeans and Jews .....................................................................................................3 Narrative Contexts and Socio-historical Contexts.................................................11 Methods and Approaches in This Study ................................................................13 Historical Criticism: