Table of 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 Political Application 46 Esther as Literature 49 Esther 1:1-9 52 1:1 The King and Empire 53 1:3 The 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 The Empire Strikes Back 83 1:19 Vashti's Punishment 88 1:22 The Decree 89 Esther 2:1-7 93 2:1 The 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 'The 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 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 The King's Sleeplessness 222 6:11 The 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 The Irreversible Decree 244 8:15-17 'The 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 'Then Esther the Queen . . . wrote with all authority' 275 10 The 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

About the Author

Jo Carruthers is RCUK Academic Fellow at the University of Bristol working across the disciplines of Religious and Literary Studies. She has published on Esther as well as the reception of the Bible in literary and nationalist contexts.

Reviews

"The author digs up literary echoes and poetic versions of the biblical book of Esther... This important scholarly resource originated as a PhD thesis in the University of Manchester. It is to be hoped the PhD students can be interested in doing similar research, producing studies as valuable as the present one." ( International Review of Biblical Studies , 2007-2008) "This book can be highly recommended. It provides a fascinating glimpse of how the Bible has shaped ... The ideals of society throughout history." ( Expository Times , November 2008) "Carruthers looks at the reception of the text in detail, but also has an introduction to different ways of viewing the biblical book." ( Church Times , October 2008)