Esther

Esther (Person)· Hadassah

Father

Abihail

• הֲדַסָּה·Hadassahmeans “a myrtle; joy”
• אֶסְתֵּר·Esther

Includes 8 verses that refer to Esther without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

1. Esther 2:7אֶסְתֵּר · Esther; הֲדַסָּה · Hadassah
   And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.
2. Esther 2:8אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   When the king’s command and edict had been proclaimed, many young women gathered at the citadel of Susa under the care of Hegai. Esther was also taken to the palace and placed under the care of Hegai, the custodian of the women.
3. Esther 2:10אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   Esther did not reveal her people or her lineage, because Mordecai had instructed her not to do so.
4. Esther 2:11אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   And every day Mordecai would walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem to learn about Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
5. Esther 2:15אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.
6. Esther 2:16אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal palace in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
7. Esther 2:17אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.
8. Esther 2:18אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
9. Esther 2:20אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
   Esther still had not revealed her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed. She obeyed Mordecai’s command, as she had done under his care.
10. Esther 2:22אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    When Mordecai learned of the plot, he reported it to Queen Esther, and she informed the king on Mordecai’s behalf.
11. Esther 4:4אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    When Esther’s maidens and eunuchs came and told her about Mordecai, the queen was overcome with distress. She sent clothes for Mordecai to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them.
12. Esther 4:5אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Then Esther summoned Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs appointed to her, and she dispatched him to Mordecai to learn what was troubling him and why.
13. Esther 4:8אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.
14. Esther 4:9אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So Hathach went back and relayed Mordecai’s response to Esther.
15. Esther 4:10אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Then Esther spoke to Hathach and instructed him to tell Mordecai,
16. Esther 4:11Referred to, not named
    “All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be put to death. Only if the king extends the gold scepter may that person live. But I have not been summoned to appear before the king for the past thirty days.”
17. Esther 4:12אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    When Esther’s words were relayed to Mordecai,
18. Esther 4:13אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    …he sent back to her this reply: “Do not imagine that because you are in the king’s palace you alone will escape the fate of all the Jews.
19. Esther 4:14Referred to, not named
    For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
20. Esther 4:15אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai:
21. Esther 4:16Referred to, not named
    “Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!”
22. Esther 4:17אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So Mordecai went and did all that Esther had instructed him.
23. Esther 5:1אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    On the third day, Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace across from the king’s quarters. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the royal courtroom, facing the entrance.
24. Esther 5:2אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    As soon as the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she found favor in his sight. The king extended the gold scepter in his hand toward Esther, and she approached and touched the tip of the scepter.
25. Esther 5:3אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
26. Esther 5:4אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”
27. Esther 5:5אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    “Hurry,” commanded the king, “and bring Haman, so we can do as Esther has requested.” So the king and Haman went to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
28. Esther 5:6אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    And as they drank their wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
29. Esther 5:7אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Esther replied, “This is my petition and my request:
30. Esther 5:8Referred to, not named
    If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, may the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”
31. Esther 5:12אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    “What is more,” Haman added, “Queen Esther invited no one but me to join the king at the banquet she prepared, and I am invited back tomorrow along with the king.
32. Esther 6:14אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    While they were still speaking with Haman, the king’s eunuchs arrived and rushed him to the banquet that Esther had prepared.
33. Esther 7:1אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So the king and Haman went to dine with Esther the queen,
34. Esther 7:2אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    …and as they drank their wine on that second day, the king asked once more, “Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given to you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be fulfilled.”
35. Esther 7:3אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, grant me my life as my petition, and the lives of my people as my request.
36. Esther 7:4Referred to, not named
    For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as menservants and maidservants, I would have remained silent, because no such distress would justify burdening the king.”
37. Esther 7:5אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Then King Xerxes spoke up and asked Queen Esther, “Who is this, and where is the one who would devise such a scheme?”
38. Esther 7:6אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Esther replied, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked man—Haman!” And Haman stood in terror before the king and queen.
39. Esther 7:7אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.
40. Esther 7:8אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.
41. Esther 8:1אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    That same day King Xerxes awarded Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai entered the king’s presence because Esther had revealed his relation to her.
42. Esther 8:2אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    The king removed the signet ring he had recovered from Haman and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai over the estate of Haman.
43. Esther 8:3אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.
44. Esther 8:4אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.
45. Esther 8:5Referred to, not named
    “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.
46. Esther 8:6Referred to, not named
    For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”
47. Esther 8:7אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.
48. Esther 9:12אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    …who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”
49. Esther 9:13אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”
50. Esther 9:25Referred to, not named
    But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.
51. Esther 9:29אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.
52. Esther 9:31אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    …in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.
53. Esther 9:32אֶסְתֵּר · Esther
    So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.