Haddassah more commonly known as Esther (אֶסְתֵּר, Standard Hebrew Ester, Tiberian Hebrew ʾEstēr) was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her.

The name

According to the Book of Esther she was a Jewish woman originally named Hadassah. When she entered the royal harem she received the name Esther by which she was hence forth known. Hadassah means "myrtle" in Hebrew and the name Esther is most likely related to the Median word for myrtle, astra , the Kurdish words Estêre and Istêr,the Persian word setareh meaning star

Esther can also be understood to mean "hidden" in Hebrew, and her name is interpreted thus in Midrash, where it is told that Esther hid her nationality and lineage as Mordecai had advised. In addition God's workings are hidden in the events of the Book of Esther even though he is never mentioned explicitly.

The Targum provides another Midrashic explanation claiming that she was as beautiful as the Evening Star, which is astara in Greek. Critics of the historicity of the Book of Esther attempt to derive the name from Ishtar, the pagan goddess associated with the Evening Star, although the usual Hebrew rendition of the latter name is the phonetically unrelated Ashtoreth. The names may nevertheless be coincidentally related, as the Semitic name Ishtar may share a common origin with Indo-European words for star.

The story

Esther was the daughter of Abihail,

Ahasuerus, having rid himself of Vashti, chose Esther to be his wife and queen. Soon after this he gave Haman the Agagite, his prime minister, power and authority to kill and extirpate all the Jews throughout the Persian empire. By the intervention of Esther this attempted genocide was averted. Haman was hanged on the gallows he had intended for Mordecai; and the Jews established an annual feast, the feast of Purim, in memory of their wonderful deliverance. According to traditional Jewish dating this took place about fifty-two years after the Return.

Esther appears in the Bible as a woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adopted father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king's favour with him for the good of the Jewish people. That she was raised up as an instrument in the hand of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and to afford them protection and forward their wealth and peace in their captivity, is manifest from the Scripture account.

For a discussion of the historicity of Esther, see Book of Esther.

Modern retelling

A movie about Esther and Ahasuerus, entitled One Night with the King: The Call of Destiny, is rescheduled for a 2006 release.

In 2001, VeggieTales, a company that uses CGI vegetables to teach children lessons from the Bible in a comical way, released Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen, which retells the story of Esther.

See also

• Vashti
• Mordecai
• Ishtar, Marduk Königin Ester

Ester Esther (Racine) Ester Esther (Racine) אסתר המלכה エステル (人物) Estér Estera Esther Ester