Esther 1 niv queen vashti deposed this is what bible. Book of esther overview insight for living ministries. Constable taught at dallas theological seminary for 45 years, and served as the chairman of its bible exposition department for years. An exposition, with practical observations, of the book of esther chapter 1. Esther is the only book in the bible not to mention the name of god. Esther then is the one book in the bible where we must, through the illuminating power of the holy spirit, interpret the events primarily as an observer of life. Christian women faith articles, encouragement, growth. Esther 1 commentary old testament matthew henry st. The whole history of this book in its connected order, with the occurrences in the persian empire at that time, will be found. This page provides a method to go directly to a commentary by a specific author. Book of esther bible study chapter 5 prayer and the power of the third day book of esther bible study chapter 6 the sleepless king and the providence of god book of esther bible study chapter 7 the downfall of haman the wicked. The book of esther does not mention the name of god.
The coincidences, the amazing reversals, and the poetic justice that led to the deliverance of the jews in persia all proclaim the presence of god. Vashti is sent for by the king, but refuses to come, esther 1. Commentary on the book of esther by matthew henry old. Now he needs to pick a new queen and eventually manages to select esthera comely, young secretly jewish woman who is a. Esther commentary john gills exposition of the bible. In esther, god providentially uses two exiled israelites to rescue his. Esther chapter 2 verse by verse bible commentary matthew.
The gathering together of a harem for king ahasuerus. Did you know that esther is mentioned more times in the bible than any other woman. Jun 18, 2019 the book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. Verses 14 so the king and haman came to banquet with esther the queen. Read the book of esther from the bible with full chapters, highlighted popular verses, and helpful bible commentary for studying scripture.
At the start of the book, he says when it happened. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is. Esther with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The genre of the book of esther is narrative history. Esther commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Best esther commentaries updated for 2020 best bible. The book of esther 6 powerful life lessons from the bible.
The israel bible is the worlds first tanakh bible centered around the land of israel, the people of israel, and the dynamic relationship between them. At the end of the book, he says that the official records included the story about esther. There is hardly a book in the bible, upon the trustworthiness of which there has been made so determined an attack, as the book of esther. Read and study esther, including book summary, with the versebyverse bible commentary. Constable, provide commentary on all 66 books of the bible and contain over 12,000 pages of material in pdf format. Esther the book of esther easyenglish bible god is in control esther a commentary by robert bryce. Study esther using john gills exposition of the bible to better understand scripture with full outline and verse meaning. The son and successor of the famous persian king xerxes was artaxerxes, surnamed longimanus, or, in persian, ardsheer diraz dest, the longhanded ardshur. The book of esther begins with the queen of king ahasuerusvashtisnubbing the kings request to meet with her.
Sleep how vain are all the contrivances of foolish man against the wise and omnipotent god, who hath the hearts and hands of kings and all men perfectly at his disposal, and can by such trivial accidents as they are accounted change their minds, and produce such terrible effects. Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing esther as comedy and as diaspora literature. This is a highly unusual commentary on the book of esther. The book was written no earlier than 470 bc and probably no later than 424 bc, during the reign of xerxes son artaxerxes. You will also find options for commentaries on esther that help pastors, teachers, and readers with application of the bible, commentaries that approach the scripture versebyverse, classic christian commentaries, and much more. The author of the book of esther is unknown, though some attribute the work to mordecai. Esther bible study chapter 1 the invitation of the king. Esther 1 new international version niv queen vashti deposed. Bible studies in the book of esther esther chapter 1. The book of esther is one of the more controversial books of the old testament. His name is not written in the book, but his fingerprints, as we say, are all over it.
The feast was for all the important men who had authority in the kingdom. Esther is the last of the historical books of the bible, so its main character is named esther that is, venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the other stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays rising. Esther note and ruth see resources are the only books of the bible centered around a woman. Much of this debate relates to the importance of distinguishing history and fiction within biblical texts, as berlin argues, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the history of the israelite people. Esther is, among the generality of jews, the best known of all the books of the bible p. Chances are you were taught very little or almost nothing about esther, the woman who is one of only two the other is ruth females who have a book of the bible named after them. Study the bible online using commentary on esther and more. Did you know that the book bearing her name in the old testament does. Engage the challenging books of ruth and esther utilizing the dynamic. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible. The book belongs to the socalled five scrolls hebr. Esther free bible commentary in easy english easyenglish bible. Praise for the print edition this informative commentary.
Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use. Ahasuerusit is now generally agreed among learned men that the ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the xerxes who figures in grecian history. A 10day bible study on the book of esther by ibelieve contributors. The book is set during the period after the babylonian exile in which the nation of persia present day iran ruled judah. Further artificialities are clear in the way characters are paired e. Chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six chapter seven s. The book of esther may not directly mention god, yet it clearly reveals god at work. How can we have a book in the bible that never mentions gods name in any form or fashion. A free bible version and commentary on the old testament book of esther in easy english. Thus, the deeds of queen esther cast a ray of light forward into israels history from a dark time. When i wrote my study on the book of ruth 1, i started by saying that it was a fantastic book that had it all well, apart from a nasty villain, but we cant ask for everything.
Scripture that same day king xerxes gave queen esther the estate of. This informative commentary part of jpss bible commentary series dissects the book of esther and, by extension, the jewish holiday of purim. Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. Listen to this description in the five megilloth, a jewish commentary published by the soncino press. In the story of esther, youll meet a beautiful, young queen who risked her life to serve god and save her people.
Sadly, many who read and study esther including bible scholars who write commentaries on the book fill in the blanks, rather than leaving them blank and learning from the silence of the author. Esther is unique in that it is the only book of scripture that does not mention god, although clearly gods providential hand of protection of his people pervades the pages. The bible does not mention the book of esther anywhere else. Read esther commentary using john gills exposition of the bible. In the hebrew bible the book of esther is placed in the third main part, that is the writings hebr. Without ever mentioning god directly, the hand of god is all over the story of esther, displaying the providence and. The bible book of esther is a dramatic account which can give us insight into gods special and purposeful plan for our lives. The story gives us six powerful lessons about courage, divine timing and gods supreme love. Esther, bible illustrations 19312009, published by sweet media. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. However, we do not feel this is the best method for using the blue letter bible. The jewish community, and its areas of residence, outside erez israel.
Commentary on the book of esther matthew henrys bible. Watch our overview video on the book of esther, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. God masterfully orchestrates and weaves together every detail of our lives in jawdropping ways. Tom constables expository notes on esther this is also available in the net. Frederic bush, word biblical commentary wbc, thomas nelson, 1996, 528 pp. This is the only book in the bible without an explicit mention of god or even a mention of the law and worship. The key personalities are esther, mordecai, king ahasuerus or xerxes, and haman.
Esther chapter 7 verse by verse bible commentary matthew. Commentaries for the book of esther esther chosen queen. Naturally, being a rather unstable fellow, ahasuerus firesslashdivorces her. We have provided this method as a convenience to our users. The writer of the book of esther probably wanted his readers to realise that god is always in control. We might even think that he does not care about us. And the king said again unto esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, what is thy petition, queen esther.
Esther 6 bible commentary wesleys explanatory notes. In her article the book of esther and ancient storytelling, biblical scholar adele berlin discusses the reasoning behind scholarly concern about the historicity of esther. Read esther commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. The pride of ahasueruss heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made an extravagant feast. Commentary on esther 1 by matthew henry blue letter bible. The heroine of the book named for her, esther is a young jewish woman living in exile in the persian lit. Commentary on the book of esther matthew henrys bible commentary. Esther a2 classic bible study guide 2 introduction the book of esther is a graphic narrative, which relates how gods people were preserved from ruin during the fifth century b. The events mentioned in esther therefore happened between ezra chapter 6 and chapter 7. T he story of esther reads like a novel and is full of great spiritual lessons.
This is why many presume that the book was written in the second half of the fifth century bc. The book takes its name from the beautiful, orphaned jewess who became the queen of the persian king ahasuerus. Adam clarke commentary on esther 17601832 clarke was methodist, wesleyan, arminian, e. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament. In this sixweek study, explore the subject of gods providence, walking verse by verse through the book of esther. We are shown a persian emperor, ahasuerus loosely based on xerxes, 485464 b. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. Best commentaries and books on esther logos bible software. He may not always do it in the way we think he should, but the book of esther shows that he is in control even when we dont see him. David guzik commentary on esther 1, where queen vashti refuses to display her.
Esther 1 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. An introduction to the book of esther an argument of the book of esther selected bibliography of the book of esther j. Designed for both jewish and nonjewish readers alike, the israel bible offers a unique commentary that seeks to explain gods focus on the land of israel alongside the original hebrew text, transliteration of select hebrew verses, and the. Ladies bible study on esther introduction the book of esther is one of the most exciting books in all the old testament and is nearly unique in employing a woman as its leading character. In the book of esther, what is not said is vitally important. After these things, when the wrath of king ahasuerus subsided, he remembered vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. But the writer wants us to know that the story is true. The book of esther is one of only two books in the bible named for women. The purpose of this short study is to offer information regarding this fascinating part of scripture. Well, i can now tell you that i have found you the particularly nasty villain you have been.