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Esther
Esther
Esther, book of the Old Testament, one of those constituting the third part—the Writings—of the Hebrew canon. Esther was one of the last books to be accepted as canonical by both Jews and Christians. Scholarship indicates that it was composed in the 2nd century BC.
The Book of Esther tells of the deliverance of the Jews of Persia from destruction and of the institution of the feast of Purim. Esther, a Jewish maiden raised by her older cousin Mordecai, is selected to be the queen of King Ahasuerus ( Xerxes I). However, Haman, the king's ambitious chief minister, resents Mordecai and persuades the king to authorize a massacre of all the Jews in the kingdom. Mordecai urges Esther to persuade Ahasuerus to revoke the decree. Esther exposes Haman's schemes, whereupon Ahasuerus orders Haman hanged and appoints Mordecai as his chief minister. The king then allows the Jews to destroy their enemies. To celebrate their delivery, Mordecai and Queen Esther decree the annual feast of Purim.