In the Jewish ordering of the books,
Esther is placed in the final section of
the Hebrew Bible, with the “Writings”
rather than the histories. Esther takes
place well after the destruction of the
First Temple, when the Jews had been
captured by Babylon and then Babylon
itself had been conquered by the
Persians. The book feels much later
than the other Hebrew books. It even
includes one of the first uses of the
term “Jew” to describe the Jewish
people, rather then using “Hebrew”.
Esther is also a very special book.
Because of the key role of a woman in
the story– as well as the text’s habit of
making a mockery of powerful men– it
is the only scroll of the Hebrew Bible
which may be copied by a female
scribe. All other ceremonial scrolls
may only be copied by men– although
this position is being increasingly
challenged within the Orthodox Jewish
community. Perhaps because of its
unusual tone, it also has the
distinction of being the only book of
the Hebrew Bible not to have been
discovered in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Every other book– including many that
some Christians believe but Jews no
longer believe– was found at least in
fragmentary form. Esther was absent.
Whether the Jews at Qumran did not
consider Esther part of their canon, or
whether it was just bad luck, we may
never know.
- (CB.2937)
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