The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim ("writings"), the third section of the Jewish Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) and is part of the Christian Old Testament. It tells the story of a Jewish girl named Esther who became queen of Persia and thwarted a plan to commit genocide against her people. Also called the Megillah, the book is the basis and an integral part of the Jewish celebration of Purim. Its full text is read aloud twice during the celebration, in the evening and again the following morning.
It is the only book in the Bible that does not explicitly mention God.
Read more about Book Of Esther: Setting, Plot Summary, Authorship and Date, Historicity, Historical Reading, Allegorical Reading, Relation To The Rest of The Bible, Additions To Esther, Reinterpretations of The Story
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“This book should be read as one would read the book of a dead man.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
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—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)
“So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done for the man whom the king wishes to honor?” Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king wish to honor more than me?””
—Bible: Hebrew, Esther 6:6.