List of Plates xi Series Editors’ Preface xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 Why Reception? 2 An Irredeemable Book? 7 Jewish Tradition 10 Christian Tradition 12 Summary of Works 13 Godless Scripture 21 Allegory 28 Providence, Chosenness, Nationhood 32 Political Application 46 Esther as Literature 49 Esther 1:1–9 52 1:1 The King and Empire 53 1:3 The King’s Feast 57 1:4 Display of Wealth 58 1:8 No Compulsion to Drink 59 1:9 Women’s Feast 60 Vashti 61 Esther 1:10–22 68 1:12 Disobedience 68 1:13–22 The Empire Strikes Back 83 1:19 Vashti’s Punishment 88 1:22 The Decree 89 Esther 2:1–7 93 2:1 The King Remembers Vashti 93 2:2–4 To the Harem 95 2:5–6 Mordecai 98 2:7 Hadassah- Esther 103 Esther 2:8–23 109 2:8–14 Esther in the Harem 109 2:15 Esther’s Beauty 121 2:16–18 Esther Becomes Queen 125 Esther 3 133 3:1 Haman 134 3:2 ‘But Mordecai did not bow down’ 139 3:7 Casting Lots 143 3:8 (Mis)Representing Jews: A People Set Apart 145 3:8 Evil Counsellors 151 3:12–15 Genocidal Edicts 155 3:15 ‘The King and Haman sat down to drink’ 157 Esther 4:1–14 160 4:1–3 ‘Great mourning among the Jews’ 160 4:4–14 Esther and Mordecai Confer 163 4:14 ‘From another quarter’ 174 Esther 4:15–17 176 4:15 ‘Fast ye for me’ 176 4:16 ‘If I perish, I perish’ 180 Esther as Exemplar of Resolve 184 4:17 ‘Mordecai [. . .] did everything as Esther had ordered him’ 191 Esther 5 192 Esther before Ahasuerus 192 5:4–8 Esther’s First Banquet 215 5:9–14 Haman’s Wrath 218 Esther 6 221 The King’s Sleeplessness 222 6:11 The Triumph of Mordecai 227 Esther 7 and 8 233 7:1–6 Esther’s Second Banquet 233 7:7–8 Haman’s Fate 238 8:1–6 ‘How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’ 244 8:7–14 The Irreversible Decree 244 8:15–17 ‘The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour’ 249 Esther 9 and 10 254 9:2 Scenes of Slaughter 256 9:7–10 Ten Sons of Haman 265 9:26 Purim 267 9:29 & 32 ‘Then Esther the Queen . . . wrote with all authority’ 275 10 The Greatness of Mordecai 277 Bibliography 280 Primary Sources Pre- 1500 280 1500–1800 281 Post- 1800 284 Esther Secondary Sources 289 Other Secondary Sources 293 Index 296

Esther Through the Centuries traces Jewish, Christian and secular reception of the only biblical book not to mention God. Author Jo Carruthers introduces the most significant adaptations of this story of Jewish life in the Persian Empire; a tale about averted genocide, a heroic queen and the machinations of court politics. Prominent in the Jewish tradition because of the festival of Purim, Esther has also provoked and inspired Christian and secular writers, artists, musicians and commentators for two millennia. This commentary unearths a wealth of neglected rewritings inspired by the story’s engagement with themes of nationhood, rebellion, providence, revenge, female heroism, Jewish identity, exile and genocide. Ranging from early rabbinic interpretation to contemporary rewritings, the book discusses the significance of Esther for artists such as George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Handel and Michelangelo, who are drawn to the cosmic drama of good versus evil and its authoritative yet transgressive queen. The book examines Esther chapter by chapter, revealing a surprising afterlife remarkably resonant with contemporary preoccupations. More information about the Blackwell Bible Commentary series is available at www.bbibcomm.net.