King Ahasuerus dethrones Queen Vashti.
Esther is crowned queen after winning a beauty contest.
Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill the king and reports it.
[King Ahasuerus promotes Haman, making him more powerful than all the other officials.]
Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman [a close confidant of the king].
Haman seeks to destroy the Jews after his run-in with Mordecai.
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The Story of Esther: A Purim Tale
Mordecai appeals to Esther to save her people. Esther approaches King Ahasuerus and invites him and Haman to a banquet.
Mordecai is honored for having saved the king’s life. Esther entertains the king and Haman, and invites them to a second banquet.Esther_haram
Esther pleads for her people at the second banquet. She accuses Haman.
The king grants Esther’s request and condemns Haman to die on the gallows that he built for the Jews.
The Jews defend themselves throughout Persia [against those following out the decree to destroy the Jews].
The holiday of Purim is established.
Mordecai advances to a position of importance.
Central Themes in the Book of Esther
Esther 3:8 is a classic statement of anti-Semitism, perhaps the first such written anywhere. It reads:
Haman then said to King Ahasuerus, ‘There is a certain people, scattered and dispersed among the other peoples in all the provinces of your realm, whose laws are different from those of any other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; and it is not in Your Majesty’s interest to tolerate them.”
Haman tells the king that, because the Jews are different, they must be suspect. He then lies to compound the felony, for indeed the Jews did follow the laws of the land. Unfortunately, this type of reasoning has, again and again throughout Jewish history; been the unwarranted rationale for the persecution of Jews.
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