An Atheist Explores the Bible Part 86: Intrigue in the Palace of Ataxerxes (Esther 1-5)

Esther 1-5
Intrigue in the Palace of Ataxerxes.

Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version).

In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.
For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP

And now:

Esther 1

“But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.”

For the book of Esther we return to the court of King Ataxerxes (here called Ahasuerus) of Persia, who holds a grand pageant in the third year of his reign, and invites all the princes of his empire to a feast in the palace. Meanwhile, Queen Vashti (we presume she is Ataxerxes’ wife) holds a feast for the women. Although the drinking was done “according to the law”, whatever that may mean, Ataxerxes gets a bit drunk and calls for the Queen to show herself to the court so that they can admire her beauty. Vashti refuses to be a trophy wife, and this makes the king angry.

He calls together his counsellors to decide what to do, and they basically come up with the rule that women should know their place – if word got around that the queen disobeyed the king, other men’s wives would be similarly wilful, and all chaos would descend on the land. Of course. They also advise the king to get himself a new queen.

Esther 2

“After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.”

Ahasuerus sets about finding a new wife (or, perhaps wives/concubines) by having all the fair young virgins bought to his palace in the care of Hege/Hegai the “keeper of the women”. Amongst Ahasuerus’ household is one Mordecai, who is looking after his uncle’s orphaned daughter (so, cousin), Esther. He puts Esther forward as a candidate, but they keep the fact that she is a Jew secret from Ahasuerus.

There’s a bit of vague talk about what goes on in a Persian harem, although it seems that part of it requires “purification” for a year before Ahasuerus makes his choice. And obviously from our narrative point of view he likes Esther best and seeks to make her his new queen (I suspect plotting from Vashti will ensue). Meanwhile Mordecai finds favour by informing on a plot to kill Ahasuerus, for which the plotters are hanged. Aside from the rather uncomfortable attitudes towards women shown so far in this book, things are shaping up for some good intrigue and scheming.

Esther 3

“After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.”

Ahasuerus promotes Haman the Agagite to high office, but Mordecai refuses to pay Haman honours. Other co-workers of Mordecai let it be known that Mordecai is a Jew, and so Haman plots to destroy the Jews. He persuades Ahasuerus that the Jews don’t keep the king’s laws and are a dangerous race of foreigners, Ahasuerus gives Haman leave to deal with them as he sees fit, whereupon Haman issues a decree that all Jews, men, women and children, should be killed on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. Letters are sent across the kingdom in preparation. For some reason, the royal city of Shushan is “perplexed”, which is a bit of a left-field reaction. I wait to see if it is explained in the next chapter.

Esther 4

“When Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry;”

Rather than do anything useful, like, I don’t know, go into hiding, Mordecai puts on mourning, as do the Jews throughout Ahasuerus’ kingdom. Esther comes to hear of this and, using her attendant Hatach as an intermediary, learns of the extermination order from Mordecai. Ultimately she decides to try to intercede with her husband, even though coming before him unasked is risking death for herself.

Esther 5

“And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.”

Esther manages to get Ahasuerus to listen to her, but she doesn’t plead the case of the Jews yet. She instead asks that Ahasuerus and Haman come to a banquet that she is preparing. Haman, when he learns of this, is puffed up with pride, tempered only by the fact that Mordecai is still hanging around at the palace gates dressed in mourning and refusing to do obeisance to Haman. When he goes home to boast and complain in equal measure to his wife Zeresh about the day that he’s had, she suggests building a gallows for Mordecai and to suggest at the banquet that Ahasuerus use it to hang Mordecai.