The Book of Esther is about a Jewish queen of Persia who exposed a plot to destroy her people and thus saved all the Jews in that country from destruction (Esther 3:11). The purpose of The Book of Esther is to display the work of God. The Book of Esther records the feast of Purim and it commemorates the great deliverance of the Jewish nation. In the process of analyzing The Book of Esther, the journey into the three worlds will be used. Overall this paper will discuss the fall and rise of the Jewish nation, the use of chiasm and a symbol that relates to The Book of Esther. In addition, this paper will examine the division between male and female and it will also reveal the work of God even though his name was never mentioned.
Literary World
The literary world of the Bible is simply the text itself, apart from anything outside the text. In The Book of Esther, the literary world is the overall story. The first section starts off with the king displaying his wealth. When those days were over, King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti gave a banquet for all the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. The banquet lasted seven days and on the seventh day the king commanded that his wife be brought before him. Vashti refused to display her beauty so her title as queen was nullified. After, the officials convinced the king to write an edict going throughout his entire vast realm, proclaiming that all the women will respect their husbands, from the least to the greatest (Esther 1:20).
It is still a mystery why Vashti refused to display her beauty. However, her disobedience initiated the search for a new queen. The search for a new queen is how the narrator introduces Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai was a Jew, who had been carried into exile from J...
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... kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality or province who might attack them and their women and children and to plunder their goods” (Esther, 8:11).
In conclusion, The Book of Esther never mentioned the word “God.” However, his work was evident. It is taught that God has his hands in everything and that nothing happens without coming through him first. If that is true, then Vashti’s refusal to display her beauty was also a major part of God’s plan. Ultimately, had Queen Vashti not refused the king his request then the entire story would never have occurred the way it did. After the analysis of the three worlds, The Book of Esther could be applied to the teachings of today. There are good leaders who care for the welfare of other people; and there are definitely testimonies where God had to be working in the background just like in The Book of Esther.
We as people have always searched for a code of morals and conduct. It is what has held empires, nations, and families from falling into chaos. This is what the code of Hammurabi and the law of Moses instituted in maintaining order. Both laws have a strong foundation and way of promoting justice that rivals many systems today in regards to effectiveness. Many of the laws given were later used in future governments. There are many similarities and differences between these documents, and this analysis will share some of the those. These two documents provide rich resources and were made for two specific peoples because of women’s rights found in the code, the consequences of actions when violating code, and the vision of the laws created.
...es these primitive standards, she becomes melancholy because she does not attune into the gender roles of women, which particularly focus on marriage, maternity, and domesticity. Like other nineteen year old women, Esther has many goals and ambitions in her life. Nevertheless, Esther is disparaged by society’s blunt roles created for women. Although she experiences a tremendous psychological journey, she is able to liberate herself from society’s suffocating constraints. Esther is an excellent inspiration for women who are also currently battling with society’s degrading stereotypes. She is a persistent woman who perseveres to accomplish more than being a stay at home mother. Thus, Esther is a voice for women who are trying to abolish the airless conformism that is prevalent in 1950’s society.
When Esther is finally through with Dr. Gordon’s shock treatments, she expresses her frustration with her mother, who brushes it aside and tells Esther that she wasn’t like “Those awful dead people at that hospital (145-146). Her mother doesn’t understand the scene Esther saw, with the stories of people and their first shock treatments. She does not realize the vitality of Esther’s conditions. When Esther considers converting to Catholicism, believing that her conversion will take away her suicide attempts, her mother laughs it off. Esther also notes that her mother did not care to mourn for her dead husband. Her mother believed that her husband would’ve lived a miserable life and would’ve wanted to die instead. Although Esther was firm in her stance against her mother, she could have acted so hostile against her mother because of what she was going through. Her mother could have wanted to help her, but her way was possibly different than that of
Literature is the key to our world or language. Many writers have emerged from this subject such as Homer who wrote The Odyssey and Euripidies who wrote about the evil Medea. Also mentioned in this paper are the Thousand and One Arabian Nights which is a collection of folktales and stories that are compiled into one. Each of these works of literature has a woman character that has many similarities in solving their problems. In The Odyssey the woman character that will be in comparison is Penelope which is Odysseus’s wife. In the story of Medea, Medea is of course the character we will be discussing and Shaharazad is the woman character from the Thousand and One Arabian Nights that will also be in comparison. Each of these women find themselves in a particularly “sticky situation.” However, Penelope, Medea, and Shahrazad are three strong women whose perseverance and cleverness help them to attain their goals.
...she would end up if she didn’t change her ways. By losing Joan, Esther was able to release her old self and be reborn again.
Esther is cared for by two other woman, inferring she is a person of goodwill and people care for her. Ahsauerus is viewed as a man who is wrong, and immoral based on his clothing, posture, and facial expression. The relationship between the two leaves the viewer sympathizing for Esther as she is seen in a fragile state. Gentileschi is able to capture the agony of Esther by using different techniques and elements of art and constructs a painting that shows a
Trible has three main focuses in her article that include, “the inferiority, subordination and abuse of women in ancient Israel”, “the counter literature that is itself a critique of patriarchy”, and “the stories of terror about woman” (Trible). Each one sums a different oppression that women in the Bible faced. These ideas suggest that the overall purpose of her article is to identify that while women were viewed as a “helper” to men, God viewed them as much more (Trible).
In modern day society, female gender roles are defined in several of forms; ranging from the stereotypical concept of women being primary caretakers to women being the dominant sex. After analyzing two sources of past literature, two iconic women represent personas of both social standings. In the literary works “Genesis” of The Hebrew Bible; along with, “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes, impactful phenomenons take place in the era of these women.
The book Under the Feet of Jesus by Helena Maria Viramontes shows you the story of Estrella and her family and the struggles they face as migrant workers. Among all the symbolism in the book the one that stand out the most is Petra’s statue of Christ, which symbolizes the failure of religion and the oppressive nature of the Christian religion especially in minorities. Throughout the book, Estrella’s mother, Petra relies on superstitions and religion to get her through the hardships in life. In tough times, she turns to the statue and prays for guidance. Her thirteen-year-old daughter Estrella is the first of her family to realize that she needs to stop relying on religion and take control of her life. This brings in a wave of self-empowerment, not only for Estrella but eventually for all the characters as well. In the book, you’re able to see how religion exemplifies the failures of religion in minorities and how it hinders the growth of the characters while helping some of them.
The fact that Esther couldn't really accept her father's death contributed to career problems: she had no idea of what to do with her life, she `thought that if my father hadn't died he would have taught me....`
The Book of Hosea is one among the several books of the Hebrew scripture and appears as the first in the order of the twelve Minor Prophets. The term ‘minor’ refers to the length and not the importance of the books when compared to the books of Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. All the twelve minor books are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Haggai & Malachi (Feinberg, 1990). Hosea was instructed by God to marry a prostitute, by the name of Gomer, who symbolized covenantal relationship between Israel and him (God). Hosea’s prophesies were unique in the sense that they were relayed through the names given to his children. This paper seeks to give an illustrative description on the first chapter of the book of Hosea.
Esther is introduced to the reader via a conversation that she has with Mrs. Dickson, an African American woman in her fifties. Esther’s low self-confidence is evident
Scholz, S. (2014). Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament: Introduction. Available: http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393361/obo-9780195393361-0020.xml. Last accessed 19th March 2014.
King Nebuchadnezzar’s seventeenth year of reign of the Assyrians, made war with King Arphaxad, who ruled the Medes. King Nebuchadnezzar had many nations join forces with him. King Nebuchadnezzar and his forces defeated Arphaxad and his army that summer. Nebuchadnezzar and his men took over Arphaxad’s cities and towers and turned the city into shame. Then King Nebuchadnezzar struck Arphaxad with spears and destroyed him.
For my reflection paper I chose to watch The Book of Eli and look for the symbols within the movie and how they correspond with symbols of religious denominations, more directly symbols that are linked with Christianity. In this paper I will look at the objects and characters within the movie and how they relate to the teachings of Christianity.