One Night With The King

History is timeless. The events of the distant past have a rippling influence throughout generations. As people look back at wars, decisions, and alliances that they gain a new understanding of the world around them and their own story. Thanks to new technology, people of all ages have a way of connecting themselves to the distant past that wasn’t always available before. Many movies and films have been released with many recreating events from various periods of history. These films present events from the Neolithic Paleolithic Ages, Trojan War, American Civil War, and everything else in between. As audiences of both young and old sit down to watch these films they are impacted by the stories each of them hold. The film One Night With the King recreates a version the story found in the Book of Esther. Esther, a young Jewish girl, lives during the reign of King Xerxes, ruler of Persia. When Queen Vashti, Xerxes’s wife, refuses to attend his royal banquet, Xerxes is

When looking at the writings of the famous historian Herodotus and several versions of the Bible, we find that the filmmakers’ interpretation of this renowned story doesn’t necessarily align with our understanding of history. Biblical Commentaries on the Book of Esther also shed light on several differences between what actually happened and what happened in this film. In order to truly understand the past, we must look not only at one version of this Book, but take in the accounts of many and discern differences between each. Even though the film One Night With the King recreates the story with vivid color and dramatic scenes, it contrasts to history in several aspects including the element of time, the history of the Persian Wars, Haman’s quest for revenge, the portrayal of King Xerxes, and the interpretation of Esther’s pivotal meeting with the