📖 The Book of Esther
Start reading →Old Testament · 10 chapters · History
Hidden providence — God protects his people even in exile.
Who wrote Esther?
Author
Anonymous
Written
c. 460 BC
Genre
History
Set in Persian court; written by an anonymous Jewish author, possibly Mordecai.
Why Esther was written
To show that God preserves his covenant people even when he appears absent, using ordinary human courage and circumstance to accomplish his sovereign purposes.
Outline of Esther
- 11–2: The court of Xerxes; Esther becomes queen
- 23–5: Haman's plot to destroy the Jews
- 36–8: The great reversal — Haman hanged, the Jews saved
- 49–10: The feast of Purim established
Key verses
Esther 4:14Esther 8:17
How Esther points to Christ
Esther intercedes for her people at the risk of her own life — a pattern of the intercessor standing in the gap. The reversal of Haman's decree points to Christ's defeat of Satan, who accuses and seeks to destroy God's people.
How Esther begins
1Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
Read Esther 1 →