Where was the book of Esther written?

Answer 1

It is generally thought to have been Mordechaiwho wrote the book of Esther.

Biblical scholars say that the Book of Esther was written as a novel in the second century BCE. The author is unknown.

Answer: According to tradition, Mordecai and Esther wrote the book of Esther, in the mid-4th century BCE while the last prophets were still alive (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi), and it was included in the canon which was sealed a couple of decades after.

Esther was queen for about 11 years.

The Book of Esther makes it clear that this was not in the early part of Xerxes's reign.

The name of Mordechai is considered identical to the name Marduka, which is attested as the name of officials in the Persian court in the Persepolis Texts from the period of Xerxes I. One of these officials might very well be the biblical Mordecai.

The grave of Mordecai and Esther still stands in Hamadan; and the Jews of Iran, to this day, are referred to as "the children of Esther."

Answer 2

The authorship of the book of Esther is a subject of debate. According to Rashi on Chapter 9, verse 20 of the book, Mordecai was the author. However, the Talmud in Baba Batra 15a ascribes the book to the Anshei Knesset HaGedola (the men of the great assembly).

AnswerThe Book of Esther purports to explain how Esther became queen of Persia during the fifth century BCE, and how the Jews were saved from a massacre, but it is not viewed by scholars as historically true. Views as to when the book was written vary from the late fourth century, down to the second century BCE. We do not know who the anonymous author was. AnswerWhile the book does not specify an author, the two leading candidates for authorship are Ezra and Mordecai.

Answer:

Rashi commentary (on Esther 9:20) ascribes the Scroll of Esther to Mordecai. Rashi, who is invariably loyal to the words of the Talmud-sages, is not debating the Talmud which ascribes Esther to the Men of the Great Assembly. Rather, he is clarifying that the Assembly didn't create this Scroll from scratch; they merely edited and canonized what Mordecai had already written.

Answer 3

It was written for the Jews and future generations The book of Esther was written mainly for the Jews as they were in captivaty and were slaves , It was mainly to let them know how a queen risked her life to save all the jews.

Answer 4

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The Book of Esther is set in the reign of King Xerxes of Persia from 486 to 465 BCE. Esther is obviously not a religious book and does not even mention God (although later additions used in the Catholic version do). Although written long after the time of Xerxes, the book demonstrates the continuing gratitude of the Jews for their deliverance from Exile, by the Persians. Esther also provides the Jewish reader a sense of that their ancestors were in every way superior to others. In the words of Martin Luther, it "lionises the Jews". As a novel, it is a passably good story.

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From the Jewish perspective, the Book of Esther does contain religious significance which is why it was included in the Tanach (Jewish Bible). The story of Esther teaches us the joy of love of HaShem (The Creator) and the concept of repentance born of love.

Taken from Aish.com on an article about the significance of Purim (I'll attach a link to the complete article):

"The Talmudic teaching that in the future, when all other holidays are forgotten, Purim will remain, takes on new importance in light of its message of love. Purim is the holiday which reveals the hidden, the essence of Judaism: love of HaShem and love of man."

Answer 5

According to the King James Version (KJV) of The Bible the Book of Esther is in the Old Testament between Nehemiah and Job.

The books of the Old Testament are:

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1&2 Samuel, 1&2 Kings, 1&2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Answer 6

Esther is a very controversial book at the very least, and therefore its author and its original language are not secured. It was allowed into cannon by its popularity. Accounts written within Esther do not agree with the book of Daniel (which Christ justified).

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Further there are actions written within the book which do not agree with reason (the queen defiling the word of the king and so on).

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It's thought by some that the book of Esther was not penned until the time of the Maccabees. There is also evidence that temple scribes at the time of Christ, wrote scrolls which they knew to be false, in an attempt to trip up the Christians.

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No matter the reason, readers should take the reading of the book of Esther with a few grains of salt, considering it to align more with the apocrypha and the book of the Maccabees, than the bible

Answer 7

The Book of Esther purports to explain how Esther became queen of Persia during the fifth century BCE, and how the Jews were saved from a massacre, but is clearly not historically true. Views as to when the book was written vary from the late fourth century, down to the second century BCE. We do not know who the anonymous author was.

Answer 8

Tradition places the writing of Esther in 350-340 BCE. See: Accuracy of Hebrew Bible-tradition

Esther was the heroine and central figure in the Biblical book of Esther. She was crowned about 55 years after the destruction of the First Temple, and fifteen years before the Second Temple was built. The Jews were in the Babylonian exile. A few of them, such as Nehemiah, Mordecai and Daniel, rose to positions of prominence under the Babylonian kings.
The last of the Prophets of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) were still living.
King Cyrus had recently made his famous proclamation (2 Chronicles 36:22-23) allowing the Jews to resettle Judea (Israel), and some had gone up with Zerubavel, but the enemies of the Jews had then slandered them (Ezra ch.4), causing the Babylonian king to put a stop to the rebuilding and resettlement of Judea. This last event was around the same time that Esther became Queen.

When she became orphaned, she was adopted by her cousin Mordecai.

Later, when Queen Vashti refused to appear before Ahasuerus (in Esther ch.1), Memuchan, a Persian royal adviser, advised King Ahasuerus (Xerxes I) to remove Vashti from being Queen of Persia, and King Ahasuerus agreed to his advice.

In Esther Chapter 2, royal eunuchs advised Ahasuerus to look for a new queen. Esther was the best-looking woman, and Ahasuerus picked her to replace Vashti as Queen.

Esther and her cousin Mordecai (who had once saved the king's life) later persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of the Jews in his vast realm, which had been plotted by the king's chief minister, Haman. Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. The Jewish festival of Purim celebrates this event.

According to tradition, the book of Esther was written in the mid-4th century BCE, and was made part of the canon which was sealed a couple of decades after.

Esther was queen for about 11 years.
The name of Mordecai is the Judaised pronunciation of Marduka, which is attested in the Persepolis Texts as the name of officials in the Persian court during the period of Xerxes I. One of these officials was the biblical Mordecai.

The grave of Mordecai and Esther still stands in Hamadan; and the Jews of Iran, to this day, are referred to as "the children of Esther."

For the name of Esther, a number of etymologies are possible.
1) Esther comes from the Persian "setareh," meaning "star".
2) Esther comes from the Aramaic "istahar," meaning "moon." Beautiful as the moon (Talmud, Megillah 13a).
3) Esther comes from the Semitic root ath-tar, "morning star." There is support for this too in the Talmud (Yoma 29a).
4) Esther comes from the Median "astra," meaning "myrtle." The book of Esther (2:7) states that she had both names, Esther and Myrtle (Hadassah in Hebrew).

See also:

Why was Esther chosen as Queen?

More about the Hebrew Bible

Jewish history timeline

Answer 9

Another answer from our community:

It was most likely written around 435-355 B.C.

Answer 10

It was written during the Persian reign.And king Xerxes.