Esther Bible Study Resources — Wednesday in the Word

Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Esther.

Jump to: Background; Maps; Key Words; Encylopedias; Commentaries; Articles; GotQuestions Next

Basics

Esther and Ruth are the only books of the Bible centered around women. Esther is also the only book of Scripture that does not mention God, although clearly God’s protection of His people is evident.

Esther’s Hebrew name was Hadassah, “myrtle”. Her Persian name Ester is derived from the Persian word for “star” (stara). The Greek title for this book is Esther (Latin = Hester).

The events of the book of Esther take place between the events of Ezra 6 and Ezra 7, between the first return led by Zerubbabel and the second return led by Ezra, approximately 483-473BC.

Genre: Understanding Narrative

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Section 1: Background

Background & Outlines

Hebrew Calendar
Chart: Bible History at a glance
Chronology Ezra-Nehemiah
Introduction to Exile & Return
Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline
Biblehub: Esther Timeline
Biblehub: Esther Overview
Bible Atlas: Persia
Bible Atlas: Babylon
Bible Atlas: Jerusalem
Bible Atlas: Susa/Shushan
NetBible: Susa – Dictionary article
Joshua to Job quotes in the New Testament
Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
ESV: Introduction to Esther
ESV: The Global Message of Esther
David Mallick: An Introduction to the Book of Esther
JVernon McGee: Esther & Job Introductory Notes
William Orr: Keys to Esther
Will Pounds: Chronology of History of Israel
James Van Dine: Analysis of Esther

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Section 2: Maps

Maps

Blue Letter Bible: Timeline from Creation to 4thC AD
Bible Diagrams: Timeline from 499-450BC (Esther written about 465BC)
NetBible: Map of Susa/Shushan
Kings & Events of Babylonian, Persian, Greek Dynasties
Brief History of Powers of Mesopotamia from 13554BC to 165BC

Maps from Studylight.org

The Babylonian Exile

The Persian Period

The Hellenistic Period

ESV Study Bible

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Section 3: Key Words

Key Words

Banquet/feast – Esther 1:3, 1:5, 1:9, 2:18, 5:4, 5:5, 5:6, 5:8, 5:12, 5:14, 6:14, 7:2, 8:17, 9:17, 9:18, 9:19,9:22
Jew/Jews – Esther 2:5; 3:4, 6, 10, 13; 4:3, 7, 13, 14, 16; 5:13; 6:10, 13; 8:1, 3, 5, 7,8,9, 11, 13, 16,17; 9:1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 10:3;
Edict/decree – Esther 1:19, 1:20, 2:1, 2:8, 3:9, 3:14, 3:15, 4:3, 4:8, 8:8, 8:13, 8:14, 8:17, 9:1, 9:13, 9:14
Fast – Esther 4:3, 16, 9:31
Destroy/destruction – Esther 3:6, 3:9, 3:13, 4:7, 4:8, 7:4 8:5 8:6 8:11 9:5 9:6 9:12 9:24
Day, Month, Year – Esther 1:3 2:16 3:7 1:1 1:2 1:4 1:5 1:10 1:18 2:11 2:12 2:16 2:21 3:7 3:12 3:13 3:14 4:11 4:16 5:1 5:4 5:9 7:2 8:1 8:9 8:12 8:13 9:1 9:11 9:15 9:17 9:18 9:19 9:21 9:22 9:26 9:27 9:28 9:31 (See Jewish Calendar)

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Section 4: Encylopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Esther

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology:
American Tract Society Esther
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary Esther
Easton’s Bible Dictionary Esther
Fausset Bible Dictionary Esther
Holman Bible Dictionary Esther
Hitchcock Bible Names Esther
Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible Esther
Morrish Bible Dictionary Esther
Hawker’s Poor Man’s Dictionary Esther
Whyte’s Bible Characters Esther
Watson’s Theological Dictionary Esther
American Tract Society Esther, the Book of
Easton’s Bible Dictionary Esther, Book of
Fausset Bible Dictionary Esther, the Book of
Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible Esther, Book of
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica Esther
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Est h er
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia Esther Esther book of
McClintock and Strong’s Bible Encyclopedia Esther

Pur/Purim

Judaism 101: Purim from a Jewish perspective
American Tract Society: Purim
Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Pur, Purim
Fausset Bible Dictionary: Purim
Holman Bible Dictionary: Purim
Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Purim
Hastings’ Dictionary of the NT: Purim
Hawker’s Poor Man’s Dictionary: Purim
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: Purim
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia: Purim
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature: Purim
The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia: Purim
Wikipedia – Purim

Ahasuerus/Xerxes

American Tract Society: Ahasuerus
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Ahasuerus
Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Ahasuerus
Fausset Bible Dictionary: Ahasuerus
Holman Bible Dictionary: Ahasuerus
Hitchcock Bible Names: Ahasuerus
Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Ahasuerus
Morrish Bible Dictionary: Ahasuerus
Hawker’s Poor Man’s Dictionary: no listing
People’s Dictionary of the Bible: Ahasuerus
Watson’s Theological Dictionary: Ahasuerus
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Ahasuerus
Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia: Ahasuerus
1901 Jewish Encyclopedia: Ahasuerus

Mordecai

His name means – Little man; bitter bruising; bitterly reduced. Bitterness of my oppression. (The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names. Smith & Cornwall)