Esther Bible Study Resources — Wednesday in the Word

Bible Study Resources for the Book of Esther | WednesdayintheWord.com

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.

Background & Outlines

Hebrew Calendar
Chart: Bible History at a glance
Chronology Ezra-Nehemiah
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
Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background

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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

Judah during the Exile — The Kingdom of Judah — Exile; Palestine in the Post-Exilic Period — Jewish Exiles in Babylon — Jewish Refugees in Egypt

The Persian Period

World Powers of the 6th century BCE — The Conquests of Cyrus the Great — The Persian Empire — The Return of the Jewish Exiles to Judah — Judah in the 5th century BCE — Palestine after the Exile

The Hellenistic Period

Alexander the Great’s Empire — The Division of Alexander’s Empire ca. 275 BCE — Palestine under the Ptolemies — The Seleucid Empire and Antiochus III — Cam p aigns of Antiochus IV against Egypt — The Maccabees in 168 BCE — Selected Events in the Maccabean Revolt — Jewish Expansion under the Hasmonean Dynasty — Pompey’s Campaign against Jerusalem

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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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Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

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)