The Palace of Susa The book of Esther gives us a glimpse into the palaces of Susa, the residence of the Kshatriya Kshatriyanamah – the King of Kings. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Persian empire was organized in such a way that regional governors were often the legitimate kings and rulers of… Read More »
Background on Persia in the Bible
In 586 BCE, the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar (Nabû-kudurri-uṣur, “the firstborn son of Nabu”) had had enough of the small client kingdom of Judah. His armies laid siege to their capital Jerusalem and when the city fell, he razed it to the ground. Over the previous two decades, he had systematically removed the higher classes of… Read More »
Ahasuerus, Ahasuwho?
This morning, I thought I would follow up with some posts about the book of Esther, beginning with the king Ahasuerus who figures so prominently in the story. The name Ahasuerus appears in only two places outside of the book of Esther, and it is completely absent from contemporary history. This is surprising because of… Read More »
How Do You Read the Book of Esther?
On Tuesday mornings, there is a ladies’ Bible study that meets in the teen center – right next to my office. Most Tuesdays, I don’t get into my office until later in the day, but this week I was there because I had a hospital visit that got pushed up. I had a chance to… Read More »
