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Esther.

Esther (Hebrew Hadassah) is a Jewish exile in Persia who, through her cousin Mordecai, is taken into King Ahasuerus' harem and rises to become queen. When Haman plots to exterminate the Jewish people, Mordecai charges her: "who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (4:14). At grave personal risk, she approaches the king unbidden, exposes Haman's plot, and turns it back on him. The Jewish festival of Purim still commemorates the rescue.

Timeline

• Chosen queen after Vashti deposed (Esther 2)
• Haman's plot to exterminate the Jews (Esther 3)
• Mordecai's "for such a time as this" (Esther 4)
• The two banquets (Esther 5, 7)
• Haman hanged on his own gallows (Esther 7)
• Purim established (Esther 9)

Key verses

• Esther 4:14 →

Why Esther matters

Esther is the only Old Testament book that never names God — and that absence is the point. God acts most clearly precisely when his hand seems most hidden. Esther is a book about acting faithfully in environments hostile to faith; about the providence that orchestrates "coincidences" toward redemption; about doing what is right at personal cost. The festival of Purim — the only Jewish festival not commanded in the Torah — testifies to her witness.

Related tools

• All 29 figuresThe full index
• Bible verse lookupAny reference, ESV
• Trivia categoryQueen