Bible Timeline · About 483 to 473 BC

Esther: For Such a Time as This

In the Persian capital of Susa, a Jewish orphan named Esther became queen to King Xerxes. When Haman plotted to wipe out the Jews, she risked her life to stop him, and the Jews still celebrate their rescue at Purim.

Read it in the Bible: Esther 1-10 Esther 4:14 Esther 9:20-32

The book of Esther tells how a young Jewish orphan became queen of the Persian empire and saved her people from being wiped out. It happened in the days of King Xerxes, from about 483 to 473 BC, in the royal city of Susa. When the king's top official, Haman, got a law passed to kill every Jew in the empire, Esther risked her life by going to the king uninvited. Her courage turned the plot upside down, and Jews have celebrated the feast of Purim ever since. Strangely, the book never once mentions God by name. Yet He is behind every page.

Who Was King Xerxes in the Book of Esther?

The Hebrew text calls the king Ahasuerus. Most historians agree this is Xerxes I, who ruled Persia from 486 to 465 BC. He is the same Xerxes who invaded Greece and lost the famous sea battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Some older English Bibles use the name Ahasuerus, while the Berean Standard Bible uses Xerxes.

This is what happened in the days of Xerxes, who reigned over 127 provinces from India to Cush. Esther 1:1

The story opens with a six month royal party in his third year, about 483 BC. Queen Vashti refused to come show off her beauty to the drunk guests, and the king removed her. A search began for a new queen. Esther became queen in his seventh year, about 479 BC, which fits the time after he came home from Greece.

Who Were Esther and Mordecai?

Esther was a Jewish orphan living in Susa. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which means myrtle. Her older cousin Mordecai raised her as his own daughter. They were descendants of Jews who had stayed in the east instead of going back to Jerusalem with the returning exiles.

Esther was taken into the king's harem and won his favor.

And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all of the other virgins. So he placed the royal crown upon her head and made her queen in place of Vashti. Esther 2:17

On Mordecai's advice, she kept her Jewish identity a secret. Meanwhile Mordecai, who sat at the king's gate, overheard two guards plotting to kill the king. He reported it, and it was written down in the royal records. Then everyone forgot about it. Keep that in mind, because it comes back at the perfect moment.

What Was Haman's Plot?

Haman was the king's highest official, and everyone had to bow to him. Mordecai refused. Haman was so offended that he decided to destroy not just Mordecai, but all of Mordecai's people.

And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes. Esther 3:6

Haman cast lots, called pur, to pick the day. The lot fell almost a year away, on the thirteenth of the month of Adar. He told the king that a certain people did not obey his laws and offered to pay a fortune into the royal treasury. The king handed over his signet ring. A law of the Medes and Persians could not be canceled, so the death of every Jew in the empire was now set in stone.

What Did Esther Mean by For Such a Time as This?

When Mordecai told Esther, she reminded him that anyone who went to the king without being called could be put to death. Mordecai's answer is the most famous line in the book.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows if perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

Esther asked all the Jews in Susa to fast for three days, and she and her maids fasted too. Then she said she would go.

“Go and assemble all the Jews who can be found in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day, and I and my maidens will fast as you do. After that, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish!” Esther 4:16

She went to the king, and he held out his gold scepter to her. Instead of blurting out her request, she invited the king and Haman to a banquet. Then to a second banquet. She was wise as well as brave.

How Did God Turn Everything Around?

The night between the two banquets, the king could not sleep. So he had the royal records read to him, which might be the most effective sleep aid ever. They happened to read about Mordecai saving his life. The king asked what reward Mordecai had gotten. Nothing.

At that very moment, Haman walked in to ask permission to hang Mordecai on a gallows he had just built. Instead the king asked him how to honor a man the king delighted in. Haman thought it was himself and suggested a royal robe and a parade. The king told him to do it all for Mordecai. You cannot write comedy better than that.

At the second banquet, Esther revealed she was Jewish and that Haman had sold her people to be destroyed. Haman was hanged on his own gallows. Mordecai got his job. Since the first law could not be canceled, a new law let the Jews defend themselves on the thirteenth of Adar, and they won.

What Is Purim?

Purim is the Jewish holiday that remembers this rescue. Its name comes from pur, the lot Haman cast.

Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced, Esther 9:26

Jews celebrate it on the fourteenth of Adar, or the fifteenth in walled cities like Jerusalem, usually in late winter or early spring. The book of Esther, called the Megillah or scroll, is read aloud. Every time Haman's name is said, people boo, stomp and twirl noisemakers. There are costumes, feasting, gifts of food to friends, and gifts to the poor, as Esther 9:22 commands. It is the happiest holiday on the Jewish calendar.

Why Is God Not Mentioned in Esther?

Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that never use the name of God. The other is Song of Solomon. It is also the only Old Testament book not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Later Greek versions added prayers that mention God, and those additions are part of the Apocrypha.

Many think the silence is on purpose. God seems hidden, but He is never absent. A king's sleepless night, a forgotten record, perfect timing at every turn. The fasting in chapter 4 only makes sense as prayer. Esther shows how God usually works in our lives, not with parted seas but with quiet providence.

What Does Esther Mean for You Today?

Esther was written to Jews scattered across the Persian empire, far from Jerusalem. It tells anyone living as a minority that God has not forgotten them, even when He feels silent.

It also points to Jesus. Esther stood between her people and death, risking her life to plead for them before the king. Jesus did more. He did not only risk His life. He gave it, and now He pleads for His people before the King of kings. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned for good, just as He did for Joseph in Genesis 50:20 and at the cross.

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Questions People Ask

When did the story of Esther happen?

It took place during the reign of Xerxes I of Persia, from his third year, about 483 BC, to the first Purim in his twelfth year, about 473 BC. Esther became queen in his seventh year, about 479 BC.

Who is Ahasuerus in the Bible?

Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name of the Persian king in Esther. Most historians identify him as Xerxes I, who ruled from 486 to 465 BC and invaded Greece. The Berean Standard Bible uses the name Xerxes.

Why is God not mentioned in the book of Esther?

The book never names God, perhaps to show how He works behind the scenes. The perfect timing of events, the king's sleepless night and the fasting all point to His hand. Many readers see it as a lesson in God's hidden providence.

What is Purim and how is it celebrated?

Purim is the Jewish feast remembering how Esther saved the Jews from Haman's plot. It falls on the fourteenth of Adar. People read the book of Esther aloud, boo Haman's name, wear costumes, feast, and give gifts of food and help to the poor.

Sources

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