Archaeological Find in Israel

An Ancient Home

The Feast Of Purim

  And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, To stablish this among them, that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; But when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them, The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year;

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed. Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm this second letter of Purim.

And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, To confirm these days of Purim in their times appointed, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had decreed for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. And the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book. (Esther 9:20-32 kjv)

ESTHER The Book of Esther was the last of five books in a collection known as the Five Megilloth (scrolls). Each book was designated to be read publicly at one of the five major feasts of the Jews. For the sake of convenience, all the books were placed on one scroll. The other four books were the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes. Esther was read at the Feast of Purim, the commemoration of the great deliverance of the Jews that God brought about through Esther. There are those that question whether the Book of Esther should be included in the canon of Scripture. They try to justify their position mainly by stressing that the name of God is never mentioned in the Book of Esther. This should not be a reason for concern however, since the main theme of the book is clearly the providence of God and His care for His people. The mighty Ahasuerus (or Xerxes) was never beyond the control of God and it was impossible for Haman to carry out his dreadful intentions while God was protecting His people. The fact that Esther asked the Jews residing in the capital city to fast demonstrates that she was relying on the grace of God to resolve the desperate situation. The plan that Haman had set into action threatened to annihilate all of the Jewish people. The Persian Empire under Ahasuerus extended from India to Ethiopia, and virtually all of the Jews lived within this area. The events of this book took place about thirty years prior to the efforts of Ezra and Nehemiah. Many have suggested that their successes would not have been possible had not Esther, Mordecai, and Daniel paved the way with their conduct and accomplishments. [Source for Introduction of chapter: Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422]