Esther Critical Analysis
Content
Lucas Wright OT500: The Writings as Introduction to OT March 7, 2011 Content and Context Chapters 7 and 8 from the Hebrew book of Esther, contain essential narrative events with regard to the overarching narrative of the book it its entirety. Before the events in these two chapters occur, King Ahasuerus has declared Esther queen (2:17); Mordecai had discovered the plot of two of the King¶s eunuchs to do harm to the King (2:21), which then led to the promotion of Haman (3:1). The progression of the story to this moment is especially interesting with regard to the theme of fate, being in this particular case both good and bad. It was by chance that Mordecai discovered the plot against the King, which may be read as positive but also, as a result of this discovery that Haman comes into a position by which he can enact genocide upon the Jewish populace, which is negative (3:8-11). Chapter 7 of the book of Esther is the continuation of the plan for salvation from the impending destruction of Jewish population in the Persian Empire as initiated by Mordecai, through Esther, in chapter 4 (4:12-17). Chapter 7 portrays the second banquet Esther organizes in which the plot of Haman to destroy the Jewish people will be exposed to the King (7:5-6). Interestingly, the King had given royal approval to Haman¶s plot previously (3:11) but seems to have forgotten this fact, or is merely confused as to who the people Esther claims as her own are and thus, fails to initially make the connection between her request and Haman¶s genocidal decree. Upon hearing of this impending genocide of Esther¶s people, King Ahasuerus is outraged(7:7). He orders Haman hanged to death upon the gallows Haman had constructed for the death of Mordecai (7:10). After this, chapter 8 illustrates Esther again requesting the revocation of Haman¶s genocidal decree (8:5). King Ahasuerus not only gives permission for the decree to be revoked but moreover, permission is given to Mordecai to write in the name of the
1
King whatever he wishes to be done with regard to the revocation (8:8-14). The Jewish people have permission to defend their lives (8:11-12). Concerns of Esther 7 and 8 The argument will be that despite the uncertainty of the text¶s exact sociopolitical context, concerns presented in Esther in general terms are sufficient for understanding how chapters 7 and 8 function properly insofar as they indicate the general features of context surrounding the composition. Such concerns include current sociopolitical structures imposed upon the Jewish people, outside the text, which threaten to undermine Jewish existence and identity, as well a correlate concern for the Jewish realization of the necessity to challenge such imperially sanctioned structures. Chapters 7 and 8 are especially important to these themes as they are the turning points of the overarching narrative and serve as the events, which are celebrated, in the newly instituted holiday of Purim. A. General Concerns The general concerns discussed here include debate over the historical context of Esther¶s composition and how such a context shapes an interpretation ofthe themes of resistance against imperial violence, as well as the need for the survival of Jewish identity in the book as a whole. Chapter 7 functions as a paradigmatic narrative by which Jews are empowered to move beyond the constraints of proper etiquette in attempts to survive amidst a hostile foreign culture. Similarly, chapter 8 provides the basis for an armed defense of Jewish identity.These are primarily theopolitical and societal concerns that are relative to the particular context in which they arose. As with any critical analysis of a text, understanding the context in which the book of Esther is situated is important for comprehendingthe text¶s meaning and concerns. This analysis
2
focuses upon some of the differing arguments in contemporary scholarship, namely, the argument in which Esther¶s historicity is something of a general local concern in a Hellenized context, which then evolves into the canonized story, up against an interpretation that situates the authorship during the historical Jewish exile within the period of Persian hegemony. After illustrating these two differing perspectives, the former will be taken up as the interpretive context by which to engage the symbolic nature of the text¶s concerns; i.e. the issues of empire and Jewish identity in a Hellenized Palestine along with the parallels drawn from the story of Joshua in Genesis. The latter interpretation of Esther¶s context, here labeled the³correspondence´ interpretation of historicity, posits the historical context of Esther as found within the Persian Empire¶s rule of Palestine. William Dumbrell notes two primary features of the Esther text that give evidence for such an interpretation; these factors being the linguistic evidence in the book and the detailed accounting of the Persian court with respective sociopolitical etiquette. Both are important for understanding how a direct historical correspondence is applicable to the book as a whole, as well as for how such an interpretation will affect the specific interpretation of chapters 7 and 8. With regard to the linguistic evidence for a correspondence reading of the historicity of the text, Dumbrell notes, ³the number of Persian words in Esther and its numerous Aramaisms suggest the story¶s composition during a period not far removed from the event it describes´.1In accordance with this linguistic evidence, the association of the text with a particular Jewish group, specifically the group of Eastern Jews left in Persia, of the diaspora lends itself as the most credible people of which Esther may be attributed if a correspondence reading is
1
William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic , 2002. 298.
3
applied.2The attribution of the Esther text as a whole to this specific group of Jews living within the context of the diaspora, after the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.E., is important to this correspondence argument insofar as it establishes a viable purpose for Jewish authorship, in conjunction with specifically Aramaic linguistic use. This purpose being some event that threatened Jewish identity within the Persian EmpireRegarding Dumbrell¶s second element, the argument of correspondence historicity based upon detailed knowledge of the Persian court and the respective procedures, Dumbrell accepts the accounts of Esther 1 as factual and to be associated with the court of Xerxes I.3 However, the appeal to the court descriptions found in Esther are susceptible to critique on the grounds of the lack of keeping of traditional court proceedings in the book (5:1-7), as well as the absence of documented Jewish persecution during the period of Persian rule from 550-331 B.C.E.4Regarding the absence of persecution, Klara Butting notes, ³rather, events such as happened under Hellenistic rule (about 332-141 BCE) are reflected in the book´.5This is consistent with the first aforementioned perspective upon the context of Esther. Such a perspective reflects a position which posits the sociopolitical of context of the events in Esther, not in the time of Persian hegemony, but within the context of an already heavily Hellenized Palestine.6This context, if taken as the real world behind the text, leads one to reinterpret the events in light of a Jewish people immersed in the sensuous Greek culture, which would have chaffed against common Jewish identity and wisdom. This identity crisis, along with
Beale, Timothy K. ³Esther.´ Page xiv in: Ruth and Esther. Vol. 7 of BERIT OLAM: Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry. Edited by David W. Cotter. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999. 3 William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel, 298. 4 Butting, Klara. ³Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism´. Page 240 in: Ruth and Esther. Vol. 3 of A Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series). Edited by Athalya Brenner. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. 5 Ibid. 240. 6 Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1984. 496.
2
4
the real existential crisis of survival during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, yielded literary responses in varied forms from the Jews in Palestine.7 According to Lawrence Broadt, Esther is one such response and has as a characteristic of thisdesignation, the kind of short novel structure that utilizes narrative with polemical intentions.8Thus, the context assumed in this analysis is that of the revised narrative which is initiated in order to make specific arguments. Such arguments being, an affirmation of the resisting of the encroaching Greek culture and an affirmative argument for instigating Jewish resistance against any totalizing violence of genocide (8:9-14). B. Specific Concerns The general themes now having been established in context, one is then able to look to the central concerns of chapters 7 and 8 via this interpretive context. Important to a correct interpretation of both chapters is the acknowledgment of intertextual parallels that occur within the overarching narrative of the preceding six chapters and into chapters 7 and 8. The author of Esther draws upon, in constructing the narrative, two possible parallels. The argument here isthat the primary concerns deal with themes represented in the Joshua narrative rather than in an Exodus parallel. The first possible parallel is the connection with themes similar in Exodus, with regard to the salvation of the Jewish people. In Esther 7 and 8, Queen Esther makes a request for the salvation of the Jewish people in a foreign land (7:3-4; 8:5-7), which leads to the institution of a feast and a defense of the people. While the general
7
Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 240 8 Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. 497.
5
themes are present, C.A. Moore note how rather than this being direct parallels it is more likely a result of ³the demands of effective story-telling technique´.9 A more readily applicable approach to understanding the events illustrated in Esther 7 and 8 are to link them to the parallel of the story of Joshua. In particular, the approach of Klara Butting is especially pertinent insofar as she locates the central themes of the Esther narrative, as well as of chapters 7 and 8, within the parallel to Joshua as it informs the subversive nature of the Esther text.10 In Joshua, the central character is unjustly imprisoned due to sexual coercion. Sexuality and political dominance are thus, implicitly linked within the Joshua narrative. Both Mordecai, as the one who refuses the act of obedience to the Empire against Jewish custom (3:24), as well as Esther, who defies gender and political customs in her standing before the King and in revealing Haman¶s plot (5:1-3; 7:1-6), stand in the role of the Joshua character. Thus, Joshua may be designated as a paradigmatic figure by which the author of Esther embraces in constructing a sociocultural subversive narrative of the Jewish and female victory.11 In similar fashion, the opening chapter of Esther, which portrays Queen Vashti usurping the expected gender/political customs of the Empire in her refusal to appear before the King (1:10-12), reflects the link of sexual identity and how this identity interplays with social structures and status in political dominance of an Empire. With regard to Esther¶s own resistance people, chapter 7 draws upon this protestation of Vashti. Indeed, for Esther, ³Vashti¶s story becomes a living source from which she takes directives and plans for her own resistance´.12 Furthermore, the calling by Esther of feasts as the medium by which to actualize her ³outing´ of
9
Moore, C.A. ³Daniel, Esther and Jeremiah: The Additions. AB 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977. As cited in: Bush, Frederich. ³Ruth/Esther´.Word Biblical Commentary 278. Dallas: Word Books Publisher, 1996. 10 Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 242. 11 Bush, Frederich. Ruth/Esther. 280. See also: Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 239. 12 Ibid. 246.
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Haman¶s planned genocide (7:1-4) displays a parallel to the feast of the King in chapter 1 (1:1222) in which Vashti is declared to be deposed as Queen.13 This resistance reflects a further dimension of parallel to the Joshua story. From the time of Esther agreeing to disobey custom in an attempt to save the Jews from destruction (4:15-17), she had stepped into the Joshua role. This illustrates the reflection of Joshua as one who refuses social constructs in adherence to a true end of justice or allegiance. The proceeding interactions between the King, Haman and Esther (7:7-10) also point to the subversive message and the connection to sexuality. Not only does Haman appear after the divulging of his plot to be, from King Ahasuerus¶ perspective, attempting to rape Esther but also, this misunderstood sexual assault combines with Esther¶s outing of Haman to reverse the normative order of political events. Moving past these general themes of parallel and context, more specific designations and applications of these central themes of Jewish identity, survival and cultural subversion can be drawn from both chapters 7 and 8. As previously stated, the Hellenization process of the Palestine region, during the period between 332-141 B.C.E., brought about a cultural identity crisis for the Jewish people living in Palestine. Esther as a responsive textsituates chapters 7 and 8 in such a way as to highlight a message of subverting the impinging Hellenistic influences, while simultaneously and correlatively asserting the parameters by which such a defense/resistance might be undertaken. An example of how chapters 7 and 8 function as paradigmatic texts for application in a Hellenized Palestine is found in Esther 8:11. In the textual world Mordecai has, in yet another allusion to the Joshua paradigm, been promoted within the structures of Empire and now utilizes this position to sanction the use of violence to the point of annihilation in order to ensure the
13
Ibid. 247.
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survival of the Jewish people.14If the contextual framework of a Hellenized Palestinian location, with regard to Esther¶s composition, is ascribed to then this passage carries significant weight towards establishing a precedent to resist genocidal policies of rulers such as Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Thus, the central concern of survival surfaces in Esther. Moreover, this concern for survival is one that not only sanctions the use of violence but also, affirms subversive action from within the foreign governmental structures themselves. Esther as Queen utilizes her power, albeit in an unorthodox fashion, within the Persian imperial structure instrumentally to expose Haman¶s plot (7:1-6) and to purposively save the Jewish population (8:6). Likewise, Mordecai acts from within governmental structures that are not indigenous, nor even sympathetic, to the Jewish system in order to bring about the desired result of Jewish salvation (7:9-11). Hermeneutical Significance A. General Reflections The concerns related to hermeneutical significance of the Esther passage are readily applicable into the contemporary issueofviolence enacted by modern nation-states and maintaining Christian identity as the Church. This violence refers not only to explicit acts of genocide but also to the structures of empire implicit in classically liberal western states that are based upon what may be termed µan alternative soteriology of salvation from an assumed state of human violence¶. Such a soteriology is perpetuated via the structures of empire that enforce laws through coercive violence.15 Esther 7 and 8 provides a picture of resistance of the dangers of classically liberal societies, as well as against current structures of sexism couched in such governments. It is the
14
15
Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. 498. Cavanaugh, William T. Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism. New York: T&T Clark Ltd. 2002. 2, 19.
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contention here that the liberal societies of the contemporary west are imperial systems. From this position of being within an imperial system, the assertion is that the book of Esther, while originally meant for encouraging the survival and distinctiveness of Jewish identity, may be applied with a decisively Christian theological perspective in resisting the pull towards a capitalist syncretism of empire and Church. With regard to challenges in application, the obvious difference in the mode of imperial enforcement and oppression/threat to Christian identity to that of the Jews in the Esther text provide for a general challenge. However, the position taken is that the basic themes of resisting empire and maintaining identity do not require a directly corresponding context but rather, are intentionally lifted out of the original context and reformed in light of a Christian politic body called Church and the challenges of a capitalist society. B. Specific Reflections One of the characteristics of Ester as a whole, and of chapters 7 and 8 in particular, is what may be referred to as ³intentional difference´ or peculiarity on the part of the Jewish people despite their situation, textually, in the Persian Empire (3:2-5; 8:15-17). Theologian Joerg Rieger notes how within the history of the broad form of human governance labeled ³empire´ it is impossible for groups of people to remain neutral.16This is due to what Rieger identifies as the overpowering nature of empire towards domination, which necessitates a response from individuals, as well as groups, of either accommodation or resistance.17 Just as for the Jewish people in Esther 8, the Christian Church, which faces the reduction of those virtues that form their decisively Christian identity, or otherness, must react to the impending threat of an oppressive ideological syncretism with classically liberal political structures.
16 17
Rieger, Joerg. Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. 4. Ibid. 4.
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If utilized without any sort of modification, the text of Ester 7 and 8 provide a general parameter of political resistance in which the aforementioned elements of political cooption, on the part of the Jew or Christian (8:9-14), is permitted along with a stance of aggressive violence.This violence includes counter-attack to the point of creating an alterative fear of annihilation on the part of the enemy (8:17). Given that the attempt here is to apply this text with a specifically Christian theopolitical modification however, such an appeal to violence must be directed into revision along with an outright acceptance of explicit political participation. The first specific point of hermeneutical concern, with regard to the survival of Christian particularity, is then, the necessity for resistance of the Church as a group. Helpful in establishing the modified nature of the picture of resistance painted in the Esther 7 and 8 is a basic definition of the Church as tradition. Ronald Thiemann, in following the school of thought found in Alasdair MacIntyre, defines Christianity, insofar as it exists as tradition, as a ³historically extended, socially embodied argument´ which asserts specific truths in praxis particular to the people called Church.18 This is an important concept insofar as it defines the Church in such a way as to incorporate the general attitude of identity as displayed in Mordecai¶s defiance (3:2), while remaining open to a modification of the appeal to violence that Mordecai advocates for the Jewish population (8:11-13). As stated above, the application of the resistance to the dangers of empire in Esther ought to be undertaken by the Church, however, it is the contention here that for the Church to affectively resist the evils of classically liberal democracy the Church must jettison all politics, which appeal to coercive violence or participation.
F. Thiemann, Revelation and Theology: The Gospel as Narrated Promise.Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.. 72. As cited in: Arne Rasmusson, The Church as Polis: From Political Theology to Theological Politics as Exemplified by Jürgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995. 33.
18Ronald
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The theopolitical project of Stanley Hauerwas is helpful in this regard, insofar as Hauerwas is able to illustrate the combative effectiveness of a Church oriented around the primary identity of a people living under the peaceable Kingdom. Put simply, for the Church to resist the pull of liberal imperialism the Church must realize that to be Church means to disposes any notion of rights or retributive violence in favor of being a ³servant community´.19The Christian politic is one both unapologetically qualified and opposed to the norms of an empire of imposed individualism.
19
Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983. 99.
11
Works Cited Bush, Frederich. "Ruth/Esther ." In Word Biblical Commentary , 278. Dallas: Word Books Publisher , 1996. Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against AntiSemitism and Sexism. Vol. III, in A Feminist Companion to the Bible: Ruth and Esther , edited by Athalya Brenner, 239-247. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press , 1999. Beale, Timothy K. Esther . Vol. VII, in BERIT OLAM: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry , edited by David W. Cotter, xiv. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999. Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Inroduction . New York : Paulist Press, 1984. Cavanaugh, William T. Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism. New York : T&T Clark Ltd., 2002. Dumbrell, William J. The Faith of Israel: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament . 2nd Edition . Grand Rapids : Baker Academic , 2002. Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ehtics . Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, 1983. Rasmusson, Arne. The Church as Polis: From Political Theology to Theological Politics as Exemplified by Jurgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995. Rieger, Joerg. Christ and Empire . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
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1
King whatever he wishes to be done with regard to the revocation (8:8-14). The Jewish people have permission to defend their lives (8:11-12). Concerns of Esther 7 and 8 The argument will be that despite the uncertainty of the text¶s exact sociopolitical context, concerns presented in Esther in general terms are sufficient for understanding how chapters 7 and 8 function properly insofar as they indicate the general features of context surrounding the composition. Such concerns include current sociopolitical structures imposed upon the Jewish people, outside the text, which threaten to undermine Jewish existence and identity, as well a correlate concern for the Jewish realization of the necessity to challenge such imperially sanctioned structures. Chapters 7 and 8 are especially important to these themes as they are the turning points of the overarching narrative and serve as the events, which are celebrated, in the newly instituted holiday of Purim. A. General Concerns The general concerns discussed here include debate over the historical context of Esther¶s composition and how such a context shapes an interpretation ofthe themes of resistance against imperial violence, as well as the need for the survival of Jewish identity in the book as a whole. Chapter 7 functions as a paradigmatic narrative by which Jews are empowered to move beyond the constraints of proper etiquette in attempts to survive amidst a hostile foreign culture. Similarly, chapter 8 provides the basis for an armed defense of Jewish identity.These are primarily theopolitical and societal concerns that are relative to the particular context in which they arose. As with any critical analysis of a text, understanding the context in which the book of Esther is situated is important for comprehendingthe text¶s meaning and concerns. This analysis
2
focuses upon some of the differing arguments in contemporary scholarship, namely, the argument in which Esther¶s historicity is something of a general local concern in a Hellenized context, which then evolves into the canonized story, up against an interpretation that situates the authorship during the historical Jewish exile within the period of Persian hegemony. After illustrating these two differing perspectives, the former will be taken up as the interpretive context by which to engage the symbolic nature of the text¶s concerns; i.e. the issues of empire and Jewish identity in a Hellenized Palestine along with the parallels drawn from the story of Joshua in Genesis. The latter interpretation of Esther¶s context, here labeled the³correspondence´ interpretation of historicity, posits the historical context of Esther as found within the Persian Empire¶s rule of Palestine. William Dumbrell notes two primary features of the Esther text that give evidence for such an interpretation; these factors being the linguistic evidence in the book and the detailed accounting of the Persian court with respective sociopolitical etiquette. Both are important for understanding how a direct historical correspondence is applicable to the book as a whole, as well as for how such an interpretation will affect the specific interpretation of chapters 7 and 8. With regard to the linguistic evidence for a correspondence reading of the historicity of the text, Dumbrell notes, ³the number of Persian words in Esther and its numerous Aramaisms suggest the story¶s composition during a period not far removed from the event it describes´.1In accordance with this linguistic evidence, the association of the text with a particular Jewish group, specifically the group of Eastern Jews left in Persia, of the diaspora lends itself as the most credible people of which Esther may be attributed if a correspondence reading is
1
William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic , 2002. 298.
3
applied.2The attribution of the Esther text as a whole to this specific group of Jews living within the context of the diaspora, after the fall of Babylon in 539 B.C.E., is important to this correspondence argument insofar as it establishes a viable purpose for Jewish authorship, in conjunction with specifically Aramaic linguistic use. This purpose being some event that threatened Jewish identity within the Persian EmpireRegarding Dumbrell¶s second element, the argument of correspondence historicity based upon detailed knowledge of the Persian court and the respective procedures, Dumbrell accepts the accounts of Esther 1 as factual and to be associated with the court of Xerxes I.3 However, the appeal to the court descriptions found in Esther are susceptible to critique on the grounds of the lack of keeping of traditional court proceedings in the book (5:1-7), as well as the absence of documented Jewish persecution during the period of Persian rule from 550-331 B.C.E.4Regarding the absence of persecution, Klara Butting notes, ³rather, events such as happened under Hellenistic rule (about 332-141 BCE) are reflected in the book´.5This is consistent with the first aforementioned perspective upon the context of Esther. Such a perspective reflects a position which posits the sociopolitical of context of the events in Esther, not in the time of Persian hegemony, but within the context of an already heavily Hellenized Palestine.6This context, if taken as the real world behind the text, leads one to reinterpret the events in light of a Jewish people immersed in the sensuous Greek culture, which would have chaffed against common Jewish identity and wisdom. This identity crisis, along with
Beale, Timothy K. ³Esther.´ Page xiv in: Ruth and Esther. Vol. 7 of BERIT OLAM: Studies in Hebrew Narrative & Poetry. Edited by David W. Cotter. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999. 3 William J. Dumbrell, The Faith of Israel, 298. 4 Butting, Klara. ³Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism´. Page 240 in: Ruth and Esther. Vol. 3 of A Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series). Edited by Athalya Brenner. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. 5 Ibid. 240. 6 Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1984. 496.
2
4
the real existential crisis of survival during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV, yielded literary responses in varied forms from the Jews in Palestine.7 According to Lawrence Broadt, Esther is one such response and has as a characteristic of thisdesignation, the kind of short novel structure that utilizes narrative with polemical intentions.8Thus, the context assumed in this analysis is that of the revised narrative which is initiated in order to make specific arguments. Such arguments being, an affirmation of the resisting of the encroaching Greek culture and an affirmative argument for instigating Jewish resistance against any totalizing violence of genocide (8:9-14). B. Specific Concerns The general themes now having been established in context, one is then able to look to the central concerns of chapters 7 and 8 via this interpretive context. Important to a correct interpretation of both chapters is the acknowledgment of intertextual parallels that occur within the overarching narrative of the preceding six chapters and into chapters 7 and 8. The author of Esther draws upon, in constructing the narrative, two possible parallels. The argument here isthat the primary concerns deal with themes represented in the Joshua narrative rather than in an Exodus parallel. The first possible parallel is the connection with themes similar in Exodus, with regard to the salvation of the Jewish people. In Esther 7 and 8, Queen Esther makes a request for the salvation of the Jewish people in a foreign land (7:3-4; 8:5-7), which leads to the institution of a feast and a defense of the people. While the general
7
Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 240 8 Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. 497.
5
themes are present, C.A. Moore note how rather than this being direct parallels it is more likely a result of ³the demands of effective story-telling technique´.9 A more readily applicable approach to understanding the events illustrated in Esther 7 and 8 are to link them to the parallel of the story of Joshua. In particular, the approach of Klara Butting is especially pertinent insofar as she locates the central themes of the Esther narrative, as well as of chapters 7 and 8, within the parallel to Joshua as it informs the subversive nature of the Esther text.10 In Joshua, the central character is unjustly imprisoned due to sexual coercion. Sexuality and political dominance are thus, implicitly linked within the Joshua narrative. Both Mordecai, as the one who refuses the act of obedience to the Empire against Jewish custom (3:24), as well as Esther, who defies gender and political customs in her standing before the King and in revealing Haman¶s plot (5:1-3; 7:1-6), stand in the role of the Joshua character. Thus, Joshua may be designated as a paradigmatic figure by which the author of Esther embraces in constructing a sociocultural subversive narrative of the Jewish and female victory.11 In similar fashion, the opening chapter of Esther, which portrays Queen Vashti usurping the expected gender/political customs of the Empire in her refusal to appear before the King (1:10-12), reflects the link of sexual identity and how this identity interplays with social structures and status in political dominance of an Empire. With regard to Esther¶s own resistance people, chapter 7 draws upon this protestation of Vashti. Indeed, for Esther, ³Vashti¶s story becomes a living source from which she takes directives and plans for her own resistance´.12 Furthermore, the calling by Esther of feasts as the medium by which to actualize her ³outing´ of
9
Moore, C.A. ³Daniel, Esther and Jeremiah: The Additions. AB 44. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977. As cited in: Bush, Frederich. ³Ruth/Esther´.Word Biblical Commentary 278. Dallas: Word Books Publisher, 1996. 10 Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 242. 11 Bush, Frederich. Ruth/Esther. 280. See also: Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against Anti-Semitism and Sexism. 239. 12 Ibid. 246.
6
Haman¶s planned genocide (7:1-4) displays a parallel to the feast of the King in chapter 1 (1:1222) in which Vashti is declared to be deposed as Queen.13 This resistance reflects a further dimension of parallel to the Joshua story. From the time of Esther agreeing to disobey custom in an attempt to save the Jews from destruction (4:15-17), she had stepped into the Joshua role. This illustrates the reflection of Joshua as one who refuses social constructs in adherence to a true end of justice or allegiance. The proceeding interactions between the King, Haman and Esther (7:7-10) also point to the subversive message and the connection to sexuality. Not only does Haman appear after the divulging of his plot to be, from King Ahasuerus¶ perspective, attempting to rape Esther but also, this misunderstood sexual assault combines with Esther¶s outing of Haman to reverse the normative order of political events. Moving past these general themes of parallel and context, more specific designations and applications of these central themes of Jewish identity, survival and cultural subversion can be drawn from both chapters 7 and 8. As previously stated, the Hellenization process of the Palestine region, during the period between 332-141 B.C.E., brought about a cultural identity crisis for the Jewish people living in Palestine. Esther as a responsive textsituates chapters 7 and 8 in such a way as to highlight a message of subverting the impinging Hellenistic influences, while simultaneously and correlatively asserting the parameters by which such a defense/resistance might be undertaken. An example of how chapters 7 and 8 function as paradigmatic texts for application in a Hellenized Palestine is found in Esther 8:11. In the textual world Mordecai has, in yet another allusion to the Joshua paradigm, been promoted within the structures of Empire and now utilizes this position to sanction the use of violence to the point of annihilation in order to ensure the
13
Ibid. 247.
7
survival of the Jewish people.14If the contextual framework of a Hellenized Palestinian location, with regard to Esther¶s composition, is ascribed to then this passage carries significant weight towards establishing a precedent to resist genocidal policies of rulers such as Antiochus Epiphanes IV. Thus, the central concern of survival surfaces in Esther. Moreover, this concern for survival is one that not only sanctions the use of violence but also, affirms subversive action from within the foreign governmental structures themselves. Esther as Queen utilizes her power, albeit in an unorthodox fashion, within the Persian imperial structure instrumentally to expose Haman¶s plot (7:1-6) and to purposively save the Jewish population (8:6). Likewise, Mordecai acts from within governmental structures that are not indigenous, nor even sympathetic, to the Jewish system in order to bring about the desired result of Jewish salvation (7:9-11). Hermeneutical Significance A. General Reflections The concerns related to hermeneutical significance of the Esther passage are readily applicable into the contemporary issueofviolence enacted by modern nation-states and maintaining Christian identity as the Church. This violence refers not only to explicit acts of genocide but also to the structures of empire implicit in classically liberal western states that are based upon what may be termed µan alternative soteriology of salvation from an assumed state of human violence¶. Such a soteriology is perpetuated via the structures of empire that enforce laws through coercive violence.15 Esther 7 and 8 provides a picture of resistance of the dangers of classically liberal societies, as well as against current structures of sexism couched in such governments. It is the
14
15
Lawrence Broadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction. 498. Cavanaugh, William T. Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism. New York: T&T Clark Ltd. 2002. 2, 19.
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contention here that the liberal societies of the contemporary west are imperial systems. From this position of being within an imperial system, the assertion is that the book of Esther, while originally meant for encouraging the survival and distinctiveness of Jewish identity, may be applied with a decisively Christian theological perspective in resisting the pull towards a capitalist syncretism of empire and Church. With regard to challenges in application, the obvious difference in the mode of imperial enforcement and oppression/threat to Christian identity to that of the Jews in the Esther text provide for a general challenge. However, the position taken is that the basic themes of resisting empire and maintaining identity do not require a directly corresponding context but rather, are intentionally lifted out of the original context and reformed in light of a Christian politic body called Church and the challenges of a capitalist society. B. Specific Reflections One of the characteristics of Ester as a whole, and of chapters 7 and 8 in particular, is what may be referred to as ³intentional difference´ or peculiarity on the part of the Jewish people despite their situation, textually, in the Persian Empire (3:2-5; 8:15-17). Theologian Joerg Rieger notes how within the history of the broad form of human governance labeled ³empire´ it is impossible for groups of people to remain neutral.16This is due to what Rieger identifies as the overpowering nature of empire towards domination, which necessitates a response from individuals, as well as groups, of either accommodation or resistance.17 Just as for the Jewish people in Esther 8, the Christian Church, which faces the reduction of those virtues that form their decisively Christian identity, or otherness, must react to the impending threat of an oppressive ideological syncretism with classically liberal political structures.
16 17
Rieger, Joerg. Christ and Empire: From Paul to Postcolonial Times. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007. 4. Ibid. 4.
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If utilized without any sort of modification, the text of Ester 7 and 8 provide a general parameter of political resistance in which the aforementioned elements of political cooption, on the part of the Jew or Christian (8:9-14), is permitted along with a stance of aggressive violence.This violence includes counter-attack to the point of creating an alterative fear of annihilation on the part of the enemy (8:17). Given that the attempt here is to apply this text with a specifically Christian theopolitical modification however, such an appeal to violence must be directed into revision along with an outright acceptance of explicit political participation. The first specific point of hermeneutical concern, with regard to the survival of Christian particularity, is then, the necessity for resistance of the Church as a group. Helpful in establishing the modified nature of the picture of resistance painted in the Esther 7 and 8 is a basic definition of the Church as tradition. Ronald Thiemann, in following the school of thought found in Alasdair MacIntyre, defines Christianity, insofar as it exists as tradition, as a ³historically extended, socially embodied argument´ which asserts specific truths in praxis particular to the people called Church.18 This is an important concept insofar as it defines the Church in such a way as to incorporate the general attitude of identity as displayed in Mordecai¶s defiance (3:2), while remaining open to a modification of the appeal to violence that Mordecai advocates for the Jewish population (8:11-13). As stated above, the application of the resistance to the dangers of empire in Esther ought to be undertaken by the Church, however, it is the contention here that for the Church to affectively resist the evils of classically liberal democracy the Church must jettison all politics, which appeal to coercive violence or participation.
F. Thiemann, Revelation and Theology: The Gospel as Narrated Promise.Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, 1985.. 72. As cited in: Arne Rasmusson, The Church as Polis: From Political Theology to Theological Politics as Exemplified by Jürgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995. 33.
18Ronald
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The theopolitical project of Stanley Hauerwas is helpful in this regard, insofar as Hauerwas is able to illustrate the combative effectiveness of a Church oriented around the primary identity of a people living under the peaceable Kingdom. Put simply, for the Church to resist the pull of liberal imperialism the Church must realize that to be Church means to disposes any notion of rights or retributive violence in favor of being a ³servant community´.19The Christian politic is one both unapologetically qualified and opposed to the norms of an empire of imposed individualism.
19
Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1983. 99.
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Works Cited Bush, Frederich. "Ruth/Esther ." In Word Biblical Commentary , 278. Dallas: Word Books Publisher , 1996. Butting, Klara. Esther: A New Interpretation of the Joseph Story in the Fight against AntiSemitism and Sexism. Vol. III, in A Feminist Companion to the Bible: Ruth and Esther , edited by Athalya Brenner, 239-247. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press , 1999. Beale, Timothy K. Esther . Vol. VII, in BERIT OLAM: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry , edited by David W. Cotter, xiv. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999. Boadt, Lawrence. Reading the Old Testament: An Inroduction . New York : Paulist Press, 1984. Cavanaugh, William T. Theopolitical Imagination: Discovering the Liturgy as a Political Act in an Age of Global Consumerism. New York : T&T Clark Ltd., 2002. Dumbrell, William J. The Faith of Israel: A Theological Survey of the Old Testament . 2nd Edition . Grand Rapids : Baker Academic , 2002. Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ehtics . Notre Dame : University of Notre Dame Press, 1983. Rasmusson, Arne. The Church as Polis: From Political Theology to Theological Politics as Exemplified by Jurgen Moltmann and Stanley Hauerwas. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995. Rieger, Joerg. Christ and Empire . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
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