Esther 10

God is in control

Book of Esther

Robert Bryce

Chapter 10

v1 King Xerxes made the people in all his *kingdom pay taxes.

v2 The kings of Media and Persia made official records. These records include all the things that Xerxes did by his authority and power. The records also give a full account of how the king made Mordecai a very great man. v3 In fact, Mordecai the *Jew was only second in rank to King Xerxes. Mordecai was the most important man among the *Jews. And he was popular with the *Jewish people. He worked hard for the benefit of the *Jews.

Verses 1-3 After all that had happened, things returned to normal. (See Esther chapter 1.) The rich and powerful king made all the people in his *kingdom pay taxes. (This may mean that he made them work hard for him.) But something was different. The *Jews had been in great danger. Now a *Jew was a very important person in the government. Mordecai was working for the benefit of the *Jews. He was not working for his own benefit, as Haman had done.

The writer says that the official records include all these matters. He wants us to know that he has told a true story.

The Calendar in the Book of Esther

The Book of Esther uses the *Jewish calendar:

Order of months in the *Jewish calendar	Name of the*Jewish month	English month	An event in the year of Esther’s marriage	Events in the year of Haman’s plot
1st month	Nissan (or Nisan)	March or April		Esther 3:7 – Haman used the *Purim. Esther 3:12 – Haman wrote his plot as a law.
2nd month	Iyar	April or May
3rd month	Sivan	May or June		Esther 8:9 – Mordecai wrote the law to save the *Jews.
4th month	Tammuz	June or July
5th month	Av	July or August
6th month	Elul	August or September
7th month	Tishrei	September or October
8th month	Chesvan	October or November
9th month	Kislev	November or December
10th month	Teves (or Tebeth)	December or January	Esther 2:16 – Esther first went to King Xerxes
11th month	Shevat	January or February
12th month	Adar	February or March		Esther 3:7 – the date that the *Purim selected. Esther 3:13 – the date in Haman’s law was the 13th day of Adar. Esther 8:12 – the date when the *Jews could defend themselves. Esther chapter 9 – the *Jews defended themselves.

About *Purim today

The *Jews still remember *Purim each year. It is on the 14th and 15th days of the month called Adar.

On the day before, the 13th day in the month called Adar, many *Jews do not eat food. This day is called the ‘fast of Esther’. A fast is when people do not eat for a short time.

The 14th and 15th days of the month called Adar are days to be happy. These days are called ‘*Purim’. *Jews have some special traditions on these days:

• They read the Book of Esther in public. This book is called the ‘Megilla’.

• They give gifts of food to friends.

• They give gifts to help poor people.

• They have a special meal with their family and friends. This meal is a happy party.

kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.
Jews ~ people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the people called Jews.
Jews ~ people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Purim ~ stones with numbers on them. People used them to choose a date by chance. Afterwards, Purim became the name of the Jewish holiday. It is a happy holiday when Jews remember the events in the Book of Esther.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to the people called Jews.
Jews ~ people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.