Economic Research: Decree Clothing

Monday 10 December 2012

Decree Clothing

Esther was born around 492 B.C. as Hadasseh (a Jewish name meaning myrtle). The myrtle tree was native to Babylonia, but Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem took the tree with them, and it became a symbol of the nation of Israel. The name Esther itself means star and happiness. Esther was the daughter of Abihail, of the tribe of Benjamin. It is believed she adopted the Persian name Esther when she entered the Persian court harem when she was a young girl. Actually, as with many figures from the Bible, there is now some scholarly controversy about whether Queen Esther really did indeed exist. Some scholars now believe that her story, recounted in the Book of Esther in the Bible, is actually a "historic fiction" with no basis in fact, and that it was intended as an allegory designed to teach essential truths. Much has been made of the similarities between the Jewish festival of Purim, which commemorates the rescue of the Jews by Esther and her adopted father Mordechai, and a Persian festival that celebrates the god Marduk and the female Ishtar and their victory over their rivals. It has been suggested that "Esther" and "Mordechai" are Hebrew forms of the names "Ishtar" and "Marduk." Still, there are many scholars who believe that Queen Esther really did exist, as events of her life show up in other historical records besides the Bible. The story of Esther involves someone from the humblest of origins, a Jewish exile, who rises to become a queen. More importantly, in her royal position, she is able to save her people from a genocide designed by a scheming court figure.