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Esther: An Introduction and Commentary (Reid) is unavailable, but you can change that!

The place: Persia. The time: fifth-century BC. The Jews were threatened with genocide. A decree ordered the extermination of young and old, women and children. The book of Esther describes how this crisis was averted through the bravery of Esther, the wisdom of Mordecai and the unity of the Jewish people. Debra Reid’s approachable commentary helps us see even more clearly in the book of Esther...

Vashti’s refusal to be shown off like a common concubine before the tipsy hoi polloi of the citadel of Susa reveals a sense of decorum and self-respect that places her outside of the mocking characterisation that the narrator has given the rest of the royal court.3 Vashti’s refusal to obey the king is a comment on Xerxes rather than on the patriarchy of the society he represents. As such, it weakens Xerxes’ honour and power, which the story in turn capitalizes on through Esther’s own role. So like
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