forced into the king’s harem against her will (cf. my comments on 2:8). Furthermore, she concealed her nationality by eating nonkosher foods for many months (2:9). “Certainly, this casts Esther in a very bad light. Not only is her failure to observe the dietary regulations against her, but so is her disregard for the authority of the Law. She does not display the ‘Judaism at any cost’ spirit that distinguishes Daniel and even the apocryphal Judith.… She kept her secret for at least five years [cf.