Книга Есфирь

The book of Esther is called so because through Esther God saved the Jews, who were all in danger of destruction, and punished Haman, who plotted against them. King Artaxerxes, having rejected his wife, sought in his kingdom the most beautiful and most comely of all women in order to take her as his wife; This is what Esther turned out to be, a Jewish woman. She had a relative, Mordecai, who was taken captive into that country under Zedekiah. The king, having exalted the aforementioned Haman, commanded that everyone bow to him. But since Mordecai, while serving God, did not want to worship man, Haman was angry with him and, having learned that he was a Jew, convinced King Artaxerxes and ordered that all the Jews in his kingdom be exterminated on one day of the twelfth month. Having learned about this, Mordecai lamented and, having fasted, turned to Esther asking for help. Esther, after fasting and praying to God, adorned with women's attire, entered the king without an invitation and at an inopportune time - and it was not allowed to enter without an invitation; but she hoped not for a convenient time, but for prayer. When the king was surprised by her unusual act, she fell from fear. But God changed the king’s anger to mercy and meekness; he stood up and lifted his wife, exhorted her not to be afraid and allowed her to ask for what she wanted. She asked the king to come to her feast with Haman, not once, but twice. Haman, out of joy and delight that he had received an invitation from the queen, became even more proud of Mordecai and ordered a tall tree to be erected, intending to hang Mordecai on it the next day. Meanwhile, the king, by the good providence of God, could not sleep that night and ordered the memorial notes of his affairs to be read to him. While reading them, I came across a record of a good deed done for him by Mordecai, namely: when two eunuchs were plotting against the king, Mordecai revealed this to the king and convicted them. Out of consideration for Mordecai's service, the king wanted to give him worthy honor. When Haman came to him in the morning, the king asked him: what honor is worthy of the one who has done a good deed for the king? Haman, thinking that the king was asking about himself, replied that such a person was worthy to be called second in command. Therefore, the king ordered Mordecai to be given such honor, and ordered Haman to go ahead of him. Esther, taking advantage of the opportunity, began to intercede for the Jews. When the king, expressing regret about the lawless command against the Jews, became angry with Haman, Haman himself began to ask for Esther in the absence of the king, crouching and hugging her knees. The king, seeing Haman touching the queen’s feet and thinking that he was doing this for a shameful purpose, ordered Haman himself to be hanged on the tree that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king orders that all the Jews be left safe, and their enemies be destroyed by them. Fifty thousand people were exterminated. Therefore, a holiday was established on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the twelfth month, which is called Adar; and this day itself in their language is called “Furim” 14 (Esth. 10:3). Therefore, on this day the Jews burn the image of Haman and celebrate the memory of their deliverance. This is where the book ends. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” At St. I. Chrysostom: “wagon” You might be interested in: