Hidden Facts About Queen Esther's King In Talmud

 Nadene Goldfoot                                            

There came a time when Jews were not in control of their own lives; when they had been exiled to Babylonia from Jerusalem and their land of Judah.  A Jewish girl had become the King's wife and Queen of Persia with her religion being unknown to her husband, Ahasuerus,  and he was a real anti-Semite !   This is no fairy tale.  It's part of Persia's history and their king known as Xerxes I, and it's an important part of our Jewish history.  

  The Book of Esther was first printed in the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh. It was later included in the Christian Old Testament.  

                         Rock relief of Xerxes I, found in Persepolis, kept at National Museum of Iran

The plot is structured around banquets (Hebrew: מִשְׁתֶּה, romanized: mišˈte, plural מִשְׁתָּאוֹת mištāˈhoṯ or מִשְׁתִּים mišˈtim), a word that occurs twenty times in Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Hebrew bible. This is appropriate given that Esther describes the origin of a Jewish feast, the feast of Purim, but Purim itself is not the subject and no individual feast in the book is commemorated by Purim. 

The book's theme, rather, is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events: the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. 

In literary criticism such a reversal is termed "peripety", and while on one level its use in Esther is simply a literary or aesthetic device, on another it is structural to the author's theme, suggesting that the power of God is at work behind human events.       

                                        Talmud's Version

King Achashverosh hosted a lavish 180 day feast "for all his officials and servants, the army of Persia and Medea, the nobility and provincial officials."  It culminated in a final week of festivities "for all the people who were present in their capital of Shushan;  the aristocracy and the commoner alike."

It would appear to us to be an ancient precursor to Mardi Gras.  However, it marked the 3rd anniversary of the reign of King Achashverosh while also marking  70 years since the beginning of the Jewish exile. The king was aware of he Jewish prophets telling of the end of the Babylonian and Persian exile after 70 years.  

His calendar was different enough from the Jewish calendar for Achashverosh to miscalculate when the 70 years began and thought that the Jews would now be in utter despair, and that the land of Israel and the Jewish nation would become permanent gems in his own crown of glory.  He staged this elaborate party and wore priestly garments plundered from the Temple.  Also, the Temple vessels, now part of the Persian treasury, were on display for all to see.  Then he invited Jews he knew.  

Such a party would be like having a theme park built along the site of Auschwitz, and inviting Jews to come and enjoy the attractions; a high mark of insult for the Jewish people.  And they accepted the invitation.  They had become desensitized to the meaning of their history.  These Jews of Persia had lost sight of their history so they accepted the mediocrity of the present. Their memories had faded along with sensitivity and commitment.  They enjoyed themselves despite what they were celebrating !  I would call it being completely Hellenized!  

Haman enters the story at this point with the threat of annihilation.  The Talmud tells us tells us now of a new awakening in the Jewish people.  The spark that ignited Haman's fury was only a simple confrontation with "Mordecai the Jew."  At least he did not cover up who he was.  Haman had been newly elevated to a high position of power;, and expected everyone in the kingdom to bow down and prostrate themselves before Haman.  

 The Talmud offers several interpretations of King Achashverosh, also known as Ahasuerus, from the Book of Esther. 

• The Talmud states that Achashverosh ruled over "the globe" (kippah), which some interpret to mean the entire world. However, the Book of Esther states that his kingdom included 127 provinces, which stretched from India to Ethiopia.

  

  
  
• The Talmud describes Achashverosh as someone who was not of royal blood, but instead became king by purchasing the position.
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  The Talmud suggests that when Achashverosh promised Esther "up to half of the kingdom", he meant to exclude the rebuilding of the Temple.
  
• The Midrash interprets the name Achashverosh as an acronym for acharit veraishit shelo, which means "the end and beginning are His".
• The Midrash says that Achashverosh alludes to God, the King of the World. 

Achashverosh is a central figure in the Purim story. He is often understood to refer to Xerxes I, who ruled the Achaemenid Empire from 486–465 BCE. By using this spelling of king (Ahasueros)-Achashverosh, I can see it is from a different source;  this time from the Talmud.  

 Resource:

https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2023/06/esther-achaemenian-history#:~:text=The%20Book%20of%20Esther%20(fig,classical%20sources%20are%20unaware%20of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerxes_I.