{"product_id":"esther-through-the-centuries-isbn-9781405132138","title":"Esther Through the Centuries","description":"This interdisciplinary commentary ranges from early midrashic interpretation to contemporary rewritings introducing interpretations of the only biblical book not to mention God. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eUnearths a wealth of neglected rewritings inspired by the story’s relevance to themes of nationhood, rebellion, providence, revenge, female heroism, Jewish identity, exile, genocide and ‘multiculturalism’\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReveals the various struggles and strategies used by religious commentators to make sense of this only biblical book that does not mention God\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAsks why Esther is underestimated by contemporary feminist scholars despite a long history of subversive rewritings\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eCompares the most influential Jewish and Christian interpretations and interpreters\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eIncludes an introduction to the book’s myriad representations in literature, music, and art\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003ePublished in the reception-history series, \u003ci\u003eBlackwell Bible Commentaries\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Plates xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSeries Editors’ Preface xiii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements xv\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy Reception? 2\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn Irredeemable Book? 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eJewish Tradition 10\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChristian Tradition 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSummary of Works 13\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eGodless Scripture 21\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAllegory 28\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProvidence, Chosenness, Nationhood 32\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical Application 46\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEsther as Literature 49\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 1:1–9 52\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:1 The King and Empire 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:3 The King’s Feast 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:4 Display of Wealth 58\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:8 No Compulsion to Drink 59\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:9 Women’s Feast 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eVashti 61\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 1:10–22 68\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:12 Disobedience 68\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:13–22 The Empire Strikes Back 83\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:19 Vashti’s Punishment 88\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1:22 The Decree 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 2:1–7 93\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:1 The King Remembers Vashti 93\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:2–4 To the Harem 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:5–6 Mordecai 98\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:7 Hadassah- Esther 103\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 2:8–23 109\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:8–14 Esther in the Harem 109\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:15 Esther’s Beauty 121\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2:16–18 Esther Becomes Queen 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 3 133\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:1 Haman 134\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:2 ‘But Mordecai did not bow down’ 139\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:7 Casting Lots 143\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:8 (Mis)Representing Jews: A People Set Apart 145\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:8 Evil Counsellors 151\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:12–15 Genocidal Edicts 155\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3:15 ‘The King and Haman sat down to drink’ 157\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 4:1–14 160\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:1–3 ‘Great mourning among the Jews’ 160\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:4–14 Esther and Mordecai Confer 163\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:14 ‘From another quarter’ 174\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 4:15–17 176\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:15 ‘Fast ye for me’ 176\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:16 ‘If I perish, I perish’ 180\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEsther as Exemplar of Resolve 184\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4:17 ‘Mordecai [. . .] did everything as Esther had ordered him’ 191\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 5 192\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEsther before Ahasuerus 192\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5:4–8 Esther’s First Banquet 215\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5:9–14 Haman’s Wrath 218\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 6 221\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe King’s Sleeplessness 222\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6:11 The Triumph of Mordecai 227\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 7 and 8 233\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7:1–6 Esther’s Second Banquet 233\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7:7–8 Haman’s Fate 238\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8:1–6 ‘How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’ 244\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8:7–14 The Irreversible Decree 244\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8:15–17 ‘The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honour’ 249\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEsther 9 and 10 254\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9:2 Scenes of Slaughter 256\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9:7–10 Ten Sons of Haman 265\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9:26 Purim 267\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9:29 \u0026amp; 32 ‘Then Esther the Queen . . . wrote with all authority’ 275\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 The Greatness of Mordecai 277\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBibliography 280\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePrimary Sources\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePre- 1500 280\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1500–1800 281\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePost- 1800 284\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEsther Secondary Sources 289\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther Secondary Sources 293\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 296\u003c\/p\u003e  \"The author digs up literary echoes and poetic versions of the biblical book of Esther.... This important scholarly resource originated as a PhD thesis in the University of Manchester. It is to be hoped the PhD students can be interested in doing similar research, producing studies as valuable as the present one.\" (\u003ci\u003eInternational Review of Biblical Studies\u003c\/i\u003e, 2007-2008)  \u003cp\u003e\"This book can be highly recommended. It provides a fascinating glimpse of how the Bible has shaped … The ideals of society throughout history.\" (\u003ci\u003eExpository Times\u003c\/i\u003e, November 2008)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Carruthers looks at the reception of the text in detail, but also has an introduction to different ways of viewing the biblical book.\" (\u003ci\u003eChurch Times\u003c\/i\u003e, October 2008)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eJo Carruthers\u003c\/b\u003e is RCUK Academic Fellow at the University of Bristol working across the disciplines of Religious and Literary Studies. She has published on Esther as well as the reception of the Bible in literary and nationalist contexts.  \u003ci\u003eEsther Through the Centuries\u003c\/i\u003e traces Jewish, Christian and secular reception of the only biblical book not to mention God. Author Jo Carruthers introduces the most significant adaptations of this story of Jewish life in the Persian Empire; a tale about averted genocide, a heroic queen and the machinations of court politics. Prominent in the Jewish tradition because of the festival of Purim, Esther has also provoked and inspired Christian and secular writers, artists, musicians and commentators for two millennia. \u003cp\u003eThis commentary unearths a wealth of neglected rewritings inspired by the story’s engagement with themes of nationhood, rebellion, providence, revenge, female heroism, Jewish identity, exile and genocide. Ranging from early rabbinic interpretation to contemporary rewritings, the book discusses the significance of Esther for artists such as George Eliot, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Handel and Michelangelo, who are drawn to the cosmic drama of good versus evil and its authoritative yet transgressive queen. The book examines Esther chapter by chapter, revealing a surprising afterlife remarkably resonant with contemporary preoccupations.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore information about the Blackwell Bible Commentary series is available at www.bbibcomm.net.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989165129957,"sku":"NP9781405132138","price":58.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781405132138.jpg?v=1761783056","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/esther-through-the-centuries-isbn-9781405132138","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}