Talk:Ahasuerus

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Article Change

The original Wiki page stated;

19th century Bible commentaries generally identified him with Xerxes I of Persia, although this assumption is now rejected by other scholars.

And referenced;

The Religious Policy of Xerxes and the "Book of Esther", Littman, Robert J., The Jewish Quarterly Review, 65.3, Jan 1975, p.145-148.

This is not what the reference says, page 148 of that article states;

Whatever one's judgment about the origins of Purim, whether Esther and Mordecai are historical figures, or merely gods demoted to the human level, it is agreed that the Book of Esther has a historical setting in the reign of Xerxes, and it is replete with details of Persian court life. It is the purpose of this paper, while not denying the romantic and ritual elements and complicated amalgamation of history, religion and romance, to return to the search for historical material, particularly in the reign of Xerxes, which may be connected to the Book of Esther

The article concludes on page 155 with;

Many unanswered questions remain about the Book of Esther in regard to its origins, composition and literary merits, but it is beyond the scope of this paper to delve into these aspects. What has emerged from this paper is the following: The Book of Esther is set in the reign of Xerxes, who was heavily committed to Zoroastrianism of an orthodox variety and who reversed the practice of religious tolerance of his predecessors. I will now change the page to reflect the source.

Considerations for Cyrus as Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther

The story of Curus and Cassandane is preserved in the first couple of chapters in Herodotus Book 3. There are many similarities between the two stories. Of all the Persian Kings it was only Cyrus the Great that was recorded as being influenced by a beautiful orphan, her name was Netetis. The Kings wife (Cassandane) was quite jealous of her. Herodotus says that Egypt was invaded by Cassandane’s son Cambyses because he hated the way his father chose Netetis over his mother. Also it’s the death of Cassandane that clears the way for Cyrus to free the Jews who were captive in Babylon, because when Vashti (Cassandane) finally dies, the Jews are freed from Babylon, that very same year. Therefore the Book of Esther is important because it’s the story of Cyrus the Great and why he chose to free the Jews.

Esther is Nitetis, Vashti is Cassandane, Ahasuerus is Cyrus the Great Mordecai is the eye doctor.

There isn’t anything that would exclude Cyrus the Great as being the king who was named Ahasuerus in the book of Esther. At the same time, the fourth chapter of Ezra would make it impossible for Ahasuerus to be Artaxerxes. Not to mention the book of Nehemiah. Ezra was sent to Judah by Artaxerxes in the seventh year of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:6-7), Nehemiah became the governor of Judah under Artaxerxes from the 20th year of his reign until the 32nd year (Nehemiah 5:14). Certainly this could easily be Artaxerxes II, but it’s impossible for it to be Artaxerxes I. If Ezra entered Jerusalem in the 7th year of Artaxerxes, then this can only be Artaxerxes II (398 BCE) in Ezra chapter 7. The king named Ahasuerus in the book of Esther gave the green light to Haman to kill all the Jews , that order went out in that kings twelfth year of reign (Esther 3:7). Another question that arises is why doesn’t Ahasuerus in the book of Esther know that Cyrus the Great had already freed the Jews in writing? Or how come Ahasuerus in the book of Esther sees the Jews as a bunch of rag tag nomads? Is that possible if Ahasuerus in the book of Esther came after Cyrus?

Historical accuracy

@Acjones49: About attempt to remove some bias against historical accuracy in Scripture; more needed—the historical accuracy of the Book of Esther is dead in the water in the mainstream academia. We follow the mainstream academia, not your church. tgeorgescu (talk) 12:01, 27 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

"Some scholars"

Here are more WP:RS: ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Basically, this is where the rift lies between mainstream Bible scholars, on one hand, and fundamentalists and conservative evangelicals, on the other hand. tgeorgescu (talk) 16:51, 22 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

We need multiple sources to establish that the Book of Esther is fiction? I thought that was common knowledge. None of the persons depicted in the fairy tale have any resemblance to historical figures. Dimadick (talk) 21:43, 22 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

References

^ McCullough, W. S. (28 July 2011) [15 December 1984]. "AHASUREUS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 3 April 2020. There may be some factual nucleus behind the Esther narrative, but the book in its present form displays such inaccuracies and inconsistencies that it must be described as a piece of historical fiction.
^ Shaked, Shaul (6 March 2012) [15 December 2003]. "HAMAN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 3 April 2020. The story of the Book of Esther has not been corroborated by historical sources, and the figure of Haman could well be fictitious.
^ Meyers, Carol (2007). Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. p. 325. ISBN 9780199277186. Like the Joseph story in Genesis and the book of Daniel, it is a fictional piece of prose writing involving the interaction between foreigners and Hebrews/Jews.
^ Hirsch, Emil G.; Dyneley Prince, John; Schechter, Solomon (1906). "ESTHER". In Singer, Isidor; Adler, Cyrus (eds.). Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. pp. 235–236. Retrieved 25 April 2020. The vast majority of modern expositors have reached the conclusion that the book is a piece of pure fiction, although some writers qualify their criticism by an attempt to treat it as a historical romance.

Source of the Koine?

The article opens with the Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος. Later, the article states that the Septuagint refers to Artaxerxes, which in Koine would be Ἀρταξέρξης. So which is it? Ἀσουήρος or Ἀρταξέρξης? Here's my source.

https://biblebento.com/index.html?lxx1i&190.1.1 Geraldpriddle (talk) 05:23, 25 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

[Encyclopædia_Iranica_1984-1] McCullough, W. S. (28 July 2011) [15 December 1984]. "AHASUREUS – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 3 April 2020. There may be some factual nucleus behind the Esther narrative, but the book in its present form displays such inaccuracies and inconsistencies that it must be described as a piece of historical fiction.

[Encyclopædia_Iranica_2003-2] Shaked, Shaul (6 March 2012) [15 December 2003]. "HAMAN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 3 April 2020. The story of the Book of Esther has not been corroborated by historical sources, and the figure of Haman could well be fictitious.

[3] Meyers, Carol (2007). Barton, John; Muddiman, John (eds.). The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press. p. 325. ISBN 9780199277186. Like the Joseph story in Genesis and the book of Daniel, it is a fictional piece of prose writing involving the interaction between foreigners and Hebrews/Jews.

[JewishEncyclopedia.com-4] Hirsch, Emil G.; Dyneley Prince, John; Schechter, Solomon (1906). "ESTHER". In Singer, Isidor; Adler, Cyrus (eds.). Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. pp. 235–236. Retrieved 25 April 2020. The vast majority of modern expositors have reached the conclusion that the book is a piece of pure fiction, although some writers qualify their criticism by an attempt to treat it as a historical romance.

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