During his third year of reign over the Persian Empire, King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) was ruling from his royal throne in the city of Susa (southwestern Iran), and he held a banquet for all his nobles and officials. When summoned to appear before him, his beautiful wife, Queen Vashti, refused to come. As a result she was forever banished from the Kings presence, and a new Queen was sought from among the most beautiful young virgins of the kingdom. Mordecai, a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, had been living as an exile in Susa at the time. He had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had adopted and raised as his own daughter after her parents had died. Hadassah, or Esther, meaning star in Persian, was lovely in form and features, and she found favor in the eyes of the King and was chosen among hundreds of women to become Queen in the place of Vashti. Meanwhile, Mordecai uncovered a plot to have the King assassinated and told his cousin Queen Esther about it. She in turn, reported the news to the King, and gave the credit to Mordecai.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 22:26:24 +0000
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