Reading Diary B: Bible Women

Continuing through Biblical Women, each story was very interesting. I enjoyed reading each of them for various reasons, but of the stories present, my favorite story was the three part account of the life of Esther. I have known some of her story, which I learned growing up reading the Bible. However, there were many aspects of the story that I was unaware of.

The entire story resonates almost as an early Holocaust foreshadowing. The death decree that Haman, King Ahasuerus's "right hand man" (so to speak), issued is just as chillingly, horrifying as the genocide that Adolf Hitler implored during World War II. Both men believed the Jews should be killed, simply for their own religious beliefs. Another character I found to be fascinating is Mordecai. The loyalty to Esther that he shows throughout the entire story is unscathed. I love that his he is so protective over her, and he even earns the king's loyalty in order to further protect her and keep her from falling into the death decree.

(Scenes from the Book of Esther painted in Dura Europa Synagogue; 244 CE)

My favorite quote from the entire Esther story is "Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman." This quote shows the major slap in the face that Haman is about to receive for the horrifying actions he's portrayed. The story comes to full circle near the end when the guillotine that Haman had built for Mordecai is indeed the very thing that ends Haman's life.