El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-26
is quite a diversity Of op

THERE is quite a diversity Of opin-
ion about the Book of Esther, as
- to who wrote it, when it was
written. why it was written and VINO
king Ahasuerus was. Some writer's
claim that il is highly improbable
story; that it is nothing but an histori-
cal romance with no religious value
whatever. Wen pass those writer's by
without any further thought, because
we can't possibly agree with anything
so prepOsterOus.
other writer's say. Truth is stranger
than fiction" and that it is not an i'm
possible story. Do we not see this eX-
emplified around US today? We need
go no farther than to our war-stricken
districts across the seas to ind mate
rial for historical romance even
stranger than the story of Esther. Nay,
we can go just across the border into
Mexico to find stories which shan open
wide the eyes of children yet unborn,
as well as those of old men and maid
ems in the years to come. Probably they
will say. NO, no, surely such things
did not exist in the early part of the
goth century"
Word God Omitted.
The Book of Esther was written in
time Of great Righteousness and ex-
travagance among the Greeks and Per
SLAMS. Morality was at a low ebb. 1t
properly belongs between Ezra and
Nehemiah. not after Nehemiah. It is
short, having only 10 chapters, the last
one having only three verses. The
date is probably the latest Persian or
the earliest Greek period. It is unique
in that the word of God does not once
appear, while that of the Persian mon
arch occurs 1S7 times. Some claim it
was written by Ezra, some by Morde-
cal, but the author is really unknown.
A possible explanation as to why the
word of God is omitted is the fact that
the book was meant to be read at the
merry revels Of the Purim festival, the
latter being the day celebrated by the
Jews for their deliverance from their
enemies. 1t is generally conceded by
both Catholics and Protestants that
the work is historical in substance and
detail. They base their conclusions on
the following:
a. Vivacity and simplicity of the
narrative; 3, precise circumstantial de-
tails as naming many unimportant per
sonages: g. reference to the annals Of
the Persians 4, absence Of errors in
time or errors in the displacement of
events in point of time; 5, agreement of
proper names with the time in which
the story is placed; 6. the confirmation
of details by history and archaeology;
Z. celebration of the feast of Purim in
commemoratiOn OF deliverance of the
Jews by Esther and Mordecai at the
time of the Machabees, at the time of
Josephus and since"
who Was Ahasuerus3
This ought to be proof enough to sat
isfy anyone. Who was Ahasue-
rus? Most writer's make him
identical with Xerxes, the Persian king:
some say his son, ArtaxerXes. If we
follow Josephus (the story 1 liked the
best) he will be ArtaxerXes Longima-
nus, so called because his right hand
was larger than his left He was the
second son of Xerxes l., and succeeded
to the throne on the murder of his
father and his elder brother, Darius.
by Artabanus, b. c. 465 or 464. The first
part of his reign was a stormy one, but
the latter part was spent in peace. He
reigned 40 years.
The claims Of Xerxes are best sup
ported by his character, Of ArtaXerxes
LOngimanus, by Josephus, Esther mean
ing star, happiness-was a Jewess of
the tribe of Benjamin, daughter of
Abihail, and bore, before her accession
to the throne, the name of Edissa, myr-
tie. Her Hebrew name was Hadassah I
she was of royal blood, descended from
the princess Jehoiakim Her father T.
been deported from Jerusalem to Baby /
lon in the time of Jechonias. She was
adopted by her fathers brother. Nor !
dochai. who then dwelt in Shusan, cap
ItaI of Persia She helped in her sim /
pie home I'm Babylon. but was not al /
lowed to scour pans. as Mordecai did
not approve Of a daughter of royal blood I
5oiling her hands in that manner.
story of Esther Dramatic.
The story of Esther is just the kind
that appeals to children, because of its
dramatic nature and its call to the i'm
lgination For that reason I wish to
present it in the simple manner and
style that ! would use in presenting ii
% children on the ground that what in
erests children usually interests grown
ID children.
Long, long ago there lived at the
palace OF Shushan. in the land of the
dedes and Tersians, a noted king bv the
lame of Ahasuerus, or ArtaXerxes. who
all heir to the throne on the death -
lis father, the well known and change
Lble Xerxes. When this man became
ding of Persia and had set governors
,ver the 1877 provinces or countries from I
ndia to Ethiopia, in the third year of
lis reign, he made feast for his /