Jews And Anti Judaism In Esther And The Church

The biblical book of Esther records an account of Jewish resistance to attempted genocide in the setting of the Persian Empire. According to the text, Jews were targeted for annihilation simply because of their Jewish identity. However, the story also reports that they were allowed to defend themselves against anyone who sought to kill them. In the context of attempted genocide, the message of Esther addresses a timeless and universal issue of justice - that humans have the right and responsibility to defend themselves against those who intend to murder. 'Jews and Anti-Judaism in Esther and the Church' shows how the anti-Judaism that is a central feature of Esther relates to the contemporary issue of the contested legitimacy of the State of Israel as part of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. In her outstanding book, Dr. Tricia Miller uses an academic approach to demonstrate the relationship of historic theology to current events concerning Israel for the purpose of encouraging Christians to support Israel's right to exist and defend itself against those who seek its destruction.

This book situates the book of Esther in the intellectual history of Ancient Judaism and provides a new understanding of its purpose.

Hebrew Esther tells the story of a woman who assumes responsibility to save her people from attempted genocide. Old Greek and Alpha Text Esther are examples of Jewish apologetic and polemic literature that addressed Greek and Latin perceptions of Jewish xenophobia and misanthropy. However, in spite of the fact that Hebrew Esther gives an account of a woman's leading role in the prevention of the genocide of the Jews of Persia, and the fact that the authors of the Greek versions reinterpreted the Hebrew for the purpose of addressing anti-Semitic sentiment in the Greco-Roman world, the story of Esther is the object of significant anti-Semitic and feminist critique. In contrast to most past and current scholarship, this work uses a combination of critical methods to question both forms of critique, and contrasts Hebrew Esther's character and actions with her character and actions portrayed in the two Greek versions.

New from the Bible and Women Series This collection of essays deals with aspects of women and gender relations in early Judaism (during the Persian, Greek, and Roman empires). Some essays focus on specific writings: the Greek (Septuagint) version of Esther, Judith, Joseph and Aseneth, and the Letter of Jeremiah. Others explore how certain biblical texts are reinterpreted: Eve in the Life of Adam and Eve, the mixing of the sons of God with the daughters of men from Genesis 6:1–4, the Egyptian princess at the birth of Moses, and how Josephus retells biblical stories. The third group of essays explore specific social contexts: Philo's views of women in the Roman empire, the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls, and women philosophers of the Therapeutae in Egyptian Alexandria. Features An International team of contributors from Europe and North America A breadth of materials covered, including many lesser-known early Jewish writings Focus is on a gendered perspective and gender specific questions

This volume on intercultural biblical interpretation includes essays by feminist scholars from Botswana, Germany, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, and the United States. Reading from a rich variety of socio-cultural locations, contributors present their hermeneutical frameworks for interpretation of Hebrew Bible texts, each framework grounded in the writer's journey of professional or social formation and serving as a prism or optic for feminist critical analysis. The volume hosts a lively conversation about the nature and significance of biblical interpretation in a global context, focusing on issues at the nexus of operations of power, textual ambiguity, and intersectionality. Engaged here are notions of biblical authority and postures of dissent; women's agency, discernment, rivalry, and alliance in ancient and contemporary contexts; ideological constructions of sexuality and power; interpretations related to indigeneity, racial identity, interethnic intimacy, and violence in colonial contexts; theologies of the feminine divine and feminist understandings of the sacred; convictions about interdependence and conditions of flourishing for all beings in creation; and ethics of resistance positioned over against dehumanization in political, theological, and hermeneutical praxes. Through their textual and contextual engagements, contributors articulate a broad spectrum of feminist insights into the possibilities for emancipatory visions of community.

Donated by Sydney Harris.

What if the way the book of Esther has been taught to us in church and retold to us in films, cartoons, and romance novels has missed the original point of the story? Far from being models of piety and devotion, Esther and Mordecai seem indifferent to the faith of their ancestors. How then did this story become part of the Bible and gain the broad acceptance that it has? If the church should not neglect the story, how should it be read? Esther and Her Elusive God calls Christians to avoid the common attempts to make Esther more palatable and theological, and to reclaim this secular story as Scripture. Readers will be encouraged to see in Esther a profound message of God's grace and faithfulness to his wayward people.