Prophets and exile · Old Testament
The Story of Esther
A young Jewish woman becomes queen of Persia and, at the risk of her life, goes to the king to stop Haman’s plan to destroy her people.
Editorial text in English. Scripture is quoted from the version you choose; references stay the same in every version.
Introduction
In the Persian empire, Esther, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, is chosen as queen. When Haman the king’s official plots to destroy all the Jews, Mordecai urges Esther to go to the king, saying she may have come to her royal position “for such a time as this”. Esther 2:7Esther 2:17Esther 3:8–11Esther 4:13–14
Esther goes to the king uninvited, exposes Haman at a banquet, and a new decree allows the Jews to defend themselves. The festival of Purim remembers the deliverance. The book never mentions God by name in the Hebrew text that most English Bibles translate; the Greek version adds prayers. Esther 5:1–2Esther 7:3–6Esther 9:20–28
Principal passages
People in this story
Places named
- Susa, the capital Esther 1:2
Only places the passages name. Locations are not guessed.
The story, event by event
In the order Scripture presents them. Expand an event to read its passage here.
Queen Vashti refuses
At a great feast King Ahasuerus calls for Queen Vashti to display her beauty. She refuses, and the king removes her as queen.
People: King Ahasuerus, Vashti
Esther becomes queen
Young women are gathered for the king. Esther, who has not revealed that she is Jewish, wins favour and is made queen.
Mordecai uncovers a plot
Mordecai learns of a plot to kill the king and tells Esther, who reports it in his name. It is written in the king’s records.
Haman’s decree
Mordecai will not bow to Haman. Enraged, Haman persuades the king to issue a decree to destroy all the Jews in the empire on a single day.
People: Mordecai, Haman, King Ahasuerus
“For such a time as this”
Mordecai mourns and asks Esther to plead with the king. Going in unsummoned could mean death; Esther asks the Jews of Susa to fast for her and says, “If I perish, I perish.”
Esther’s first banquet
The king holds out his sceptre to Esther. She invites him and Haman to a banquet, then to a second. Haman builds a gallows for Mordecai.
People: Esther, Haman
The sleepless king
Unable to sleep, the king has the records read and learns Mordecai was never rewarded. Haman, who came to ask for Mordecai’s death, is made to lead him through the city in honour.
People: Mordecai, Haman
Haman exposed
At the second banquet Esther pleads for her life and her people and names Haman as the enemy. Haman is hanged on the gallows he built for Mordecai.
People: Esther, Haman
A new decree
The first decree cannot be revoked, so the king lets Mordecai write another allowing the Jews to gather and defend themselves. There is joy among the Jews in every province.
Purim
On the appointed day the Jews defend themselves against their enemies. Mordecai and Esther establish the days of Purim as a yearly feast of remembrance, and Mordecai becomes second to the king.
Connected themes
- Courage Illustrates the theme
Esther risks her life for her people. Esther 4:16
- Justice
A plot to destroy a people is exposed. Esther 7:6
- Providence
A story where God is never named, read by many as showing his hidden care. Esther 4:14
Questions for study
Written by BibleKenya editors. They are not Scripture.
- What risk does Esther face in Esther 4:11, and how does she prepare in 4:16?
- What does Mordecai say in Esther 4:13-14?
- Which turns in the story depend on timing or chance (for example Esther 6:1)?
- How is the deliverance remembered in Esther 9:20-28?
Use offline
Save this story on your device, then download the Bible books it uses in your version: Esther. The study keeps only its own notes and references; the Scripture comes from the books on your device, never a second copy.