Fallen Into Knowledge

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The book of Esther is filled with ironic incidents, here is a short list:

• The royal edict is given: “Every man should be the ruler of his own house“ (1:19-22) YET, the entire story is about the king “obeying“ Esther’s entreaties (8:1-14; 9:13)

• The king “just happens“ to read at night of his salvation by Mordecai (6:12)

• Haman’s “blessing“ (6:69) falls upon Mordecai (6:10-11)

• Haman makes for Mordecai the very gallows (5:14) that he will be hung upon (7:10)

• Mordecai gets the signet ring and royal status that belonged to Haman (8:2,15)

• The Jews end up “winning a war“ against their captors without an army, king, etc and with the permission of King Artaxerxes (9&10)

More thoughts, this time from Nehemiah:

Nehemiah is the only Narrative in the Bible told in the first person.

Both Ezra and Nehemiah emphasize the reading of the Law and the observation of the festivals: this is in distinction to the books of Kings and Chronicles, where the law was found only as the Assyrians / Babylonians arrived to cart Israel off to captivity.

Both Ezra and Nehemiah are focused on “cleansing everything foreign” from amongst Israel. Even so, they are dependent on the generosity of a foreign king just so they can rebuild the city.

Some (more or less) thoughts, thought during and as a result of my reading of Ezra today:

1. The return to the land from exile is everything that the Exodus was not: it was a meager affair, and while those going back into the Land went rejoicing, they also went to work. Everything happens on a small scale: the number of animals sacrificed at the dedication of the new temple is dwarfed by the number sacrificed at the dedication of Solomon’s temple. This does not seem to be the “day of the Lord” spoken of in prophesy.

2. There is a bunch of new language in Ezra: People declare fasts, Ezra is a scribe and a Scholar of the text, etc.

3. I think that it is interesting that the re-construction of Israel’s temple is largely provided for by a foreign king.