Esther as a Heroic Figure and Role Model to the Ancient Jews Diaspora, Essay Example

Esther was an orphaned beautiful young woman in the ancient times who was raised by her cousin Modercai who lived in Susa. The king at that time was looking for another wife because the presiding wife had proved to be disobedient. Vashty, the king’s wife had refused to adhere to the King’s demands of exposing her physical charms when the king had a banquet. All the beautiful young women who were virgins were taken to the king’s palace where they were oiled with myrrh for six months and then perfumed for six months. These beautification processes made the ladies fairer and have a nice fragrance (Ibid 24). The other virgins made their appearance but Esther’s was the most appealing. Esther became the new queen of Persian and her cousin advised her not to tell even her husband that she was a Jew.

The king had a right hand man called Haman who was second in command to the king. While Modercai was visiting Esther in the palace, he declined when Haman demanded that he (Modercai) should bow down whenever Haman was anywhere near him. When Modercai refused to bow down, Haman later planned to kill all the Jews in Persia by slaughtering all of them. Modercai begged Esther to talk to her husband and save the lives of her people because she was also Jew. Esther hesitated but Modercai warned her that she would also be killed because when the slaughtering starts, whether she was in the palace or in the city, she would be killed because she was not different from the other Jews. It was a tradition that whoever went before the king was supposed to be summoned by the king, otherwise he would be killed. Esther said “If I perish, I perish” (White 55), meaning that she put her life in danger for her populace.

Esther wore her finest clothes and the best fragrance and goes before the king. The king is not angered instead, he asked his wife politely what she wanted and even if she wanted half of the kingdom it would be granted to her. Esther then invites the king and Haman to a banquet, where they dine and wine and then leave. Esther invites the two men for a banquet again where she reveals her story and begs the king not to slaughter her people. The king took some time off to think about it and he later read a record where Modercai once saved the life of the king. The king later asks for advice from Haman about rewarding somebody who had honored him. Haman thinks that the king is referring to him so he gives the king the best idea he had always had in his mind. Later that day, Haman’s enemy, Modercai is taken all around Susa wearing the king’s robes and also on the king’s horse. Haman takes Modercai around Susa saying that the king wishes to honor him (Modercai) that’s why he is in the king’s robes and on his horse. Later that night, Esther invites the king and Haman to another banquet where she laments that her people are to be massacred, destroyed and also exterminated.

The king is enraged and inquires about the person who wants to kill the Jews. Esther says that Haman is guilty of the charge. Haman is later impaled and Modercai is made to be the king’s new chief counselor. Using the same charm, Esther begs the king to let her people defend themselves when attacked by their enemies (Meyers 89-90). Esther in this part is a role model to the Jews because she used all her natural charm and persuasion to do what most women would not have done because of fear. She also helped the Jews have a better life as compared to before. As a heroine to the Jews, Esther put her life at risk to defend the lives of the Jews who were about to be slaughtered by Haman. Esther also helped Modercai to be the king’s adviser which meant that the Jews ruled Persia indirectly.

Esther as a Role Model in the Modern Society

It is very clear that Esther played an imperative role in women history. She used her beauty and her feminine side to persuade the king to do whatever she asked of him (Levenson 56). Women today wear sexy clothes to lure their men to give them money or a good life. The use of cosmetics and also perfumes makes the men in the society today value the women who wear them. It is very common to find that women dress up when taking their husbands or lovers to a business meeting. The essence of looking good or having an appeal to the other party makes the signing of business deals an easy task. Women today do not use a lot of energy to queue or get anything nice. As long as a girl or a woman is dressed sexily, the male counter parts will do anything to please her and these include; opening of doors, pulling the chairs and also buying for the women expensive things to please them.

Esther has a great effect on the way women associate with male without uttering even a single word. Chances are that when a lady walks into a party looking good and also smelling good, a couple of men will pursue her using expensive gifts or even money and the lady always knows what she wants when she dresses up for social functions. Women at work places get better treatment than the male because the way they dress makes their employer increase their salary and make them have the best position in the work place. It is possible to find a commercial building with women only as workers because women have the sex appeal to lure male customers whether they are married or not. Esther is a role model to the modern women because she helped uncover the power within women that is a weakness of most and all men as reported by White and Sidnie (2005). The power that makes a man look at a woman and appreciate the way a woman is created in terms of intellectuality and also the sexy figure whether she is full figured or size zero.

References

Ibid. A. (2004) “Esther: A Feminine Model for Jewish Diaspora.” In Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel. (Peggy L. Day Ed) 161–177. Minneapolis: Guilford Press.

Levenson, Jon D. (2006) Esther: A Commentary. Louisville: KY.

Meyers, Carol. (2005). Women in Scripture. New York: Norton.

White, Sidnie A. (2005). “Esther.” Women’s Bible Commentary. (Carol A. Newsom and Sharon 129. Ringe Ed) 124–129. Kentucky: Free Spirit Publishing.