Hidden name of god in the book of esther

God himself uses the hebrew word on which the name of esther is founded when he says to moses, haster astir which means hiding, i will hide deut. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Although it is the only book of the bible from which gods name is absent, the storyline of esther draws attention to gods presence. It is the one book in the bible that does not mention the name of god.

Secondly, esther follows her cousin mordecai s instructions to keep her jewish identity hidden. Apart from the fact that gods name does not occur in esther 1 a quality the apocryphal book shares only with the song of solomon the purim story is used as a prime example of how god operates in a concealed manner to perform miracles on behalf of the jewish people. Interestingly, it appears john is telling us in john 5 that jesus celebrated purim so that is possibly another link between esther and christ. Session 10 january 19, 2017 the hidden name of god in eshter the hidden name of god in esther the background the book of esther has 167 verses there are 192 references to the king, kingdom, or name of ahasuerus. The coincidences, the amazing reversals, and the poetic justice that led to the deliverance of the jews in persia all proclaim the presence of god. The readers job, therefore, is to uncover hashems hidden hand guiding what appears to be a string of coincidences. Actually gods name is in the book of esther hidden in 5. Nonetheless, on every page his hand is seen and his providence manifested. For traditional jewish commentators, the absence of gods name did not mean that god was absent from the book. For traditional jewish commentators, the absence of god s name did not mean that god was absent from the book. While the hearers of the word would not understand the hidden references to the names of god uttered by menucan, queen esther, haman, the. This is the more remarkable, since, in this short book of only 167 verses, the median king is mentioned 192 times, his kingdom is referred to 26 times, and his name 1 ahasuerus is given 29 times. When a statement is made by mordecai who is a symbol of the holy spirit gods name is found as the first letter of the first few words of the scripture.

The name of jehovah in the book of esther kindle edition by bullinger, e w. Here are some clues,in case you want to track them down. It is the only book in the bible where god is hidden like this, but he is there. Its there for his people to see, not for his enemies to see or hear. Gods name in the book of esther by angus mac killop. Gods name in the book of esther his kingdom prophecy posted on december 25, 2011 by angus mackillop september 10, 2012 perhaps since sunday school, i had known the book of esther as being the only book in the bible in which the name of god is missing.

It is true that god is not mentioned at all in the book of esther, but then again it is. The massorah contains a note calling attention to the acrostics of the names of god in esther, which are found four times in the book. And in fact, the whole story of esther is a bit like a game of hide and seek first of all, you may have noticed that god himself is hiding in the book of esther he is not mentioned at all. Chapter 20 of seder olam indicates that esther herself was a prophetess. Unlike the many other books in the bible, throughout whole book of esther, the word god is not mentioned once. God, in fact, is not mentioned, esther is portrayed as assimilated to persian culture, and jewish identity in. Just as god is hidden in the book of esther, the people who anticipate gods work of redemption in the endtimes hide themselves in costumes to emphasize how he has chosen to work during these times. The author of the book is unknown and modern scholars have established that the final stage of the hebrew text would have been formed by the second century bce.

In the book of esther we encounter some remarkable surprises. A robust treatment of esthers defects would surely include the books famed failure to mention the name of god or to recognize divine providence. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third. Esther is far more than just a book about a queen and a scheming villain. Satan s work through the nephilim of which hamaan was a descendent was continuing, and. My first name, which my parents chose for me,is isabel which means consecrated to god and then i chose esther years later by the grace of the holy spirit. The book of esther may not directly mention god, yet it clearly reveals god at work. This phenomenon is only found within the original hebrew bible. So, is the book of esther the only book in the bible which does not contain the name of god. God s name is not even mentioned once in the book of esther. Four times it appears as an acrostic, the famed tetragammaton, yhwh or yahweh or yehovah, and once as ehyh or i am. Why in megillat esther is the name of god not mentioned even once, considering.

But even though he was hidden from them, god still was working for them behind the scenes. Gods name found 7 times in the book of esther youtube. The book of esther stands squarely against any such teaching of the right of one human being to override the conscience of another and against the law the seven wise men framed and king ahasuerus proclaimed for his empire. Satans work through the nephilim of which hamaan was a descendent was continuing, and. It is a variation of the name of the goddess astarte. Lessons from the name of god in the book of esther mark. The hidden god of esther scroll of esther from the jewish museum near the dohany synagogue in budapest, hungary. However, the silences of gods word, like its utterance, are full of instruction, and e w bullinger has found much teaching in the absence of jehovahs name from this old testament book. Why is the name of god not mentioned in megillat esther. The book covers a period of about 12 years, falling somewhere between the events recorded in the sixth and seventh chapters of ezra. God set in action social forces that, for the time being, frustrated the operation of that particular law of the medes and persians. The book of esther is one of only two books in the hebrew bible that never mention god the other is the song of songs. So, even though gods name is not directly mentioned, esther is involved in a religious observance meant to supplicate gods mercy. The book of esther records the institution of the feast of purim and the obligation of its perpetual observation.

It has been observed by many that no divine name or title is found in the book of esther. Bullinger, the name of jehovah in the book of esther 2nd ed 1891. An excellent study of this and the other codes hidden in esther can be found here in far more detail than i had in my own notes. The name of god is hidden no less than eight times in acrostics in the text.

How can a book which fails to mention not only the name of god, but also prayer, worship, the coming messiah, heaven, hell or faith, be included in the canon of the old testament. Purim, rooted in the book of esther, celebrates the exceptional theme of secrecy and hiding. But many of the things that happen in the book could not be just luck. We will celebrate the feast of purim on march 14, 2006. Often we think that when someone is hiding something, it is out of a situation of embarrassment or discomfort. In hebrew, the word megillah shares the same root as the word reveal. This holiday, based on the biblical book of esther, is an appointed time to remember the victory of the jewish people in persia over the wicked haman during the babylonian captivity. The book of esther is an intriguing work in the old testament canon. Many have noticed that god is not once mentioned in the book of esther.

Yet the book of esther is strangely not very religious. The purpose of the book of esther is to display the providence of god, especially in regard to his chosen people, israel. He is in the book of esther as the god of providence and as a picture of christ interceding for his chosen people. Megillat esther book of esther, therefore, translates to mean.

By remaining hidden beneath the narratives surface and story, god, as a. Esther 1 is the first chapter of the book of esther in the hebrew bible or the old testament of the christian bible. The old greek septuagint version of esther translates the name ahasuerus as artaxerxes, a greek. Why doesnt the book of esther directly mention god. Ahasuerus kingdom is referred to 26 times in the book of esther. A robust treatment of esther s defects would surely include the book s famed failure to mention the name of god or to recognize divine providence. There are no coincidences in the great plan of god. This is an interesting sermon for those who hold this view, but it isnt true. Many of the serious messages of purim are encoded in word play and irony, and the book of esthers seemingly absent god is no exception. The jews, the hebrews, for understandable reasons, did not write down the full name of god. The book of esther was likely written between 460 and 350 b. The name of god is hidden several times in acrostics in the book of esther. The name esther itself is an indication as to how she led her life and fulfilled her role. Esther is a book that points to the lord jesus christ.

His name is not written in the book, but his fingerprints, as we say, are all over it. A story of the providence of god in a pagan land page 4 introduction to the book the book of esther is the only book in the bible that does not mention the name of god. This, they insist, supports their view that god helps people in a hidden way. And this is further emphasized by some surprises hidden behind the text itself. This chapter records the royal banquets of the persian king. Esther was a jewess, although her husband, king xerxes. This is like a special funfact not many people notice about the book of esther. Hidden acrostics an acrostic is when the initial letter of each line spells out a word, and it can be used as a mechanism for including a hidden message. Four times it appears as an acrostic, the famed tetragammaton, yhwh or yahweh or yehovah. Esther the book of esther is one of the most beautiful stories in all literature. And in the end, this orphan girl by the name of hadassah, also known as esther, was selected. The book of esther and purim secrecy and hiding god code. It is one of the five scrolls megillot in the hebrew bible.

The root of esther in hebrew is hester, meaning hidden. Accordingly, the name esther, courtesy of abarim publications, possesses two hidden facets. Thus you have yod, hey, vav, hey, gods name in an acronym. It relates the story of a hebrew woman in persia, born as hadassah but known as esther, who becomes queen of persia and thwarts a genocide.

Even though the name of god is not mentioned in it, no book of the bible teaches his providence more forcefully. However, id like to point out a hidden code in esther that most people miss. Many suggest that the name esther is related to the hebrew word hester, which means hidden. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the name of jehovah in the book of esther. Despite its unclear historicity and literary classification, 5 and while there is no name of god, and no mention of the hebrew religion anywhere, no one reads this book without being conscious of god. Hidden treasures in the book of esther the return of. Take, for instance, the time that king ahasuerus could not sleep and his servant just happened to read the records of the.

The centrality of the concept of hester panim or the concealed face of god to purim is recognized in the fact thatesther is the only text in the hebrew bible, except for the song of songs,that does not mention the name of god explicitly. The vashtiesther story part one gods word to women. Neither mordecai, esther, nor the feast of purim is mentioned. Gods name found 7 times in the book of esther gateway anabaptist church. The hidden face of the lamb of god in esther is the lord jesus. Well, the answer is that it depends on whether one reads esther in the original hebrew, or another language. Although he has not come out and said it, god is the author of the purim story and the saviour of. It would harp on her lack of consideration for classic old testament doctrines such as covenant and circumcision and point out that ultimately she would never be quoted in the new testament, either. The book of esther is one of two biblical books that never mention god. Although he has not come out and said it, god is the author of the purim story and the saviour of the people of israel. When we read the book of esther, we never read gods name. The name of god does not appear even once in the entire story, making megillat esther the only book of the tanakh that does not mention his holy name. The book of esther and god hidden and revealed lutheran.

The divine name is hidden, but the secret is revealed in the acrostics. It turns out that esther does contain the name, but only in coded form and only in the original hebrew manuscript. Despite all that, however, esther shows gods work in preparing for the coming of the messiah. It is known for its ironic narrative and theological subtlety. The name of jehovah in the book of esther kindle edition. God gives me a grace to see him in everything whether it be themes in a book that other people were blind to or in the face of a suffering person, i see god. The book of esther, also known in hebrew as the scroll megillah, is a book in the third section ketuvim, writings of the jewish tanakh the hebrew bible and in the christian old testament.

I remembered reading once that gods name appears in esther in. For the religion of the jews, god appears as a character in the national book, the. The lord our god is one lord 167 is the 39th prime number. The name of god is not mentioned in the entire book, an omission that has caused debate about its place in holy scripture. The hidden name of god in esther the background the book of esther has 167 verses there are 192 references to the king, kingdom, or name of ahasuerus. It teaches us a powerful lesson about cause and effect that we can carry with us wherever we go. As jeremy gimpel explained in the video, the name esther means hidden and megilat means reveal. There are many surprises hidden in the book of esther, where things are not what they seem. Why christians should celebrate purim fellowship church. She was a jew, though she had been told strictly, keep your ethnicity a secret. Finally, the book of esther may not mention god because the emphasis is on gods providence. The book of esther and purim secrecy and hiding god. By contrast, the name esther comes from the root word meaning hidden.