Every time I read Esther, I wonder why there haven't been more books and movies that retell this incredible tale. It has such great drama and colorful characters, it just screams for a more lengthy or "modernized" visualization.
There is a 2006 movie, One Night With the King. I suppose it's a pretty good rendition. All I know is that since I saw it, I can't get F. Murray Abrahamson as Mordecai out of my head. And, frankly, I liked F. Murray better as Salieri in Amadeus. I will put "write a good Esther re-telling" on my bucket list--but kind of toward the bottom.
Anyway. It's a great Bible story, short enough to read in less than an hour. It has the back story that explains the Jewish festival of Purim, which happens to be March 7-8 this year. Very few of my non-Jewish friends know about Purim. I think it sounds like a great annual celebration that we're missing out on.
As I read Esther this week, a couple of other thoughts caught my attention. First, the story is set in the citadel of Susa. Today (according to Wikipedia) it is the city of Shush, located in Iran about 150 miles or so north of the Persian Gulf, not far from Iran's western border with Iraq. Once again, it's fascinating to realize how much of ancient biblical history was set in locations that are still political "hotbeds" till this very day.
I also noticed that the conflict between Haman and Mordecai and the Jews in this story was likely a continuation of a conflict with the Amalekites. Haman, the evil adversary who tries to wipe out Mordecai and all the Jews in Persia, is called "Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite" (Est 3:1). Now, Agag was a king of the Amalekites who was killed by Samuel the prophet after Saul took him, Agag, captive in battle (1 Sam 15:8, 33). In this story, which took place in the 11th century BC, Saul got himself in trouble because God had ordered him to completely wipe out the Amalekites--men, women, children, livestock, and everything else. (Saul spared the good livestock as well as King Agag, incurring God's anger.) God had said, "I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them..." (1 Sam 15:2-3). The incident in which the Amalekites waylaid the Israelites is in Exodus 17:8-13. And, since the Amalekites descended from Esau (Gen 36:12), they probably harbored a grudge going all the way back to the time of the Patriarchs. Esther 2:5 also says that Mordecai had an ancestor named Kish and Saul's father was named Kish (1 Sam 14:31). So it seems that the progeny of King Agag and the progeny of Saul the son of Kish (who should have killed King Agag) were matched up in this conflict set in the 5th century. Fascinating, don't you think?
Another thing I noticed was that Mordecai, the righteous and wise Jewish hero of the story, never has a "fall from grace" in this story. That's a little unusual with those ancient biblical heroes. There seem to be more examples of people who ended up as victims of their character flaws--or their failure to maintain their faith in Yahweh--than there are examples of guys who stayed strong to the end.
One of the great passages from the book Esther tells of Mordecai trying to persuade young Esther to go to the king (Xerxes) and convince him to reverse the decree to kill the Jews in Persia. Mordecai's immortal words to her are, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this" (Est 5:14). Well, apparently Esther was only queen for a few years. She followed the deposed Queen Vashti, but history shows that Vashti regained power as queen mother over Xerxes' son when he reigned. In other words, Esther was perhaps destined for her important role at "such a time as this" that happened to be a very short time.
I just have to note, too, that the whole passage in Esther 2:1-18 about a beauty contest to find a suitable concubine for King Xerxes is exceedingly creepy to me.
Such a great story. Maybe I should get going on writing my screenplay. Do you think if I write it so that George Clooney makes the perfect Mordecai then I might get to meet him when he signs to take on the role in the blockbuster movie?
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