Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
E. Bickerman (1951)
Notes On The Greek Book Of Esther, 20
S. Frolov (2002)
TWO EUNUCHS, TWO CONSPIRACIES, AND ONE LOYAL JEW: THE NARRATIVE OF BOTCHED REGICIDE IN ESTHER AS TEXT- AND REDACTION-CRITICAL TEST CASEVetus Testamentum, 52
Abstract The account of Bigthan’s and Teresh’s conspiracy against the king ( Esth 2:21-23) was transposed in the Septuagint to Addition A, which opens the book, while an additional story regarding a conspiracy to kill the king was introduced, in its stead, at the end of chapter 2 of this translation. These moves are part of Greek Esther’s reworking of the story in order to depict Mordechai as faithful to the king, and Haman as the king’s adversary who seeks his downfall, and to suggest that this contrast explains Haman’s animosity toward Mordechai, and the Jews, who are loyal to the throne. This tendency, to accentuate the Jews’ allegiance to the gentile monarch while understating the contrasts between Jews and gentiles, is widely manifested throughout Greek Esther. Its objective is to assert that gentile hatred of the Jews derives from their loyalty and reflects, in effect, hatred of the king. The historical backdrop to Esther, reworked in this manner, is most probably Egypt at the beginning of the first century BCE, when the extent of Jewish involvement within the Ptolemaic court and military was considerable.
Vetus Testamentum – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 2012
Keywords: LXX Esther; Bigthan and Teresh; Haman; Mordechai; loyalty; anti-Semitism; Jewish diaspora in Ptolemaic Egypt
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.