Esther and Mordecai

2100 words/
My Personal Bible Study




Esther and Mordecai: The Importance of Record-Keeping

         This year I started reading from Genesis all over again with the aim of finishing the whole Bible once more. There is so much that one misses each time because of so much information being cramped in one setting. My finite mind cannot grasp the infinite messages the Bible presents.

         Coincidentally, our Bible Study group is in the Book of Esther and it is an inspiration for me to find out why the Book of Esther does not mention God by name nor did it give a radar that points to the existence of God, the Lord, who lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land.

         My bewilderment is the impetus that catapulted my reading and researching to answer the question “Why Not?” Indeed, why not?

          According to The Scofield Study Bible, English Standard Version, the author of the Book of Esther is unknown. It further states that this book closed the historical section of the Old Testament and records events that occurred when the Jews were captives of Persia.

         Record-keeping in Biblical times plays an important role in the historical account of the journey of the nation Israel and Judah (after they were split) in the Wilderness from the era of King Solomon to the reign of King Ahasuerus of Persia.

         Along that line, the first indication that there was record-keeping done is found in 1 Kings 11:41 - Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?

         The next mention of this phrase appeared in 1 Kings 14:19 - Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, indeed, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

         My interest perked up and I started taking notes as I saw a pattern when I came to Verse: 29 - Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

         Here is an exhaustive list of all the verses, I found, indicating where or how record-keeping was done:

1 Kings15:7 - Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

:23 - The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

:31- Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings16:14 - Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:20 - Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the reason he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:27- Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

1Kings22:39 - Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:45 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the might that he showed and how he made war, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2 Kings 1:18 - Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2Kings 8:23 - Now the rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2Kings 10:34 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2Kings 13:8 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:12 - Now the rest of the acts of Joash, all that he did, and all his might, which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2Kings 14:15 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did - his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah - are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:18 - Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

:28 - Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, and all that he did – his might, how he made war, and how he recaptured for Israel, from Damascus and Hamath, what had belonged to Judah – are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

2Kings 15:6 - Now the rest of the acts of Azariah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

:11- Now the rest of the act of Zechariah, indeed they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

:15 - Now the rest of the acts of Shallum, and the conspiracy which he led, indeed, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

:21 - Now the rest of the acts of Menahem, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

:26 - Now the rest of the acts of Peahiah, and all that he did, indeed, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

:31 - Now the rest of the acts of Pecah, and all that he did, indeed, are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

2Kings 16:19 - Now the rest of the acts of Ahaz which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2Kings 21:17 - Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh – all that he did, and the sin that he committed – are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

:25 - Now the rest of the acts of Amon, which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2Kings 23:28 - Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

2Kings 24:5 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

1 Chron 29:29 - Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer, with all his reign and his might, and the events that happened to him, to Israel, and to all the kingdoms of the lands.

2 Chron 9:29 - Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?

2 Chron 12:15 - The acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies?

2 Chron 13:22 - Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in the annals of the prophet Iddo.

2 Chron 16:11 Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chron 20:34 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

2 Chron 24:27 - Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the annals of the book of the kings.

2 Chron 25:26 - Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, from first to last, indeed are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

2 Chron 26:22 - Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, from first to last, the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote.

2 Chron 27:7 – Now, the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, indeed, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

2 Chron 28:26 - Now the rest of his acts and all his ways, from first to last, indeed, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chron 32:32 - Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

2 Chron 33:18 - Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of the Lord God of Israel, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.

:19 - Also his prayer and how God received his entreaty, and all his sin and trespass, and the sites where he built high places and set up wooden images and carved images, before he was humbled, indeed, they are written among the sayings of Hozai.

2 Chron 35:25 - Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel, and indeed they are written in the Laments.

:26 - Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord.

:27 - And his deeds from first to last, indeed, are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

2 Chron 36:8 - Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

         Now comes the Book of Esther. It is worth noting that no matter how enchanting, intriguing, and inspiring Esther was, the last chapter only speaks of the greatness of Mordecai in the land of the Medians and Persians. Why?

         After noting all those boring verses I went through, painstakingly and meticulously, here is my take away from the Book of Esther: The answer to ‘Why not’ is summed up in Esther 10:2-3 - Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai, the Jew, was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

         That is my “Aha” moment. The book of Esther was written from the standpoint of the secular scribe/s attending to or hired by the kings of Media and Persia. They could have been Jewish sympathizers, but they were not Jewish believers or followers. Hence, there is no trace of spiritual guidance from the Jewish perspective in their writings.

         Significantly, it is the only historical account that was not written by a priest, a prophet, or a scribe from the tribe of Levi. Worthy of note is the fact that Chapter 10 of Esther is only three verses long and it chronicles the greatness of Mordecai while Esther is not mentioned at all.

         Looking at the whole picture, my conclusion is that God used Esther as the instrument to promote His plan for Israel through Mordecai. Esther is a mere sideshow here as far as the Median and Persian scribes were concerned. Esther’s role was irrelevant; Mordecai was the main character that made the difference in their worldview.




Researched and Prepared by Miriam Day 3-3-2011 – Revised 2/14/2017/©MiriamDay2017