{"id":81416,"date":"2020-10-13T14:20:47","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T11:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=81416"},"modified":"2020-10-13T14:20:47","modified_gmt":"2020-10-13T11:20:47","slug":"esther-and-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/esther-and-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Esther And Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMy God, my God, why have You abandoned me?\u201d (22:2). This verse is textually connected to two \u201chistorical\u201d episodes. The first involved Queen Esther who reportedly recited it prior to entering the throne room of King Ahasuerus to plead on behalf of her nation. The second was Jesus, who uttered it on the cross. I would like to take a brief look at each instance.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Talmud, as Esther entered the \u201chall of idols\u201d of Ahasuerus, she felt God\u2019s presence desert her.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe stood in the palace\u2019s inner courtyard.\u201d R. Levi said: As soon as she reached the hall of idols, the Divine Presence abandoned her; whereupon, she recited: \u201cMy God, my God; why have you abandoned me?\u201d (Psalms 22:2). Could it be that you treat inadvertence as though it were deliberate, and forced behavior as though it were willing? (Megillah 15b).<\/span><\/p>\n

To understand Esther\u2019s choice of biblical quotations, two points must be stipulated. One, her given name was Hadassah (Esther 2:7) and Esther seems to be the name she appropriated for her public, non-Jewish, appearances. Two, Esther is a Hebraization of Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess, who is depicted in art and literature as the <\/span>morning star<\/span><\/em> (just like Venus, the Roman goddess of love). Is it too much to suggest that a good Jewish girl named Hadassah who bore the Babylonian name Ishtar, felt an implicit affinity for a psalm that begins with \u201cFor the leader, concerning <\/span>ayelet hashachar, <\/span><\/em>the <\/span>morning star<\/span><\/em>, a psalm of David\u201d? (It is worth noting that her uncle\u2019s name, Mordechai, is a Hebraization of Marduk, head of the Mesopotamian pantheon and patron deity of the city of Babylon.)<\/span><\/p>\n

As for Jesus, Matthew reported: \u201c<\/span>About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, <\/span>Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani<\/span><\/em>? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d (27:46). <\/span>S-B-Kh<\/em> is the Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew `ayin-Z-B<\/em> and validates the assumption that the Jews of this era generally spoke Aramaic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The citation of this verse in both instances reaffirms the argument (<\/span>see my introduction<\/span><\/a>) that Psalms is replete with meaning and significance far beyond that invested in it by David\u2019s personal circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Image: Queen Esther before King Ahasuerus, stained glass window from the old Dominican priory church of Hawkesyard in Staffordshire \/ photo: Lawrence OP , 2006 (flickr)<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":81417,"id":81417,"title":"ps22-esther","filename":"ps22-esther.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps22-esther.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/esther-and-jesus\/ps22-esther\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps22-esther","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":81416,"date":"2020-10-13 11:19:37","modified":"2022-09-11 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