Who is this “Esther” Person?

I realized from some of the comments last time that most of you aren’t familiar with the story of Esther. Let me briefly explain it for you.

Basically, a Jewish orphan girl gets chosen by the king to be his wife, because his old wife wouldn’t obey him. Chauvinism at its worst, really. Anyway, the Jewish chick has to change her name and obey the king and pretend not to be Jewish, but she does have some power.

See, the king is going to kill off all her people because his top advisor had a grudge against a Jew. This is where Esther’s story gets tough. She has to have the guts to go to the king and ask for him to save her people. If the king wants, he can order her to be killed for coming to him without a summons. But, if he listens, her people would be saved. (Like I said, women didn’t have much power, but every little bit counts.)

The first time Esther tries to tell the king, she doesn’t get killed, but she doesn’t accomplish her mission, either. She ends up inviting the king and his evil advisor to dinner. The same thing happens the next time she tries. Finally, on her third try (how cliché is that? but it’s still a good story), Esther tells her story to the king and he saves the Jewish people. Happily ever after, etc.

Of course, this seems like a great story of a female leader in the ancient world. But the point of the story isn’t that Esther was a leader—the point is that she wasn't. Esther wasn’t born to be a leader. But when she came into a position of leadership, she used it when it became necessary. She did what she could, when she could, and accomplished a lot of good in the lives of her people. That’s the way to lead, women!

You Will Not Believe What I Found

No, really. I didn’t believe it, either.

Last week, our archaeological team excavated even deeper within the cave system we’re working in and we uncovered a new layer of earth. That was quite exciting since there’s always the potential for new finds in new layers. After a couple of hours, I found a semi-broken piece of pottery—about half of a large jar—with designs dating back to twelfth century Persia.

That wasn’t the most exciting thing, though. Inside the jar I found a few slivers of scrolls made out of papyrus reed. They had been buried in such a way and preserved at such temperatures that they were still somewhat legible. (I won’t go into detail here; if you want more you can ring me up.) I’ve spend the past week working fourteen-hour days in the computer lab and doing chemical tests to determine the writing. I think I’ve finally got the first piece figured out.

I’ll let you read it for yourselves.

Records of Esther, once called Hadassah, Queen of … Empire … world. One day ago, I was a Jewish woman. Today I am queen.

Yeah, I know, it’s hard to believe. Maybe it’s just some elaborate hoax. But, perhaps, it might possibly be true.

Esther’s Crisis, Straight from Her

According to the comments, a lot of you are suspicious and think I’m some sort of journalist raising hype for a scam. Well, you trolls are free to believe what you want. I know what I’ve seen and felt with my own hands. Now, this post is for the rest of you—those of you who, like me, look at the world with open eyes and no expectations.

I’ll start with the good stuff. After another seventy-hour workweek, we deciphered the second fragment of scroll. The manuscript is a little imprecise and open to interpretation, so my translation is going to be kind of informal, like she’s talking to us. Here’s what Esther writes:

I can hardly draw breath. My people have been sentenced to death. I’m so … alone. … uncle asked for something today. He told me to go and … the lives of my people from my husband, the king. … I’d die. Is my uncle asking me to die? I can’t … my own strength. I’m going to fast and pray for three days, and ask … my people to do the same on my behalf. That’s really the only thing … right now. So I’ll do it. I’ll … pray. … I know deliverance will arise for Israel somewhere, somehow. It may not be from me, but my people … will be saved. And maybe I am queen for such a time as this.

Take a minute and go back. Read that again. Here’s Esther, speaking to us like she’s talking to us today. Amazing, right?

What she writes could be true about any one of us. I know I’ve thought many of those things before—of course, not to the extent of being in danger of death. But there have been times when I’ve found things to be so difficult. I really can’t carry on. Maybe I should follow Esther’s example and try praying when I feel like there’s something impossible in front of me.

Actually, that brings to mind something that did happen to me: one time, one of my fellows in secondary school told me they had been praying for me the day before. I remember it vividly, because at that same time they’d been praying, I had felt this strange sort of peace wash over me. It’s crazy, but maybe there’s something in this whole prayer idea. The fact that Esther had her whole people praying for her…well, that must be very powerful, especially if there really is some sort of Supreme Being out there.

Also, one other thing Esther wrote stood out to me. She was so certain that deliverance would arrive. She was a very confident woman, perhaps because her faith was really strong. She believed that her God would rescue her people, whether he used her to do so or not. The worst she could do was die—the fate of her people did not rest in her hands. She was there for a purpose, and her god would deliver her people, whether through her or not. It’s pretty amazing what faith and confidence can do for your leadership skills.

What Happened to Esther?

Isn’t this exciting? I know I’ve been thrilled to puzzle out more of Esther’s manuscript. The last section turned out really well—it was so clear. I think today’s will be just as exciting. This is her second sort of crisis, so again, it’s filled with drama. Esther is one amazing woman and leader!

I’m alive! Yes … but I lost my nerve. When I saw the king seated there on the throne … I couldn’t confess who I was. … invited him to eat at my palace. I don’t have the faith to ask him … but I can take one more step.

I’m such an idiot! I feel … failure! Things didn’t go at all like I planned. … I took a step, and my foot slipped out … under me. At the feast, I was so nervous … hand shaking as I tried to eat. The king described … campaigns and tribute. The only thing I said … invite him again tomorrow. … But there must be a purpose in what’s happening. It will be … right. Tomorrow I’ll tell him.

Wow. This woman has determination and faith! She’s failing all over the place, and I know that feeling. I freeze up and get scared all the time. But pushing through her fear and saying something, anything, in spite of fear? Using her weaknesses and moving beyond them? That’s a true sign of a leader.

Another thing that’s really interesting in this passage is that she doesn’t give up on her faith, even when it seems like her god isn’t answering her prayers. I remember in primary school giving the prayer-thing a try. I prayed for a celly for my tenth birthday, and I didn’t get one until I turned twelve. It wasn’t as though I believed my prayers in the first place, but even if I did, I would have given up at the first obstacle. Not Esther, though—she stuck to her faith even when her world seemed full of failure. Pretty fantastic.

Victory at Last!

I’m so excited to share this fragment with you! It’s the last of the long ones (we have a few others, but they’re only a few words or letters and don’t mean anything much). So, basically, this is the end of Esther’s journal. Pay close attention, everyone!

I told him. … king of all Persia that I am nothing but a Jewish girl! I bared my identity … begged him to spare my people. He … said yes. That was all, only one word. Yet … in that one word I found hope of redemption. … a plan worked through my blind ignorance, guiding my steps. I’m not … savior, but I can obey and take … one step. The rest of my life … remember that moment, acknowledging who I am and what I believe to the king.

What can I say? I’m in awe. This girl—she probably wasn’t older than eighteen—is saving her entire nation from total destruction. And yet she has the humility to say that it wasn’t her that was the savior. Then who was? She doesn’t even point it straight out and say that it was God. Yet it’s clear that’s what she means. God’s the one who saved her country, using her obedience and faith. I’m not a religious person, but, wow. Esther’s faith is certainly compelling.

As a leader, too, Esther is unique. How many other leaders are humble enough to give credit to others? Plus, think back to how many obstacles she had to overcome. Yet she kept going, because she had an end goal in sight, and she knew that the outcome was certain. She trusted her god to get her through, and He worked it out. I mean, if you go with what Esther said. Either way, what happened was not ordinary. There was something going on there beyond what normal humans can do. Was it God? I don’t believe it was, though it could have been. Esther certainly believed it was, and it was her faith that led this story. Victory is here! Salvation at last!

Thoughts About Esther

I was amazed by the reactions I got to my last post. A lot of you were disagreeing with what I speculated, and you got rather angry in either defending your personal idea of God or in saying that there was no spiritual activity in Esther. Let me just say, I’m not here to solve that question. Esther never mentions God’s name. Personally, I’m an agnostic—I believe in the possibility of a god, but I don’t think it’s likely. As for you, this is the internet, and you’re all free to have your own thoughts. Just try to keep it civil, please?

Anyway, I thought I’d wrap up this series with analyzing Esther a bit more in terms of her leadership and character traits. Here are the key points I found in Esther’s journals as we've discussed them over this past action-packed month.

1. Esther prayed first when confronted with a problem. She appealed to a higher force for strength; that seems pretty key to her positive mindset and courage.

2. Esther recruited her people to fast and pray with her. Having outside encouragement and a feeling of being supported by a family is a key trait of being able to act outside of your comfort zone.

3. Esther was confident that deliverance would come. Now, this doesn’t necessarily apply to all of us—we don’t all have that same faith in a Supreme Being—but we can all be positive and believe in ourselves.

4. Esther acted in spite of her fear. She didn’t stick to leading in what she knew, but she took a step that could have proved a disaster. She was afraid, and she acted anyway.

5. Esther failed at first. Even when things didn’t go as planned, though, she kept trying. She stuck to her task until it was finished—after three tries.

6. Esther was humble. She credited her victory to her god, to her people—to anyone but herself. I hate it when leaders are stuck-up about how much they’ve done; I think Esther’s view holds much more value and makes her a nicer person, too.

Those are just some of the points I picked up on as we went through Esther’s journal and notes. I plan to write this up in more depth as I prepare my research summaries and papers at the end of this semester. Send me a note if you’d like me to send you my full research, or if you have any questions about methodology, translation, accuracy, or the conclusions I’ve reached. It’s been an amazing few months with you all! Thank you for reading and commenting!