On Different Laws and Kings: The Hebrew Book of Esther and Its Theology
Esther - Kristin Joachimsen
Veronika Bachmann [+]
University of Tuebingen
Veronika Bachmann is Professor of Biblical Studies at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany. Her research interests include the transformations of traditions and Judean identity discourses in the early Hellenistic period, literary discourses of torah, and the pluriformity of biblical narrations. Among her publications are a monograph on the
Book of the Watchers (Die Welt im Ausnahmezustand, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2009) and a monograph on the Hebrew Book of Esther (Verdrehtes Recht versus Tora, Paderborn: Brill Schöningh, 2023).
Description
Unlike the ancient Greek and Latin versions, the Hebrew version of the book of Esther does not explicitly mention God. This particularity has long prompted discussions among biblical scholars. To this day, there is no consensus as to whether it should be interpreted as a marker of the book’s intended secular character or as a sign of a hidden theology, which, once discovered, points to the veiled presence of God in the story. This essay offers a new two-pronged approach to grasping the book’s theology: It analyzes how the Hebrew version of Esther works with reversals, pairings, and double meanings; and it also reflects on how and why the book constantly confronts its readers with the motif of the king and his law.