“ The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Esther 2:17 “
Esther ( Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר ), born Hadassah (Hebrew: הֲדַסָּה, ), was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus or Xerxes I during the time of the Achaemenid Empire. According to “ Book of Esther “ Ahasuerus made arrangements to choose queen from a selection of young women from throughout the empire. Among these women was the Jewish orphan, Esther, who was fostered by her uncle, Mordecai. She was crowned his new queen, but did not reveal her Jewish heritage.
One time Mordecai, who was sitting at the palace gates, fell into Haman’s (king’s viceroy) disfavour, as he refused to bow down to him. Haman, in revenge, plots to kill not just Mordecai, but all the Jews in the empire. When Mordecai discovered the plan, he went into mourning and imploredEsther to intercede with the King.
On one of the banquets she revealed to her husband that she was Jewish and that Haman is planning to exterminate her people, including her. In his rage the king ordered Haman be hanged on the very gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.Unable to annul a formal royal decree, the King instead added to it, permitting the Jews to arm and defend themselves on the day chosen for their annihilation.
