Meaning of the Name Esther
The name Esther is most likely connected with the Persian word for 'star' (sitareh); a link with the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar has also been proposed. Her Hebrew name, Hadassah, means 'myrtle' (Esther 2:7).
Origin
The name Esther is of Probably Persian origin.
Who is Esther in the Bible?
Esther is the Jewish girl who became queen in the Persian court. Against the plan to destroy her people she risks her life, going before the king with the words 'if I perish, I perish', and her people are saved. The feast of Purim commemorates this deliverance.
The story of Esther in the Bible
Esther's story unfolds in the Persian court. An orphan whose Hebrew name is Hadassah, she is raised by her relative Mordecai; when Queen Vashti falls from favor, Esther wins the heart of King Ahasuerus in an empire-wide search and becomes queen, keeping her Jewish identity hidden on Mordecai's advice. Everything changes when Haman, a rising official enraged that Mordecai will not bow to him, obtains a decree for the destruction of all the Jews. Mordecai sends Esther the unforgettable question: who knows whether she has come to her royal position for such a time as this? Esther knows that approaching the king unsummoned may mean death; even so, she asks her people to fast for her and makes her decision: if I perish, I perish. She goes before the king and exposes Haman's plot at her banquets; the threat is reversed and her people are saved. The feast of Purim carries the joy of that deliverance from generation to generation — the story of a brave woman whose resolve, at the risk of her own life, rescued her people.
Is Esther mentioned in the Quran?
The name Esther does not appear in the Quran; in the Bible she is the heroine of the Old Testament book that bears her name, the Persian queen who saved her people from destruction.
Verses where Esther appears
- Esther 2:7 —
He brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter; for she had neither father nor mother. The maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
- Esther 4:14-16 —
For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”…