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Esther 10

Chapter 10 in 30 seconds

A short ending. Mordecai is second only to the king, and he works for the good of his people and speaks peace to them all.

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In this chapterThe Big QuestionThe Greek Esther · after verse 3

Tribute to Xerxes and Mordecai

¹Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores.

²And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? ³For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

EST 10:2[NOTE]THE CHRONICLES OF MEDIA AND PERSIA. No copy of this record has ever been found.
EST 10:3[NOTE]SECOND TO THE KING. Like Joseph in Egypt, Genesis 41:40, and Daniel in Babylon, Daniel 2:48, a Jew far from home ends up next to the throne.

The Big Question

The Greek Esther

Six Added Passages

Esther 1:1 · 3:13 · 4:17 · 5:1 · 8:12 · 10:3

WHAT IT IS: The old Greek translation of Esther is longer than the Hebrew. It adds six passages, 107 verses, called Additions A to F.
WHAT THEY ADD: A: Mordecai's dream and the plot against the king, before chapter 1. B: Haman's royal letter, after 3:13. C: the prayers of Mordecai and Esther, after 4:17. D: Esther goes to the king and faints, in chapter 5. E: the king's second letter, after 8:12. F: the dream explained, at the end.
GOD IS NAMED: The Greek names God more than 50 times, and Esther and Mordecai pray long prayers. It also calls the king Artaxerxes.
WHEN: A note at the end says Lysimachus of Jerusalem translated it and that it came to Egypt in the fourth year of a King Ptolemy and Cleopatra, about 114, 78 or 48 BC.

The Greek Esther · Every View

Catholic Bibles Esther 10:4 to 16:24

VIEW 1: SCRIPTURE: Catholic and Orthodox Christians count the added passages as Scripture. The Council of Trent said so in 1546. Jerome moved them to the end of Esther, so some Catholic Bibles print them as 10:4 to 16:24. Newer ones put them back in place.
VIEW 2: NOT SCRIPTURE: Jews and Protestants follow the Hebrew text, which does not have them. They see them as later additions, not part of the original Hebrew book.
DOUBTS ABOUT ESTHER ITSELF: Some early Christians left Esther off their list, like Melito of Sardis about 170 AD. Athanasius in 367 AD called it good to read but not in the list. The Talmud records a debate about it too. The New Testament never quotes Esther.
WHY THIS BIBLE PRINTS THE HEBREW: This Bible follows the Hebrew text, like most Bibles. The added passages are cited, not printed.
WHAT ALL SIDES AGREE ON: Most agree the Hebrew book came first, and the Greek additions were written later. Both tell the same rescue.

Esther 10

Tribute to Xerxes and Mordecai

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