King Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BC) succeeded to the throne of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia upon the death of his father, Darius the Great (522-486 BC). His mother was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus the Great (559-530 BC), the builder of the Persian empire.
Vashti was a queen of Persia, and the wife of King Xerxes.
She was either executed or banished for her refusal to appear at the king's banquet, and was succeeded as queen by Esther, a Jew.
In the third year of King Xerxes' 27-year reign, he held a 6-month celebration for his princes, nobles and servants to show the splendor of the imperial court. It ended with a 7-day feast at his palace in Susa.
Queen Vashti held a separate banquet for the women. On the seventh day, Xerxes orders his seven chamberlains to summon Vashti to come before him and his guests wearing her royal crown. Vashti refuses.
Consulting with his advisers, one of the seven princes of Persia and Media, Memucan, tells him that Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but also all of the husbands of Persia. Memucan encourages King Xerxes to dismiss Vashti and find another queen.
This deposition lead to the selection of Esther as King Xerxes' queen. Esther was a Benjamite. Her cousin, Mordecai, adopted her on the death of her parents.
The Book of Esther relates how she was chosen to succeed Vashti as queen. At first Mordecai told her to conceal her Jewish ancestry, but later advised that she would not escape the massacre of the Jews that Haman was planning.
Haman was the son of Hammedatha the Agagite and prime minister of Persia under King Xerxes I. Haman, commanded that all Jews be killed on a certain day and sealed it with the king's signet ring so that it could not be changed.
When Mordecai heard of the plot, he urged Queen Esther to intercede on behalf of the Jews. At a banquet to which she invited King Xerxes and Haman she had him bestow upon Mordecai the right to royal honors. At a second banquet she told Xerxes of Haman’s purpose to slaughter all the Jews. Xerxes ordered Haman to be hung on the gallows which Haman had prepared for Mordecai; and Haman’s ten sons were killed too. The Jewish Feast of Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from Haman’s plot to kill them.
Generally speaking, the terms Hebrews, Jews, and Israelites all refer to the same people. The term Hebrew is first used in the scriptures to refer to Abraham.
Then it is used of Joseph and the other descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob.
The name of Jacob, the son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, was changed to Israel when he wrestled with a man of God.
The descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob (Israel) made up the nation of Israel and called Israelites.
When the nation divided, the ten northern tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel, and the two southern tribes became known as the Kingdom of Judah.
The term Jews was first used to describe the inhabitants of Judah, the name taken by the two southern tribes of the nation of Israel during the division.
King Xerxes was considered man of weak abilities given to reliance upon the advice and opinions of courtiers and eunuchs.
---
Like this post? Stop by and read “Artemisia I of Caria: Xerxes' Ally in the Naval Battle of Salamis.” Queen Artemisia I is most famous for her role in the naval Battle of Salamis, a naval battle fought in 480 BC between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes, in which she fought for the Persians.
I'd love to have you as a customer, head to the online store and shop for handcrafted beaded jewelry by beYOUteous.
Leave a comment