The book of Esther takes place in Susa during the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Hadassah,
whose Hebrew name means “myrtle”, was an orphaned Jewish girl, raised by her cousin Mordecai
who loved her like a daughter. The account begins with Vashti the queen of Persia, publicly
refusing to come at the king’s command. As the most powerful man in the Persian Empire, the
king's embarrassment and anger against her resulted in Queen Vashti's dethroning. Her royal
position was to be given to another more worthy through a kingdom-wide beauty contest with the
winner to become the next queen, and Hadassah was one of those selected. She quickly gained
favour with the chief eunuch and was carefully positioned in the king’s palace to win the king over.
As the new queen, Hadassah was given the name Esther, a Persian name that means “star”.
Mordecai would keep a faithful watch over Esther, and become a powerful man in the Persian
kingdom. While the book does not mention God explicitly, it is obvious that He was faithfully
watching over Israel the whole time, just like Mordecai was watching over Esther.

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