Esther, Part 1

As mentioned previously in the Mordecai posts, the research below is taken from my thesis work completed at Denver Seminary. As such, it would be help to know the following while reading this post:

My thesis was entitled, “Using a Biblical Third Culture Model to study the Lives of Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Mordecai.” The Third Culture Model I developed was based largely off of David C. Pollock and Ruth E Van Reken’s Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds[1] in which Pollock and Van Reken explore the culture differences of children that have grown up or spent a significant amount of their childhood and formative years overseas and outside of their passport country.[2] They reason that a third culture kid’s (TCK’s) first culture is that of their passport country, their second culture is the one in which they currently live, and their third culture is the one they develop as they try to balance the values of both cultures. Pollock and Van Reken found that the characteristics of TCKs are similar regardless of their nationality and where they currently live. That is, an American living in Singapore, a Japanese child living in Brazil, or German child living in Canada will all develop and exhibit similar characteristics.

As such, Pollock and Van Reken reason that, “TCKs are not a new phenomenon. They have been around since the beginning of time but, until now, they have been largely invisible.”[3] Therefore, this model was used to study the TCKs that lived during the Babylonian exile. It used modern research on TCKs and cross cultural experiences to try to better understand the choices, actions, and behaviors as seen in the Old Testament Scriptures. Esther was a Jewess, living in Susa, the capital of Persia. She, therefore, was constantly stepping into two different worlds: the religious and cultural heritage of her parents as children of Israel, and the religiously plural and secular society of the Persians.

Esther was an orphan adopted by her cousin, Mordecai (Esther 2:7). The Bible does not give details as to how old she was when she lost her parents or the situation under which they died. It may be assumed, though, that from a young age she received an informal education that consisted of instruction in parenting, food preparation and preservation, tending small city gardens, running a household, and producing textiles.[4] With the other women in the community, she would have learned the social customs, moral values, religious beliefs and rituals of the Jewish people.[5] Being that Mordecai was most likely part of a noble family; Esther would have lived a life of some affluence.

A study done by Kate A. Walters and Faith P. Auton-Cuff analyzes how growing up as a TCK shapes a woman’s identity. Walters and Auton-Cuff found that because women define themselves in terms of relationship and connection, any movement between cultures causes a disruption in their identity formation. Thus, in a new place, the woman must first survive, adapt and cope with the change before she can reform her identity based on the relationships she develops around her.[6]. Unfortunately, often times a woman’s voice is silenced as she tries to behave in an acceptable fashion so as to be seen as “good” and develop relationships with others. Thus, they put on a false self to be accepted and “fit in” at the cost of their true selves.[7] In a community based society, rebelling against the social norms, acting out, and causing problems are greatly discouraged because of the difficulties it brought upon the family and not just the individual.[8]

In light of Walters and Auton-Cuff’s research, Xerxes project to find a new Queen sent Esther’s world spinning. She was taken away from her home and family and put into a harem (Esther 2:8) where she would eventually be used to satisfy the king’s lust.[9] In this new place she struggled to define her identity while trying to adapt to the new situation. Her value to the king is based largely on her appearance. Indeed, the Bible records that Esther pleased Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem of virgins (Esther 2:9). Her beauty was such that even a eunuch was moved by it.[10] The text also says that she won Hegai’s favor. The term used for “favor” is actually hesed, which refers to the covenant loyalty and love that existed between God and His people due to His covenant with them. Thus, Esther gained from Hegai a covenant loyalty or a special kindness that was not necessarily based on her beauty alone.[11]

In the harem, Esther was isolated, and probably protected, from the other women because Hegai had provided her with a private apartment and seven attendants from the palace staff (Esther 2:9). But it also meant that she entered a new place in the harem, and again had to go through the process of learning to adapt, cope and build relationships. At this time she was under strict instructions to not reveal her identity as a Jewess from Mordecai (Esther 2:10). Therefore, according to Walters and Auton-Cuff, Mordecai’s command to her effectively silenced her true self and required her to put on a false self. Therefore, the year spent under Hegai’s care was one in which she lived as the other women did and did not give away her ethnicity by adhering to the food laws in the Torah.[12] As she prepared for her night with the king, she was aided by seven women who were of a different nationality than herself.[13] The close contact with these women would have exposed Esther to the different policies, practices, and moral values of Persian women in the palace court.

Esther’s story communicates how hard it can truly be to live as a Christian in the real world, and how easy it is to conceal one’s identity and just “go with the flow.” However God calls us to be lights to a world of darkness, therefore blending in is not a long term option. In the next post I will talk about Esther’s move into her new role as Queen, and her actions as Queen of Persia.

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[1] David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken, Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds (Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2009).

[2] Pollock & Van Reken, 13.

[3] Pollock & Van Reken, 4.

[4] Leo G. Perdue, “Israelite and Early Jewish Family: Summary and Conclusions” in Families in Ancient Israel by Leo G. Perdue, Joseph Blenkinsopp, John J. Collings and Carol Meyers (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 172.

[5] Perdue, 172.

[6] Kate A. Walters and Faith P. Auton-Cuff, “A Story to Tell: The identity development of women growing up as third culture kids,” Mental Health, Religion and Culture 12, no. 7 (November 2009): 762-763.

[7] Walters and Auton-Cuff,  766.

[8] Walters and Auton-Cuff,  765.

[9] Jon D. Levenson, Esther: A Commentary, The Old Testament Library (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997), 58.

[10] Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, New American Commentary 10 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1993), 316.

[11] Breneman, 316.

[12] Breneman, 316

[13] Joyce G. Baldwin, Esther, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1984), 67.