Esther

John Screnock is the Kennicott Fellow in Hebrew at the University of Oxford.Robert D. Holmstedt is Associate Professor of Ancient Hebrew and Northwest Semitics at the University of Toronto.

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Esther Becomes Queen of Persia (1:1-2:23) Episode 1 Vashti's Downfall (1:1-22) The King's Banquet (1:1-9) Vashti's Removal (1:10-22) Episode 2 Esther is Chosen as Queen (2:1-23) Ahashverosh Seeks a Replacement for Vashti (2:1-4) Esther Wins the King's Favor (2:5-20) Mordecai Saves the King (2:21-23) Part II: Haman and Mordecai in Conflict (3:1-7:10) Episode 1 The Rise of Haman (3:1-15) Haman's Rage against Mordecai and the Jews (3:1-7) Haman's Plot (3:8-15) Episode 2 Mordecai's Response (4:1-17) Mordecai and the Jews Lament Haman's Plot (4:1-3) Mordecai Convinces Esther to Intercede (4:4-17) Episode 3 Esther's Plan (5:1-8) Esther Invites the King and Haman to a Banquet (5:1-4) Esther Issues a Second Invitation (5:5-8) Episode 4 Haman's Plan Implodes (5:9-6:14) Haman's Hubris (5:9-14) Mordecai's Fortunes Reversed (6:1-10) The Rise of Mordecai (6:11-14) Episode 5 The End of Haman (7:1-10) Esther's Banquet (7:1-8) Haman's Death (7:9-10) Part III: The Jews and the Peoples in Conflict (8:1-9:32) Episode 1 A Plan to Save the Jews (8:1-17) The King Empowers Mordecai and Esther (8:1-8) The Conter-edict Is Issued (8:9-17) Episode 2 The Jews Prevail (9:1-19) The First Day of Fighting (9:1-10) The Second Day of Fighting (9:11-19) Episode 3 The Jews' Victory Commemorated and Reprised (9:20-32) Mordecai Establishes the Festival (9:20-25) The Festival and Lots (Purim) (9:26-28) Esther and Mordecai Confirm the Festival (9:29-32) Part IV: Epilogue (10:1-3) Appendix A: Numeral Syntax in Esther Appendix B: Bergey's Features for Diachronic Analysis Appendix C: Glossary of Linguistic Issues Bibliography Index of Linguistic Issues

As an aid to understanding how the Hebrew in the book of Esther functions, and how the linguistic structures contribute to the book's meaning, this compact volume is worth its weight in gold. -- D.W. Rooke -- Journal for the Study of the Old Testament This handy volume, part of the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible series, offers students of Biblical Hebrew a translation and exhaustive word-by-word morphological analysis of the MT of Esther. -- Gerald A. Klingbeil -- Bulletin for Biblical Research [ Esther ] is a helpful guide through the Hebrew text of the book of Esther. Dividing the narrative into four parts, each with its own set of episodes, Screnock and Holmstedt carefully pick their way through the grammar, morphology, and syntax of nearly every clause and phrase of the book. -- Kurtis Peters -- Expository Times The authors bring the latest linguistic research on diachronic study of the Hebrew Bible, valency, and the relative clause, to name just a few, to an accessible format that serves the novice as well as the expert. -- Ethan C. Jones -- Review of Biblical Literature