5:1-8 – Esther’s Request. After three days of fasting (by both the Jews of Susa and Esther and her entourage), Esther determined it was time to see the king. The motif of three days of waiting for restoration/deliverance is found several times throughout the OT: Gen.22:4; 31:22; Jonah 1:17; Hosea 6:2. It is important that she prepared herself in her regal garments and entered into the king’s presence where she did not know the outcome, but knew Xerxes must receive her if her life was to be spared immediately. Though thirty days had passed since Esther had last been seen by the king she was welcomed and actually “pleased” with her. Whatever the king’s motivation for being pleased, one can be certain that this was no coincidence. According to the LXX and targums, the king was initially angry with Esther’s entrance, but when she fainted he was moved to receive her by the LORD. All of such additions suggest far more than the text itself and attempts to explain the reception of the king. The king apparently recognized that she would not have come unbidden and dressed as she was if not for some important matter. He was so moved by her presence that he actually tells her (though this would be a euphemism for kingly generosity), “up to half the kingdom” could be asked for and he would give it to her. Rather than explaining her reason for coming she invited the king and Haman to a banquet (which was ironically prepared for Haman). Haman was brought immediately to join Xerxes at the private banquet and some time after the dinner, while drinking wine (which would then be the appropriate time for discussing business matters), the king again asked what Esther wanted and repeated the same generous offer. Her reply was that she wished for the king and Haman to return the next day for another banquet. Why would she not simply bring up the subject at hand? What was to be gained in the invitation to another banquet? It would appear that this gave a sense of ominous anticipation to the whole scene. “Esther is shrewdly and subtly pursuing a well-designed plan, by which she has maneuvered the king into committing himself in advance” to give her what she would ask for (Bush 407). As it would turn out, the events leading to the next banquet would change everything.
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Community: Biblical and Theological Reflections in Honor of August H. Konkel
Pentecostal Theological Education in the Majority World: The Graduate and Post-Graduate Level. Vol. 1
Receiving Scripture in the Pentecostal Tradition: A Reception History
A Theology of the Spirit in the Former Prophets: A Pentecostal Perspective
"Emerging Homiletics: A Pentecostal Response" in
"N.T. Wright's Justification and the Cry of the Spirit" in
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Recent Posts
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- A Quick Exodus: A Brief Response January 4, 2021
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