Their whole purpose is to provide the missing religious dimension to this story. Esther, additions to the book ofthe book of esther in the septuagint, followed by the old latin version, contains six passages comprising 107 verses that are not found in the hebrew text. 2 in the second year of the reign of artaxerxes the great, onthe first day of nisan, mordecai the son of jair, son of shimei, son ofkish, of the tribe of benjamin, had a dream. They are numbered as chaps 1116, designated af, and added to the hebrew text at various places. The disordered chapter numbers come from the displacement of the additions to the end of the canonical book of esther by jerome in his latin translation and. Not only to the book of esther, but for every other book of the old testament, both in hebrew and greek, as well. Additions to esther 1 in the second year of the reign of artaxerxes the great, on the first day of nisan, mordecai son of jair son of shimei son of kish. 421 He reported them and was rewarded by appointment to a. Esther, additions to six major additions to the book of esther, labeled af. , who became a stream when the king married her and made her queen.
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, created and edited by volunteers around the world and hosted by the wikimedia foundation. An opening prologue that describes a dream had by mordecai. The fact that esther does not mention god at all the only book of the bible. 158 The books contained were written primarily in hebrew, with some portions of the text. 5 additions that the traditional hebrew text doesnt have. 4 then mardocheus said, god hath done these things. The remaining additions are closely connected with this affair. The great king artexerxes unto the princes and governors of an hundred and seven and twenty. The megillah project: leading jewish thinkers reflect on the book of esther. The only point in this addition at variance with the septuagint, as well as the hebrew, of the canonical esther, is that in these the massacre is to take. And only through a comparison of these can one hope to restore the primitive form of the text. 2 for i remember a dream which i saw concerning these matters, and nothing thereof hath failed.
But they were finally recognized as canonical by the council the jerome biblical commentary, vol. In the fourth year of the reign of ptolemeus and cleopatra, dositheus, who said he was a priest and. Why is additions to esther shown with the king james bible? 4 then mardocheus said, god hath done these things. The book of esther, thus taken in part from the hebrew canon and in part from the septuagint, found a place in the christian canon of the old testament. 1 then mardocheus said, god hath done these things. Addition d, which follows addition c, is an account of esthers appearance before the king. The additions to esther consist of six extended passages 107 verses that have no counterpart in the hebrew version. Jerome, the whole book, including the greek additions, was included in the canon of scripture by the council of trent. An additional six chapters appear interspersed in esther in the septuagint, the greek translation, which then was used by. In the septuagint, the text is essentially as described above, with the additions interspersed with the rest of the book see the nrsv apocrypha esther for this in translation. Mordecai later overheard two eunuchs plotting against the king. Jstor is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources. In the present translation, the greek additions are indicated by the. These six additions are known in the kjv as the rest of the chapters of the book of esther. , the difficulty of translating many of these additions into hebrew being especially significant fritzsche, kurzgefasstes exegetisches handbuch zu. 901
A large portion of this additional narrative are the prayers of mordecai and queen esther before she risks her life before the king. The extra chapters include several prayers to god, perhaps because it was felt that the above-mentioned lack of mention of god was inappropriate in a holy book. The following outline shows the way in which the lxx intersperses the additions with the original text of the book italics indicate additions. However, two greek versions of esther also exist, the alpha a text, a. A-f, which most scholars regard as later additions to the book. There are several helpful overviews to the book of esther that give solid introductions to its critical issues, such as its date, its composition history, its connection to actual historical events, and its genre and purpose, as well as its place in the canon. Each of the six additions is distinctive in literary style and content. , jerome, when compiling the latin vulgate bible, removed all these additions and grouped them as an appendix at the end of the book of esther. Additions to esther synonyms, additions to esther pronunciation, additions to esther translation, english dictionary definition of additions to esther. This page presents the hebrew text only without the greek additions. Protestants declared them uncanonical and placed them in the apocrypha, under the title additions to esther. Additions to esther chapter 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12. It is longer and more dramatic than the account in the masoretic text. 1092 Additions to esther on early jewish writings: a comprehensive sourcebook for ancient judaism. Although the book of esther was questioned by some early christians, even st. The prayer of azariah and song of the three holy children: daniel 3:240 inserted between verses 23 and 24 in the protestant canon v.
The object of these additions is to give a more decidedly religious tone to the record contained in the book of esther, and to. Additions a and f, found at the very beginning and very end of the book, are a dream of mordecais a and its interpretation f. Apocrypha - 14 books of the old testament included in the vulgate except for ii esdras but omitted in jewish and protestant versions of the bible. The lxx also embellishes the passages it translates from the hebrew version, adding references to. Additions to esther - an apocryphal book consisting of text added to the book of esther apocrypha - 14 books of the old testament included in the. Addition e, which follows 8:12, gives the contents of the edict on behalf. Jerome, were separated from the ten chapters taken from the hebrew which were called protocanonical. In chapter 2 an overview of each addition will be presented. 3 a little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is esther, whom the king married, and made queen: 4. Roman catholic and orthodox versions included these additions as canonical, while they are not included in the hebrew bible and. 492 There were hangings of white, green, and blue material, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars. To the additions proper the following chapter will be dedicated.
He book of esther is unique in the old testament for having three distinct literary editions. A tiny spring grew into a great river when the righteous nation cried to god. This is a very good book by a well-recognized scholar who gives us a new translation of the apocryphal books, with an extensive learned but easy to read. Paton, a critical and exegetical commentary on the book of esther, p. The most troublesome problem with the canonical book of esther in the hebrew bible is that god is never mentioned nor addressed in prayer. Additions to est are the deuterocanonical portions, and they were, as usual, questioned by jerome. The greek version of the hebrew bible book of esther is designated additions to esther and pre-serves many. These greek additions are 1 the dream of mordecai esthers uncle, a symbolic vision written in the spirit of apocalyptic literature; 2 the edict of king artaxerxes considered by some to be artaxerxes ii, but more probably xerxes against the jews, containing arguments taken from classical anti-semitism; 3 the prayers of mordecai and of esther, containing apologies for what is said in the book of. The book of esther tells a story of the deliverance of the jewish people. In the zurich bible, where the apocryphal and canonical books are also separated, the canonical volume is called 1 esther, and these additions are denominated 2 esther. The additions to daniel comprise three chapters not found in the hebrew/aramaic text of daniel. 774 The biblical book of esther is the story of a jewish heroine esther, or hadassahthe characters hebrew name and mordecai. And the same applies, of course, to the additions that form an integral part of the greek text. Catholic bibles include both the hebrew and greek chapters. Esther, additions to the book ofthe book of esther in the septuagint, followed by the old latin version, contains six passages comprising 107 verses that. Additions to esther or rest of esther is a book contained in some versions of the hebrew bible. These additions to the greek and latin versions of esther include interactions between human characters and god, absent from hebrew text of the book of esther. 13:8-18; in the septuagint it is added to 4:17 swete, c.
Addition a 11:2-12:6 is a dream of mordecai in which two great dragons appear ready to fight. Moored: lxx additions to the book of esthbr 385 arld involved literary style,l4 but also in terms of very similar thoughts, even to the point of the two letters preserving the identical sequence of those. The chapters taken from the septuagint were considered deuterocanonical, and, after st. The additions completely change the tone of the book from what was originally intended from the hebrew. The next in order is mordecais prayer for help apocr. Additions to esther chapter 10 kjv king james version. 3 the tiny spring which became a river, and there was light and the sun and abundant water -- the river is esther, whom the king married and made queen. It consists of 8 chapters in hebrew, and describes how a young jewish woman, esther, becomes. 401 Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. The book of esther in the greek septuagint contains. By contrast, the text of esther in the greek septuagint features six additional chapters, totaling 107 verses. 1: also vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king ahasuerus. 3 he was a jew, dwelling in the city of susa, a great man,serving in the court of the king. The book of esther is one of the shorter books of the hebrew bible. The book: an additional six chapters appear interspersed in esther in the septuagint, the greek translation, which then was used by jerome in compiling the latin vulgate; additionally, the greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. 6 a little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is esther, whom the king married, and made queen.
It follows the story of esther 4:1-16, according to which esther commanded mordecai to assemble all the jews for a three-days fast before she herself interceded for them before. But st jerome, in his new latin edition of esther, moved all the additions to the end of the book. 6 a little fountain became a river, and there was light, and the sun, and much water: this river is esther. 1 three books of esther the great popularity of the book of esther led to the. 367 The text of these chapters is found in the koine greek septuagint, the earliest old greek translation. And since it was the vulgate bible which was the first one to. The additions to esther are an excellent example of a process that occurs throughout the bible: further reflections on the story become part of the story itself. It will be discovered that each of the six additions seems to pair with another, and that the group forms a ring-composition in esther itself. The additions to the book of esther: historical background. In this paper, the traditional evangelical/protestant position will be defended: namely, that the hebrew book of esther.
The six passages making up the additions to esther are identified by letters. Additions to esther chapter 10 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13. These additions were removed by jerome in the 4th century ce. The book of esther exists in its original form only in hebrew but there are additions to the book that exist only in greek. The greek book of esther has come down to us in five main recensions. Most familiar is that of the masoretic text mt, 10 chapters in hebrew found in all hebrew bibles and most english translations. The following scripture is from the authorized king james version of the holy bible, now in. Esther, the rest of the book of, five additions found in the septuagint lxx, or greek, version of esther but not in the original hebrew. The greek additions to esther have many explicit references to god. 1:10 on the seventh day, when the heart of the king. Addition c, which follows 4:17, is the prayer of mordecai and the prayer of esther, asking for deliverance. Our english versions, though following luthers arrangements, are not uniform in their designation of these additions. 376 The apocryphal book, additions to esther, consists of six passages 107 vv, inserted into the gr. Gladden, commenting on the book of esther, quotes approvingly the words of the learned. Although the hebrew esther clearly antedates 3 maccabees,l6 there is nothing. Bickerman3 has shown that comparable colophons were. 5 for i remember a dream which i saw concerning these matters, and nothing thereof hath failed. In greek manuscripts of the bible, the book of esther has six expansions totaling 107 verses. Although esther is the only book of the jewish canon with a colophon, e.