Today I want to start with the book of Esther.

The book itself was written between 470 and 430 B.C. making it one of the last Old Testament books written.  It was written either at the end of Xerxes reign or during the reign of his son Artaxerxes who ruled from 465 to 424 B.C.  It documents the only other festival given in Old Testament outside the books of Moses, the Festival of Purim.  It had been 1000 years since God gave the original seven festivals to the Israelites.  The record of Hanukkah is not found in the Old Testament although we do see it referred to in the New Testament as a festival that Jesus attended, called the feast of Dedication in John 10:22.

All we know about the life of Xerxes from the Greek Persian War on comes from two primary sources:  1) Heroddutus, the Greek historian, who wrote his histories between 431 and 425 B.C.  These writings included accounts of Xerxes part in the Greek Persian War, his affairs before he met Esther, the fact he allowed others to rule for him (in other words, he had Prime Ministers), and that after returning from the war he became involved in the intrigues of the harem;  2) The book of Esther.  We do not have any Persian sources from this time period of Xerxes life largely because his son Artaxerxes took power in a cue, a cue largely instigated by his mother and the religious leaders in the kingdom.

In the study of Esther by Beth Moore she says, “Biblical narratives commonly begin with ‘it happened’ but omit ‘in the days of’.  On the other hand, prophetic writings are often introduced as having occurred ‘in the days of King…’.  The Book of Esther unfolds, however, with the two intertwining.”  I firmly believe this is a historical account of this part of Esther and Xerxes’ life, but I also believe it is a book of prophecy.  Due to this we will approach the book from both perspectives.

We will begin with the historical background of the book.  I feel fairly confident in saying that most of us know the history and background of Esther and her people and how they came to be in Persia.  To sum it up quickly the people of Judah rebelled against God and God sent the Babylonians under Nebechanezar to defeat them and send them into exile.  After being in exile in the Babylonian lands for 70 years the Persian King, Cyrus, conquered Babylon.  He then gives the peoples who were taken in captivity by the Babylonians an opportunity to go home, this included the Jews.  However, many did not return to their homeland and stayed in the places where they had been carried off to.  This was the case for Esther’s family and her cousin Mordecai.

With that said, have you ever wondered about the other half of the story of Esther, Xerxes’ past.  His past is full on intrigue itself and one would be well served by knowing it.  The first readers of the book of Esther would have known the past of both Esther and her family and Xerxes and his family.  I would like to unfold his past for you today because I am confident that it will make this man’s life with Esther so much more clear and we will refer back to it time and time again in our study.

The history of Xerxes is the history of the Persian Empire.  Please excuse the chart, but is the easiest way for you to see the connections.

History of the Persian Empire

Kings of Persia

Achaemenes of Anshan @700 B.C.

son

Teispes of Anshan

sons

Cyrus I of Anshan                                         Ariaramnes of Persia

           son                                                                       son

   Cambyses I                                                           Arsames

           son                                                                        son

  Cyrus the Great                                                 Hystraspes

                                                                                           son

                                                                              Darius the Great

Kings of Media

Astyages (Xerxes)

             son                                                                 daughter

  Darius the Mede                                                  Mandane

   son                             daughter

Otanes                         Cassandane

Persia and Media Come Together

Cambyses I marries Mandane

son

Cyrus the Great

Becomes king in 559 B.C.

Becomes king of Media in 550 B.C. when he is crowned by his cousin Cassandane and then marries her.

Conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.

Cyrus the Great marries his First Cousin Cassandane

children

        Cambyses II             Smerdis             Atossa            Artystone

Cambyses II marries his sister Atossa – They have no children

Cambyses II is king from 530 B.C. to 522 B.C. – He dies on his way back from a campaign in Egypt.  Before he left for that campaign in Egypt he secretly killed his brother, Smerdis.  Since it was done in secret a usurper who looked a great deal like his brother, Gaumata, is able to take the throne when Cambyses dies.  To solidify his position as Smerdis, Gaumata marries Atossa (daughter of Cyrus and wife/sister of Cambyses), he also married another widow of Cambyses, Phaedymia (daughter of Otanes, Cambyses first cousin).  Gaumata feared Atossa and kept her prisoner in the harem, but Phaedymia was able to get word out to her father that Gaumata was a fake Smerdis.

The Conspiracy

Seven conspirators decide to take things into their own hands and reclaim the throne of the kingdom.  The two most powerful men of these seven were Darius, son of Hystraspes, and Otanes, son of Darius the Mede (you may recognize his name from the book of Daniel).  Darius was 28 at the time a general in the military, as well as a distant cousin of Cambyses II in the Achaemenid Dynasty line.  Otanes, being a Mede, allowed Darius to take the throne, but did get some concessions in exchange.

Darius killed Gaumata in 522 B.C. and took the throne.  Upon coming to the throne he solidifies his right to it through a series of marriages.  He was already married and a father at the time.

          1.  Atossa – Daughter of Cyrus the Great, widow/sister of Cambyses, widow of Gaumata.  She agrees to the marriage and is the most powerful woman in the kingdom.

          2.  Artystone – younger daughter of Cyrus the Great

          3.  Parmys – daughter of real Smerdis

          4.  Phaedymia – Daughter of Otanes, widow of Cambyses II and Gaumata

          5.  Daughter of Gobryas – Daughter of another co-conspirator

Therefore, Darius ends up with six wives, but only one is given the title of Queen, Atossa.

The other concession that Otanes received was not only the marriage of his daughter to Darius, but he also gets a wife.  Otanes receives in marriage a sister of Darius.  Therefore, Otanes becomes Darius’ father-in-law and brother-in-law.

             Otanes                    marries                    Darius’ Sister

                                       Their Daughter

                                              Vashti

           Darius                       marries                  Atossa – Queen

                                         Their Eldest Son

                                                 Xerxes

Xerxes and Vashti are first cousins through his father and second cousins through his mother (in other words, his mother, Atossa, and Vashti are also first cousins).  When Xerxes becomes king in 486 B.C. at the age of 35 he is already married to Vashti and a father.

             Xerxes                        marries                       Vashti

                                               Their Sons

                                                   Darius

                                                Hystraspes

                                               Artaxerxes I

Like I said we will be referring back to this family tree of Xerxes as we go along.  I hope it is already making some bells ring for you, but if not don’t worry we will talk about where all this fits in as we go.

Vicky