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Educator Guide

Esther Bible Study Guide

Second Temple · 510 BC – 460 BC (50 years)

Jewish queen of Persia under Xerxes I; saved her people from Haman's decree.

From the family tree

Spouse
Xerxes I (Ahasuerus)
Dates
510 BC – 460 BC (50 years)
Era
Second Temple

Teaching prompt

Why does a book that never mentions God's name still show His hand everywhere?

Reflection

Where might God be positioning you in a specific place and time for a purpose you can't yet fully see?

Points to Jesus

Esther risks her life saying 'if I perish, I perish' () to save her people from a decree of death, and the very gallows built for the innocent becomes the instrument of the accuser's own downfall () — a pattern of substitution and reversal that reaches its fullest form at the cross, where the instrument of death becomes the means of salvation ().

Discussion questions

  1. What does Mordecai mean by 'for such a time as this,' and how does Esther respond?
  2. How does the plot against the Jews turn back on Haman himself?
  3. What feast is established, and why?

Scripture

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.