The Book of Esther. A Septuagint vs Masoretic comparison.

Written by Billy Clyde

I’ve been doing a series of comparison studies between the Septuagint and the Masoretic text. The difference between the two in the book of Esther is fascinating to say the least. My preacher did a sermon on Esther a few years ago and I remember him making the comment ‘This is the only book in the Bible that never mentions Yehovah’. Well that’s true if you are reading a bible based on the Masoretic text. But if you are reading a translation of the Septuagint it’s a different story. In the Septuagint the book is all about Elohim. Many verses that appear in the Septuagint are missing from the Masoretic. I believe that it’s obvious that the Septuagint reflects the original text and that the Masoretes butchered the book. I am going to outline here what was removed and give the context of it.
The Masoretic is in red, the Septuagint is in blue to makes it easier to follow.

Let’s start at the beginning. Here is the first verse of the first chapter in the Masoretic text.

Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

Okay this is not the actual beginning of the book. There is quite a bit of text before this that the Masoretes deleted. The Septuagint still has it all. Here is the full text.

In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great king, on the first day of Nisan, Mardochaeus the son of Jarius, the son of Semeias, the son of Cisaus, of the tribe of Benjamine, a Jew dwelling in the city Susa, a great man, serving in the king’s palace, saw a vision. Now he was of the captivity which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried captive from Jerusalem, with Jachonias the king of Judea.

And this was his dream: Behold, voices and a noise, thunders and earthquake, tumult upon the earth. And, behold, two great serpents came forth, both ready for conflict, and there came from them a great voice, and by their voice every nation was prepared for battle, even to fight against the nation of the just. And, behold, a day of darkness and blackness, tribulation and anguish, affection and tumult upon the earth. And all the righteous nation was troubled, fearing their own afflictions; and they prepared to die, and cried to Elohim: and from their cry there came as it were a great river from a little fountain , even much water. And light and the sun arose, and the lowly were exalted, and devoured the honorable.

And Mardochaeus who had seen this vision and what Elohim desired to do, having awoke, kept it in his heart, and desired by all means to interpret it, even till night. And Mardochaeus rested quiet in the palace with Gabatha and Tharrha the king’s two chamberlains, eunuchs who guarded the palace. And he heard their reasoning and searched out their plans, and learnt that they were preparing to lay hands on king Artaxerxes: and he informed the king concerning them. And the king examined the two chamberlains, and they confessed, and were executed. And the king wrote these things for a memorial: also Mardochaeus wrote concerning these matters. And the king commanded Mardochaeus to attend in the palace, and gave gifts for this service. And Aman the son of Amadathes the Bugean was honourable in the sight of the king, and he endeavored to hurt Mardochaeus and his people, because of the two chamberlains of the king.

After this intro the Septuagint goes into the verse that the Masoretic starts with.

 

1:1 And it came to pass after these things in the days of Artaxerxes, —(this Artaxerxes ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India)— 2 in those days, when king Artaxerxes was on the throne in the city of Susa, 3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to his friends, and the other nations, and to the nobles of the Persians and Medes, and the chief of the satraps.

That’s a lot of removed text. Let’s continue on. The rest of chapter one and all of chapter two are virtually the same in both the Septuagint and the Masoretic. They are the same until you get to verse thirteen in chapter three. This is the section in which Artaxerxes sends out the letter around his kingdom commanding the extermination of the Jews. The actual text of the letter is still included in the Septuagint but it has been removed from the Masoretic text. Before and after the letter the two texts are the same. Here is the missing section.

12 So the king’s recorders were called in the first month, on the thirteenth day, and they wrote as Aman commanded to the captains and governors in every province, from India even to Ethiopia, to a hundred and twenty-seven provinces; and to the rulers of the nations according to their several languages, in the name of king Artaxerxes. 13 And the message was sent by posts throughout the kingdom of Artaxerxes, to destroy utterly the race of the Jews on the first day of the twelfth month, which is Adar, and to plunder their goods.

The text of the letter is included after verse thirteen.

And the following is the copy of the letter; The great king Artaxerxes writes thus to the rulers and inferior governors of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India even to Ethiopia, who hold authority under him. Ruling over many nations and having obtained dominion over the whole world, I was minded (not elated by the confidence of power, but ever conducting myself with great moderation and gentleness) to make the lives of my subjects continually tranquil, desiring both to maintain the kingdom quiet and orderly to its utmost limits, and to restore the peace desired by all men. But when I had enquired of my counsellors how this should be brought to pass. Aman, who excels in soundness of judgment among us, and has been manifestly well inclined without wavering and with unshaken fidelity, and had obtained the second post in the kingdom, informed us that a certain ill-disposed people is mixed up with all the tribes throughout the world, opposed in their law to every other nation, and continually neglecting the commands of the king, so that the united government blamelessly administered by us is not quietly established. Having then conceived that this nation alone of all others is continually set in opposition to every man, introducing as a change a foreign code of laws, and injuriously plotting to accomplish the worst of evils against our interests, and against the happy establishment of the monarchy; we signified to you in the letter written by Aman, who is set over the public affairs and is our second governor, to destroy them all utterly with their wives and children by the swords of the enemies, without pitying or sparing any, on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month Adar, of the present year; that the people aforetime and now ill-disposed to us having been violently consigned to death in one day, may hereafter secure to us continually a well constituted and quiet state of affairs.

After the letter the two texts go back to being the same.

14 And the copies of the letters were published in every province; and an order was given to all the nations to be ready against that day. 15 And the business was hastened, and that at Susa: and the king and Aman began to drink; but the city was troubled.

In chapter four the two texts are the same until verse seventeen which is the end of the chapter in the Masoretic. Between verse seventeen and verse one in Chapter five the original contained quite a bit of text and it is some of the best parts of the book. This section contains Mordecai’s prayer and Esther’s prayer. It contains Esther’s three days of mourning in sackcloth and ashes. The Septuagint still has all these parts of the text that could be very beneficial to Believers to read.
Here is the missing text.

13 Then Mardochaeus said to Achrathaeus, Go, and say to her, Esther, say not to thyself that thou alone wilt escape in the kingdom, more than all the other Jews. 14 For if thou shalt refuse to hearken on this occasion, help and protection will be to the Jews from another quarter; but thou and thy father’s house will perish: and who knows, if thou hast been made queen for this very occasion? 15 And Esther sent the man that came to her to Mardochaeus, saying, 16 Go and assemble the Jews that are in Susa, and fast ye for me, and eat not and drink not for three days, night and day: and I also and my maidens will fast; and then I will go in to the king contrary to the law, even if I must die. 17 So Mardochaeus went and did all that Esther commanded him.

Here begins Mordecai’s prayer

[And he besought Yehovah, making mention of all the works of Yehovah; and he said, Lord Elohim, king ruling over all, for all things are in thy power, and there is no one that shall oppose thee, in thy purpose to save Israel. – For thou hast made the heaven and the earth and every wonderful thing in the world under heaven. And thou art Lord of all, and there is no one who shall resist thee Lord. Thou knowest all things: thou knowest, Lord, that it is not in insolence, nor haughtiness, nor love of glory, that I have done this, to refuse obeisance to the haughty Aman. For I would gladly have kissed the soles of his feet for the safety of Israel. But I have done this, that I might not set the glory of man above the glory of Elohim: and I will not worship any one except thee, my Lord, and I will not do these things in haughtiness. And now, O Lord Elohim, the King, the Elohim of Abraam, spare thy people, for our enemies are looking upon us to our destruction, and they have desired to destroy thine ancient inheritance. Do not overlook thy peculiar people, whom thou hast redeemed for thyself out of the land of Egypt. Hearken to my prayer, and be propitious to thine inheritance, and turn our mourning into gladness, that we may live and sing praise to thy name, O Lord; and do not utterly destroy the mouth of them that praise thee, O Lord.

Esther’s mourning.

And all Israel cried with all their might, for death was before their eyes. And queen Esther betook herself for refuge to Yehovah, being taken as it were in the agony of death. And having taken off her glorious apparel, she put on garments of distress and mourning; and instead of grand perfumes she filled her head with ashes and dung, and she greatly brought down her body, and she filled every place of her glad adorning with the torn curls of her hair.

Esther’s Prayer.

And she besought Yehovah Elohim of Israel, and said, O my Lord, thou alone art our king: help me who am destitute, and have no helper but thee, for my danger is near at hand. I have heard from my birth, in the tribe of my kindred that thou, Lord, tookest Israel out of all the nations, and our fathers out of all their kindred for a perpetual inheritance, and hast wrought for them all that thou hast said. And now we have sinned before thee, and thou hast delivered us into the hands of our enemies, because we honoured their Elohims: thou art righteous, O Lord. But now they have not been contented with the bitterness of our slavery, but have laid their hands on the hands of their idols, in order to abolish the decree of thy mouth, and utterly to destroy thine inheritances, and to stop the mouth of them that praise thee, and to extinguish the glory of thine house and thine alter, and to open the mouth of the Gentiles to speak the praises of vanities, and in order that a mortal king should be admired for ever.

O Lord, do not resign thy scepter to them that are not, and let them not laugh at our fall, but turn their counsel, against themselves, and make an example of him who has begun to injure us. Remember us, O Lord, manifest thyself in the time of our affliction, and  encourage me, O King of Elohims, and ruler of all dominion. Put harmonious speech into my mouth before the lion, and turn his heart to hate him that fights against us, to the utter destruction of him that consent with him. But deliver us by thine hand, and help me who am destitute, and have none but the, O Lord. Thou knowest all things, and knowest that I hate the glory of transgressors, and that I abhor the couch of the uncircumcised, and of every stranger. Thou knowest my necessity, for I abhor the symbol of my proud station, which is upon my head in the days of my splendour: I abhor it as a menstruous cloth, and I wear it not in the days of my tranquility. And thy handmaid has not eaten at the table of Aman, and I have not honoured the banquet of the king, neither have I drunk wine of libations. Neither has thy handmaid rejoiced since the day of my promotion until now, except in thee, O Lord Elohim of Abraam. O Elohim, who has power over all, hearken to the voice of the desperate, and deliver us from the hand of them that devise mischief; and deliver me from my fear.

Chapter five verses one and two have also been altered quite a bit.

5:1 And it came to pass on the third day, when she had ceased praying, that she put off her mean dress, and put on her glorious apparel. And being splendidly arrayed, and having called upon Elohim the Overseer and Preserver of all things, she took her two maids, and she leaned upon one, as a delicate female, and the other followed bearing her train. And she was blooming in the perfection of her beauty; and her face was cheerful, and it were benevolent, but her heart was straitened for fear. And having passed through all the doors, she stood before the king: and he was sitting upon his royal throne, and he had put on all his glorious apparel, covered all over with gold and precious stones, and was very terrible. And having raised his face resplendent with glory, he looked with intense anger: and the queen fell, and changed her colour as she fainted; and she bowed herself upon the head of the maid that went before her. But Elohim changed the spirit of the king gentleness, and in intense feeling he sprang from off his throne, and took her into his arms, until she recovered: and he comforted her with peaceable words, and said to her, What is the matter, Esther? I am thy brother; be of good cheer, thou shalt not die, for our command is openly declared to thee, Draw nigh.

2 And having raised the golden sceptre he laid it upon her neck, and embraced her, and said, Speak to me. And she said to him, I saw thee, my lord, as an angel of Elohim, and my heart was troubled for fear of thy glory; for thou, my lord, art to be wondered at, and thy face is full of grace. And while she was speaking, she fainted and fell. Then the king was troubled, and all his servants comforted her. 3 And the king said, What wilt thou, Esther? and what is thy request? ask even to the half of my kingdom, and it shall be thine. 4 And Esther said, To-day is my great day: if then it seem good to the king, let both him and Aman come to the feast which I will prepare this day. 5 And the king said, Hasten Aman hither, that we may perform the word of Esther. So they both come to the feast of which Esther had spoken.

After this the two texts are the same until chapter eight verse thirteen. This is the section at which Artaxerxes sends out his second letter to the people in his kingdom. This time telling them not to harm the Jews. Having changed his mind. The Septuagint still contains the full text of this letter.

13 And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom, and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies.

And the following is the copy of the letter of the orders.

The great king Artaxerxes sends greetings to the rulers of provinces in a hundred and twenty-seven satrapies, from India to Ethiopia, even to those who are faithful to our interests. Many who have been frequently honored by the most abundant kindness of their benefactors have conceived ambitious designs, and not only endeavour to hurt our subjects, but moreover, not being able to bear prosperity, they also endeavour to plot against their own benefactors. And they not only would utterly abolish gratitude from among men, but also, elated by the boastings of men who are strangers to all that is good, they supposed that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of the ever-seeing Elohim. And oftentimes evil exhortation has made partakers of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and has involved in irremediable calamities, many of those who had been appointed to offices of authority, who had been entrusted with the management of their friends’ affairs; while men, by the false sophistry of an evil disposition, have deceived the simple candour of the ruling powers. And it is possible to see this, not so much from more ancient traditionary accounts, as it is immediately in your power to see it by examining what things have been wickedly perpetrated by the baseness of men unworthily holding power. And it is right to take heed with regard to the future, that we may maintain the government in undistributed peace for all men, adopting needful changes, and ever judging those cases which come under our notices, with truly equitable decision.

For whereas Aman, a Macedonian, the son of Amadathes, in reality an alien from the blood of the Persians, and differing widely from our mild course of government, having been hospitable entertained by us, obtained so large a share of our universal kindness, as to be called our father, and to continue the person next to the royal throne, reverenced of all; he however, overcome by the pride of his station, endeavored to deprive us of our dominion, and our life: having by various and subtle artifices demanded for destruction both Mardochaeus our deliverer and perpetual benefactor, and Esther the blameless consort of our kingdom, with their whole nation. For by these methods he thought, having surprised us in a defenceless state, to transfer the dominion of the Persians to the Macedonians. But we find that the Jews, who have been consigned to destruction by the most abominable of men, are not malefactors, but living according to the justest laws, and being the sons of the living Elohim, the most high and mighty, who  maintains the kingdom. to us as well as to our forefathers, in the most excellent order.

Ye will therefore do well in refusing to obey the letter sent by Aman the son of Amadathes, because he that has done these things, has been hanged with his whole family at the gates of Susa, Almighty Elohim having swiftly returned to him a worthy recompence, We enjoin you then, having openly published a copy of this letter in every place, to give the Jews permission to use their own lawful customs, and to strengthen them, that on the thirteenth of the twelfth month Adar, on the self-same day, they may defend themselves against those who attack them in a time of affliction. For in the place of the destruction of the chosen race, Almighty Elohim has granted them this time of gladness.

Do ye therefore also, among your notable feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and hereafter it may be a day of deliverance to us and who are well disposed toward the Persians, but to those that plotted against us a memorial of destruction. And every city and province collectively, which shall not do accordingly, shall be consumed with vengeance by spear and fire: it shall be made not only inaccessible to men, but most hateful to wild beasts and birds for ever.] And let the copies be posted in conspicuous places throughout the kingdom and let all the Jews be ready against this day, to fight against their enemies.

After this the two texts are the same until what is chapter ten verse three in the Masoretic. Did it ever seem strange to you that chapter ten in the Masoretic only has three verses which could have easily been included at the end of chapter nine? It’s because the original text had a lot more than those three verses. The Septuagint still has the full chapter. Below is the rest of chapter ten that has been left out of the Masoretic.

10:1 And the king levied a tax upon his kingdom both by land and sea. 2 And as for his strength and valour, and the wealth and glory of his kingdom, behold, they are written in the book of the Persians and Medes, for a memorial. 3 And Mardochaeus was viceroy to king Artaxerxes, and was a great man in the kingdom, and honoured by the Jews, and passed his life beloved of all his nation.

And Mardocheus said, These things have been done of Elohim. For I remember the dream which I had concerning these matters: for not one particular of them has failed. There was the little fountain which became a river, and there was light, and the sun and much water. The river is Esther, whom the king married, and made queen. And the two serpents are I and Aman. And the nations are those nations that combined to destroy the name of the Jews. But as for my nation, this is Israel, even they that cried to Elohim and were delivered: for Yehovah delivered his people. And Yehovah rescued us out of all these calamities; and Elohim wrought such signs and great wonders as have not been done among the nations. Therefore did he ordain two lots. One for the people of Elohim, and one for all the other nations. And these two lots came for an appointed season, and for a day of judgment, before Elohim, and for all the nations. And Elohim remembered his people, and vindicated his inheritance. And they shall observe these days in the month Adar, on the fourteenth and on the fifteenth day of the month, with an assembly, and joy and gladness before Elohim, throughout the generations for ever among his people Israel.

In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said he was a priest and Levite, and Ptolemeus his son, brought this epistle of Phurim, which they said was the same, and that Lysimachus the son of Ptolemeus, that was in Jerusalem, had interpreted it.

 

It’s significant what has been removed by the Masoretes. Both prayers have been removed. The people’s fasting has been removed. Esther’s mourning has been removed. Any and all mention of Elohim has been removed.

You may be asking why were these sections of text taken out of the book by the Masoretes? It’s easy to understand why if you take a look at the situation in the world at the time when the book of Esther was written and the time when Masoretic version of the text was being altered. The events in the book of Esther took place between 400 and 500 BC. It was shortly after the Babylonian captivity had ended. Having built lives for themselves in Babylon the majority of the Jews of the captivity chose to stay in Babylon instead of returning to Judea. Morecai and Esther were among these. The Masoretic text took shape sometime in the 400 to 700 AD range. In the third century AD the Roman’s put down the last of the Jewish rebellions and having had enough of the Jews the Romans drove them completely out of Palestine. They settled in a lot of places but many of them went back to Babylonia where there were still a lot of Jewish communities. These Jewish communities had been there since the captivity. The city of Babylon was gone by this time but the area was still called Babylonia.

So the editing of the Masoretic text and the writing of the book of Esther both happened in Babylonia but were separated by about a thousand years in time. The situation was the similar in some ways though. In both cases you had Jews living among foreigners and under threat from those people at times. The difference was that Mordecai and Esther lived during the Old Covenant days. A good four hundred years before Yeshua’ birth. However the Jews living in Babylonia during the time that the Masoretic text was taking shape were living in the New Covenant era and most had rejected Yeshua. At least all their Rabbis had. In their condition it seemed that Elohim had left them so the Rabbis concluded that a personal relationship with Elohim was just for the prophets and Patriarchs. The average Jew couldn’t have this.

Now on to the reason the Masoretes altered the text. The average Jew living in Babylonia in 500 AD would see themselves as being in the same situation as the Jews living in Babylon in 500 BC. If they read the original text they would read about Mordecai and Esther personally praying to Elohim, seeking a personal relationship with Elohim, giving thanks to Elohim when He helped them. They might be tempted to try this themselves. In 500 AD when a Jew tried this they usually ended up becoming a Believer. The Rabbis certainly didn’t want this so they just removed any section that mentioned Elohim from the text and any section that might give people the idea of having a personal relationship with Elohim. This was what the Believers were preaching. The nerve of those Believers.

Anyway these are my conclusions after comparing the two texts and looking at the historical situation. Others may come away with a different perspective.