Bible women

Purim is celebrated in March.

Esther (480-465 B.C.)

King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) sat at his throne in Susa, the capital of a territory that reached from India to Ethiopia. He gave a banquet and requested Queen Vashti come before the men to show off her beauty. When she refused, he banished her and called for beautiful young virgins to come forth to vie for the position of queen.

Mordecai, a Jew who had been exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon heard about the hunt for a new queen and took Esther, his cousin or niece, to the palace. After being under the care of women for twelve months, Esther went before King Xerxes. The king loved her more than the others. Josephus said she was chosen from four-hundred other women. (The Jewish Antiquities. Vol. XI, Ch6,

#2) He made her queen. The king gave a banquet and granted remission of taxes. Queen Esther did not tell the king she was a Jew.

Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman (the king's man) who sought to destroy the Jews. Queen Esther approached the King. She asked for the King and Haman to come to dinner, two days in a row. Haman intended to hang Mordecai but ended up being hung. He cast the lot of Pur to destroy the Jews, but Esther saved the Jews. She is seen as a role model for Jews in Diaspora and continues to be a role model for all women who choose to serve God. The Synagogue in Nashville was founded by Hungarians who fled Europe during the persecution of the Jews. They are from the tribe of Judah.