This original study offers, for the first time, an analysis of the characterization of Esther as she is portrayed in each of the three primary versions of the book of Esther-the Masoretic text, the Septuagint text, and the Greek a text. This study of characterization has implications beyond itself. It permits a reasssessment of relations between the book of Esther and other literature of the time, it sheds light on the place of origin of the ancient versions of Esther, and it raises serious feminist and canon-critical questions about the role of the book.
This original study offers, for the first time, an analysis of the characterization of Esther as she is portrayed in each of the three primary versions of the book of Esther-the Masoretic text, the Septuagint text, and the Greek a text. This study of characterization has implications beyond itself. It permits a reasssessment of relations between the book of Esther and other literature of the time, it sheds light on the place of origin of the ancient versions of Esther, and it raises serious feminist and canon-critical questions about the role of the book.
Reinterpreting the first century of American history, Brendan McConville argues that colonial society developed a political culture marked by strong attachment to Great Britain's monarchs. This intense allegiance continued almost until the moment of independence, an event defined by an emotional break with the king. By reading American history forward from the seventeenth century rather than backward from the Revolution, McConville shows that political conflicts long assumed to foreshadow the events of 1776 were in fact fought out by factions who invoked competing visions of the king and appropriated royal rites rather than used abstract republican rights or pro-democratic proclamations. The American Revolution, McConville contends, emerged out of the fissure caused by the unstable mix of affective attachments to the king and a weak imperial government. Sure to provoke debate, The King's Three Faces offers a powerful counterthesis to dominant American historiography.
Another adventure featuring DOCTOR WHO's former companion, Erimem. In 276BC, a slave is beaten half to death by a demented princess... In 1884, a woman calls upon the legendary explorer Allan Quatermain seeking passage to a lost city... In 2419, the Inquisition exacts Holy Retribution upon a woman called The Abomination... The link between all three is Helena, the woman just days from marrying into Erimem's family in 2017. What is the link and how can Erimem save her family?
This volume explores issues of moral character found in the different text versions of the book of Esther. First the study suggests the two most common approaches to perceived moral problems in the story of Esther: avoidance and transformation. Then it investigates selected portions of the Hebrew Masoretic Text, the Greek Septuagint Text, and the Greek Alpha-Text stories of Esther, focusing on issues of morality via character analysis. Finally it concentrates on the moral ambiguity found in all three versions, and on the ways in which moral character in the Greek stories has been transformed.
Veiling Esther, Unveiling Her Story: The Reception of a Biblical Book in Islamic Lands examines the ways in which the Biblical Book of Esther was read, understood, and used in Muslim lands, from ancient to modern times. It focuses on case studies covering works from various periods and regions of the Muslim world, including the Qur'an, pre-modern historical chronicles and literary works, the writings of a nineteenth-century Shia feminist, a twentieth-century Iranian encyclopaedia, and others. These case studies demonstrate that Muslim sources contain valuable materials on Esther, which shed light both on the Esther story itself and on the Muslim peoples and cultures that received it. Adam J. Silverstein argues that Muslim sources preserve important pre-Islamic materials on Esther that have not survived elsewhere, some of which offer answers to ancient questions about Esther, such as the meaning of Haman's epithet in the Greek versions of the story, the reason why Mordecai refused to prostrate before Haman, and the literary context of the 'plot of the eunuchs' to kill the Persian king. Throughout the book, Silverstein shows how each author's cultural and religious background influenced his or her understanding and retelling of the Esther story. In particular, he highlights that Persian Muslims (and Jews) were often forced to reconcile or choose between the conflicting historical narratives provided by their religious and cultural heritages respectively.
A new perspective on essential aspects of Esther’s plot and characters for students and scholars Empire and Gender in LXX Esther foregrounds and highlights empire as the central lens in this provocative new reading of Esther. This book provides a unique synchronic reading of LXX Esther with the Additions, allowing the presence and negotiation of imperial power to be further illuminated throughout the story’s plot. Stone explores and demonstrates how performances of gender are inextricably intertwined with the exertion and negotiation of imperial power portrayed in LXX Esther and offers examples of connections to the range of imperial power experienced by Jewish people during the late Second Temple period. Features: An exploration of the tenets and methodology of imperial-critical approaches Focused attention to the final form of LXX Esther Construction of early audiences for LXX Esther in first-century BCE Ptolemaic Alexandria and Hasmonean Judea
Was Esther unique—an anomaly in patriarchal society? Conventionally, scholars see ancient Israelite and Jewish women as excluded from the public world, their power concentrated instead in the domestic realm and exercised through familial structures. Rebecca S. Hancock demonstrates, in contrast, that because of the patrimonial character of ancient Jewish society, the state was often organized along familial lines. The presence of women in roles of queen consort or queen is therefore a key political, and not simply domestic, feature.
This magnificently illustrated volume, produced in cooperation with BBC Books in London, combines an insightful text by noted historian Shawcross with personal recollections and over 100 remarkable images chronicling the half-century reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Full color and b&w.
A foreign sorcerer has come to Liath-Tamren, greatest metropolis in the world. His mission: ambiguous. As a member of a cabal so secretive, many doubt that they exist, and possessed of powers unique to them, uncanny is Japhet's normal. But none of his orders make sense, and his fellows are being cagey with him. Add to the mix two assassinated kings. An alliance with imperial spies that may blow his low profile. A demon, loosed upon the Cities, that holds a gateway to the apocalypse. Then there's that orphan he just adopted... This may get complicated.
