Battling City to City in Esther
Xerxes, the king of the Persian Empire in the days of Esther, granted the Jews the right to defend themselves from their attackers on the 13th day of Adar, 473 BC. Esther 9:16 indicates that on that day the Jews killed “75,000 of those who hated them.” How large was this number to Xerxes? One way to evaluate it would be to compare it to some of the battles that the Persian army fought in those days. Here are a few examples: Battle of Thermopylae, Aug 480 BC – about 20,000 Persians......
Two Days Fighting in Susa
Purim, a celebration of the victory of the Jews over their enemies in the days of Esther, is celebrated for two days. In 2019, Purim was March 21 and Shushan Purim was March 22. The book of Esther explains that, although the Jewish populations were victorious throughout the land on Adar 13, in the capital city of Susa the fighting was extended an extra day (Esth 9:17-19). Why did the fighting in Susa take an extra day? There are two observations that may be helpful in answering this question. The first is......
