Esther 9 Chapter Introduction

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

Purim

The events of this chapter were so significant, the Jews celebrated these events every year after this. It is known as “Purim.”

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Ironic Situation

The day that was supposed to bring great victory to the enemies of the Jews became a day of great victory for the Jews. This is a type of irony.

Opening Summary

Verse 1 of chapter 9 provides a summary of everything that happens in this chapter. If using an opening summary is not normally used in your language, be sure to mark this as a summary either in the text or in a footnote. An opening summary like this is a characteristic device of Hebrew storytelling. So even though it describes the final outcome, we do not recommend that you move it to the end of the chapter unless it is very confusing to leave it here. To make it clear that verse 1 is only a summary and not the entire story, you could say something like this at the end of the verse: “This is what happened” or “Here are more details about what happened.”