Esther
Beautiful Jewish Queen
520 – 450 B.C.

Esther, a beautiful Jewish queen, the heroine of the biblical book that bears her name. The character of Esther as she appears in the Bible, is that of a woman of deep piety, faith, courage, patriotism, and caution, combined with resolution; a dutiful daughter to her adoptive father, docile and obedient to his counsels, and anxious to share the king’s favor with him for the benefit of the Jewish people.

That she was a good wife to the king, her continued influence over him for so long a time warrants us to infer. There must have been a singular grace and charm in her aspect and manners, since she “obtained favor in the sight of all that looked upon her.”

The Bible story narrates how Queen Esther became an instrument in the hands of God to avert the destruction of the Jewish people, and how the Jews established a yearly feast (Purim) in memory of this deliverance, which is observed among them to this day.

~*~

Reference: Famous Women; An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women By Joseph Adelman. Copyright, 1926 by Ellis M. Lonow Company.