Additions to Esther

Here's something weird about the book of Esther: God is never mentioned. Not once. Neither is prayer, or the law, or covenant. It's the only book in the Hebrew Bible where God is completely absent from the text. This bothered a lot of ancient readers, so the Greek translators added six passages to fix it-and these additions transform the book.

The additions open with a dream Mordecai has about two dragons fighting and a river that saves the righteous. It's clearly symbolic of the story to come. Then we get the full text of Ahasuerus's decree against the Jews, making the threat feel more real and legal. Most importantly, we get prayers-Mordecai's prayer and Esther's prayer. Esther's is particularly powerful: she confesses her hatred of her crown, her disgust at having to appear beautiful for a pagan king, her careful maintenance of Jewish dietary laws in secret.

The scene where Esther approaches the king is expanded with dramatic tension-she faints, the king is terrified that she might die, God softens his heart. We also get the text of the second decree that saves the Jews. Finally, Mordecai interprets his dream, revealing that everything that happened was God's plan all along. The river was Esther; the dragons were Mordecai and Haman. What the Hebrew version shows, the additions explain. For the full story, read Esther first, then these additions.