Ahasuerus
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Ahasuerus (
Etymology
The Hebrew form is believed to have derived from the Old Persian name of Xerxes I, Xšayāršā (< xšaya 'king' + aršan 'male' > 'king of all male; Hero among Kings'). That became Babylonian Aḫšiyâršu (𒄴𒅆𒐊𒅈𒋗, aḫ-ši-ia-ar-šu) and then Akšîwâršu (𒀝𒅆𒄿𒈠𒅈𒍪, ak-ši-i-wa6-ar-šu) and was borrowed as Hebrew: אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, romanized: Ăḥašwēroš and thence into Latin as Ahasuerus, the form traditionally used in English Bibles.[1][2] The Persian name was independently rendered in Ancient Greek as Ξέρξης Xérxēs. Many newer English translations and paraphrases of the Bible[3] have used the name Xerxes.
Book of Esther
"Ahasuerus" is given as the name of a king, the husband of
Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Xerxes I
Numerous scholars have proposed theories as to who Ahasuerus represents. Most scholars today identify him with Xerxes I, as did 19th-century Bible commentaries.[9] Three factors, among others, contribute to this identification:
- It is believed the Hebrew 'Ahasuerus' descended from the Persian names for Xerxes I.
- Historian Herodotus describes Xerxes I as being susceptible to women and in the habit of making extravagant offers to them, just as he did to Esther ("up to half my kingdom"). Herodotus mentions that the Persian empire stretched from India to Ethiopia and also refers to the magnificent royal palace in Shushan (Susa), corroboration of what is stated in the Book of Esther. In addition Herodotus mentions an assembly of Persian nobles called by Xerxes to advise him on the proposed war against Greece. Although Herodotus does not give the location of this assembly, the date – "after Egypt was subdued" – corresponds to Xerxes' third year when Esther records an assembly of Persian nobility at a feast. (Histories VII.8) Herodotus also mentions that following his defeat at Salamis Xerxes I became involved in harem intrigues involving his wife Amestris and his daughter-in-law, with whom he became enamoured. (Histories IX.108) Herodotus relates this occurred in the tenth month of his seventh year as king – the same time Ahasuerus was choosing beautiful women for his harem (Esther 2:16).
- Annals from the reign of Xerxes I mention an otherwise unattested official by the name of "Marduka", which some have proposed refers to Mordecai, as both are mentioned serving in the king's court.[10]
Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Artaxerxes I
While today the king of Esther is usually identified as Xerxes I, the ancient traditions identify him with his son, Artaxerxes I. The Septuagint, the Vulgate, the Midrash of Esther Rabbah, I, 3 and the Josippon identify him as Artaxerxes. Many historians and exegetes from ancient times and the middle ages also identified Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I, including, most notably, Josephus,[11] who relates that "Artaxerxes" was the name by which he was known to the Greeks.[12] The Ethiopic text calls him Arťeksis, usually the Ethiopic equivalent of Artaxerxes.
Identification of "Ahasuerus" as Artaxerxes II
Some have speculated that the king was
Book of Ezra
Ahasuerus is also given as the name of a
Book of Daniel
Ahasuerus is given as the name of the father of Darius the Mede in the Book of Daniel.[23] Josephus names Astyages as the father of Darius the Mede, and the description of the latter as uncle and father-in-law of Cyrus by mediaeval Jewish commentators matches that of Cyaxares II, who is said to be the son of Astyages by Xenophon. Thus this Ahasuerus is commonly identified with Astyages. He is alternatively identified, together with the Ahasuerus of the Book of Tobit, as Cyaxares I, said to be the father of Astyages. Views differ on how to reconcile the sources in this case. One view is that the description of Ahasuerus as the "father" of Darius the Mede should be understood in the broader sense of "forebear" or "ancestor." Another view notes that on the Behistun Inscription, "Cyaxares" is a family name, and thus considers the description as literal, viewing Astyages as an intermediate ruler wrongly placed in the family line in the Greek sources.
Most scholars view Darius the Mede as a literary fiction, or possibly a conflation of Darius the Great with prophecies about the Medes.[24][25]
Book of Tobit
In some versions of the
In legends
In some versions of the legend of the Wandering Jew, his true name is held to be Ahasuerus – even though the Biblical King is not described as a Jew and nothing in the Biblical account of him is similar to that myth.[28] This is the name by which Immanuel Kant refers to the Wandering Jew in The Only Possible Argument in Support of a Demonstration of the Existence of God.[29]
Notes
- romanized: Xérxēs.
References
- Darby Translation, Holman Christian Standard Bible, etc.
- ^ Nichol, F.D., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 3, Review and Herald Publishing Association, (Washington, D.C., 1954 edition), p.459, "Historical Setting"
- TNIV, etc.
- ^ "Esther 1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-19-954398-4, retrieved 17 April 2020,
The story is fictitious and written to provide an account of the origin of the feast of Purim; the book contains no references to the known historical events of the reign of Xerxes.
- ISBN 978-0-19-504645-8, retrieved 17 April 2020,
Although the details of its setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, in terms of literary genre the book is not history.
- Nebuchadnezzar, but that deportation occurred 112 years before Xerxes became king.
- ^ "Esther 1 And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes. This Artaxerxes held a hundred twenty-seven regions from India". studybible.info. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-009-26612-3.
- doi:10.2307/1519506. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, chapter 6, section 1
- ^ Ahasuerus at the JewishEncyclopedia.com
- ^ E. A. W. Budge, The Chronography of Bar Hebraeus, Gorgias Press LLC, reprinted 2003
- ^ Jan Jacob van Ginkel, John of Ephesus. A Monophysite Historian in Sixth-century Byzantium, Groningen, 1995
- ^ Wolfgang Felix, Encyclopaedia Iranica, entry Dinon, 1996–2008
- ^ Jona Lendering, Ctesias of Cnidus, Livius, Articles on Ancient History, 1996–2008
- ^ John Dryden, Arthur Hugh Clough, Plutarch's Lives, Little, Brown and Company, 1885
- ^ M. A. Dandamaev, W. J. Vogelsang, A Political History of the Achaemenid Empire, BRILL, 1989
- ^ Jacob Hoschander, The Book of Esther in the Light of History, Oxford University Press, 1923
- ^ Ezra 4:5–7
- ^ Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible, as quoted by Bible.cc/ezra/4-7.htm
- ^ Clarke's Commentary on the Bible, as quoted by Bible.cc/ezra/4-7.htm
- ^ Daniel 9:1
- ^ Hill 2009, p. 114.
- ISBN 978-0-8308-9100-9.
- ^ Book of Tobit, 14:15.
- ^ Maas, Anthony (1907). Assuerus. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved April 15, 2009 from New Advent
- ^ Andrei Oişteanu, "The legend of the wandering Jew in Europe and Romania". Archived from the original on 3 February 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008. Studia Hebraica.
- ^ Kant, I. Der einzig mögliche Beweisgrund zu einer Demonstration des Daseins Gottes. 1763. AA 2:76
Sources
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Assuerus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Hill, Andrew E. (2009). "Daniel-Malachi". In Longman, Tremper; Garland, David E. (eds.). The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Vol. 8. ISBN 9780310590545.
External links
- McCullough, W. S. (1984). "Ahasureus". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 6. pp. 634–635.