Wednesday Bible Study: The plot thickens

There ' s nothing particularly noteworthy about Ch. 4. It advances the plot and builds suspense. Keep in mind that this story, like the Book of Ruth, is of a different character than the rest of what we have read so far. It ' s a consciously crafted work of literary fiction. I ' m not saying it would get published in The New Yorker, but it does show the rudiments of the art, particularly with plotting. Donning sackcloth -- which was apparently made out of goat or camel hair -- is a common way of showing humility before God in the Biblical world. So although God is not mentioned in Esther I suppose this at least suggests that the people have him in mind. The only other point I ' ll make here is that Esther has an unusual " marriage, " in that she hasn ' t seen her husband for 30 days and will be killed if she approaches him without permission. But that ' s an emperor for you.4 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.2 But he went only as far as the king ’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it.3 In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.4 When Esther ’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put o...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs