The Book of Esther centers around the descendants of the Israelites who remained in Persia after the 70-year captivity and the Hebrew maiden Hadassah, who was given the Persian name Esther. The events in this book probably took place in the time period between chapters six and seven of the Book of Ezra, occurring about 40 years after the Temple had been rebuilt (Ezra 3:10; 5:14-15), but about 30 years before the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt (Nehemiah 6:15). It is quite possible that Esther, who was by then the queen mother, was used of God to prepare the way for her fellow Israelite Nehemiah to become the cupbearer to her Persian stepson King Artaxerxes I. This trusted position and relationship with the king was probably the basis for Nehemiah to receive the king's support for rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem.

Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name and Xerxes the Greek name, of Khshayarsha, king of Persia. He ruled from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces (Esther 1:1). It is assumed that, at the banquet which opens the Book of Esther, he was planning a battle against Greece which eventually led to his defeat. Ahasuerus reigned in Shushan (Susa) which was located in modern Iran near the eastern border of Iraq. The rule of his son Artaxerxes I is recorded in Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiah 1-13.

The Book of Esther, as well as the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah, confirm that our Creator can accomplish His perfect will through a helpless minority of faithful servants, even when they are ruled by evil men (Jeremiah 32:27).

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