Esther

Esther (; Hebrew: אֶסְתֵּר‎, translit. ’Estēr), born Hadassah (Hebrew: הֲדַסָּה‬, Modern Hadasa, Tiberian Haḏasā), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. According to the Hebrew Bible, Esther was a Jewish queen of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus is traditionally identified with Xerxes I during the time of the Achaemenid Empire, although Josephus wrote that Esther's king husband was Xerxes' son Artaxerxes.Her story is the basis for the celebration of Purim in Jewish tradition. 2Etymology It has been conjectured that the name Esther is derived from a reconstructed Median word astra meaning myrtle. This would match her Hebrew name as recorded in the Bible, Hadassah, also meaning "myrtle". The Targum connects the name with the Persian word for "star", setareh (In Persian: ستاره), explaining that Esther was so named for being as beautiful as the Morning Star. In the Talmud (Tractate Yoma 29a), Esther is compared to the "morning star", and is considered the subject of Psalm 22, because its introduction is a "song for the morning star". An alternative view is that Esther is derived from the theonym Ishtar. The Book of Daniel provides accounts of Jews in exile being assigned names relating to Babylonian gods and "Mordecai" is understood to mean servant of Marduk, a Babylonian go