Chapter Fifteen/She Stood Up for God's People -Esther's Background

 Esther was an orphan. We know very little of the parents who named her Hadassah, a Hebrew word for "myrtle" a lovely, white-blossomed shrub. When Esther's parents died, one of her relatives, a kindly man named Mordecai took pity on the child. He was her cousin, but Mordecai was much older. He brought Esther into his home and treated her as his own daughter. - ESTHER 2:5-7, 15.

Mordecai and Esther lived as Jewish exiles in that Persian capital, where the probably had to deal with a measure of disdain because of their religion and the Law they tried to follow. But Esther surely drew closer to her cousin as he taught her about Jehovah, the merciful God who had rescued his people from trouble many times in the past-and would do so again. (Leviticus 26:44, 45) Clearly, a loving loyal bond grew between Esther and Mordecai.

Mordecai evidently worked as some kind of official at the castle at Shushan, regularly sitting within it gate, along with other servants of the king. (Esther 2:19, 21;3:3) How the young Esther passed her time as she grew up, we can only guess, although it seems safe to say that she took good care of her older cousin and his home, which was likely situated in the humbler quarters across the river from the royal castle. Perhaps she enjoyed going to the market in Shushan where goldsmiths, silversmiths, and other merchants displayed their wares. Esther could not have imagined that such luxuries would later become commonplace to her; she had no idea of the future in store for her.

Next time: Chapter Fifteen/She Stood Up for God's People - "Beautiful in Appearance" 

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