The book of Esther is the last of the five megillot festive scrolls
that form part of the Ketubim, the third part of the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The order of the five megillot festival scrolls is: Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther. This order came into Judaism relatively late. In the Torah scrolls used in the synagogue, Esther follows after the Torah, which is a liturgically practical order.
Regarding the canonicity of Esther, various often contradictory and sometimes even extreme views have circulated over time.
In early Judaism, the canonical status of Esther was not immediately accepted universally, according to data from the Babylonian Talmud (dating back to around the third century AD). 1 However, Esther already appears in the oldest canon list (Baraita, Baba Bathra 146-15b). In that list, the order is: Lamentations, Daniel, Esther, Ezra-Nehemiah. This gives the structure: the destruction of Jerusalem – a stay in exile (including after the possibility of return) – the return to Jerusalem.2. In the Septuagint, Esther –as a recognized book– was given a place as the last of the historical books. Flavius Josephus also assumed the canonicity of Esther and regarded it as belonging to the Holy Scriptures. 3
It is striking that manuscript material has been found among the Qumran texts for all the Old Testament books, with the exception of the book of Esther. This may be a coincidence or it may have to do with some aversion to the content of the book. 4
Esther most likely became very popular in Judaism because of its appealing content. The medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides even stated, when the rest of the Scriptures had disappeared, the Torah and Esther would still remain.
Esther is still considered a particularly popular book in Judaism. After all, it deals with the deliverance of the Jewish people!
When the early church adopted the Jewish canon, it also considered the book of Esther as canonical. However, the early church did not always accept this canonical status of Esther. Esther is missing from some canon lists, such as those of Melito of Sardis, Gregory of Nazianzus and Theodore of Mopsuestia. Some lists, such as those of Origen and Epiphanius of Constantia, position Esther at the last place in the canon. However, at approximately the end of the fourth century, Esther did have a definitive place in the canon of the early church, as evidenced by the fact that the book was accepted by the councils of Hippo and Carthage. Nonetheless, voices against the canonical status of Esther continued to be heard. Centuries later, Luther expressed his opposition to its inclusion. 5 However, studying the contents of Esther makes it clear that this book was not included in the canon without good reason. The content of the book makes clear: God is at work for his people!6
1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,