The main characters in the story are depicted with only a few words. Extremes, contrasts and changes are drawn in a striking way. The author made use of a variety of literary techniques. Striking is the use of doublets, such as the two banquets given by Esther (Esther 5:4–6; Esther 7:1–2), two mentions of the gathering of girls (Esther 2:2, Esther 2:19), the frequent use of doublets or word pairs" such as: Ahasuerus-Vasthi, Esther-Mordecai, Haman-Zeresh, Persia-Media. The same thing is repeated several times, often by stringing together synonyms such as: destroyed-annihilated-killed (Esther 3:13; Esther 7:4), fasting-weeping-lamenting (Esther 4:3), light-gladness-joy-honour (Esther 8:16), officials-servants and nobles-governors (Esther 1:3), seven eunuchs and seven princes (Esther 1:10, Esther 1:14). Emphasis is placed by using parallels and/or contrasts great and small (Esther 1:5), banquet-mourning/fasting, or by repeating key words (for example, falling
(Esther 3:7; Esther 6:13; Esther 7:8).
In this whole of literary devices, unexpected reversals in the course of events (peripety 1 or twists) and feasts play a central role in Esther:
• Sudden reversals
The literary phenomenon of an unexpected, decisive reversal in the action is a recurring element in the story: mourning turns to joy; the threat to the Jews leads to their victory; both Haman and Mordecai switch status, because the person who became such a threat (Haman) meets with humiliation and death while the person threatened (Mordecai) finds exaltation and life; a humble orphan girl in exile is elevated to be an influential queen at the Persian court. Throughout the story we see how the course of events changes and ends in opposite outcomes.
The successive changes with contrast:
a) the Persian feasts of chapters 1 and 2 form a contrast with the Purim feast in chapters 9 and 10;
b) the banquet that culminates in Vashti's rejection in chapter 3 is in contrast with the banquet in honour of Esther's crowning as queen in chapter 4;
c) Haman and Ahasuerus celebrate the first decree in chapter 5 but the Jews celebrate the second decree in chapter 8.
The climax of this theme of reversal
is expressed by the words but the reverse occurred
in Esther 9:1. 2
• Banquets
A dominant motif in Esther is the banquet, a festive meal or a drinking party. The concept of banquet (mišteh, derived from the verb šth to drink) means: eating and drinking on special occasions. This word occurs 20 times in Esther, and 26 times in the rest of the OT.3 This word occupies a central position in the structure of the story. The plot of the story—the course of the action from the beginning to the end—proceeds along fixed points, marked by a banquet. The book opens with feasts, decisive moments occur during a feast/banquet and the story culminates in the feast of Purim. The following diagram shows the structural key position of this motif:
- Ahasuerus' banquet for his officials and nobles, Esther 1:2–4
- Ahasuerus' banquet for great and small at Susa, Esther 1:5–8
- Vashti's feast for the women, Esther 1:9
- Esther's coronation feast, Esther 2:18
- The drinks of Haman and Ahasuerus, Esther 3:15
- Esther's first banquet, Esther 5:4–8
- Esther's second banquet, Esther 7:1–9
- The Jews celebrate Mordecai's exaltation and the counter-decree, Esther 8:17
- The first feast of Purim: 14 Adar, Esther 9:17–19
- The second feast of Purim: 15 Adar, Esther 9:184
1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,