The structure and form of the book of Esther

The whole of the book consists of three main parts with successive parts of action: an extensive introductory part, followed by a large main part, and a compact concluding portion with an epilogue.

The following division is followed in this commentary:

Part 1: Introduction — The Jews in Persia are threatened (Esther 1:1–5:14)

                1.1 The Persian court: splendour, magnificence, excess, and folly (Esther 1:1–22)

                1.2 Esther Becomes Queen and Mordecai Discovers a Conspiracy (Esther 2:1–23)

                1.3 Haman’s plans to annihilate the Jews (Esther 3:1–15)

                1.4 Mordecai’s appeal to Esther (Esther 4:1–17)

                1.5 Esther’s action (Esther 5:1–14)

 Part 2:  A twist of fortune (Esther 6:1–9:19)

                2.1 The beginning of the reversal (Esther 6:1–14)

                2.2 Haman killed (Esther 7:1–10)

                2.3 The counter-edict (Esther 8:1–17)

                2.4 The Jews’ victory over their enemies (Esther 9:1–19)

Part 3:  Institution of the festival of Purim (Esther 9:20–32)

Part 4: Epilogue — Mordecai's high position (Esther 10:1–3)

The Book of Esther is structured on the basis of major reversals in the story, as can be seen from the following diagram:¹

A  The greatness of Ahasuerus, Esther 1:1–8

  B  Two banquets of the Persians, Esther 1:1–8

    C  Esther identification as a gentile, Esther 2:10–20

      D  The exaltation of Haman, Esther 3:1

        E  The edict against the Jews, Esther 3:12–15

          F  Decisions based on the discussion between Mordecai and Esther, Esther 4:1–17

            G  The first banquet of the trio: Ahasuerus, Haman, and Esther, Esther 5:6–8

             H  The royal procession, Esther 6:1–14

           G' The second banquet of the trio, Esther 7:1–6

         F' Decisive talks between Ahasuerus and Esther, Esther 7:1–6

       E'  The Pro-Jewish edict, Esther 8:9–14

     D'  The exaltation of Mordecai, Esther 8:15

    C'  Gentiles identified as Jews, Esther 8:17

  B'  Two banquets of the Jews, Esther 9:20–32

A' The greatness of Ahasuerus and Mordecai, Esther 10:1–3.

This scheme shows a chiastic structure, in which the first series of events are predominantly negative, in contrast to the second series of events, which can be interpreted positively. This also shows that the event mentioned at H occupies a pivotal function in the whole of Haman's humiliation and the start of his fall. Even though the above schematic is somewhat artificial, because parts have been omitted, it does reveal the overall tendency of the book. ² The basic structure of the book is formed by the decisive reversals, determined by the theme the reverse occurred in Esther 9:1.³