Esther

A Jewish orphan who became the queen of Persia. Her name originally was Hadassah, but it was changed to Esther, a Persian name. Her story is told in the Old Testament book of Esther. After Vashti was rejected as the queen, a contest was held to find a new queen for Xerxes, the king of Persia. Esther was chosen from a large group of beautiful women.

Esther had been brought up by her cousin Mordecai, who told her not to tell anyone that she was Jewish. Mordecai kept in touch with Esther after she became queen. One day Mordecai heard of a plot against the king’s life. He told Esther, and she told the king, so she saved his life. A worse plot came later, when Haman convinced Xerxes to sign a decree that all the Jews were to be killed. The king signed, not knowing that Esther was Jewish. Esther risked her life to go before the king and explain Haman’s plan. He could not change the law he had made, but he gave permission for the Jews to protect themselves. Jewish people today still celebrate the Feast of Purim to remember how God saved the people because of the actions of this brave queen.