If you’re familiar with the Bible, then the title of my novel— IF I PERISH; A Queen’s Sacrifice–is a dead giveaway. It’s a retelling of the story of Queen Esther.
I love history, especially ancient history. I love researching historical, cultural, and biblical scholars. I spent two years researching and writing this novel and, in the research, learned things I had never heard in my 60 years of following Jesus Christ.
One thing I learned was that what Esther faced in saving her people from Haman’s evil plan to annihilate the Jews, would one day be considered a blessing.
In the first Persian Empire, the most important woman was not the King’s queen; it was the King’s mother. The Queen Mother—known as the Malekeh Jahann or “Mother of the World”—wielded great power. Unlike the King’s queen and other women in the harem, the Malekeh Jahann was free to go wherever she wished. She owned her own estate, staffed with more than 100 servants. She was one of her eldest son’s most trusted advisors, and whenever he was away at war, she stood as regent for him. She even had the authority to intervene in cases of treason.
During this Empire, the eldest son did not automatically become his father’s heir; the King chose whomever he wished to follow him on the Throne. Even though Esther bore Xerxes a son—Darius II—Xerxes named Artaxerxes, his son from Vashti, as the heir.
Although Artaxerxes is not mentioned in the book of Esther, he is mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah. According to scholars, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther lived in the Persian Empire at the same time, with Nehemiah and Esther living in the Persian capital of Susa at the same time. They most likely knew each other.
Nehemiah 1:11–2:11 states that he was Cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes. According to scholars, the Cup-bearer was not some lowly dispensable servant. The Cup-bearer was a close advisor to the King, a man the King trusted to the point that he would take any cup of wine or plate of food from him without question.
How did a Jewish man gain this position of importance in the court of the Persian king?
Scholars believe it was through Esther. After she became Queen, Esther would have been involved with raising Artaxerxes and Darius. After Haman was executed, Esther introduced Mordecai to Xerxes, the King gave his signet ring to Esther’s cousin (Esther 8:2) which scholars suggest meant the Jewish man became Xerxes’ Cup-bearer. At that point, she would have also taught Artaxerxes and Darius about the Jews.
The story of Esther does not end with the celebration of Purim. After Artaxerxes ascended the Throne of Persia, Esther became the Malekeh Jahann.
The second chapter of Nehemiah takes place in the Throne Room. King Artaxerxes notes his Cup-bearer’s sad face and asks the reason. Nehemiah explains he is sad because Jerusalem lies in ruins. The conversation continues with the King asking what Nehemiah wants. After praying, Nehemiah asks permission to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the city.
The opening of the next verse is significant, “Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked…”
That queen was not Artaxerxes’ wife; it was Esther. Beyond being responsible for saving the Jewish people from Haman’s hand, as Malekeh Jahann to King Artaxerxes, scholars believe Esther had introduced her stepson to other Jewish, including Nehemiah.
King Artaxerxes not only gave Nehemiah permission to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, but also provided timber and other supplies as well as army officers and a calvary unit to accompany him.
Through the challenges Esther faced, Nehemiah would became Cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, who approved the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the building of the Second Temple. Four hundred years later, Jesus would ride a donkey into the Holy City to the cries of, “Hosanna! Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!”
What is the lesson from Esther for us? That what we do in this life will remain after we are gone. To paraphrase Mordecai, “We are all born for such a time as this.”
Hadassah was born into a loving, wealthy Jewish family in the Persian Empire’s capital city of Susa. But before she even comes of age, her world is swept away by events over which she has no control. Her parents murdered, she is left with only one living relative, her much older cousin, Mordecai, who shelters her as his own daughter. Just when life regains a semblance of normality, on the eve of her betrothal, she is taken against her will into the King’s harem, where she assumes a new name and is admonished to never speak of her family or heritage.
Over the course of a year, she has become an orphan and an outcast. Yet even here she is destined to serve the purposes of God. As Mordecai prophesied, she was born for such a time as this.
IF I PERISH is available through all major online retailers. Autographed copies are available through my webstore: https://paulakparker.com/autographed-copies/
Paula K. Parker is an internationally acclaimed writer and Pulitzer Prize nominee living near Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband Mike, who is also a writer. Paula writes books, articles, plays, reviews, curriculum, and inspirational devotionals.
Her biblical novel, IF I PERISH; A Queen’s Sacrifice reached multiple best-selling charts and was nominated for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Her biblical novel, THE CARPENTER AND HIS BRIDE; The Birth of Hope, also reached multiple best-selling charts and won the Bronze Level in the Inspirations Christian Book Awards. Her biblical Sisters of Lazarus trilogy, BEAUTY UNVEILED, GLORY REVEALED, and GRACE EXTENDED reached multiple best-selling charts.
Her stage adaptations of Jane Austen’s PRIDE & PREJUDICE, SENSE & SENSIBILITY and EMMA have been produced in theaters across the U.S. as well as internationally.
When not writing, she spends her days hanging with her hubby, visiting with their five grown children, three sons-in-law, and eight grandbabies, restoring their vintage home, working in their garden, learning Italian, and playing the harp.
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