Notas del episodio
Name: Hadassah and then Esther
Meaning of name: Hadassah means “myrtle” and Esther means “star.”
Ancestry and family life: Esther was an orphan from the tribe of Benjamin. Her father and mother were not alive. So Mordecai, her cousin, became her guardian. This was 50-60 years after many of the Jews had returned to Judah under Zerubabbel in 538 BC. But it was before the second return under Ezra in 457 B.C.
Mordecai’s great-grandfather was one of the original Jews who were deported to Babylon four generations before. After Babylon fell to the Persians these Jews moved to various parts of the kingdom. Going farther back, Mordecai was descended from the family of Kish, a family name that can be traced all the way back to Saul’s father. It is unknown if Mordecai had a family of his own, but he did adopt Esther, his cousin, as his own daughter when her parents died and left her an orphan.
Thus Esther’s family was living as part of the Jewish diaspora. They had made new homes and new lives away from Judah. Notably, her family had chosen not to return when others did. It could indicate some level of success or contentment for her family in Persia.