RT Article
T1 The Exile of Kish: Syntax and History in Esther 2.5–6
JF Journal for the study of the Old Testament
VO 37
IS 1
SP 45
OP 56
A1 Koller, Aaron J. 1978-
LA English
YR 2012
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1777015146
AB Recent studies have relied on Esther 2.5–6 to establish the story as fiction or as farce, a way of reading the text that was also the case in ancient and medieval interpretations. This article proposes that that reading strategy ignores the syntactic ambiguity in these verses, an ambiguity that allows for an alternate reading in line with both Hebrew grammar and historical plausibility. As a result, it is argued that a reading which was acceptable to the pre-modern interpreters, without access to historical data regarding the Persian Empire, ought to be rejected today in light of current knowledge.
K1 Mordecai
K1 relative clauses
K1 Hebrew syntax
K1 Persian Period
K1 Esther
DO 10.1177/0309089212457514