MSB Intro notes to the book of Esther:
There are no references to this book in the NT.  (Nor to Song of Solomon, Obadiah, and Nahum.)  In Hebrew, her name is Hadassah, not Esther.
The author of this book is unknown.  Mordecai, Ezra, and Nehemiah have all been suggested.  All lived during the time of this book.  Whoever it was knew the palace of Ahasuerus at Shushan very well.  Only Ezra 7-10, Nehemiah, and Malachi report later OT history than this book.  Esther ends in 437 BC, before Ahasuerus died of assassination.  There is no certainty of when it was written, but MSB says the earliest it could be is just after the reign of Ahasuerus (he died in 465 BC), and the latest is before 331 BC, when Greece conquered Persia.

The name "Ahasuerus" is the Hebrew transliteration of the Persian name "Khshayarsha", and his name in Greek was Xerxes.  The annual celebration of the festival of Purim began toward the end of this book and commemorates the survival of the Jewish nation during this time. It is one of only two non-Mosaic festivals still celebrated in Israel, the other being Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights.

Esther has 167 verses.  God is not mentioned in any of them, so some would remove it from the canon of scripture over this.  The Septuagint (LXX) added an extra 107 apocryphal verses to "make up for that".  These are not in our Bible.  Esther is one of the "5 scrolls", or Megilloth.  These five books were read by the rabbis in the synagogue on 5 special occasions during the year.  Esther is read at Purim.
Haman, the protagonist in the book, was descended from Agag, King of the Amalekites, whom Samuel hacked to death when Saul didn't do as God had commanded him.  So the hostility between Haman and the Jews had it's roots in history.

Satan has tried many times to wipe out the Jews or to foreclose prophecy, and so prevent Jesus' death on the cross.  These Satanic strategies are listed in the notes to Esther.  5 are listed, and Haman makes six.  No doubt there are others, but this is a good place to start a study.
1.  David's descendants were reduced to Joash alone.  If he had died before having sons, David's line would have been extinguished.  2Ch 22:10-12.  
2. All the infants in and around Bethlehem were slaughtered by Herod, thinking Christ was among them.  Mat. 2:16
3. Satan tempted Christ to denounce God and worship him instead.  Mt 4:9
4. Peter, at Satan's insistence, tried to block Christ's journey to Calvary.  Mt. 16:22
5. Satan entered into Judas, who then betrayed Christ to the Jews and Romans. Lk 22:3-6.  Satan apparently did not foresee the resurrection, or that this betrayal fulfilled scripture.

Chapter 1
Definitely dated during the reign of Ahasuerus. Says he reigned from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces.  This is a huge area.  Pretty much the area that Alexander eventually conquers.  I always thought Alexander had the biggest territory ever up to that point, but it seems that all he really did was take over what Xerxes already had.   (See the two maps below.  Alexander conquered Persia, and nothing else.  I have been giving him far too much credit.)  Even tells us it is the third year of his reign.  
The book opens on the scene of a lavish 7 day feast following 180 days of showing off his riches, his pomp and his greatness to the civil and military officials in Ahasuerus' kingdom.  Special decorations and seating have been set up, the royal wine is unrestricted - IF one wants to participate, but it was not required.  An odd thing to mention.  The picture is of opulence and pomp.  Vashti the Queen holds a parallel feast for the women who are there.  On the last day of the feast, Ahasuerus orders the eunuchs to bring Vashti to him, so that he can show off her beauty.  The King is "merry with wine", but after so much showing off, this seems a reasonable request on his part.  But she refuses to come.  This upsets the king - greatly.




He shows some restraint though.  Instead of doing something reactive, he consults with the seven princes of Persia, those next in the kingdom after him.  Their names are given.  These are human princes.  

2023 - Even so...it is interesting that such a kingdom would have seven eunuchs reporting to the king and 7 princes advising the king.  Perhaps this is modeled after God's organization of the whole world, into seven different dominions, each overseen by a different archangel?

They knew the law of the Medes and Persians, but they also were there for consultation.  These interesting verses:
17 For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.' [Est 1:17 ESV]
The implication being that we cannot have wives looking contemptuously at their husbands.  They were likely taking into account that Vashti had chosen to publicly rebuff the King of the biggest kingdom on the planet.  After all, she was giving her own party, and there were women from all over the kingdom there.  She didn't just say no to a bedtime invitation.  She made a show of her refusal to usurp the power of the King.  This was worthy of death, I am sure.  But Ahasueras instead calmed himself down, and had a chat about it with his advisors.  He had been shamed and embarrassed, but still, he took his time.  This man has amazing self control for one with so much power.  I think I might like to know more about him.

And this verse, which contains the recommendation:
19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. [Est 1:19 ESV]  What a great response.  Don't put her to death and make her a martyr and hero to women everywhere for all time.  No, don't do that.  Let her live - alone - out of the public eye.  Turn her from Queen of all that was to nobody at all.  Take her position, her wealth, her power, and set her aside.  Proclaim to all the kingdom, including the women before whom she defied the king, that a better woman is to take her place, because such behavior is unworthy of a great Queen.

Ahasuerus didn't have her killed, and so make a martyr for women's rights out of her.  He responded to that which had led to her refusal to appear in the first place.  Her pride.  She could never again have an audience with the King.  Her access was denied.  Even the Eunuchs could see the king, but she could not. AND, she was also to lose the royal position she had as Queen.  Taken from her, and given to another.  The expected interpretation of this command was this:
20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike." [Est 1:20 ESV]
The point being made was bigger than Vashti.  It was a message to all the women in the kingdom.  Contempt will have consequences exactly opposite of what you hope to accomplish.

Chapter 2
After all this has blown over, the King remembers that a replacement is needed.  The "young men" suggest collecting beautiful young virgins to the kings harem, so that he can choose just one to replace Vashti.  The king thinks this a good idea.
So the gathering begins.  Esther, Mordecai's cousin, is one of the women taken to the harem.  Mordecai is a Benjamite, taken captive from Judah at the same time as Jeconiah.  Benjamite, where Gibeah is, where Saul was from.  Amazing that this place shows up time and again after being practically wiped out because of the evil done there in Judges.  Esther is an orphan, and Mordecai is raising her.  The eunuch in charge of the women brought in likes Esther, and promotes her to the top of the rankings.  Mordecai has told Esther, before she goes to the harem, that she should keep her lineage as a Jew a secret.  So it was not necessarily  her idea to suppress this information.  It was her cousin's idea, and she viewed him as a father.

So the procedure for the king to choose is a complex one.  First, a year of preparation with oil of myrrh and then spices and such.  I don't know if the women ate these or they were salves and lotions.  But they adhered to this for a full year, and surely their very skin took on a different texture and possibly they all even smelled the same.  Then, when their turn came, they went in to Ahasuerus, and they could take one thing with them.  Each woman would go in during the evening and return in the morning.  She would not go back to the place where the virgins were, but to the palace of the King's concubines.  There she would stay, presumably for the rest f her life, unless the king asked for her again by name.  So if you didn't want to languish in luxury forever, you needed to make an impression.  It also sounds like sex was involved.  They go at night, they return in the morning, and they are no longer in the virgin area, but the concubine area.  This would also mean that this king brought in the most beautiful women in his whole vast kingdom, and stopped them from having anyone's children but his.  What a waste.  MSB has no note about this.

When Esther's turn comes, she takes only what the head eunuch advises her - he has befriended her.  The King is taken with her, and makes her queen, gives a remission of some taxes, has a feast and so on.  So Esther is now Queen of Persia.
Mordecai learns of a plot against the king, tells Esther, and she passes it on to the King.  It turns out the plot was real, and the two conspirators are hanged.  The king knows this information came from Mordecai, per vs 22.

Chapter 3
Haman rises to power.  No details given.  In this position, the King's orders required that all bow down to Haman.  Mordecai would not, because he was a Jew.  Haman not only gets angry with Mordecai, but this:
6 But he disdained to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. [Est 3:6 ESV]
He wants to wipe them all out.  Satan is behind something like this.  This is a huge over-reaction, even though it is also a public rebuff - just as Vashti's was to Ahasuerus.  The King handled the rebuff wisely, after seeking counsel.  Haman though, reacts with arrogance and seeks to purposely and intentionally reply to a slap with a nuclear bomb.  Very possibly, Haman's heritage played a part in this also.  After all, Samuel, the Jewish judge, had hacked his ancestor Agag into lots of pieces a long time before.

We are now 10 years past the opening of the book, in the 12th year of the reign of Ahasuerus.  Every day, Haman consults some "dice" thrown as oracles, to determine when he should approach the king and try to implement his plan to kill all the Jews.  He waits for the "bones" to prompt him.  Who was behind the timing of the answer?  What was going on between Michael and the "Prince of Persia" during this time?  At any rate, Haman finally gets the right portent and goes to the King.

He tells the King that "a certain people" are not following the Kings laws, and Haman offers to put up a fortune of his own money to have them exterminated.  He is very hateful, and plans to get the money from those he kills.  The King agrees, without even knowing who these people are, but tells Haman he doesn't need to pay, the King will pay.  Given the money Haman expected to loot from the Jews, this sentence makes him an extremely wealthy man when the Jews are killed.  This verse:
10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. [Est 3:10 ESV]  This signet carried the full authority of the King.  This is also seen in the last verse of Haggai:  23 On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts." [Hag 2:23 ESV]

Letters are sent out, to all 127 provinces, for the satraps to prepare a genocide, to take place in a single day all over the Kingdom of Persia.  It was on the 13th day of the 12th month - Adar.  All Jews, men, women, and children, were to be killed on that day, and their goods were to be plundered.  There is no attempt to keep the plan secret from the Jews.  Once the letters go out, Haman and the King sit down for drinks.  But the city of Susa is in confusion.

Chapter 4
When the Jews learn of this plan, many put on sackcloth and ashes, and they lament, and they fast.    Esther gathers information from Mordecai.  vs 7 of this chapter still makes it look as if Haman is footing the bill for the slaughter.  Mordecai sends back word to Esther urging her to go in to the king and stop this.  She sends back that she has not been summoned, and to go to the king un-summoned is to risk death.  She doesn't want to take this risk, and sends word to Mordecai.  He answers like this:
13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" [Est 4:13-14 ESV]
First, to be silent only delays her death, since she will be found out.  Second, Mordecai firmly believes that the Jews will be saved from elsewhere, if not from the action that Esther takes.  And third, perhaps this is the explanation for her rise from "no one" to Queen of Persia.  Perhaps this is all God in the first place.

Esther agrees to go in, but ONLY if all the Jews will fast and pray for three days first, and she and her girls will do the same.  No food, no water, for three full days.  Mordecai gets the word out.

Chapter 5
Verse 1 is very specific as to how the inside of the palace of Ahasuerus is laid out.  I wouldn't think just anyone would have this information.  Whoever wrote Esther seems to have been inside here enough to understand where every door led.

She enters, and is given leave to speak to the king, who offers her anything she wants, to the half of the Kingdom.  She invites the King and Haman to a feast she is preparing.  Seems there is to be a counter-plot to the plans of Haman.  Maybe this is what came of the three days of fasting and prayer?

They come to her feast, and the King asks again what she wants.  She asks him to come to another feast, the next day, at which time she will answer him.

As he is leaving, Haman sees Mordecai - a regular at the palace perhaps - and Mordecai does not bow or honor Haman.  Haman sees red...but controls himself.  He hatches another little plot at his house that night.  He tells those there that despite his high position and all the honors bestowed on him by the king, he will not be truly happy as long as Mordecai is around.  This arrogant, self-pitying verse:
13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate." [Est 5:13 ESV]  He is obsessed completely with avenging the affront of Mordecai.  It is also true that Mordecai is disobeying the King by not bowing to Haman.  Did the order say to bow to Haman as a god of the land?  Because otherwise, I cannot think of a verse that says don't bow down to man.  There are some angels that say "stand up, for only God is to be worshiped".  But was bowing to a great man worship, or respect?  This is an interesting thing.  Maybe Mordecai had a little bit of a pride problem also.

So they suggest he build a very tall gallows, and the next day, ask the king to have Mordecai hanged on it.  This seems a grand idea to Haman, and he orders the gallows built.

Chapter 6
The King has trouble sleeping that night, and asks for the book of memorable deeds.  The book is then read to him - presumably it is a very large book, and someone just picked a spot to start reading...
As it happened, what was read was the story of how Mordecai had made known to the king the plot to lay hands on him by the two eunuchs.  The King wants to know how Mordecai was rewarded for this.  Upon learning that nothing has been done, he wants something done immediately, and asks who is present to help with this.  Haman has just entered, encouraged by friends and his wife to ask the king's approval to hang this same Mordecai.  Things could not go this wrong by chance.  This is not "Murphy's Law", this is God protecting His people in a way that cannot be mistaken for "bad luck".  

The king asks Haman how to honor someone the king wants to honor.  Haman believes he is the "secret subject" of this conversation, and recommends the things that he himself would like to have done.  Once he finishes speaking, the King says "Do all this for Mordecai".  Now this Haman must have had a great poker face, or his shock at this development would surely have betrayed him to the king.  Haman himself has to proclaim the honor of Mordecai.

Haman goes home mourning.  His wife Zeresh and his wise men now predict that Haman's position will "fall before Mordecai".  

Chapter 7
The King and Haman go to Esther's feast.  It is apparently a pretty big deal, as we next look at events on the second day of the little get together.  The King asks again what it is that Esther wants.  She asks for her life, and the life of her people.  So she identifies herself as a Jew.  She tells the King her life is threatened.  And not only her life, but the entire people she belongs to.  This has to be a shock to the King.  And Haman is sitting right there, as shocked as the King if not more so!

The King asks who is responsible for this?  Who dared to do this. And Esther points at Haman.  He has no place to hide.  Haman is terrified before the king and queen.

The King is so furious - the flames fanned by the wine he's been drinking - that he leaves the room.  Haman thinks to beg for his life from Esther, but messes it up, and falls onto her couch just as the king returns.  The king sees it as an assault on his Queen.  What should the king do?  A eunuch volunteers that Haman has built this gallows to hang the now honored Mordecai.  Haman is to be hanged on the gallows that he himself built.  As are all who reject the goodness of God.  Maybe a FB post here...When you turn your attention from doing your job and instead focus on tearing down others, things can turn against you in a heartbeat.

Chapter 8
The King gives Esther Haman's house!  Mordecai is summoned also after Esther tells the King he is her cousin.  
Esther approaches the King again and a second time he holds out the golden scepter.  This time she asks that the genocide decreed for her people be stopped.  The king gives this answer:
8 But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king's ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's ring cannot be revoked." [Est 8:8 ESV]
But previously, there is this verse about Haman's implementation of his plan:
12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. [Est 3:12 ESV]
So....Apparently such things can be revoked, so long as you have that ring...
MSB says the original order could not be revoked, but that the rules of Persia did allow for a "counter-order".  So...it really isn't "carved in granite" at all...

The counter order allowed the Jews to defend themselves, against any and all comers, and to plunder the goods of such people.  They could do this on the 13th day of the 12th month.  This is the same day the previous edict had said all the Jews were to be killed.  There is joy and happiness all over the kingdom at this turn of events - at this national salvation.  Many non-Jews claim to be Jews because they are afraid they will end up on the wrong side of what is now coming.  Seems that anyone who still attacks the Jews on this day must know about Haman's fate, and must know that the King is a friend of the Jews.  Surely they would hold back.  And the edict to the Jews only says they can defend themselves.  And only on that one day...

Chapter 9
This chapter says that they did indeed attack the Jews. What a mess.  Non-Jews, in order to obey the law, had to attack the Jews, even knowing that the Jews were also granted leave to defend themselves with extreme prejudice.  One side ordered to attack.  The other side allowed to defend with no repercussions for their actions.  What a horrible day of violence and unrest and death and destruction.  And the center of all of it is the plunder!  Whoever wins gets to steal all the losers have.  Very base motivations on both sides it seems to me.  Yet this is God preserving the remnant.

In the capitol city, they kill all ten of Haman's surviving sons.  They wipe him out.  But in this case, they don't plunder.  Upon learning that 500 men have been killed in the capitol, the King goes to Esther and asks how many were killed elsewhere, and what else she wishes.  He tells her again that she can have what she asks for.  She wants one more day to kill people without reprisal in Susa.  And she wants Haman's sons hanged.  But it says they were already dead.  She wanted dead men hanged.  No plunder was taken on the second day, however.  

2023 - In fact, in vs 16, it says the Jews did a lot of killing, but that they took no plunder, either in Susa or in the provinces.  For me at least, this is a lot to swallow.  I do not believe the Bible has an error...but if it did, this would by my prime suspect.

In all the provinces, 75,000 enemies of the Jews were killed.  That seems a lot.  But then, what should the penalty be for attempted genocide, and for anyone who would still attempt it under these circumstances?  And surely there were Jews killed also as they defended themselves.  Just a barbaric couple of days in ancient Persia.

Mordecai declares the 14th and 15th of Adar holidays for the Jews, to be celebrated with feasting and gifts.  

Chapter 10
This says Mordecai's honor and advancement by the King of Media and Persia is recorded in the Chronicles.  Mordecai was second only to the King.  He was a good man, seeking the welfare of his people, and he spoke peace to all of them.  
So from the time of Ahasuerus until the return from exile, the Jews were in pretty good shape, having an advocate with the Kings ear.