The Book of Esther tells how a young Jewish woman named Esther became the queen of Persia. As queen, she worked to save all the Jews in the Persian Empire from being destroyed.
This book ends by telling why the Jews celebrate the festival of Purim. The name "Purim" comes from the word "pur." It means "lots" or "dice." Haman, the enemy of Jews, threw dice to choose when to attack and destroy the Jews. The Jews celebrate Purim to remember how Yahweh rescued his people from being destroyed.
Translators can use the traditional title of this book, which is "The Book of Esther" or just "Esther." Or they can choose a clearer title, such as "The Book About Esther."
King Cyrus the Great conquered and ruled over many kingdoms. This was in the part of the world called Persia, which is now Iran. So people named his kingdom the Persian Empire. When Cyrus conquered Babylonia in 539 B.C., he then controlled the Jews whom the Babylonians had exiled.
In 586 B.C., the Babylonians conquered and took into exile the people of Judah. These Jews and their descendants were still in Babylon when the Persians conquered it.
The phrase "the laws of the Medes and Persians" is found in Esther 1:19 and Daniel 6:12. It referred to laws and decrees that could not be changed or removed once they were issued. In the book of Esther, the king made a decree that the people could attack the Jews. Later he regretted that decision but he was not able to change the decree.
In the Book of Esther, people talk to each other in many different situations. There is the polite and stately talk in the Persian court and the words of royal decrees. Friends and close relatives also talk to each other. There are even the words that one uses in speaking to oneself. Translators should use all the ways their own language has to express these different situations in a way that their readers will identify and understand.
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