This is impressive evidence that the book of Ether was carefully crafted by Moroni, based on a well-organized underlying Jaredite narrative. (Ether 8:7–19) 6. "The archaeological background of Esther: archaeological backgrounds of the exilic and postexilic era, pt 2". Jewish tradition relates that Esther was the mother of a King Darius and so some try to identify Ahasuerus with Artaxerxes I and Esther with Kosmartydene. 0000006449 00000 n The seams between the insertions of Moroni's comments into the final text of this book are clearly discernible, with the underlying text resuming flawlessly after each interruption. The Lord told the brother of Jared to build unpowered submarines, termed "barges" or "vessels", to cross the ocean to the promised land. [8], On his accession, however, Artaxerxes II lost Egypt to pharaoh Amyrtaeus, after which it was no longer part of the Persian empire. 0000055198 00000 n Yamauchi wrote, "[Herodotus] was, however, the victim of unreliable informants and was not infallible. Explanation: What we now know as the book of Ether originated from early Jaredite records and Ether's writings, which Ether combined to produce his twenty-four gold plates near the end of the Jaredite civilization. Much of this debate relates to the importance of distinguishing history and fiction within biblical texts, as Berlin argues, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the history of the Israelite people. "Esther: A Feminine Model for Jewish Diaspora" in Newsom, This page was last edited on 18 September 2020, at 20:19. Section 2: The Structure of the Book of Mormon, 2020 Come, Follow Me Lessons (Book of Mormon), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The book's theme, rather, is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events: the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. Timeline Chronology for the Jaredite culture from the Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon. Additionally, the Greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. 43 And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. 20 Liahona. [33] The genre of novellas under which Esther falls was common during both the Persian and Hellenistic periods to which scholars have dated the book of Esther.[27][32]. I first read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover as a young early-morning seminary student. The Book of Ether is one of the books of the Book of Mormon. 40 And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and ahad compassion upon him, and said unto him: 41 Go to and gather together thy aflocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the bseed of the earth of every kind; and cthy dfamilies; and also Jared thy brother and his family; and also thy efriends and their families, and the friends of Jared and their families. 0000001513 00000 n 0000000016 00000 n (3:13–15). And who knoweth but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is bchoice above all the earth? [30] However, according to Coogan, considerable historical inaccuracies remain throughout the text, supporting the view that the book of Esther is to be read as a historical novella which tells a story describing historical events but is not necessarily historical fact. 0000015436 00000 n It is unclear to which version of Greek Esther this colophon refers, and who exactly are the figures mentioned in it. Overcome by rage, Ahasuerus leaves the room; meanwhile Haman stays behind and begs Esther for his life, falling upon her in desperation (7:7). By the time the Greek version of Esther was written, the foreign power visible on the horizon as a future threat to Judah was the Macedonians of Alexander the Great, who defeated the Persian empire about 150 years after the time of the story of Esther; the Septuagint version noticeably calls Haman a "Bougaion" (βουγαῖον)[incomprehensible] where the Hebrew text describes him as an Agagite. "[34] The reason for questioning the historical accuracy of such ancient writers as Herodotus is that he is one of the primary sources of knowledge for this time period, and it has been frequently assumed that his account may be more accurate than Esther's account. The canonicity of these Greek additions has been a subject of scholarly disagreement practically since their first appearance in the Septuagint – Martin Luther, being perhaps the most vocal Reformation-era critic of the work, considered even the original Hebrew version to be of very doubtful value. Gen. 11:4 (1–9); Omni 1:22; Mosiah 28:17; Hel. [6] The author also displays an accurate knowledge of Persian customs and palaces. TIME LINE. The only real markers we have to build a working chronology from are firstly, the date of the “dearth” and megafauna extinction given in the narrative of Heth Ether 9:25. '' when the waves crashed over the vessel to prevent scuttling Moroni, based on a well-organized Jaredite... 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