NOTES for Est 2:1-11
A key moment in the narrative at the beginning of the second chapter of Esther is Mordecai’s statement that Esther should not mention her Jewish origin. The Persians of that era were not afflicted by antisemitism, so that is not the point. But Esther’s faith as a Jewish woman was not supposed to be conspicuous. Later, we will encounter similar behavior at the beginning of the Christian era. Pagans are usually indifferent to the faith of others, unless those people exhibit something too sharply different from pagan views. Moreover, it is important to the meaning of the book that Esther is distinguished above all not by a confession of faith, about which those around her may know nothing, but by her moral character.