“... She behaves like a queen, by setting an example and commanding the obedience of her people in a common cause under her leadership. And she faces up to her own power and what only she can do: attract the attention of the roving scepter. Esther turns a terrifying situation into an opportunity to take her place in salvation history. In an echo of Exodus 7:1–2, where Moses goes before Pharaoh, Esther is to go before the king and plead for the deliverance of her people. In an echo of Genesis 43:14, where Jacob says to his sons as they take Benjamin (Mordecai and Esther’s ancestor) to Egypt, “As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved,” Esther announces, I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish. ...”