Texts in Conversation
In the Hebrew version of Esther, Mordecai tells Esther to plead with the king for her people. The Greek Septuagint translation changes this so he tells her to call upon God, adding a direct reference to God not found in the original.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Esther 4:8
Hebrew Bible
7 Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed. 8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people. 9 So Hathach returned and related Mordecai’s instructions to Esther.
LXX Esther 4:8
Septuagint
8 He also gave him the copy of the letter that had been published in Susa concerning their destruction to show to Esther, and he told him to command her to go in and entreat the king, “Beg him for our people. Remember your days of low estate, how you were sustained by my hand, because Haman, who is second to the king, has spoken against us for death. Call upon the Lord and speak to the king for us, to deliver us from death.” 9 So Hachratheus went in and told her all these words. 10 Then Esther said to Hachratheus, “Go to Mordecai and say,
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Notes and References
… A characteristic emphasis of the pluses in the Septuagint is Jewish piety. The translator stresses that Esther continued to adhere to her religious practices when she entered the palace (2.20). Mordecai bids Esther to turn to God in prayer as well as to ask the king for help (4.8). Such acts of piety and prayer, it is implied, are pivotal in delivering the people from crisis (Fox, Character, p. 271). This theme, absent in the Masoretic Text, is greatly developed in Addition C. …
Boyd-Taylor, Cameron
"Esther and Additions to Esther" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(p. 215) T&T Clark, 2015
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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