Mordecai | |
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_(Attributed_to)_-_The_Triumph_of_Mordecai_(cropped).jpg) The Triumph of Mordecai,attrib.Abraham van den Hecken the Younger, between 1635 and 1655 | |
| Children | Esther (cousin and adoptive child) |
| Father | Jair |
Mordecai (/ˈmɔːrdɪkaɪ,mɔːrdɪˈkeɪaɪ/;[1] alsoMordechai;Hebrew:מָרְדֳּכַי,Modern: Mŏrdoḵay,Tiberian: Mārdoḵay,[a] IPA:[moʁdeˈχaj]) is one of the main personalities in theBook of Esther in theHebrew Bible. He is described inTanna Devei Eliyahu as being the son of Jair, of thetribe of Benjamin and member of theSanhedrin.[2] Mordecai was also the cousin and guardian ofEsther, who became queen ofPersia under the reign ofAhasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and bravery are highlighted in the story as he helps Esther foil the plot ofHaman, the king'svizier, to exterminate theJewish people. His story is celebrated in the Jewish holiday ofPurim, which commemorates his victory.
One theory frequently discussed in scholarship suggests that the Book of Esther serves as anetiology for Purim, with Mordecai and Esther representing the Babylonian godsMarduk andIshtar in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual.[3] The identification of Mordecai in the Book of Esther with a Persian official named “Marduka” mentioned in an inscription from the reign of Xerxes is debated, with some scholars supporting the connection while others find it unconvincing due to the commonality of the name.[4]
Mordecai resided inSusa (Shushan or Shoushan),[5] themetropolis ofPersia (nowIran). He adopted his orphaned cousin (Esther 2:7), Hadassah (Esther), whom he brought up as if she were his own daughter.[6] When "youngvirgins" were sought, she was taken into the presence of KingAhasuerus and was made queen in the place of the exiled queenVashti. Subsequently, Mordecai discovered a plot of the king'schamberlainsBigthan and Teresh to assassinate the king. Because of Mordecai's vigilance, the plot was foiled.
Haman theAgagite had been raised to the highest position at court. In spite of the king's decree that all shouldprostrate themselves before Haman, Mordecai refused to do so. Haman, stung by Mordecai's refusal, resolved to kill not only Mordecai but all Jewish exiles throughout thePersian empire, and won the king's permission to carry out his plan. Mordecai communicated Haman's scheme to Queen Esther, who used her favor with the king to reverse the scheme, leading the king to authorize Jews to kill their enemies, which they did.
During all this, the king had happened to learn of Mordecai's service in foiling the assassination plot and had asked Haman how a person who did a great service to the king should be honored. Haman answered, thinking the question was about him; and the king followed this advice, and honored Mordecai, and eventually made Mordecai his chief advisor. Haman was executed ongallows that he had set up for Mordecai. The feast ofPurim celebrates these reversals of fortune.[7]
Although the details of the setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, some think that thebook of Esther is a novella rather than history.[8] Persian kings did not marry outside of seven Persian noble families, making it unlikely that there was a Jewish queen Esther, and in any case the historical Xerxes's queen wasAmestris.[9][10]
There is general agreement that the story was created to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non-Jewish feast.[11] The festival which the book explains ispurim, which is explained as meaning "lot", from the Babylonian wordpuru. There are wide-ranging theories regarding the origin of Purim: one popular theory says festival has its origins in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual in which Mordecai and Esther represent the Babylonian godsMarduk andIshtar, others trace the ritual to thePersian New Year, and scholars have surveyed other theories in their works.[3] Some scholars have defended the story as real history,[12] but others have said the attempt to find a historical kernel to the narrative "is likely to be futile".[3]
The name "Mordecai" is of uncertain origin but is considered identical to the nameMarduka orMarduku (Elamite:𒈥𒁺𒋡), attested as the name of up to four Persian court officials in thirty texts (thePersepolis Administrative Archives) from the period ofXerxes I and his father Darius.[13][4]
TheTalmud (Menachot 64b and 65a) relates that his full name was "Mordechai Bilshan" (which occurs in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7, albeit likely as twoseparate names in sequence). Hoschander interpreted this as the Babylonian "Marduk-belshunu" (𒀭𒀫𒌓𒂗𒋗𒉡,dAMAR.UTU-EN-šu-nu, meaning "Marduk is their lord") "Mordecai" being thus ahypocorism.
In the King James Version of the deuterocanonical Greekadditions to Esther, his name is spelled asMardocheus, which may better preserve the original vowels, though theMasoretic Text versions of the Persian names in the Bible are known to be the most reliable.[14]
Esther 2:5-6 contains a short snippet of Mordecai's genealogical history, generally translated as, "Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son ofShimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem byNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive withJeconiah king of Judah". The wording of the passage lends to two conclusions: either that Mordecai (the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish) was carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar, or that his ancestor Kish was the one carried into exile.
ThePentecostal ministerFinis Dake interprets the Bible verses Esther 2:5–6 to mean that Mordecai himself was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar.[15] Biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan discusses this as an inaccuracy regarding Mordecai's age.[16][17] If "who had been carried into exile" refers to Mordecai, he would have had been more than 100 years old during the events described in the Book of Esther (assuming the biblicalAhasuerus is indeedXerxes I).[16] However, the verse may be read as referring not to Mordecai's exile to Babylon, but to his great-grandfather Kish's exile — a reading which many accept.[18][19][20]
TheTargum Sheni gives his genealogy in more detail, as follows:[b] "Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Shemida,[c] son of Ba'anah, son of Elah, son of Micah, son ofMephibosheth, son ofJonathan, son of Saul, son ofKish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son ofBechorath, son of Aphiah,[d] son of Shecharim,[e] son of Uzziah, son of Sason,[f] son of Michael, son of Eliel, son of Amihud, son of Shephatiah, son of Penuel,[g] son of Petah,[h] son of Melokh, son of Yerubaal,[i] son of Yeruham, son of Hananiah, son of Zabdi, son of Elpa'al, son of Shimri, son of Zebadiah, son of Rimoth,[j] son of Khashum,[k] son of Shekhorah, son of Gazza, son of 'Uzza, son of Gera, son of Bela, son ofBenjamin, son ofJacob the firstborn, whose name is calledIsrael."[21][22] The same genealogy is inscribed on a massive metal tablet in theTomb of Esther and Mordechai (pictured).
This traditional genealogy implicates Kish as the name of an ancient ancestor and not simply Mordecai's great-grandfather, meaning that Esther 2:5—6 was interpreted asMordecai being the one who was exiled to Babylon. The chronological inconsistencies of this assumption are detailed above.
TheTalmud listsEsther as aprophet.[23] Some talmudic scholars such asNachman b. Yaakov have suggested that Mordecai is the Biblical prophetMalachi, but this argument is rejected by consensus and certain interpretations of theTalmud.[24]
Mordecai's genealogy in the second chapter of the Book of Esther is given as a descendant of aBenjaminite named Kish. As "Kish" was also the name of the father of KingSaul, another Benjaminite, the Talmud accords Mordecai the status of a descendant of the firstKing of Israel.[25]
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