A Star and a Tree (Est. 2:5-7)

At this time a Jew named Mordecai was living in Susa. His father was Jair, and his grandfather Shimei was the son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was one of the people that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem, when he took King Jeconiah of Judah to Babylonia. Mordecai had a very beautiful cousin named Esther, whose Hebrew name was Hadassah. He had raised her as his own daughter, after her father and mother died.
(Esther 2:5-7, CEV)

Two new characters enter the storyline. Two very important characters.

In today’s verses, we learn a bit about them. Mordecai comes from the tribe of Benjamin, which Saul described as the “smallest of the tribes of Israel” (1 Sam. 9:21). Mordecai’s great-grandfather had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar, so he comes from a long line of captives.

And from the first, we know that Mordecai is a man of integrity and compassion as he chose to raise his own cousin after she became an orphan. In fact, he chose to “raise her as his own daughter.”

And then there’s Esther. We immediately learn that she is physically beautiful. That in itself foretells her future.

Esther, this girl’s Persian name, means “star.” And her Hebrew name, Hadassah, means “myrtle tree.” Now, at first glance, I’d chose “star” over “myrtle tree,” but the meaning of names was quite important in biblical times. And further research indicates that “myrtle tree” is a “symbol of victory and a symbolic name for girls born on Sukkot because a branch of the myrtle bush, which has a lovely fragrance” (source: http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com/meaning_of_Hadassah.html).

So even her names give us hints of who this girl would be. She would be a star, a victorious star. She would bear a lovely fragrance.

As our journey continues, we’ll see that our initial impressions of both Mordecai and Esther are true. And we’ll be inspired by both.