Esther The following paragraph is based primarily from chapter 14 of the Illustrated Bible Survey. The book of Esther was written anonymously in approximately 450-400 B.C. and is one of the five books that belong to the “Rolls.” Due to the historically accurate account of Persian culture, the author is thought to be a Persian Jew. Leading many to believe the book was written by Mordecai. The book of Esther continuously shows God’s sovereignty over His people, giving a message of hope to both Jews and gentiles alike. God uses Esther, a young Jewish woman, to save His people and the line of Jesus from genocide. The story of Esther begins with Queen Vashti’s refusal to come before the King at his banquet. This upset King Xerxes and resulted in
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Genesis refers to Bethlehem when documenting the location of the memorial stone Jacob erected after Rachel's death (New American Bible, Gen. 35.16-19). According to the dates associated with Jacob, this would date Bethlehem as far back as 2006-1859 B.C. if not earlier (Towns & Hindson, “Genesis”). Bethlehem is located five miles south of Jerusalem and is named for the fertility of the soil in the region (“Bethlehem,” 2015). Bethlehem makes another appearance in the book of Ruth. According to the book of Ruth, Elimelech and Naomi decide to leave Bethlehem due to famine and move to Moab. After the death of Elimelech and their two sons, Naomi was left to travel back to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth. Although Ruth was a Moabite woman, her faith in God resulted in acceptance among the people of Bethlehem, marriage to Boaz, and ultimately her role in the line of Jesus. Ruth would become the great-grandmother of King David (New American Bible, Ruth 1-4). David was a shepherd boy born in Bethlehem, who defeated Goliath and become the greatest King of Israel (Hindson, 2003, p. 160,162). Bethlehem’s reference throughout the Old Testament shines light on what is to come in the future. It is through the line of Jacob, Ruth, and David that the Messiah would be born. Micah 5:1 states, “but you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah. From you shall come
Genesis refers to Bethlehem when documenting the location of the memorial stone Jacob erected after Rachel's death (New American Bible, Gen. 35.16-19). According to the dates associated with Jacob, this would date Bethlehem as far back as 2006-1859 B.C. if not earlier (Towns & Hindson, “Genesis”). Bethlehem is located five miles south of Jerusalem and is named for the fertility of the soil in the region (“Bethlehem,” 2015). Bethlehem makes another appearance in the book of Ruth. According to the book of Ruth, Elimelech and Naomi decide to leave Bethlehem due to famine and move to Moab. After the death of Elimelech and their two sons, Naomi was left to travel back to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law Ruth. Although Ruth was a Moabite woman, her faith in God resulted in acceptance among the people of Bethlehem, marriage to Boaz, and ultimately her role in the line of Jesus. Ruth would become the great-grandmother of King David (New American Bible, Ruth 1-4). David was a shepherd boy born in Bethlehem, who defeated Goliath and become the greatest King of Israel (Hindson, 2003, p. 160,162). Bethlehem’s reference throughout the Old Testament shines light on what is to come in the future. It is through the line of Jacob, Ruth, and David that the Messiah would be born. Micah 5:1 states, “but you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah. From you shall come