In this final installment of the story narrated in the Book of Esther, we observe Esther consolidating her position as queen in the realm and Mordecai soaring into new heights in the same kingdom. Indeed, we are told that Mordecai is outranked only by the king himself. In the meantime, Jews were able to take vengeance on those seeking to harm them. Before long, being Jewish was seen as a great benefit.

Many non-Jews identified with the formerly persecuted community. The story ends by informing us that since this turn of events the Jewish community is to celebrate annually. The annual feast or holiday will be called Purim. This refers to the lots that Haman cast as he was plotting to exterminate the Jews. In the end, the Jews ended up being exalted while Haman, his ten sons, and those who joined in his plot against the Jews received terrible justice. A “pur” is a lot; the plural form is “purim,” hence the name of the holiday.

. The plot thickens in this episode. Mordecai reacted to Haman’s putting into operation a plan to destroy all Jews in the realm. He dressed in mourning clothing, cried out in public, and incited similar reactions in the provinces. Eventually, Esther got wind of this. After taking care of Mordecai, she heard from him that she, too, was vulnerable once her Jewish identity became known. So, she went into action by inviting King Ahaseurus and Haman to a dinner. At this affair, the king invited his queen to ask anything of him, “up to half the kingdom.” She agreed to this, but wanted to delay her request. In the meantime, the king remembered that Mordecai had once warned him about a plot on his life. The king was chagrined that Mordecai had not been properly awarded. When Haman came to the dinner the second day of the feast, the king asked him how to honor someone. Thinking that the king had him in mind, he said that this man should be given royal clothing, a royal crown, and let the kingdom know how honorable he had been. The king did just that, for Mordecai! Then, when it was time for Esther to make her wish, she asked that the king save the Jews from destruction. The king seemed surprised to know about this plot. When he discovered that Haman had concocted this plan, he was enraged. This part of the story ended when Haman was hanged on a very tall gallows that Haman had had constructed for Mordecai.

The Book of Esther is controversial because it does not even mention God. Nevertheless, it is a compelling story. Esther and Mordecai are living as exiles in a land far from home. When the reigning queen insulted her husband, the king, the monarch set in motion plans to acquire a new queen. Due to Esther’s beauty, she was soon selected. At Mordecai’s urging, she had never revealed her Jewish identity. Mordecai was her cousin, but acted more like her father. Even though Esther was highly favored in the realm, Mordecai got himself into trouble when he refused to bow and scrape before a newly appointed official, Haman. This official decided not only to punish Mordecai, but all his people: the Jews. Unfortunately, Mordecai had not been reticent to identify himself. This is Part 1 of the story.

In this second installment involving the character and book of Ruth, the heroine has a successful day in the field, gleaning grain. By seeming happenstance, this field belongs to Boaz, who happens to be a rich relative of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. Ruth told her mother-in-law how well Boaz had treated her. This made Naomi realize that there might be a benefit to Ruth’s cultivating this relationship. At Naomi’s urging, she acted somewhat seductively the next time she was in the field. This ploy worked, in that Boaz was so flattered that he, rather than the young harvesters, was the target of Ruth’s affection. But the plot had to deal with a snag. It turned out that Naomi had a relative closer than Boaz, who had the first right of refusal to buy property and take responsibility for Naomi and Ruth. This was more than the closer relative wanted to assume. This paved the way for Boaz to redeem the field, take responsibility for the two women, and marry Ruth. The story ends with a genealogy that allows us to realize that Ruth became an ancestor to none other than David and, of course, Jesus, according to the New Testament.

The first part of Ruth deals with an Israelite family deciding to reside in Moab because Israel had been afflicted with a famine. Moab is notorious in biblical lore because Moab (and Ammon) was the result of the incestuous relationship between Lot, Abraham’s nephew, and his two daughters. This led to Moab having a lithesome reputation. This Israelite family consisted of Elimelech and Naomi, and their two sons. Once in Moab, the sons grew up and married Moabite women. In the course of time, the husband and the two sons died, leaving three widows. When Naomi heard that Israel how had food, she decided to return. At the border, she encouraged her two Moabite daughters-in-law to return. One did. But the other, Ruth, insisted on staying with her mother-in-law, no matter what. Though in a better circumstance, Naomi was bitter and angry at God for what had happened.

Eve is mentioned twice in the New Testament, once in 2 Corinthians 11:3 and once in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. In the first instance, Paul alludes to the serpent’s tempting Eve in the garden. The Apostle does not want the Corinthian church to be as gullible as Eve was. In the second instance, the author of this pastoral letter elaborates on Eve’s role as a way of admonishing women. Because Eve succumbed to temptation, the writer of the letter does not permit her to teach men. He claims that Eve was deceived, though Adam was not. Because of this, women are to be silent in church educational settings. This, of course, is enormously controversial. Ultimately, the author says that women will eventually saved by bearing children as long as women maintain a holy demeanor. Some Christian churches have taken this admonishment literally as applicable to all places and all times. Other churches have attempted to soften this teaching.

In this Podcast, is treated Genesis 3 and 4, the only places in the Old Testament that Eve’s name is mentioned. Interestingly, even though it is commonly thought that Eve conversed with the serpent and was the first to eat the forbidden fruit, throughout that exchange she is referred to simply as “the woman.” She is given a name by “the man” in Genesis 3:20. The only other time her name appears is in Genesis 4:1, where she conceived and bore her firstborn: Cain. No prophet mentions her. For that matter, what happened in the Garden of Eden plays no role in prophetic denunciations of Israel for its persistent sinning. This contrasts greatly with the New Testament, which makes so much of Eve’s role in the garden episode.

In this segment, I argued that this story is a midrash on Jesus’ own resurrection. A midrash is a form of interpretation in which a story, teaching, or doctrine is enhanced or elaborated on with more details or an analogous event. When Jesus called Lazarus to emerge from the tomb, we are told that he was wearing a face cloth. Only in John’s Gospel is Jesus said also to be wearing a face cloth (the same Greek word is used). In my judgment, this is a literary signal that tells readers to read the Lazarus episode as a proleptic adumbration of Jesus’ own resurrection. This also fits with standard New Testament and later Christian teaching that a general resurrection was made possible by Jesus’ resurrection. Until that general resurrection takes place, Jesus is the only one who has ever experienced resurrection. Lazarus is a resurrection account, not a resuscitation account.

The story is found in John 11. It is unique to this Gospel. The story is about a family with whom Jesus is especially friendly. When Lazarus falls ill, his two sisters, Mary and Martha, send word to Jesus. But Jesus does not rush to deal with the sick man. Instead, he brushes off the appeal, noting that the illness is not terminal. A little later, Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has fallen asleep. The disciples do not understand. It turns out that Jesus told them that Lazarus had died. In spite of the danger, Jesus decided to go to Bethany, where this had taken place. Even though the disciples knew how risky this trip would be, they resolved to accompany Jesus. When Jesus got there, Martha scolded him for delaying a whole two days. Jesus told Martha that her brother would rise again, something that Martha believed in any case due to the fact that many Jews believed in a general resurrection at the end of time. Jesus then said that he was the resurrection and the life. The scene ends when Jesus goes to the burial place and is overcome by emotion by all the weeping of the family and friends.

The story is narrated in 2 Kings 1. It begins with the information that Moab had just rebelled against Israel, meaning that the vassal state was refusing to pay tribute. However, King Azariah paid no attention to this problem. Instead, he was concerned over injuries he sustained in a fall. Due to his concern, he sent messengers to inquire of a deity who was not Israel’s God. Elijah intercepted the messengers and had them return to the king to tell him that he would not recover, mostly because he was consulting another god. Azariah sent two large groups to confront Elijah, but they were consumed by divine fire at Elijah’s orders. A third group was spared since its leader begged for his life and the group he led. Elijah did not harm them, but went himself to speak to Azariah. The message was the same: Azariah would not recover. Azariah immediately dies.