chapter iii. This purports to give _verbatim_ the letter sent by

Artaxerxes to the governor of the provinces commanding the massacre of the Jews. In the canonical Esther iii. 13 runs: “And the letters were sent by post unto all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to slay, to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey”; then follows the addition of the Septuagint. In the letter the king tells of how it had been his wish ever since he came to the throne to see his people living in quietude and peacefulness; but that, according to information he has received from Haman, this has not been possible of attainment because of “a certain malignant people, that had laws contrary to all nations, and continually set aside the commandments of kings, so as the uniting of our kingdoms, honourably intended by us, cannot go forward.” The command is then given to exterminate these people in order that the affairs of the kingdom can be settled.

The object of this addition is evidently to emphasize the peril in which the Jews were owing to the machinations of Haman. Another object may also have been to show the high favour which Haman enjoyed (he is spoken of as one “that excelled in wisdom among us, and was approved by his constant goodwill and steadfast fidelity”) in order to place his ignominious downfall in more pronounced relief.

(3) The next addition (xiii. 8-xiv. 19 in the English Apocrypha) comes after iv. 17 of the canonical Esther. It contains a prayer of Mordecai (xiii. 8-17), a prayer of Esther (xiv. 1-19), and one verse (xiii. 18) which says that all Israel also prayed to God; these are prayers for deliverance from the danger hanging over the people of Jehovah in view of the king’s letter. These prayers breathe a spirit of deep devotion and loyalty to God. The object of this addition is obvious; it is that the utter lack of religion in the canonical book[426] should be made good; as is well known, the name of God does not occur a single time in the canonical Esther.

(4) The fourth addition (xv. 1-16 in the English Apocrypha) follows immediately after the preceding one. This is an elaboration of v. 1, 2 of the canonical Esther, which verses are omitted in the Septuagint; it recounts in detail Esther’s appearance before the king for the purpose of inviting him to the banquet as mentioned in v. 3 ff. of the canonical book. The object of this addition is similar to that of the preceding; it is to show that the success of Esther’s interview with the king was due to “the all-seeing God and Saviour,” upon Whom she called before setting forth.

(5) This addition (xvi. 1-24 in the English Apocrypha) comes after viii. 12 of the canonical Esther; it purports to give the contents of the letter of Artaxerxes (see viii. 8 ff. of the canonical Esther) written to revoke the order given in the former one (see (2)). Here the object is twofold; in the first place it is, once more, to give a religious tone to the book; the king speaks of those who try to escape “the evil-hating justice of God”; he says that the Jews are the “children of the most high and most mighty living God, Who hath ordered the kingdom both unto us and to our progenitors in the most excellent manner”; and in other ways he gives due honour to God by what he says. Secondly, another object of the addition seems to be to mitigate the rather bloodthirsty spirit of the canonical Esther.

(6) The last addition (but first in _position_ in the English Apocrypha, x. 4-xi. 1) comes at the end of the book in the Septuagint; x. 4-13 contain the interpretation of the dream given in addition which we have numbered (1). This last addition, too, has the object of giving a more religious tone to the book; “these things are of God,” is the way in which the interpretation of the dream is introduced; and the fact that the name of God is mentioned nine times in as many verses amply illustrates the purpose of the addition. xi. 1 is a note added to the last addition which is intended to explain how the “Letter of Purim” (by which is meant the whole book of Esther with the additions) was brought to Egypt; but, as Swete says: “the historical value of the book is more than doubtful.”[427]

II. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE OF THE ADDITIONS

That the author, or, perhaps more probably, the authors of these additions were Hellenistic Jews is sufficiently clear from the whole tone of them; a striking example of detail is that Artaxerxes is made to say that both he and his forefathers had received their kingdom from God. As to the date at which the additions were made there is nothing in the additions themselves which offers any clue; but a book, such as the canonical Esther, in which a wonderful deliverance of the Jews is recorded, would be especially welcome to the people during a time of stress and anxiety; and if, at a time when such a book might well have been eagerly sought after, patriotic Jews should have enhanced its lesson of hope and encouragement by adding explanatory details, such a procedure would have been in the highest degree natural. There is but one period of stress and anxiety that can come into consideration here, and that is the time of the Maccabæan struggle; so we conclude that these additions must have been made during the latter half of the second century B.C.