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What is Purim (Esther’s festival of lots)?

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Purim: Festival of Lots from the Bible book of Esther

The Book of Esther is set in Persia (modern-day Iran) about 500 years before earthly ministry of Messiah Yeshua1Hebrew for Christ Jesus and shortly after the first wave of Jewish exiles returned to Israel from their exile. 

The story of Esther starts with a young Jewish woman, a descendant of King Saul, who is elevated to the office of Queen Consort to the Persian emperor Akhashverosh, also known as Xerxes or Ahaserus. Although we are introduced to her through a beauty contest, her biography is recorded in the Holy Scriptures because her story resonates with the themes of redemption that we read in the rest of the Scriptures.

Her story echoes that of the Messiah Yeshua, who would come into the world 500 years later, during a time in which the Jewish people, again were governed by despots who did not have their spiritual or physical well-being at heart. 

One might think that her story bears no connection to the Messiah Yeshua 500 years later, but her life story is full of messianic themes and she is just as much of a messianic figure as Jacob, Joseph, or Daniel. The main similarity between her mission and the mission of Messiah Yeshua is both of them were sent on a mission to save their people from physical (Esther) and spiritual (Yeshua) death and had to face down naive, corrupt, evil politicians to succeed in their mission. 

Customs of Purim

Here are some of the unique traditions that make Purim special: 

Reading the book of Esther

It is tradition at Purim, to read through the entire book of Esther orally. The saying “the whole megilla” comes from this tradition of reading from the scroll of Esther, called the Megilla.

It’s not a long book, but Esther’s story resonates with all Jews and other ethnic minorities who live in diaspora. 

Food baskets for the poor

It’s a reminder that when one receives blessings from God, that it is only right to share them with those who aren’t as blessed as we are. 

Purim plays

This tradition started in the Middle Ages but is very common to this day when people in Jewish communities get together and dress up as the main characters of the purim story and reenact the story of Purim, usually in a comedic fashion. 

Purim — an interactive condensed drama from the book of Esther

Traditional foods

The most well known Purim treat are cookies, called hamantaschen. Hamantaschen are triangle shaped cookies are traditionally filled with poppy seeds, prune jam or other jellies. They are said to resemble either the evil Haman’s ears or his hat, depending on which tradition you prefer. The iconic cookie is as synonymous with Purim as shamrocks are with St. Patrick’s day. 

Bible studies on Purim

Tree of Knowledge & Haman's gallows: Esther show us how to overcome our desire to replace God. Artwork shows a fruit tree on the left side of the image.

Tree of Knowledge and Haman’s gallows: Esther shows us how to overcome our desire to replace God

Bible prophecy often talks about widespread persecution against the people of God in the “latter days.” But that seems so far removed from today’s society, where we have global human rights watchdog groups, U.S. First Amendment protections for religious freedom, the International Court of Justice and the United Nations. This study of the Torah reading וַיִּקְרָא Vayikra (“and He called,” Levicus 1:1–6:7) plus readings for the Sabbath of Remembrance (Deuteronomy 25:17–19; 1Samuel 15:2–34; 1Peter 4:12–5:11) and the Book of Esther reminds us why we keep seeing outbreaks of perplexing violence throughout history, in spite of attempts to legislate away evil.
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Burnt offering, Purim and Passover: Keep the coal of your heart’s fire burning long for the Kingdom of God

No, this isn’t a case of duct-taping Bible passages together into a hodge-podge teaching. There is an important link between instructions to priests about keeping the Tabernacle altar fire burning, the command to destroy the memory of back-stabbing Amalek, the reluctance of later generations to carry that out fit, Queen Esther’s bold intervention for the Yehudim (Jews), the memory of deliverance from slavery at Peskah (Passover) and the freedom brought by Yeshua the Mashiakh (Jesus the Christ). Strap in your brain for a wild ride.
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Messianic symbols, message in the Book of Esther

Many wonder why the Book of Esther is in the Bible, because the name of God is not mentioned in it. Yet, actually God is mentioned throughout the account. The main people in the book also are symbols for God, God’s Messiah, Israel and the Adversary, aka haSatan.
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Seventh day of Matzot: Why Israel’s Red Sea crossing matters today

Seventh day of Unleavened Bread: Significance then and today of Israel’s crossing of the Red Sea

Seven days after Israel left Egypt after the first Passover, the new nation went through the Red Sea. The salvation of the LORD was on display. God said that “from generation to generation” we are to remember the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is easy not to remember this time because the world’s system purposefully distracts from this time and ignores it as much as possible. God proved His sincere desire to redeemed mankind when He commanded His Son to die for us.
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"Queen Esther" painting by Edwin Long, 1878

Structure of the Book of Esther points to messianic prophecy

Many passages in the Bible were written with a chiastic structure, which is like rhyming patterns in poetry but pairing similar information or concepts instead. That’s one reason why some passages seem to be highly repetitive. The point of chiastic structures is to point the reader to a key concept. Daniel explains that the Book of Esther is one large chiastic structure, focusing on a messianic prophecy in the middle.
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Purim: Festival of Lots from the Bible book of Esther

Purim: God loads the dice for His glory

One common smear against God in recent times is that He is “an absentee landlord” or “a blind watchmaker” Who may have set everything in motion but now doesn’t care or doesn’t get involved. Many then blame Him for the evil and suffering that goes on in the world, particularly to those who it appears to us don’t deserve it, such as a dying family member or a starving child. A common slight against the book of Esther is that it doesn’t directly mention the name of the LORD, as the other books of the Bible do. However, the clear…
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Purim: Book of Esther tells a never-old tale of hatred against God's blessed servants

Purim: Book of Esther tells a never-old tale of hatred against God’s blessed servants

The “Preacher” in Ecclesiastes said “there is nothing new under the sun.” The hatred against Yehudah, the Jews, has persisted throughout time, and the spirit of Amalek has taken many forms, including Haman, Antiochus IV, etc. Yet the LORD has kept Israel in the form of mostly Yehudah intact. Through Yehudah came the Messiah, the Seed of Eve Who crushed the serpent’s head and the Seed of Abraham Who brought God’s blessing to the world. That preservation of Yehudah above all odds through the eons, in the face of concerted genocidal efforts, is testimony that indeed the LORD is the…
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