Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
List three things missing from the book of Esther that we would expect to see from Old Testament Jews.
01. Name of God 02. Prayer 03. Sacrifices
For ____________ days, King Xerxes displayed the wealth of his kingdom. For ____________ days he gave a banquet.
180, 7
How long did the rebuilding of the temple take? Why?
21 years because they took an 18 year break to build their own houses.
The return of the Jews to Jerusalem after the captivity took place in _______ stages.
3
How many years pass between the Old and the New Testament?
400 years of silence
Nehemiah Returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. When?
445 BC
There is a time gap between Ezra ______ and ______.
6; 7
Haman was a descendant of what Amalekite king?
Agag
Persian King assisted by Haman
Ahasuerus
King ________________ gave Ezra permission to return to Jerusalem.
Artaxerxes
How did the job of the cupbearer change over time?
At first, they were just to be sure that the king's food/drinks were not poisoned (they would taste the food before the king). They soon became the king's closest advisor.
"return to me" is his word from God
Zechariah
Led 50,000 Israelites back to Jerusalem after captivity
Zerubbabel
eunuch
a man who has been castrated, especially one employed to guard the women of a king's harem.
Ancestor
a person from whom one is descended
scepter
an ornamented staff carried by rulers on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of sovereignty.
When did the events of Esther occur?
around the early 400s BC
Queen Vashti was _____________ from the king's presence.
banned
winnow
blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff
Esther's name may mean... ?
hidden.
Mordecai exposed a plot to ______ King Xerxes.
kill
Mordecai received the ___________ signet ring.
king's
The book of Nehemiah is about _____________ and _____________.
leadership; revival.
ploygamy
multiple spouses at the same time
Dagon
national god of the Philistines; depicted as a fish/man; fertility god, said to be father of Baal
Apex
peak
Haman had a ________ to hang Mordecai and murder all the Jews.
plan
isogesis
reading into a text what isn't there. Interpreting it by different rules than a consistent understanding form the Bible
What the Persian King extended to accept a visitor
scepter
Ezra was a __________.
scribe
Mordecai rose in rank to the king's ____________ in command.
second
concubine
sex slave
Abomination
something that causes disgust or hatred
homage
special honor or respect
Mordecai may come from the name of a _________ that must be crushed to release its scent.
spice
Signet ring
symbol of the king's authority equivalent to his signature. Anyone who used or wore it could give orders in equal authority with the ring
contempt
the feeling that a person or a thing is beneath consideration, worthless, or deserving scorn.
annulment
the official act of making something void, especially a legal marriage
exegesis
to draw out extracting what is in the text the way it was written
impale
to torture or kill by fixing on a sharp stake
Barren
unable to have children
Scribe who returns to Jerusalem to teach God's Word
Ezra
Prophet contemporary with Ezra and Zechariah
Haggai
________________ got mad at Mordecai when he refused to bow down to him.
Haman
King Xerxes did what to Vashti?
He sends her away. She is no longer Queen.
What was Ezra's purpose in returning to Jerusalem?
His purpose was to help the Jews living there to keep the Lord's commandments and to not marry outside of the covenant.
Nehemiah can be compared to the _________ ________ as a rebuilder and comforter.
Holy Spirit
Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes
Nehemiah
Xerxes always did what?
Sat on his royal throne.
When Esther hesitantly approaches King Xerxes without being asked to come, what is her request?
She asks if he and Haman could come to a feast that she had prepared.
Who was the ancestor of Mordecai whose life was spared by David?
Shemei
Why was it necessary to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem?
So they could worship without the enemies interfering; for protection.
What three things had the Israelites in Jerusalem promised about their behavior, but not followed through on while Nehemiah was away?
1. avoid ungodly romantic relationships 2. don't buy and/or sell of the Sabbath 3. Support the work of God with money
Women in the harem of King Xerxes underwent ______ _______________ of beauty treatment.
12 months
Integrity
Moral uprightness; quality of being honest and having strong moral principals
Esther's cousin
Mordecai
What Is Haman's fate?
Death. Specifically to be hanged at the gallows in front of his house which he had already built for Mordecai.
Where Jesus will enter upon his return
East Gate
Hadassah
Esther's other name
Why was Isaiah's prophecy about Cyrus so amazing?
Isaiah wrote his prophecy over 100 years before Cyrus was even born.
Babylonian King
Nebuchadnezzar
At the beginning of Esther, Mordecai and Esther are living in ________.
Boab
What is the theme of the book of Esther?
For such a time as this
Which modern day country would the events of Esther have taken place in?
Iran
Ezra tore his clothes and pulled out his hair over whose sin?
Israel
Other than the obvious, why were the beauty treatments required of the women in the harem?
To be sure that they were not pregnant.
True or False: Cyrus was king of Medo-Persia.
True
The East Gate of the temple was founded by the ______________ in the 1100s.
Turks
Made Ahasuerus angry by failing to appear before him
Vashti
Iconalast
a person who destroys religious images
Succesor
a person who has a position after another person
remant
a small surviving group
lyre
a stringed instrument like a small U-shaped harp with strings fixed to a crossbar (small harp)
talent
about 75 pounds; usually a measure for gold in Scripture
The book of Esther is NOT placed ____________________________ between Ezra 8 and 9.
chronologically
The Samaritans to __________ worship of Jehovah with idol worship.
combine
The name Nehemiah means ___________.
comforter
Nehemiah is a ________________ of Ezra.
contemporary
Mordecai was Esther's ____________.
cousin
Nehemiah feels a sense of ______________ at the end of the book of Nehemiah.
failure
The official name given to the feast days at the end of the book of Esther is the _________ of Purim.
feast
Babylon was a land _________ with idol worship.
filled
Esther requested that Haman's sons be hanged from the _______________.
gallows
Esther received Haman's ________ as a reward.
estate
Babylonian Captivity
time when Jews were taken captive by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
redeem
to exchange or buy back
glean
to pick up left over grain in the field
The events of Ezra occur at the end of the ______ ______ _______________________ ____________.
70 year Babylonian Captivity
Persia lose to Greece
Battle of Marathon
Persian King who first allowed the Jews to go home
Cyrus
The fall of _________ took place in 3 stages.
Judah
True or False: The Babylonians, Assyrians, and Medo-Persians all had the same strategy for how to treat conquered people.
False
At the dedication ceremony for Jerusalem's rebuilt wall, the _______ ____ _________ was read aloud.
Law of Moses
the first group of _______ returning to Jerusalem after the captivity were led by Zerubbabel.
Jews
Esther's life was spared by ________ ________ when he extended his royal scepter.
King Xerxes
theologian who thought Esther shouldn't be in the Bible
Martin Luther
Was Zerubbabel build a more elaborate temple than Solomon's?
No, he did not have enough money to do so.
Did Zerubbabel force 50,000 Jews to return to Jerusalem.
No, they were free to follow him.
Nebuchanezzar took Judah into captivity, so how did they get to return home?
Persia took over Babylon and Cyrus let them go back home.
Feast associated with Esther
Purim