101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

292 101 Myths of the Bible
At its core, the story involves a mythological battle between Mesopotamian gods.
The names Mordecai and Esther correspond to the two chief deities of Babylonian,
Marduk and Ishtar. The villain’s name, Haman, corresponds to the chief deity of
Elam, Humman, or Khumban, and the name Vashti corresponds to an Elamite goddess
known as Mushti or Shushmushti.
For many centuries, Babylon and Elam were furious rivals. The Persians brought
them both under its own rule. The story of Esther takes place in the city of Susa, the
winter residence of the Persian king and the former capitol of Elam.
At about 1159 B.C., an Elamite king named Kutir-Nahhunte raided the Babylonian
territories and seized the statue of Marduk from the city of E-sagila, bringing it
back to Elam. Although Hittites and Assyrians had performed a similar act on earlier
occasions, this particular event especially upset the Babylonians. One text says the sin
was “far greater than that of his forefathers, his guilt exceeded even theirs.” A few
decades later, the Babylonians managed to recapture the statue.
The conflict between Mordecai and Haman reflects this ancient humiliation and
subsequent rehabilitation. Haman, representing the chief Elamite deity, tried to seize
Mordecai, representing the chief Babylonian deity. The plot failed and Haman was
hanged, signifying Babylonian’s victory over the Elamite god.
Intertwined within the story of Marduk and Humman is a second literary motif
based on the battle between King Saul and King Agag of the Amalekites, one of
Israel’s traditional enemies. In that battle, Saul had been directed at God’s word to
destroy every single Amalekite. Instead, he spared the life of their king, Agag. This act,
in the Judaean view, marked the end of Saul’s legitimacy as king over Israel and initiated
the events that led to the fall of Saul’s House. Samuel, who “repenteth me that I
have set up Saul to be king,”had Agag brought before him and hacked the king into bits.
Esther identifies Mordecai as a Benjaminite, of the same tribe as Saul, and the two
men share a similar genealogy. Saul was the son of Kish, and the first person named in
Mordecai’s brief list of ancestors is also named Kish. Haman is described as an
“Agagite, the Jews’ enemy.”
As a literary motif, we have a conflict between a son of Kish and an Agagite. Saul
spared Agag after he defeated the enemy but Mordecai, through Esther, ignored the