A social literary study of Hebrew Esther: characterizations as a narrative construct for discussing diasporic identity

摘要

This study is a preliminary attempt to ascertain insights into diasporic Persian/Second-Temple period ideas concerning Jewish identity. Through the book of Esther this study utilizes the methodological tool of literary characterizations as a means for gaining insight into the narratoru27s conceptual framework. The first section highlights some of the important recent Esther studies, along with studies concerned with sociological questions and the Hebrew bible. Section two presents a broad discussion of the sociological and literary concerns for this study. The third section presents a study on the characterizations of the storyu27s co-protagonists, Esther and Mordecai. Two aspects of characterization, the narratoru27s primary description and descriptions of character reactions and interactions, are used to build a sketch of the co-protagonists and suggest possible sociological readings. Finally, section four highlights needed further studies in developing the initial questions of diasporic identity highlighted here.