The Theological Import of MT Esther's Relationship to the Joseph Story

While the bulk of historically based Esther scholarship has shied away from exploring the religious dimensions of MT Esther, this article renews attention to Esther's interaction with the Joseph story to suggest that the Megillah does in fact evince a defined theological posture. Through a detailed examination of three specific linguistic and thematic links, I underscore the intentionality and purpose of these connections. Much as Joseph had to legitimate his mysterious chosenness to save his family from famine in Egypt, so must Esther develop into her elevated role to rescue her people from impending destruction in Persia. This subtle but critical overlap thus articulates that which the scholarly understanding of this relationship has consistently overlooked. Even when God does not intervene, the Megillah invokes Joseph to illustrate how the divinely initiated patterns of the past extend out of Egypt to influence the happenings in Persia.