Editing Ahasuerus (section)

==Etymology==
The Hebrew form is believed to have derived from the [[Old Persian]] name of [[Xerxes I]], ''Xšayāršā'' (< ''xšaya'' 'king' + ''aršan'' 'male' > 'king of all male; Hero among Kings'). That became Babylonian ''Aḫšiyâršu'' ({{lang|akk|𒄴𒅆𒐊𒅈𒋗}}, ''aḫ-ši-ia-ar-šu'') and then ''Akšîwâršu'' ({{lang|akk|𒀝𒅆𒄿𒈠𒅈𒍪}}, ''ak-ši-i-wa<sub>6</sub>-ar-šu'') and was borrowed as {{langx|he|אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ|Ăḥašwēroš}} and thence into [[Latin]] as ''Ahasuerus'', the form traditionally used in English Bibles.<ref>[[KJV]], [[New American Standard Bible|NASB]], [[Amplified Bible]], [[English Standard Version|ESV]], [[21st Century King James Version]], [[American Standard Version|ASV]], [[Young's Literal Translation]], [[Darby Translation]], [[Holman Christian Standard Bible]], etc.</ref><ref>Nichol, F. D., ''Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary'', Volume 3, Review and Herald Publishing Association (Washington, D.C., 1954 edition), p.459, "Historical Setting"</ref> The Persian name was independently rendered in [[Ancient Greek]] as {{lang|grc|Ξέρξης}} ''Xérxēs''. Many newer English translations and paraphrases of the Bible<ref>[[NIV]], The Message, [[New Living Translation|NLT]], [[Contemporary English Version|CEV]], [[New Century Version|NCV]], [[NIRV]], [[TNIV]], etc.</ref> have used the name Xerxes.

[[File:Gelder, Aert de - The Banquet of Ahasuerus - Google Art Project.jpg|thumbnail|''The Banquet of Ahasuerus'', [[Aert de Gelder]] ]]