Editing Book of Esther (section)

== Additions to Esther ==
{{Anchor|Additions to Esther}}<!--[[Additions to the Book of Esther]] redirects here-->
An additional six chapters appear interspersed in Esther in the [[Septuagint]], an early Greek translation of the Bible. This was noted by [[Jerome]] in compiling the Latin [[Vulgate]]. Additionally, the Greek text contains many small changes in the meaning of the main text. Jerome recognized the former as additions not present in the [[Tanakh|Hebrew Text]] and placed them at the end of his Latin translation. This placement is used in Catholic Bible translations based primarily on the Vulgate, such as the [[Douay–Rheims Bible]] and the [[Knox Bible]], with chapters numbered up to 16.<ref>[http://catholicbible.online/knox/OT/Est/ch_16 The Holy Bible – Knox Translation: The Book of Esther, Chapter 16] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231071238/http://catholicbible.online/knox/OT/Est/ch_16 |date=2022-12-31 }}, accessed 31 December 2022</ref> In contrast, the [[Nova Vulgata]] incorporates the additions to Esther directly into the narrative itself, as do most modern Catholic English translations based on the original Hebrew and Greek (e.g., [[Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition]], [[New American Bible]], [[New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition]]). The numbering system for the additions therefore differs with each translation. The Nova Vulgata accounts for the additional verses by numbering them as extensions of the verses immediately following or preceding them (e.g., Esther 11:2–12 in the old Vulgate becomes Esther 1:1a–1k in the Nova Vulgata), while the NAB and its successor, the NABRE, assign letters of the alphabet as chapter headings for the additions (e.g., Esther 11:2–12:6 in the Vulgate becomes Esther A:1–17). The RSVCE and the NRSVCE place the additional material into the narrative, but retain the chapter and verse numbering of the old Vulgate.

===Contents===
These additions are:<ref>See [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Greek+Esther+1&version=NRSV the NRSV online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429001428/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Greek+Esther+1&version=NRSV |date=2022-04-29 }} for the additions</ref>
* an opening prologue that describes a dream had by Mordecai, printed ahead of chapter 1 in RSVCE
* the contents of the decree against the Jews, included within chapter 3 in RSVCE
* an extension to the dialogue between Hathach and Mordecai, placed after 4:8 in RSVCE
* prayers for God's intervention offered by Mordecai and by Esther, both in chapter in RSVCE
* an expansion of the scene in which Esther appears before the king, with a mention of God's intervention, included in chapter 5 in RSVCE
* a copy of the decree in favor of the Jews, added to chapter 8 in RSVCE
* a passage in which Mordecai interprets his dream (from the prologue) in terms of the events that followed, added to chapter 10 in RSVCE
* a colophon appended to the end of chapter 10, also referenced as 11:1, which reads:
{{blockquote|text=In the fourth year of the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, Dositheus, who said that he was a priest and a Levite, and his son Ptolemy brought to Egypt the preceding Letter about Purim, which they said was authentic and had been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, one of the residents of Jerusalem.|source=(NRSV)}}
It is unclear to which version of Greek Esther this colophon refers, and who exactly are the figures mentioned in it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Angiolillo|first=Patrick|date=2019|title=Lysimachus|journal=Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception|volume=17|pages=273|doi=10.1515/ebr.lysimachus|doi-access=free}}</ref>

By the time the Greek version of Esther was written, the foreign power visible on the horizon as a future threat to Judah was the kingdom of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] under [[Alexander the Great]], who defeated the Persian empire about 150 years after the time of the story of Esther; the [[Septuagint]] version noticeably calls Haman a "Bougaion" ({{langx|grc|βουγαῖον}}), possibly in the Homeric sense of "bully" or "braggart",<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bougaean – Encyclopedia of The Bible – Bible Gateway|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Bougaean|access-date=2021-03-01|website=www.biblegateway.com|language=en|archive-date=2021-03-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316003952/https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Bougaean|url-status=live}}</ref> whereas the Hebrew text describes him as an [[Agagite]].

===Canonicity===
The canonicity of these Greek additions has been a subject of scholarly disagreement practically since their first appearance in the [[Septuagint]].{{snd}} [[Martin Luther]], being perhaps the most vocal [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]-era critic of the work, considered even the original Hebrew version to be of very doubtful value.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bush|first=Frederic W.|date=1998|title=The Book of Esther: ''Opus non gratum'' in the Christian Canon|url=https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bbr/esther_bush.pdf|url-status=live|journal=[[Bulletin for Biblical Research]]|volume=8|pages=39–54|doi=10.5325/bullbiblrese.8.1.0039 |jstor=26422154|s2cid=64672092 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820023836/https://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/esther_bush.pdf|archive-date=20 August 2008}}</ref>

The [[Council of Florence|Council of Basel–Ferrara–Florence]] confirmed its status as canonical between 1431 and 1445.<ref>{{cite web | last=Fathers | first=Council | title=Council of Basel 1431-45 A.D. Council Fathers | website=Papal Encyclicals | date=2024-01-31 | url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum17.htm | access-date=2024-08-12}}</ref>

The [[Council of Trent]], the summation of the [[Counter-Reformation]], reconfirmed the entire book,<ref>{{cite web | last=Fathers | first=Council | title=General Council of Trent: Fourth Session | website=Papal Encyclicals | date=2024-01-31 | url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net//councils/trent/fourth-session.htm | access-date=2024-08-12}}</ref> both Hebrew text and Greek additions, as canonical. The Book of Esther is used twice in commonly used sections of the Catholic [[Lectionary]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lectionary: Scripture Index - Deuterocanonical Books |url=https://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/Index-Deuterocanonicals.htm |website=catholic-resources.org |access-date=24 August 2024}}</ref> In both cases, the text used is not only taken from a Greek addition. The readings also include the prayer of [[Mordecai]], and nothing of [[Esther]]'s own words is ever used.{{clarify|date=December 2022}} The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] uses the Septuagint version of Esther, as it does for all of the Old Testament.

In contrast, the additions are included in the [[Biblical apocrypha]], usually printed in a separate section (if at all) in [[Protestant bible]]s. The additions, called "The rest of the Book of Esther", are specifically listed in the [[Thirty-Nine Articles]], Article VI, of the [[Church of England]] as non-canonical, though "read for example of life and instruction of manners".<ref>Church of England, [https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#VI Articles of Religion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227100234/https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#VI |date=2019-02-27 }}, accessed 31 December 2022: they are included in the section headed: "And the other Books (as Hierome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following:..."</ref>