Editing Mordecai

{{Short description|Biblical figure}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Abraham van den Hecken (II) (Attributed to) - The Triumph of Mordecai (cropped).jpg
| caption            = ''The Triumph of Mordecai'', {{abbr|attrib.|attributed to}} [[Abraham van den Hecken the Younger]], between 1635 and 1655
| children           = [[Esther]] (cousin and adoptive child)
| father             = Jair
| relatives          = 
}}

'''Mordecai''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɔr|d|ɪ|k|aɪ|,_|m|ɔr|d|ɪ|ˈ|k|eɪ|aɪ}};<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mordecai "Mordecai"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> also '''Mordechai'''; {{Hebrew Name|מָרְדֳּכַי|Mŏrdoḵay|Mārdoḵay}},{{efn|Sometimes rendered in Modern Hebrew as {{Script/Hebrew|מָרְדְּכַי}} ''Mŏrdəḵay''}} IPA: {{IPA|he|moʁdeˈχaj|}}) is one of the main personalities in the [[Book of Esther]] in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. He is the cousin and guardian of [[Esther]], who became queen of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]] under the reign of [[Ahasuerus]] (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and bravery are highlighted in the story as he helps Esther foil the plot of [[Haman]], the king's [[vizier]], to exterminate the [[Jews|Jewish people]]. His story is celebrated in the Jewish holiday of [[Purim]], which commemorates his victory.

One theory frequently discussed in scholarship suggests that the Book of Esther serves as an [[etiology]] for Purim, with Mordecai and Esther representing the Babylonian gods [[Marduk]] and [[Ishtar]] in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual.{{Sfn|Johnson|2005|p=20}} The identification of Mordecai in the Book of Esther with a Persian official named "Marduka" mentioned in an inscription from the reign of Xerxes is debated, with some scholars supporting the connection while others find it unconvincing because the name was common.{{Sfn|Kalimi|2023|pp=111–112}}

== Biblical account ==
[[File:Pieter Pietersz. Lastman - The Triumph of Mordechai.jpg|thumb|300px|''The Triumph of Mordecai'' by [[Pieter Lastman]], 1624|left]]
Mordecai resided in [[Susa]] (Shushan or Shoushan),<ref name="Esther 256">Esther 2:5–6 of the Bible ([[New International Version]]):
: Now there was in the citadel of [[Susa]] a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who has been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jeconiah king of Judah.</ref> the [[metropolis]] of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]] (now Iran). He adopted his orphaned cousin (Esther 2:7), Hadassah ([[Esther]]), whom he brought up as if she were his own daughter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16475 |title=Esther, Ch. 2, translation by Rabbi A. J. Rosenberg}}</ref> When "young virgins" were sought, she was taken into the presence of King [[Ahasuerus#Book of Esther|Ahasuerus]] and was made queen in the place of the exiled queen [[Vashti]]. Subsequently, Mordecai discovered a plot of the king's [[chamberlain (office)|chamberlain]]s [[Bigthan and Teresh]] to assassinate the king. Because of Mordecai's vigilance, the plot was foiled.

[[Haman (Judaism)|Haman]] the [[Agagite]] had been raised to the highest position at court. In spite of the king's decree that all should prostrate themselves before Haman, Mordecai refused to do so. Haman, stung by Mordecai's refusal, resolved to kill not only Mordecai but all Jewish exiles throughout the Persian empire, and won the king's permission to carry out his plan. Mordecai communicated Haman's scheme to Queen Esther, who used her favor with the king to reverse the scheme, leading the king to authorize Jews to kill their enemies, which they did. 

During all this, the king had happened to learn of Mordecai's service in foiling the assassination plot and had asked Haman how a person who did a great service to the king should be honored. Haman answered, thinking the question was about him; and the king followed this advice, and honored Mordecai, and eventually made Mordecai his chief advisor. Haman was executed on [[gallows]] that he had set up for Mordecai. The feast of [[Purim]] celebrates these reversals of fortune.{{sfn|Moore|1971|pp=36-37}}

== History ==
===Book of Esther===
[[File: Franc Kavčič - Esther before Ahasuerus.jpg|thumb|Esther before Ahasuerus by [[Franc Kavčič]], 1815|left]]Although the details of the setting are entirely plausible and the story may even have some basis in actual events, some think that the [[book of Esther]] is a novella rather than history.{{sfn|Tucker|2004}} Persian kings did not marry outside of seven Persian noble families, making it unlikely that there was a Jewish queen Esther, and in any case the historical Xerxes's queen was [[Amestris]].{{sfn|Fox|2010|pp=131–140}}{{sfn|Hahn|Mitch|2019|p=71}}

There is general agreement that the story was created to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non-Jewish feast.{{sfn|Macchi|2019|p=40}} The festival which the book explains is [[purim]], which is explained as meaning "lot", from the Babylonian word ''puru''. There are wide-ranging theories regarding the origin of Purim: one popular theory says festival has its origins in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual in which Mordecai and Esther represent the Babylonian gods [[Marduk]] and [[Ishtar]], others trace the ritual to the [[Nowruz|Persian New Year]], and scholars have surveyed other theories in their works.{{sfn|Johnson|2005|p=20}} Some scholars have defended the story as real history,{{sfn|Kalimi|2023|p=130}} but others have said the attempt to find a historical kernel to the narrative "is likely to be futile".{{sfn|Johnson|2005|p=20}}

=== Name ===
[[File:Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 130.png|thumb|right|Mordecai is honored in this 1860 woodcut by [[Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld]]]]The name "Mordecai" is of uncertain origin but is considered identical to the name ''Marduka'' or ''Marduku'' ({{langx|elx|𒈥𒁺𒋡}}), attested as the name of up to four Persian court officials in thirty texts (the [[Persepolis Administrative Archives]]) from the period of [[Xerxes I]] and his father Darius.{{sfn|Howard|2007|p=369}}{{sfn|Kalimi|2023|pp=111–112}}

The [[Talmud]] (''Menachot'' 64b and 65a) relates that his full name was "'''Mordechai Bilshan'''" (which occurs in Ezra 2:2 and Nehemiah 7:7, albeit likely as two ''separate'' names in sequence). Hoschander interpreted this as the Babylonian "Marduk-belshunu" (𒀭𒀫𒌓𒂗𒋗𒉡, <sup>[[DINGIR|d]]</sup>AMAR.UTU-EN-''šu''-''nu'', meaning "[[Marduk]] is their lord") "Mordecai" being thus a [[hypocorism]].

In the King James Version of the deuterocanonical Greek [[Book of Esther#Additions_to_Esther|additions to Esther]], his name is spelled as '''''Mardocheus''''', which may better preserve the original vowels, though the [[Masoretic Text]] versions of the Persian names in the Bible are known to be the most reliable.{{sfn|Millard|1977|pp=481-488}}

=== Age ===
[[File:Tomb of Ester and Mordechai interior.jpg|[[Tomb of Esther and Mordechai]]|thumb]]
Esther 2:5-6 contains a short snippet of Mordecai's genealogical history, generally translated as, "Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of [[Shimei ben Gera|Shimei]], the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by [[Nebuchadnezzar II|Nebuchadnezzar]] king of Babylon, among those taken captive with [[Jeconiah]] king of Judah". The wording of the passage lends to two conclusions: either that Mordecai (the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish) was carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar, or that his ancestor Kish was the one carried into exile.

The [[Pentecostal]] minister [[Finis Dake]] interprets the Bible verses Esther 2:5–6 to mean that Mordecai himself was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar.<ref>Dake's Annotated Reference Bible</ref> Biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan discusses this as an inaccuracy regarding Mordecai's age.{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=396}}{{sfn|White Crawford|2003|pp=689–690}} If "who had been carried into exile" refers to Mordecai, he would have had been more than 100 years old during the events described in the Book of Esther (assuming the biblical [[Ahasuerus]] is indeed [[Xerxes I of Persia|Xerxes I]]).{{sfn|Coogan|2009|p=396}} However, the verse may be read as referring not to Mordecai's exile to Babylon, but to his great-grandfather Kish's exile — a reading which many accept.<ref name="ISBE">Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (Ed.) (1982) ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume II'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [https://books.google.com/books?id=yklDk6Vv0l4C&pg=PA159 p. 159 (entry: Book of Esther)]</ref><ref>Wiersbe, Warren W. (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DUCs8HJTmhEC ''Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament History''], David C Cook p. 712 </ref><ref>Halley's Bible Handbook</ref>

=== Genealogy ===
[[File:سنگ نوشته نسب قوم یهود.jpg|right|thumb|The tablet of Mordechai's ancestry in the tomb traditionally ascribed to him and Esther]]
The [[Targum Sheni]] gives his genealogy in more detail, as follows:{{Efn|Textual variants indicated in appendices}} "Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Shemida,{{efn|Shamyadah}} son of Ba'anah, son of Elah, son of Micah, son of [[Mephibosheth]], son of [[Jonathan (Samuel)|Jonathan]], son of Saul, son of [[Kish (Bible)|Kish]], son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of [[Bechorath]], son of Aphiah,{{efn|Aphrach}} son of Shecharim,{{efn|Shacharit}} son of Uzziah, son of Sason,{{efn|Shishak}} son of Michael, son of Eliel, son of Amihud, son of Shephatiah, son of Penuel,{{efn|Petuel}} son of Petah,{{efn|Piton}} son of Melokh, son of Yerubaal,{{efn|Yekhobaal}} son of Yeruham, son of Hananiah, son of Zabdi, son of Elpa'al, son of Shimri, son of Zebadiah, son of Rimoth,{{efn|Merimoth}} son of Khashum,{{efn|Khoshim}} son of Shekhorah, son of Gazza, son of 'Uzza, son of Gera, son of Bela, son of [[Benjamin]], son of [[Jacob]] the firstborn, whose name is called [[Israel_(name)|Israel]]."<ref>An Explanatory Commentary on Esther with Four Appendices consisting of The Second Targum Translated From the Aramaic With Notes, Mithra, The Winged Bulls of Persepolis, And Zoroaster  by Professor Paulus Cassel, D.D., Berlin, Translated by Rev. Aaron Bernstein, B.D., T&T Clark, 38 George Street, Edinburgh, 1888, pp 298-299, retrieved Oct 25, 2017</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon |url=http://cal.huc.edu/showtargum.php?bookname=36&chapter=02&verse=5&Peshitta=1&Sam=1 |access-date=2021-03-01 |website=cal.huc.edu}}</ref> The same genealogy is inscribed on a massive metal tablet in the [[Tomb of Esther and Mordechai]] (pictured). 

This traditional genealogy implicates Kish as the name of an ancient ancestor and not simply Mordecai's great-grandfather, meaning that Esther 2:5—6 was interpreted as ''Mordecai'' being the one who was exiled to Babylon. The chronological inconsistencies of this assumption are detailed above.

== Prophet status ==
The [[Talmud]] lists [[Esther]] as a [[prophet]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Megillah 14b:9|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.14b.9|access-date=2021-02-16|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref> Some talmudic scholars such as [[Rav Nachman|Nachman b. Yaakov]] have suggested that Mordecai is the Biblical prophet [[Malachi]], but this argument is rejected by consensus and certain interpretations of the [[Talmud]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Megillah 15a:4|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Megillah.15a.4|access-date=2021-02-16|website=www.sefaria.org}}</ref>

Mordecai's genealogy in the second chapter of the Book of Esther is given as a descendant of a [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjaminite]] named Kish. As "Kish" was also the name of the father of King [[Saul]], another Benjaminite, the Talmud accords Mordecai the status of a descendant of the first [[United Monarchy|King of Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aish.com/h/pur/t/dt/48961206.html|title=Esther's Echo to the Past|website=aishcom|date=9 May 2009 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Marduk]]
* [[Persian Jews]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book|last1=Coogan|first1= Michael David |date=2009|title=A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context|location= New York|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195332728}}
*{{Cite book| title = Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther | edition = 2nd
 | last = Fox | first = Michael V. | year = 2010
 | publisher = [[Wipf and Stock]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=spVMAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131
 | isbn = 978-1-608-99495-3
}}
*{{Cite book| title = Tobit, Judith, and Esther
 | last1 = Hahn | first1 = Scott
 | last2 = Mitch | first2 = Curtis
 | year = 2019
 | publisher = [[Ignatius Press]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AQqqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA71
 | isbn = 978-1-621-64185-8
}}
*{{Cite book|last=Howard|first=David M. Jr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pzigv2umDpEC&dq=marduka+marduku+mordecai&pg=PA369|title=An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books|date=2007|publisher=Moody Publishers|isbn=978-1-57567-447-6}}
*{{Cite book
 | last = Johnson
 | first = Sara Raup 
 | title = Historical Fictions and Hellenistic Jewish Identity
 | publisher = University of California Press
 | year = 2005
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mfiJ6foYhMAC&pg=PA20
 | isbn = 9780520928435
}}
*{{cite book | title = The Book of Esther between Judaism and Christianity 
 | last = Kalimi | first = Isaac | year = 2023
 | publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OEPGEAAAQBAJ
 | isbn = 978-1-009-26609-3
}}
*{{Cite book
 | last = Macchi 
 | first = Jean-Daniel 
 | title = Esther
 | year = 2019
 | publisher = [[Kohlhammer Verlag]]
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AliJDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT123
 | isbn = 978-3-170-31028-5
}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Millard|first=A. R.|date=1977|title=The Persian Names in Esther and the Reliability of the Hebrew Text|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3265987|journal=Journal of Biblical Literature|volume=96|issue=4|pages=481–488|doi=10.2307/3265987|jstor=3265987|issn=0021-9231}}
*{{cite book|last=Moore|first= Carey A. |date=1971|title=Esther|location= New York|publisher= Doubleday}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia| title = Esther, The Book of
 | last = Tucker | first = Gene M.
 | orig-year = First published 1993
 | encyclopedia = The Oxford Companion to the Bible
 | editor1-last = Metzger | editor1-first = Bruce M.
 | editor2-last = Coogan | editor2-first = Michael D.
 | publisher = Oxford University Press
 | url = https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195046458.001.0001/acref-9780195046458-e-0232
 | date = 2004
 | doi = 10.1093/acref/9780195046458.001.0001 | isbn = 978-0-19-504645-8
}}
*{{cite book|last=White Crawford|first= Sidnie |date=2003|chapter=Esther|title=The New Interpreters Study Bible New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha|editor= Walter J. Harrison and Donald Senior|location= Nashville|publisher= Abingdon Press|isbn=0687278325}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Mordecai (Biblical figure)}}
*[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=764&letter=M ''Jewish Encyclopedia'':] Mordecai in ''Esther'' and in Rabbinical literature
*[https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/682273/jewish/Purim-and-Providence.htm ''Modesty and Myrrh'':] Mordecai in Kabbalah

{{Book of Esther}}
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{{Prophets of the Tanakh}}
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[[Category:Hebrew Bible people]]
[[Category:Book of Esther people]]
[[Category:Iranian Jews]]
[[Category:Esther]]
[[Category:Tribe of Benjamin]]
[[Category:Mesopotamian Hebrews]]