Delving into Esther Trivia Quiz

Answer: Haman

The phrase, which comes from Shakespeare's "Hamlet", means to be destroyed by one's own devices. Haman is hanged on the very gallows he builds for Mordecai.

Answer: Persia

His reign of Persia began in 486 BC and he was followed by Artaxerxes I. According to the Book of Esther, Xerxes divorced his wife, Vashti, because she refused to appear when summoned. He took Esther from his harem and made her queen in Vashti's stead.

Answer: False

Mordecai asked Esther to intercede, but she hesitated. She said she could not go into the king's presence without being summoned. Mordecai then reminded her that she too was a Jew and would not survive a slaughter, saying, "if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (4:14).

Answer: perish

Esther finally agreed to go to the king without being summoned, even though such an action was "not according to the law" (4:16).

Answer: Extended his scepter

Esther dressed nicely and stood in the king's inner court, for which he could have had her killed; but instead, he held out the golden scepter to her, a sign of pardon and permission, which allowed her to speak. She asked that the king and Haman both come to a banquet and hear her request.

Answer: Mordecai

One night, the king was reading his chronicles, and he saw that Mordecai had foiled a plot against his life. He determined to reward Mordecai, and just then Haman entered the court to ask the king if he could hang Mordecai. The king asked him: "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor?" Haman, thinking the king meant him, suggested he be paraded on a horse and adorned with royal apparel.

The king then told him to make haste and to do just that for Mordecai. So Haman was forced to parade the very man he detested.

Answer: Because he appeared to try to rape Esther

At the banquet, Esther announced that her people had been sold to be killed by Haman. The king rose and left in anger. Haman then fell upon Esther's bed to plead for his life. The king, happening upon Haman in this compromising position and thinking he would rape Esther, decided to hang him.

Answer: False

It was not possible for a king to revoke his decree once issued. However, he allowed Mordecai to write a new decree, and gave him his ring to seal it. The new decree commanded the Jews to be ready to defend themselves, so they were prepared to fight back those sent to kill them.

Answer: Myrtle

Esther's Hebrew name was Hadassah, which means "myrtle." Her Persian name, Esther, means "star."

Answer: Purim

The name comes from the fact that Haman had "devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, to consume them" (9:24).