John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Jewish Princess Esther

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

Jewish Princess Esther

Israeli Flag Image by jorono from Pixabay

Jewish Princess Esther is named for Queen Esther, the beautiful Jewish girl who bravely saved her people.

When Esther was born, her parents named her Hadassah. In Hebrew, her name meant “myrtle.” This was a plant that symbolized God’s blessing. Sadly, Hadassah’s parents died when she was young, and her cousin Mordecai took care of her.

When Hadassah was around 14 years old, King Xerxes, the King of Persia, decided to find a new wife. But he didn’t give the girls a choice. Instead, he sent soldiers to bring the prettiest young women they could find to the palace. Then King Xerxes would choose which one he wanted to marry. Because Hadassah was so beautiful, Mordecai knew she would be taken, too. At that time, many people didn’t like Jews. Mordecai was afraid Hadassah would get hurt if people at the palace learned she was one, so he warned her not to tell anyone. This is probably when he gave her the Persian name, Esther.

Esther obeyed her cousin. When she arrived at the palace, she was so kind and so beautiful that Hegai, the man in charge of helping the girls get ready, gave Esther extra help. When the King met Esther, he liked her so much that he put a crown on her head and asked her to be his queen.

Image by kp yamu Jayanath from Pixabay

But the story doesn’t end there. After Esther was queen, a bad and powerful man named Haman tricked the king into signing a law that told the Persian people to kill all the Jews. Mordecai asked Esther to go to the king and beg him to save their lives.

Esther was scared. There was another law that said she could only go to the king if he invited her. If she went to him without being invited, she could be killed. She asked the Jews to pray for her for three days. Finally, she put on her prettiest clothes and went to see the king. When King Xerxes saw Esther, he thought she looked so beautiful that he held out his royal scepter. This meant she was welcome and wouldn’t be killed.

Image by Travel2h from Pixabay

The king asked Esther what she wanted, but Esther was still scared. So, she invited him and Haman to have a nice dinner with her instead. But at that meal, Esther was still scared. So, she invited them to a second dinner. This time, she told the king she was a Jew and that Haman had tricked him into signing a law that would kill her. She begged the king to save her life and the lives of her people.

King Xerxes was so angry with Haman that he had him killed. Then the king worked with Mordecai and Esther to save the lives of all the Jews in Persia.

The Jews celebrated the day Esther bravely saved them by creating a special holiday called Purim. Thousands of years later, Jewish people around the world still celebrate this special day.

Esther was a brave, kind, and beautiful young woman who loved God and was willing to do hard things to save her people. Her story is told in the book of Esther in the Bible.   

Lake Kinneret Image by Александр Деревяшкин from Pixabay

Other Princess Bios

Works Cited

  • The book of Esther in the Bible.

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