The Book of Mordecai

With no disrespect intended, the Bible got it wrong. The Book of Esther should be “The Book of Mordecai”. But there was good reason to get it wrong. The Book of Esther is a harem intrigue that covers up a palace intrigue. The real deal was a coup d’etat that saw Mordecai oust Haman. A naked expose of this coup would not have gone down well. In the short term it would have irked Xerxes. In the long term it would have been deemed too patently partisan for inclusion in the canon.  So Esther was elevated by the editor, and her genuine heroism ascends to center stage. The resulting tale is more politically correct by being politically incorrect.

Lest you think I am spinning yet another conspiracy theory, let’s look at the received biblical text, for hints abound about what really happened:

First, Mordecai’s real identity. He is introduced as a Benjamite blueblood, a descendant of Saul. Haman is introduced as a descendent of Agag. The text is signaling that a heavyweight battle is brewing. Mordecai is going to finish the job that his ancestor never did… or at least even the score in this round of Israel vs. Amalek.

Second, Mordecai’s real position. The fact that he was “sitting in the palace gate” is understood by scholars, such as Adele Berlin, “More than reporting Mordecai’s physical location, this verse states his position in the royal court”.  Mordecai is a well-placed administration official, maybe even director of homeland security. As such he is aware of all threats to the kingdom and to the Jews, and he is on to Haman’s hostility from day one.

Mordecai devises a plan to plant Esther in the royal court. He knows he will have to preemptively force a showdown by refusing to bow down.  He foresees that Haman will move to eradicate not just him but his people. Esther is his trump card, and when she wavers he famously and rather ruthlessly admonishes her to step up or die. Esther comes through in a big way.

After the blow-up, the besotted monarch gives the royal ring to Mordecai, perfectly positioned as foster-father of the queen, and recently honored with a parade. Mordecai “leaves the king’s presence in royal robes of blue and white, with a magnificent crown of gold and a mantle of fine linen and purple wood”. He directs the counterattack against all his enemies. He records everything and orders the very celebration of victory that we know as Purim for all time.

The Book of Esther concedes that “Mordecai was now powerful in the royal palace, and his fame was spreading through all the provinces; this man Mordecai was growing ever more powerful”, and that “a full account of the greatness to which the king advanced Mordecai” can be found elsewhere, and finally, in the very last verse, that “Mordecai the Jew ranked next to King Ahasuerus”. Mission accomplished.