Esther Regina

by LaCocque, Andre

• ISBN13: 9780810124592
• ISBN10: 0810124599
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-12-27
• Publisher: Northwestern Univ Pr

Summary

Readers and scholars often question the inclusion of the violent and seemingly secular book of Esther in the biblical canon. Distinguished scriptural scholar Andre LaCocque maintains that this confusion arises from a mistaken appraisal of genre. Drawing on the Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin, LaCocque reveals the true comedic nature of the novella about Esther and Mordecai, finding in the book's grotesque elements - from royal banquets that last a half year to an improbable succession of coincidences and reversals of fortunes that neutralize a planned genocide - a natural fit with Bakhtin's description of the subversive and liberating "carnivalesque."

Author Biography

André LaCocque is emeritus professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the Chicago Theological Seminary and emeritus director of its doctoral Center for Jewish-Christian Studies.  He is the author, with Paul Ricoeur, of Thinking Biblically.

Table of Contents

The Literary Genre(s) of the Book of Esther	p. 3
The Book of Esther and the Powers That Be	p. 32
The Secularism of the Book of Esther	p. 42
A Trio of Women: Vashti, Esther, Zeresh	p. 50
In the Background: Israel versus Amalek	p. 65
Banqueting and Festivities	p. 81
The Book of Esther Interprets and Is Interpreted	p. 103
Otherness: The Women and the Jews	p. 116
Outline of the Book of Esther	p. 133
Notes	p. 135
Bibliography	p. 179
Index	p. 193
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