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Chronology of Esther |
Last updated: 20-Apr-2019 at 12:27 (See History.) © Richard P. Aschmann |
(biblechronology.net/Esther.html)
The chronology of the book of Esther is surprisingly detailed, sometimes down to the month, and its chronology dovetails amazingly well with the extra-biblical historical events that occur during the reign of king Xerxes I of Persia (called Ahasuerus in Hebrew). But of course we should not be surprised: since the Bible is God’s Word it will be accurate.
For the most part the dates provided are my own, based on information gleaned from the text itself, except for those in lavender and pink, which are taken from extra-Biblical historical sources. I find that most of The Narrated Bible’s dates in Esther are in error, which is surprising, since generally it is quite accurate. (I wrote to F. LaGard Smith in November 2017 and asked him about this, and he graciously replied that after 35 years he cannot remember, and no longer has his original notes.) If anyone thinks I have interpreted the text incorrectly in a particular case, please let me know.
The English month names given in quotes in the charts below are actually Hebrew or Babylonian months. To see what they correspond to, see The Hebrew Calendar. For colors used, see Format.
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Hebrew/ |
Gregorian |
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486 |
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October |
—Death of Darius I, Xerxes I becomes king. |
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1 |
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484*? |
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—Xerxes sets up a display of his wealth and splendor (Esther 1:4) |
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2 |
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Xerxes displays his wealth |
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483 |
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for 180 days (Esther 1:4) |
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3 |
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—Xerxes begins preparations for the invasion of Greece |
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—Xerxes’ banquet, Vashti removed as queen, 3rd year of reign (Esther 1:3) (Esther 1:3,5-22) |
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4 |
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481 |
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—Xerxes begins to muster troops for the invasion of Greece |
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5 |
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summer & autumn |
—The Persian army is gathered in Asia Minor |
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480 |
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6 |
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Spring |
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Late in year |
—Xerxes returns to Asia, leaving his generals to continue the invasion |
Second Persian invasion |
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Tebeth |
479* |
“January” |
—Xerxes seeks new queen, start of Esther’s 12-month beauty treatment (Esther 2:12) (Esther 2:1-12) |
of Greece under Xerxes |
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7 |
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June |
—Persia defeated by Greece
at the battles of Plataea and Mycale |
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Tebeth |
478* |
“January” |
—7th year of reign (Esther 2:16): Esther becomes queen (Esther 2:13-18) |
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8 |
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··············· Mordecai foils a plot against the king (Esther 2:19-23) |
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9 |
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11 |
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··············· Xerxes honors Haman, Mordecai refuses to bow to him (Esther 3:1-6) |
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474* |
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12 |
Nisan |
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“April” |
—12th year of reign (Esther 3:7): Haman plots to kill all the Jews (Esther 3:1-11) |
—“April” 13 (Esther 3:12-15): Haman writes |
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Sivan 23 |
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“June” 23 |
—(Esther 8:9): Haman hanged, plot foiled by order of the king (Esther 7-8) |
official letters ordering a massacre |
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Adar 13-14 |
473* |
“March” 13-14 |
—(Esther 8:12, 9:1,15, 3:7,12,13): The Jews are saved from destruction, institution of Purim (Esther 9-10) |
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13 |
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