10 passagesc. 2nd-13th century CEAramaicPublic Domain
Individual passages from Targum Sheni on Esther, indexed for close reading, source verification, and myth source-checking.
Solomon's throne did not merely hold him. It moved under him like a court of golden creatures. Targum Sheni on (Esther 1:2) preserved in Paulus Cassel's 1888 public-domain English ...
Ahasuerus did not display ordinary treasure at his feast. He displayed the plunder of the Temple. Targum Sheni on (Esther 1:4) reads the king's "riches of his glorious kingdom" as ...
Memucan is not a minor courtier in Targum Sheni. He is Daniel under another name. The targum explains that Daniel was called Memucan because heaven had arranged for Queen Vashti's ...
Esther is called Hadassah because she fills the world like myrtle fragrance. Targum Sheni on (Esther 2:7) turns her names into prophecy. Hadassah means myrtle, and the righteous ar...
Mordecai tried to hide Esther from the empire before the empire could see her. When the royal decree gathered young women to Shushan, Targum Sheni on (Esther 2:8) says Mordecai wit...
Mordecai refuses to bow because he knows what real power looks like. In Targum Sheni on (Esther 3:3), the royal servants press him to kneel before Haman. Mordecai answers with a vi...
Mordecai knew the decree before ordinary news could reach him. Targum Sheni on (Esther 4:1) says he saw everything by Ruach HaKodesh, the holy spirit of prophetic insight. The king...
At Shushan's gate, even the Torah appeared to mourn. Targum Sheni on (Esther 4:1) says the holy ark was brought out, the book of the Law was taken from it, and sackcloth and ashes ...
Esther asks for a fast, and Targum Sheni lets the whole world feel it. In (Esther 4:16), she tells Mordecai to gather the Jews of Shushan for three days and nights of fasting. The ...
Mordecai does not uncover the plot by luck. In the plain scroll, Mordecai learns that two royal officers are planning to strike Ahasuerus, and he tells Esther (Esther 2:22). Targum...
