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that he was carried into captivity with Jeconiah, and hence that he must have been at least one hundred and twenty-nine years old in the twelfth year of Ahasuerus ( Xerxes). But the words of
Esther do not necessarily lead to this conclusion. It wasprobably Kish of whom it is said that he "had been carried away with the captivity." His name Mordechai is a Persian name which, according to Jewish tradition, he used in replacement of his Hebrew name Bilshan.
He resided at Susa, the metropolis of Persia. He adopted his cousin Hadassah ( Esther), an orphan child, whom he tenderly brought up as his own daughter. When she was brought into the king's harem and made queen in the room of the deposed queen
Vashti, he was promoted to some office in the court ofAhasuerus, and was one of those who "sat in the king's gate". While holding this office, he discovered a plot of the eunuchs to put the king to death, which, by his vigilance, was defeated. His services to the king in this matter were duly recorded in the royal chronicles.
Haman the Agagite had been raised to the highestposition at court. Mordecai refused to bow down before him; and Haman, being stung to the quick by the conduct of Mordecai, resolved to accomplish his death in a wholesale destruction of the JewThe word Jew is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to either a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity. This article discusses the term as describing an ethnic group; for aish exiles throughout the Persian empire. Tidings of this cruel scheme soon reached the ears of Mordecai, who communicated with Queen Esther regarding it, and by her wise and bold intervention the scheme was frustrated. The Jews were delivered from destruction, Mordecai was raised to a high rank, and Haman was executed on the gallows he had by anticipation erected for Mordecai. In memory of the signal deliverance thus wrought for them, the Jews to this day celebrate the feast of PurimPurim Observed by: Jews Name Hebrew: Meaning: "Lots" Begins: 14th or 15th day of Adar OccasionCelebration of Jewish deliverance as told in the Book of Esther. Symbols:Grogger, dice, costumes, mask Purim "Lots," Standard Hebrew Purim Tiberian Hebrew Purim.
Mordechai has been compared to the Babylonian god MardukFor the hypothetical planet Marduk, see Marduk (planet). Babylonian cylinder seal Marduk (Bibl. Merodach was the name of a late generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon permanently became the polit, and Esther to IshtarIshtar is the Akkadian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate northwest Semitic goddess `Ashtart. Anunit, Astarte and Atarsamain are alternate names for Ishtar. The goddess represents the planet Venus. The double aspect of the goddess may c.
This entry incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation.