the modern Jewish celebration of Purim includes absurdist actions such as drinking until one cannot tell the difference between “cursed be Haman” and “blessed be Mordechai” (according to the Talmud) and wearing elaborate masks and costumes (similar to Mardi Gras or Carnival)—does this indicate that Jews have traditionally understood the story as containing absurdist elements?
if the story contains absurdist elements, how does that affect one’s understanding of the historicity of the story? might the story be entirely fictional? if so, how does that affect your understanding of the purpose for its inclusion in the Hebrew Bible?
Esther is one of only two books in the Hebrew Bible that don’t contain the name of God (the other is the Song of Songs), it is the only book unrepresented among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and it was one of the last to be considered canonical by the majority of Jews—do these facts affect your understanding of the origin and/or purpose of the book?
whereas the Hebrew version of Esther doesn’t include the name of God, the Greek version (which has several additional sections) refers to God about 30 times—the Greek version also magnifies the role of Mordechai in comparison with Esther—what do these facts suggest about the reception of the book of Esther?