The Power of Equivocation by Amy Kalmanofsky

Author:Amy Kalmanofsky [Kalmanofsky, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL006090 RELIGION / Biblical Criticism & Interpretation / Old Testament, REL006210 RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Old Testament / General, REL006400 RELIGION / Biblical Studies / Exegesis & Hermeneutics
Publisher: Fortress Press

A Jewish man lived in the fortress of Shushan whose name was Mordecai, son of Jair son of Shimei son of Kish, a Benjaminite, who was exiled from Jerusalem among those that were exiled with King Jeconiah of Judah who was exiled by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon. He cared for Hadassah—that is Esther—his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his daughter.

Mordecai is a character with lineage and history and therefore, one assumes, significance.

Although the chronology given would make Mordecai at least 114 years old, the text asserts that Mordecai was exiled with King Jeconiah.13 Most indicative of his significance is that Mordecai appears to be a descendant of King Saul, although it doesn’t make the connection explicit. Like Mordecai, Saul—whose father’s name is Kish—is from the tribe of Benjamin. Again, the chronology does not work. More than two generations must separate Mordecai from Saul. Despite this discrepancy, the book clearly connects Mordecai with Saul. This connection is made even stronger as the narrative unfolds, since Mordecai’s rival is Haman the Agagite. In the previous chapter, I mentioned that Saul loses the kingship because he disobeys God’s command in 1 Samuel 15 to slaughter every Amalekite man, woman, child, and animal, including King Agag. Saul, of course, does not kill Agag—the prophet Samuel does. As a result, Saul loses the kingdom for his descendants and loses his relationship with God. Pitting Mordecai, a descendant of Saul, against Haman, a descendant of Agag, adds a layer of Israelite history and lore to the Esther narrative. Saul and Haman are enacting a deep historical rivalry that was crucial to the national formation of Israel. This fact alone indicates that Mordecai is the intended hero of the story. He will right Saul’s terrible wrong.

Yet an equivocal reading recognizes how Mordecai’s textual relationship with Saul also detracts from Mordecai’s status. After all, as I discussed in the previous chapter, Saul was a failed and rejected king. Associating Mordecai with this failed king does not obviously afford Mordecai honor, nor does it necessarily bestow honor on Saul. A repeat showdown between Saul and Agag through their descendants neither changes history nor seems necessary to restore Israel’s glory in their exile.

Mordecai’s adoption of his orphaned cousin Esther presents him as a compassionate father figure and provides more support for viewing Mordecai as the book’s central character and true hero. The word אמן (2:7), which I translate as “cared for,” designates nonbiological guardians of children in the Bible.14 Most notably, it is used by Moses in Numbers 11:12. Frustrated by the people, Moses angrily asks God, “Did I conceive this people? Did I give birth to them that you should say to me: ‘Lift them to your bosom as a nurse [אמן] carries an infant’ into the land that you swore to their ancestors?” Moses implies that it is God’s responsibility to care for the people and be their אמן. The use of this word suggests that Mordecai is to Esther what God is to the Jewish people.

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