Mordecai

Mordecai (/ˈmɔːrdɪkaɪ, mɔːrdɪˈkeɪaɪ/;^[1] also Mordechai; Hebrew: מָרְדֳּכַי, Modern: Mŏrdoḵay, Tiberian: Mārdoḵay,^[a] IPA: [moʁdeˈχaj]) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described in Tanna Devei Eliyahu as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin and member of the Sanhedrin.^[2] Mordecai was also the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and bravery are highlighted in the story as he helps Esther foil the plot of Haman, the king's vizier, to exterminate the Jewish people. His story is celebrated in the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates his victory. One theory frequently discussed in scholarship suggests that the Book of Esther serves as an etiology for Purim, with Mordecai and Esther representing the Babylonian gods Marduk and Ishtar in a historicized Babylonian myth or ritual.^[3]

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