esther book of

Esther, Book of
The authorship of this book is unknown. It must have been
obviously written after the death of Ahasuerus (the Xerxes of
the Greeks), which took place B.C. 465. The minute and
particular account also given of many historical details makes
it probable that the writer was contemporary with Mordecai and
Esther. Hence we may conclude that the book was written probably
about B.C. 444-434, and that the author was one of the Jews of
the dispersion.

  This book is more purely historical than any other book of
Scripture; and it has this remarkable peculiarity that the name
of God does not occur in it from first to last in any form. It
has, however, been well observed that "though the name of God be
not in it, his finger is." The book wonderfully exhibits the
providential government of God.