Book of Esther: Israel's FM Declares War on Iran: 23rd of Sivan Biblical Prophecy? (2025)

💭 Today is the 23rd day of the month of Sivan in the Hebrew calendar — and it’s worth noting given Israel’s war with Iran.

Why?

Haman convinced King Achashverosh to sign off on his decree “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, from young to old, infants and women, in one day.”

But, as Jewish tradition goes, on the 23rd of Sivan, at Achashverosh’s instruction, the Jewish Queen Esther and Mordechai drafted a royal decree giving Jews under the king’s rule permission to rise up and kill those who had allied with Haman to kill them. And they did just that, saving themselves from annihilation.

Where did this take place? Persia, today's Iran.

❖[Esther 8]❖

Queen Esther Saves the Jews

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her. And the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.

Then Esther spoke again to the king. She fell at his feet and wept and pleaded with him to avert the evil plan of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. When the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I bear to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he intended to lay hands on the Jews. But you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”

The king’s scribes were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day. And an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, 127 provinces, to each province in its own script and to each people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. And he wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed it with the king’s signet ring. Then he sent the letters by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud, saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods, on one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. A copy of what was written was to be issued as a decree in every province, being publicly displayed to all peoples, and the Jews were to be ready on that day to take vengeance on their enemies. So the couriers, mounted on their swift horses that were used in the king’s service, rode out hurriedly, urged by the king’s command. And the decree was issued in Susa the citadel.

Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a robe of fine linen and purple, and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. The Jews had light and gladness and joy and honor. And in every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict reached, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a feast and a holiday. And many from the peoples of the country declared themselves Jews, for fear of the Jews had fallen on them.

♰ In the Orthodox Christian tradition, the Book of Esther is interpreted as an allegory for Christ and the Church.

One of the things we can learn from the Book of Esther is that the story of Esther reveals that God will protect His chosen people in all circumstances, no matter how dire things become. Though Esther is heroine of the tale, God remains the invisible protagonist behind the scenes. He works through the plots of the ungodly and the courage of the pious to fulfill His will for the protection and survival of His people. The story of Esther is ultimately not about the fate and courage of one woman or about the necessity of piety. In fact, there is very little show of piety found in the narrative: the Name of God is not mentioned, no one is seen praying, even when doom threatens (see 4:1-3). The moral therefore is not, “Piety will be rewarded”, but rather, “God’s people will survive, since God protects them”—see 6:13, where even Haman’s wife and friends seem to know this.

This has relevance for the Church as well, since the Church is the Messianic commonwealth of Israel. No weapon forged against the Church will ultimately prosper (Isaiah 54:17), and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The Church is the anvil which has worn out many hammers, and it will remain until the Coming of the Lord. The story of Esther contains the promise that God will watch over His Church until the end. God will always preserve His people. The only question for us is: will we show courage in the hour of danger or not? Like Esther, let us resolve to do the right thing no matter what: if we perish, we perish. We must remember who we are and do our duty.

The name ESTHER has a rich etymology with roots in ancient Persian and Hebrew. It is generally believed to be derived from the Persian word "stāra," meaning "star." Additionally, it has connections to the ancient Near Eastern goddess Ishtar, associated with love, beauty, and fertility. In the Hebrew Bible, the name Esther is famously borne by the Jewish queen of Persia who saved her people, and is also linked to the Hebrew name Hadassah, meaning "myrtle".

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