Alternatively, Rabbi Nehemiah says that the non-Jews named her Esther on account of her beauty (either a reference to the moon 4 or Venus 5 ). Others say that Hadassah was her true name and she was called Esther because she concealed (מסתרת) her identity. 2Īccording to one opinion, Esther was her proper name, and she was called Hadassah, “myrtle,” since Scripture compares the righteous to myrtles, saying, “And he stood among the myrtle trees…” 3 Scripture tells us that “Hadassah is Esther.” 1 There is a discussion in the Talmud of which of the two was her real name. Just to make your question even stronger, let’s note that both Mordecai and Esther had other, Hebrew, names as well. But why would Mordecai, a righteous, observant Jew, be named after a Babylonian deity? Reply Is there any truth to that? I could see why Esther would need to do that, living as a crypto-Jew in the palace. And now I read that they bore the names of the Babylonian gods Marduk and Istahar. I was especially struck by how Mordecai was courageous and stood up for his Jewish beliefs by refusing to bow before the wicked Haman. I grew up hearing the story of Purim and its heroes, Mordecai and Esther.
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