Hidden Spiritual Gem #8 from the Bible: ‘Esther’ Phonetically Means ‘Concealed’ in Hebrew
Esther is a Book of Concealment and Hidden Truth for the Believer
Many Bible students are aware that there is not one direct/explicit reference to God to be found anywhere in the Book of Esther. God has deliberately concealed Himself within the text, and, moreover, in the process, God has also deliberately concealed the Gospel of God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan, wrought by the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well. In fact, the entire Book of Esther concerns ‘concealment’.
It has often been succinctly stated that the Old Testament is the New Testament CONCEALED, and the New Testament is the Old Testament REVEALED…because the whole Bible is really only all about Jesus Christ and God’s Magnificent Salvation Plan through Him! (It has also been said, correctly, that the Old Testament is the New Testament CONTAINED, and that the New Testament is the Old Testament EXPLAINED.) The expositional studies found on the Bereansearching website provide substantiation for the above claim.
The Apostle Paul was inspired to write in 2 Timothy 1:9-11, “Who (God) hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” The word translated here as “manifest” here in the original Greek is φανερόω (phanero)G5319, which means ‘to make visible or known what has been hidden or unknown‘.
God Concealed in the Book of Esther His Magnificent Salvation Plan Through The Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ from Creation into Eternity, but Now Reveals It to the Believers in the New Testament Era by His Holy Spirit
Perhaps the most important of God’s purposes for crafting the Book of Esther was to convey (albeit in a concealed manner) most, if not all, of the key elements of God’s magnificent salvation plan in one short (ten chapter) account.
The Message of the Book of Esther is the same Gospel Message that can be found everywhere else in the Bible as it focuses on the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ. The only difference is that, each time Jesus is found in the Bible, we can learn more about Him and God’s Gospel plan through Him (which glorifies God in the process). However, to truly “see” Jesus (to believe with our hearts and not just our minds), we must have our “spiritual eyes” opened by God. Given that this can be the case, then another purpose for God having provided us with the Book of Esther is that it will edify and strengthen the faith of the saints (the elect of God, the believers). Please see this post for more background and expansion on these points: The Book of Esther: A Summary Christian Commentary and Outline. [In brief, Mordecai serves as an allegorical representative of The LORD Jesus Christ (God as Savior), while Queen Esther serves as an allegorical representative of the Body of Believers, The Bride of Christ (from both Jews (the remnant) and Gentiles; who comprise the true “Jews”, the eternal Israel of God)]. Moreover Esther replaced Vashti, the former queen, who serves as an allegorical representative of National Israel.
Just as significantly, the Book of Esther is also a book of “Prophecy“! It points to the Person and Work of Jesus establishing the New Covenant to offer a way of escape from the demands of God’s Law under the Old Covenant, and the New Testament era that followed. It also culminates with a picture of Judgment Day at the end of creation, and the transition into eternity in Heaven that will follow for all who are counted among the people of Jesus… and the eternal death and destruction in Hell for all those who are not.
Esther’s Very Name Highlights ‘Concealment‘
It is not widely known that the very name ‘Esther’ underscores this point. Although ‘Esther’, the Jewish orphan made queen in Persia (as found in the Book of Esther) was born with a Hebrew name, הֲדַסָה (hăḏasâ)H1919 that was translated in the King James translation as “Hadassah“, which means “Myrtle” (in the feminine form that is found only once in the Bible, in Esther 2:7) because it is derived from the the Hebrew word הֲדַס (hăḏas)H1918, a masculine noun, meaning “myrtle (tree)”.
The masculine version of myrtle (הֲדַס (hăḏas)H1918) is found six times in the Bible, and each time the myrtle tree is always cast in a positive light. In Isaiah 55:13, the myrtle tree is juxtaposed with a brier; and in Isaiah 41:19 it is a green tree planted by God in what had been a wilderness. It can be concluded from these two verses that the myrtle tree is a representation of the believers, where in the wilderness (the world) thorns (unsaved people) flourish, God raises up myrtle trees (the believers); in Nehemiah 8:15, branches from the myrtle tree are to be used in the construction of the Succoth booths (representing a Heavenly abode), and then in Zechariah, myrtle trees are found three times Zechariah 1:8, Zechariah 1:10, Zechariah 1:11, where a horseman is seen in a vision walking among myrtle trees and Zechariah is told by the horseman, “These [are they] whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. ¶And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.” This was during the seventy year period, which God had foretold by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:10&11 (see also 2 Chronicles 36:21) whereby God would cause the land to have its Sabbaths (rest) while the Jews were in captivity, but that God would later restore Jerusalem and also spoke “good words [and] comfortable words” (Zechariah 1:13).
The “myrtle tree” is most likely the aromatic common myrtle (M. communis) is native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. This evergreen tree is said “to grow more than 5 meters, or about 16.5 feet, high. The opposite leaves are thick and lustrous, with many small, translucent, oil-bearing glands. The solitary white flowers, about 1.8 cm (about 0.7 inch) long, are borne on short stalks. The fruit is a purplish black, many-seeded berry. Myrtol, a volatile oil found in most parts of the plant, was formerly used as an antiseptic and tonic.”
changing her name from Hadassah (Jewish) to Esther (Persian), it would have certainly helped her to “hide” or “conceal” her Jewish identity from potential enemies like Haman.
However, ‘Esther’ is Hadassah’s Persian name, which in Hebrew is אֶסְתֵּר(’es·têr)H635 and just happens to be, phonetically, very similar to the Hebrew word אֶסָּתֵ֑ר (’es·sā·ṯêr)H5641. That word is a variant/derivation of the Hebrew root word, סָתַר (sāṯar)H5641, which means “to hide” or “to conceal”, or “to close-up”, and is found twice in this particular form in the Bible in Genesis 4:14 (translated in English as “shall I be hid;“) and also in Job 13:20 (translated as “then will I not hide“); as well as another variant of the same Hebrew word אַסְתִּיר (’as·tîr)H5641, which is used only once in this particular form in the Bible, in Deuteronomy 31:18, where we read, “And I will surely H5641 hide H5641 my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.” (Note also that the word “hide” was doubled, and hence was translated as “surely hide”). In this later usage, God was specifically telling Moses in Deuteronomy 31:16-22 that in the future the people of Israel would commit spiritual adultery, by worshipping other gods, at which point God would “hide/conceal” Himself from National Israel as a result. (It is therefore all the more ironic that, derived from this forewarned concealment of God’s Face, a Jewish tradition has arisen, such that hiding one’s face (wearing a mask) is considered proper when the Jews celebrate the day of Esther/The Feast Purim.)
We should also remember what Joseph said to the good Pharaoh concerning the Pharaoh’s two dreams, which together had the same meaning in Genesis 41:32, “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; [it is] because the thing [is] established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.“
So then, we can see that the name Esther is actually a cross-cultural “homophone”, in that…in Persian, ‘Esther’ is generally accepted as meaning “Star“, but in Hebrew, ‘Esther‘ phonetically means “Concealed“. At a minimum, one could say that, by changing her name from Hadassah (Jewish) to Esther (Persian), it would have certainly helped her to “hide” or “conceal” her Jewish identity from potential enemies like Haman. While Esther’s name provides us with an interesting play on words (“pun”), we will soon learn from this study that there is far more hidden in the Book of Esther (by God) than just Esther’s Jewish identity. Please see An Exposition of The Book of Esther from which this short post is excerpted.
God Has Hidden Gems in the Bible for Believers
And we should all remember what God tells us in Proverbs 25:2 (KJV). There we find this extraordinary verse, “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter.” If we look carefully at the text as it reads in the original Hebrew using an Interlinear Bible or Online cross-reference like this one available online, then we find that it can also read like this… ”[It is] the glory of God to conceal a “word” (because it is from the Hebrew דָּבָר (dāḇār)H1697, a masculine noun): but the honour of kings [is] to search out a “word” (because the word that was translated into English as “matter” is also the same word found in the original Hebrew to be דָּבָר (dāḇār)H1697, which is translated more than eight hundred times in the Old Testament as “word.”). It appears, therefore, that God is telling us that He is glorified by the concealing of The Word (Jesus Christ) in the Bible, and the believers are “honored” by being made able to search out The Word (Who is Jesus Christ) when reading the Bible. And as we will see, God has not only “concealed” Jesus Christ within the Book of Esther, but, in our day, God has graciously also allowed the believers to “search out” Jesus Christ from the Book of Esther. More on this here, and when we remember Jesus’ own testimony along the Road to Emmaus.
Searching the Scriptures for Hid Treasures (Proverbs 2:4)
In Proverbs 2:1-6, we read the following, “¶My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart tounderstanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, [and] liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as [for] hid treasures. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth [cometh] knowledge and understanding.”
Anyone earnestly seeking for truth in the Bible must ultimately come to the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, for Jesus is, according to John 14:6, “the way, the truth and the life.” In John 5:39, we read where Jesus was admonishing the Jews and said, “Search the scriptures (only the Old Testament in that day); for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”(The “me” being Jesus Christ Himself!) For additional proof that Jesus Is to be the focus of our “searching”, please see the study on the Road to Emmaus. [And while this teacher is hesitant to point to the works of others, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you read the short evening devotional “Search the Scriptures“(Expositing upon John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.“) by Charles Spurgeon, circa 1868]
The Word of God Is Holy, as God Is Holy, and Sacrosanct. The Word, the Bible, is to be viewed as One and the Same with Jesus Christ, because Jesus Is The Word made flesh as we read in John 1:14. For more detail on how the Bible is uniquely and magnificently crafted by God to convey Himself to us in written form, please see the Bible Study Guide
There are many “hidden gems” within the Bible, which can easily be glossed over in general or casual reading. This is because God has deliberately Spiritually interwoven “hid treasures” within the various passages, which God Is Willing to reveal, and allow His children to discover, all in accordance with God’s predetermined plan and timing. And ultimately, every one of those “hid treasures” points us to God’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and glorifies God in the process, as well as honoring the believers, because those “hid treasures” draw the believers ever closer to the Lord Jesus Christ, their Savior. The believers are thereby provided comfort, edification, encouragement, and strengthened faith. Most importantly they teach the “Wisdom” of God as we read in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”
For additional evidence that this is reality and not fiction please see the other linked posts above and this one too: Searching the Bible for Hid Treasures.
Conclusion
When we look around the world today and pass people on the street, it is impossible for anyone to discern by outward appearance who is a true believing Christian. Only God knows the heart. And just as Esther’s identity as a Jew (representing the eternal Jews who form the Bride of Christ) was concealed, but was eventually revealed, so too will the Bride of Christ remain hidden from the world until the end of time when Jesus comes back on the clouds of Glory to gather His Bride to the Wedding Feast (while also condemning the unsaved of the world in Judgment).
This post has provided just one example how God has magnificently crafted history, and the recording of it, to convey important spiritual truth that is hidden/concealed and interwoven within the tapestry of the Biblical text. Esther’ name represents just another unique way how this can be shown to be the case. However, the primary purpose for interweaving the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ within and throughout the Scriptures is that this reality must be spiritually discerned by the indwelling Power of God, The Holy Spirit. Proverbs 25:2 makes clear that God’s stated purpose for such concealment of His Word within the scriptures is that it brings ‘glory’ God to do so, while also granting ‘honor’ to the believers who are led to search out God’s Word (Who Is Jesus). “[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing (‘word’): but the honour of kings [is] to search out a matter (‘word’).”
Please ponder these verses carefully:
- 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.“
- 2 Thessalonians 2:6-12, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will] let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even [him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.“
Jesus also taught the following concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus compared to ‘hid treasure’ that is only attainable through the Person and Work of the LORD Jesus Christ. Matthew 13:44, “¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. ¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Once someone has found The LORD Jesus Christ as his or her Savior, he or she will have found the Kingdom of Heaven!
It is this teacher’s hope and prayer that the reader will have been Gifted by God the Spiritual Enlightenment (The Hearing Ear and Seeing Eye) to have a much greater appreciation that the Bible is indeed the Word of God, and begin to more fully grasp that the Bible was indeed supernaturally crafted perfectly by God the Holy Spirit… and, more importantly, that the reader can have a greater understanding of the implications that it holds regarding the destiny of everyone’s eternal soul. IF not, then please cry out to God while you still can, repent of your sins whatever they are, and make peace with God through His Dear Son, The Lord Jesus Christ, because Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the life! The entire Bible Testifies of Jesus!
Postscript: But what about National Israel? Why is it that the Jews (as a corporate body) do not understand the hidden meaning of Esther?
It is indisputable that the Book of Esther is indeed about the miraculous “physical“ deliverance of the Jews of National Israel (the physical descendants of the patriarchs from the first, Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and David). However, it is more importantly about the miraculous eternal “spiritual”deliverance of the true “Jews”, the body of believers, the eternal Israel, which is the Church of Jesus Christ (those who are of the faith of Abraham, which include a remnant of both National Israel and the Gentile nations – – Romans 2:28–29; Romans 4:13–16; Galatians 3:26–29). Because the Book of Esther has both an earthly/historical meaning and a heavenly/eternal spiritual meaning, it is an “Historical Parable“, which involves significant use of “allegories” and “types“.
The true spiritual meaning of the Book of Esther, being ordained and crafted by God as an Historical Parable, has remained “hidden“, “concealed” and “closed up” to the Jews (and all unbelievers) to this very day! God has hidden His Face from National Israel exactly as He prophesied in Deuteronomy 31:18 and we see confirmed in John 12:35-41, “¶Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. ¶ But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? (referencing Isaiah 53:1) and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? ¶Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias (Isaiah) said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.“(in Isaiah 6:1)
The above was referring specifically back to Isaiah 6:9&10, “¶And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.“
Romans 11:7, “What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.”
2 Corinthians 3:14-16, “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which [vail] is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.“
2 Corinthians 4:3-6, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.“
To help more fully grasp the importance of the above scriptures, please review the study on “The Hearing Ear and the Seeing Eye“.
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Tags: Bible, Christianity, Esther, God, hid-treasure, Jesus, proverbs-252
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