Saturday, March 30, 2013

A Small Detail

Sometimes all it takes is a small detail to completely cast a story in a new light. Consider the story of Vashti in the first chapter of Esther. The Septuagint version of Esther 1:5 adds two words τοῦ γάμου making the occasion when all of this occurred not just any feast but Artaxerxes' marriage feast. Vashti thus becomes either the bashful blushing bride who blew it or the headstrong feminist who missed it.