The Synoptic Book of Esther

Events in the Book of Esther - the last Old Testament text to be added to the canon - relate to the Persian Empire in the early 5th century BCE. Xerxes was bribed by his grand vizier to have all the Jews in his 120 provinces destroyed on a single day. Esther, who was Jewish, was encouraged by her cousin Mordecai to plead for their deliverance. Esther's story is dramatic but it is also beset by odd inconsistencies and unnecessary repetitions. Dr Stephen Games argues that these are evidence of dual authorship compounded into a single linear text.