Esther 2:5-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
5 There was in the royal precinct of Susa a certain Jew named Mordecai,[a] son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the captives taken with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported.(A) 7 He became foster father to his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther,[b] when she lost both father and mother. The young woman was beautifully formed and lovely to behold. On the death of her father and mother, Mordecai adopted her as his own daughter.(B)
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- 2:5 Mordecai: a Babylonian name, deriving from the god Marduk. Like Esther, Mordecai may have had a Jewish name as well, although in his case we do not know what it is. The chronology of the book makes him well over one hundred years old, since he was deported with Jehoiachin about 598 B.C.; cf. A:1.
- 2:7 Esther: a Babylonian name, deriving from the goddess Ishtar. She is given a Hebrew name as well, “Hadassah,” which means “myrtle.”
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