The Jews were threatened with genocide. A decree ordered the extermination of young and
old, women and children. The place: Persia. The time: fifth century B.C. The book of Esther
describes how this crisis was averted through the bravery of Esther, the wisdom of her stepfather and the unity of the Jewish people. It also reveals the God who quietly-and sometimes unexpectedly-works behind the scenes to order the events of our lives. Joyce Baldwin draws out the beauty and power of this book by discussing its background, structure and theology, and by providing a passage-by-passage analysis of its contents. Joyce G. Baldwin, formerly dean of women at Trinity College, Bristol, is also author of Daniel and Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series.