Ahasuerus
Gentile Persian · Exile & Return · Old Testament
- Role
- King of Persia; husband of Esther
- When
- c. 486-465 BC (commonly identified with Xerxes I)
What they did
Reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces. He made Esther queen, was persuaded by Haman to decree the Jews' destruction, and then allowed the Jews to defend themselves.
Why it matters: the purpose of their role
God worked through a Gentile king's court, without His name being mentioned in the book of Esther, to preserve His people.
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17 (KJV)
Bible references
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) Esther 1:1 (KJV)
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:17 (KJV)
Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse. Esther 8:7-8 (KJV)
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. Esther 10:1 (KJV)
Family
- Spouse(s)
- Vashti (deposed), Esther