Mordecai
Israelite / Jew Jew, tribe of Benjamin, living in Persia · Exile & Return · Old Testament
- Role
- Cousin and guardian of Esther
- When
- c. 480 BC (reign of Ahasuerus)
What they did
Raised Esther, uncovered a plot against the king, and refused to bow to Haman. He urged Esther to act and later became second to the king.
Why it matters: the purpose of their role
God honoured his faithfulness and used him to save the Jews; he was great among the Jews, 'seeking the wealth of his people'.
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. Esther 10:3 (KJV)
Bible references
Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. Esther 2:5-7 (KJV)
And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Esther 3:2 (KJV)
Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Esther 6:11 (KJV)
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed. Esther 10:3 (KJV)
Family
- Father
- Jair
His family had been carried away from Jerusalem with Jeconiah (Esther 2:5-6). Esther was his uncle's daughter (Esther 2:7).