Esther's Relations with Achashverosh/1

Esther's Relations with Achashverosh

Introduction

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How Could She?

Chapter 2 of the Megillah describes how Esther was chosen to replace Vashti as Achashverosh's wife:

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(טז) וַתִּלָּקַח אֶסְתֵּר אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ אֶל בֵּית מַלְכוּתוֹ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָעֲשִׂירִי הוּא חֹדֶשׁ טֵבֵת בִּשְׁנַת שֶׁבַע לְמַלְכוּתוֹ. (יז) וַיֶּאֱהַב הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת אֶסְתֵּר מִכׇּל הַנָּשִׁים וַתִּשָּׂא חֵן וָחֶסֶד לְפָנָיו מִכׇּל הַבְּתוּלוֹת וַיָּשֶׂם כֶּתֶר מַלְכוּת בְּרֹאשָׁהּ וַיַּמְלִיכֶהָ תַּחַת וַשְׁתִּי.  

(16) So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. (17) 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.

The marriage has bothered many readers of the Megillah.  How could  Esther marry an idolater?  Why did neither she nor Mordechai protest her being taken? In the words of R. Saadia Gaon:

It is necessary for us to understand why Mordecai did not resist (the removal of) Esther to Ahasuerus' palace, since it is clearly stipulated in the Torah, Do not give your daughter to his son or take his daughter for your son (Deut 7:3). 

The question is based on two assumptions: 1) Marriage to an idolater is a cardinal sin.  2) Mordechai and Esther were observant Jews who would have been bothered by such a transgression.  Both of these points, however, are open to question.

Intermarriage in the Torah

The Torah's prohibition of intermarriage can be found in Devarim Chapter 7:

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(א) כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ י"י אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה בָא שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ וְנָשַׁל גּוֹיִם רַבִּים מִפָּנֶיךָ הַחִתִּי וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי שִׁבְעָה גוֹיִם רַבִּים וַעֲצוּמִים מִמֶּךָּ....

(ג) וְלֹא תִתְחַתֵּן בָּם בִּתְּךָ לֹא תִתֵּן לִבְנוֹ וּבִתּוֹ לֹא תִקַּח לִבְנֶךָ. (ד) כִּי יָסִיר אֶת בִּנְךָ מֵאַחֲרַי וְעָבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְחָרָה אַף י"י בָּכֶם וְהִשְׁמִידְךָ מַהֵר.

And you shall not marry into them, your daughter you shall not give to his son, and his daughter you shall not take for your son.

These verses speak only about marrying members of the Seven Nations of Canaan, saying nothing about Gentiles as a whole.¹  As such, it is unclear how the Torah views such a marriage.  Is it also prohibited by Torah law or only rabbinically?²  How severe a transgression would Esther's relations to Achashverosh have been?

Related Issues

Several other issues might shed light on the topic as well:

• Why Conceal Esther's Nationality? – When Esther is taken, the only piece of advice that Mordechai gives her is to hide her national background.  Was this as an attempt to prevent her marriage or to promote it?  Or was there a different motivation entirely?
• Esther's Religious Identity and Mordechai's Religious Identity – How observant were Mordechai and Esther?  Would transgressing Torah laws have bothered them?

¹ Perhaps surprisingly, nowhere else in Torah either is the nation warned against marrying an idolater.

² Considering that the reasoning given for the prohibition of Devarim relates to the spouse's ability to sway one towards idolatry, it might be logical to conclude that marriage to other idolaters must also be prohibited. However, it might also be possible that not all intermarriages are viewed equally negatively.