Chapter 1:
And it came to pass in the days of Achashverosh [Ahasuerus], the same Achashverosh who ruled from Hodu [India] to Cush [Ethiopia], one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. This is Ahasuerus who reigned, from even unto, over a hundred and seven and twenty provinces– that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the castle, in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the army of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him; when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty, many days, even a hundred and fourscore days.

And when these days were fulfilled, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the castle, both great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace; there were hangings of white, fine cotton, and blue, bordered with cords of fine linen and purple, upon silver rods and pillars of marble; the couches were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of green, and white, and shell, and onyx marble.

And they gave them drink in vessels of gold–the vessels being diverse one from another–and royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel; for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times–for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment; and the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat the first in the kingdom: ‘What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, forasmuch as she hath not done the bidding of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?’

And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: ‘Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples, that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it will be said: The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. And this day will the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the deed of the queen say the like unto all the king’s princes. So will there arise enough contempt and wrath.

If it please the king, let there go forth a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, that Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus, and that the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his kingdom, great though it be, all the wives will give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.’ And the word pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan; for he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and speak according to the language of his people.

Chapter 2
After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was assuaged, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him: ‘Let there be sought for the king young virgins fair to look on; and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the castle, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hegai the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their ointments be given them; and let the maiden that pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti.’ And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

There was a certain Jew in Shushan the castle, 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 captives that 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 maiden was of beautiful form and fair to look on; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.

So it came to pass, when the king’s commandment and his decree was published, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the castle, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her ointments, with her portions, and the seven maidens, who were meet to be given her out of the king’s house; and he advanced her and her maidens to the best place in the house of the women.

Esther had not made known her people nor her kindred; for Mordecai had charged her that she should not tell it. And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women’s house, to know how Esther did, and what would become of her. Now when the turn of every maiden was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that it had been done to her according to the law for the women, twelve months–for so were the days of their anointing accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six month with sweet odours, and with other ointments of the women– when then the maiden came unto the king, whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.

In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, who kept the concubines; she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and she were called by name. Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 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. 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.

Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the bounty of the king. And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, and Mordecai sat in the king’s gate– Esther had not yet made known her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her; for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him– in those days, while Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, two of the king’s chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.

And the thing became known to Mordecai, who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther told the king thereof in Mordecai’s name.
And when inquisition was made of the matter, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king.

Chapter 3
After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed down, and prostrated themselves before Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him. Then the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, said unto Mordecai: ‘Why transgressest thou the king’s commandment?’

Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s words would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him, then was Haman full of wrath. But it seemed contemptible in his eyes to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai; wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.

In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. And Haman said unto king Ahasuerus: ‘There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from those of every people; neither keep they the king’s laws; therefore it profiteth not the king to suffer them.

If it please the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those that have the charge of the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.’ And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. And the king said unto Haman: ‘The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee.’

Then were the king’s scribes called in the first month, on the thirteenth day thereof, and there was written, according to all that Haman commanded, unto the king’s satraps, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the princes of every people; to every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and it was sealed with the king’s ring.

And letters were sent by posts into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing, to be given out for a decree in every province, was to be published unto all peoples, that they should be ready against that day. The posts went forth in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in Shushan the castle; and the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

Chapter 4
Now when Mordecai knew all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and he came even before the king’s gate; for none might enter within the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. And Esther’s maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly pained; and she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai; and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he accepted it not.

Then called Esther for Hathach, one of the king’s chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her, and charged him to go to Mordecai, to know what this was, and why it was. So Hathach went forth to Mordecai unto the broad place of the city, which was before the king’s gate. And Mordecai told him of all that had happened unto him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews, to destroy them.

Also he gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to show it unto Esther, and to declare it unto her; and to charge her that she should go in unto the king, to make supplication unto him, and to make request before him, for her people. And Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. Then Esther spoke unto Hathach, and gave him a message unto Mordecai:

‘All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live; but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.’ And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.

Then Mordecai bade them to return answer unto Esther: ‘Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then will relief and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy father’s house will perish; and who knoweth whether thou art not come to royal estate for such a time as this?’

Then Esther bade them return answer unto Mordecai: ‘Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.’ So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

Chapter 5
Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house; and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the entrance of the house. And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

Then said the king unto her: ‘What wilt thou, queen Esther? for whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be given thee.’ And Esther said: ‘If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.’ Then the king said: ‘Cause Haman to make haste, that it may be done as Esther hath said.’ So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. And the king said unto Esther at the banquet of wine: ‘Whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.’ Then answered Esther, and said: ‘My petition and my request is, if I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request–let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to-morrow as the king hath said.’

Then went Haman forth that day joyful and glad of heart; but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, Haman was filled with wrath against Mordecai. Nevertheless Haman refrained himself, and went home; and he sent and fetched his friends and Zeresh his wife. And Haman recounted unto them the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and everything as to how the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. Haman said moreover: ‘Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to-morrow also am I invited by her together with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.’

Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him: ‘Let a gallows be made of fifty cubits high, and in the morning speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon; then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet.’ And the thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.

Chapter 6
On that night could not the king sleep; and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s chamberlains, of those that kept the door, who had sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said: ‘What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?’ Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him: ‘There is nothing done for him.’

And the king said: ‘Who is in the court?’ –Now Haman was come into the outer court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. And the king’s servants said unto him: ‘Behold, Haman standeth in the court.’ And the king said: ‘Let him come in.’ So Haman came in. And the king said unto him: ‘What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour?’ –Now Haman said in his heart: ‘Whom would the king delight to honour besides myself?’ And Haman said unto the king: ‘For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and on whose head a crown royal is set; and let the apparel and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man therewith whom the king delighteth to honour, and cause him to ride on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him: Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.’

Then the king said to Haman: ‘Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken.’ Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and caused him to ride through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him: ‘Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.’ And Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house, mourning and having his head covered.

And Haman recounted unto Zeresh his wife and all his friends every thing that had befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his wife unto him: ‘If Mordecai, before whom thou hast begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt not prevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him.’ While they were yet talking with him, came the king’s chamberlains, and hastened to bring Haman unto the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Chapter 7
So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine: ‘Whatever thy petition, queen Esther, it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request, even to the half of the kingdom, it shall be performed.’ Then Esther the queen answered and said: ‘If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request; for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, for the adversary is not worthy that the king be endamaged.’ Then spoke the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen: ‘Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?’

And Esther said: ‘An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman.’ Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman remained to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the couch whereon Esther was. Then said the king: ‘Will he even force the queen before me in the house?’ As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Then said Harbonah, one of the chamberlains that were before the king: ‘Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman hath made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman.’ And the king said: ‘Hang him thereon.’ So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath assuaged.
Chapter 8
On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews’ enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. And Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and besought him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews.

Then the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. And she said: ‘If it please the king, and if I have found favour in his sight, and the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews that are in all the king’s provinces; for how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?’

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 concerning 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.’ Then were the king’s scribes called at that time, in the third month, which is the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews, even to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, a hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language.

And they wrote in the name of king Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, riding on swift steeds that were used in the king’s service, bred of the stud; that the king had granted the Jews that were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, and to slay, and to cause to perish, all the forces of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.

The copy of the writing, to be given out for a decree in every province, was to be published unto all the peoples, and that the Jews should be ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. So the posts that rode upon swift steeds that were used in the king’s service went out, being hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment; and the decree was given out in Shushan the castle. And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a rob of fine linen and purple; and the city of Shushan shouted and was glad.

The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honour. And in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness and joy, a feast and a good day. And many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen upon them.

Chapter 9
Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the same, when the king’s commandment and his decree drew near to be put in execution, in the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to have rule over them; whereas it was turned to the contrary, that the Jews had rule over them that hated them; the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt; and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them was fallen upon all the peoples.

And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the governors, and they that did the king’s business, helped the Jews; because the fear of Mordecai was fallen upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went forth throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai waxed greater and greater. And the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they would unto them that hated them. And in Shushan the castle the Jews slew and destroyed five hundred men. And Parshandatha, and Dalphon, and Aspatha, and Poratha, and Adalia, and Aridatha, and Parmashta, and Arisai, and Aridai, and Vaizatha, the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy, slew they; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. On that day the number of those that were slain in Shushan the castle was brought before the king.

And the king said unto Esther the queen: ‘The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the castle, and the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now whatever thy petition, it shall be granted thee; and whatever thy request further, it shall be done.’ Then said Esther: ‘If it please the king, let it be granted to the Jews that are in Shushan to do to-morrow also according unto this day’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged upon the gallows.’

And the king commanded it so to be done; and a decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. And the Jews that were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and slew three hundred men in Shushan; but on the spoil they laid not their hand. And the other Jews that were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives, and had rest from their enemies, and slew of them that hated them seventy and five thousand–but on the spoil they laid not their hand on the thirteenth day of the month Adar, and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness.

But the Jews that were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day thereof, and on the fourteenth thereof; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore do the Jews of the villages, that dwell in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, and a good day, and of sending portions one to another.

And Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters unto all the Jews that were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both nigh and far, to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly, the days wherein the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.

And the Jews took upon them to do as they had begun, and as Mordecai had written unto them; because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had devised against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast pur, that is, the lot, to discomfit them, and to destroy them; but when she came before the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head; and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

Wherefore they called these days Purim, after the name of pur. Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come unto them, the Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to the writing thereof, and according to the appointed time thereof, every year; and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote down all the acts of power, to confirm this second letter of Purim. And he sent letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, according as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fastings and their cry. And the commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.
Chapter 10
And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, how the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his seed.

The Judges are the Jewish leaders who arise during this time, unify the people, get them to repent, deal with the spiritual problems of the nation, and also deal with the physical threat. They are sometimes military leaders who know how to mobilize the nation for war against an enemy, but their real power lies in their Torah knowledge and ability to adjudicate Jewish law.

The transmission from Moses until today is an unbroken chain of transmission of 120 generations. The following list of Rabbinic leaders, from Moses until the completion of the Talmud in 500 CE appears in the introduction to Maimonides’ “Mishneh Torah.” Following this list is an explanation from Maimonides on the precise method of transmission, beginning with Moses.

Mount Sinai (1312 BCE)
1. Moses
2. Joshua

The Elders (l260-860 BCE)
3. Pinchas and the 70 Elders
4. Eli the Kohen
5. Samuel the Prophet
6. King David

The Prophets (860-360 BCE)
7. Achiyah
8. Elijah the Prophet
9. Elisha
10. Yehoyada the Priest
11. Zechariah ben Yehoyada
12. Hosea
13. Amos
14. Isaiah
15. Micah
16. Joel
17. Nachum
18. Habakuk
19. Zephaniah
20. Jeremiah
21. Baruch ben Neriah

The Great Assembly (360-260 BCE)
22. The Great Assembly consisted of 120 Elders, including Ezra, Zechariah, Daniel and Mordechai
23. Shimon the Tzaddik

TANA’IM – Mishnaic Era (260 BCE – 200 CE)
24. Antigonos of Socho
25. Yose ben Yoezer, Yose ben Yochanan
26. Yehoshua ben Perachiah, Nittai of Arbel
27. Yehuda ben Tabbai, Shimon ben Shatach
28. Shemayah and Avtalyon
29. Hillel and Shamai
30. R’ Shimon ben Hillel, R’ Yochanan ben Zakkai
31. Rabban Gamliel the Elder, R’ Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, R’ Yehoshua ben Chananiah, R’ Shimon ben Netanel, R’ Elazar ben Arakh
32. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I, Rebbe Akiva, Rebbe Tarfon, R’ Shimon ben Elazar, R’ Yochanan ben Nuri
33. Rabban Gamliel II, Rebbe Meir, Rebbe Yishmael, Rebbe Yehudah, Rebbe Yose, R’ Shimon bar Yochai
34. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II
35. Rabbi Yehudah the Prince (codifier of the Mishnah in 190 C.E.)

AMORA’IM – Talmudic Era (200-500 CE)
36. Rav, Shmuel, Rabbi Yochanan (compiler of the Jerusalem Talmud)
37. Rav Huna, Rav Yehudah, Rav Nachman, Rav Kahana, Rabba bar bar Channa, Rav Ami, Rav Asi
38. Rabbah, Rav Yosef, Rav Chisda, Rabba bar Rav Huna.
39. Abaya, Rava
40. Rav Ashi, Ravina (compilers of the Babylonian Talmud in 500 C.E.)

Maimonides, citing sources from the Talmud and Midrash, recounts in graphic detail the transmission process from Moses to the people of Israel. Moses personally wrote 13 copies of the Torah and distributed them – one to every tribe – before his death.

Maimonides’ “Introduction to the Mishnah:”

Know that every mitzvah which G-d gave to Moses was given with its clarification. First He told him the mitzvah and then He expounded on its explanation and content, including all that which is included in the Torah.

The manner of transmittal to Israel occurred as stated in the Talmud (Eruvin 54b): [How was the system of teaching? Moses first learned the law from the mouth of the Almighty.]

Moses then went into the Tent, and Aaron went in with him. Moses then stated to him a single time the mitzvah he had received, and taught him its explanation, (following which) Aaron retreated to the right of Moses.

Then, Elazar and Itamar, Aaron’s sons, entered – and Moses told them what he had told Aaron, and then they stepped back. One sat to the left of Moses, and the other on the right of Aharon.

Then the seventy Elders arrived, and Moses taught Aaron and his sons. Following this came the masses of people and every one seeking God, and he (Moses) placed before them the mitzvah, until all had heard it from his mouth.

The result is that Aaron heard that precept from the mouth of Moses four times, his sons three times, the Elders twice, and the remainder of the people once.

Moses then left, and Aaron repeated the explanation of that mitzvah which he had learned, having heard it from the mouth of Moses four times (as we have mentioned), to all those present.

Aaron then left, after his sons had heard the precept four times (three times from Moses, and once from Aharon). After Aaron had departed, Elazar and Itamar repeated and taught that mitzvah to all the people present, and then ceased their teaching.

Thus we find that the seventy Elders heard the precept four times: twice from Moses, once from Aharon, and once from Elazar and Itamar. The Elders themselves then repeated and expounded the mitzvah to the people one time. As a result, we find that the entire congregation heard the precept in question four times: once from Moses, once from Aharon, a third time from his sons, and the fourth time from the Elders.

After this, all the people went to teach one another what they had heard from Moses and to write that mitzvah on scrolls. The leaders would roam through the Israelites to (insure that the people) learned and applied themselves until they would know the traditional version of that mitzvah and were fluent in reading it. They would then teach the explanations of that G-d-given precept. That explanation would include all aspects, and they would write the precept and learn by heart the Oral Tradition.

Thus, our Sages said in the Midrash: “And G-d spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai” (Leviticus 25:1). Why does the Torah state specifically at Mount Sinai? Was not the entire Torah given at Sinai? This is to tell us that just as the law of the Sabbatical year was stated with its generalities, specifics and fine details at Sinai, so too all the mitzvahs were stated with their generalities, specifics and fine details at Sinai.

At a young age, Daniel was carried off to Babylon where he was trained in the service of the court. He became famous for interpreting dreams and rose to become one of the most important figures in the court and lived well into the reign of the Persian conquerors. He retained his high position there and had influence in the decision to restore the Jews to their homeland.

Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were among the Jewish young nobility carried off to Babylon, along with some of the vessels of the Jerusalem temple. Daniel and his three Jewish companions were subsequently evaluated and chosen for their intellect and beauty, who constituted the ranks of the advisors to the Babylonian court. [Daniel 1]. Daniel became distinguished during this period for his piety, and for his strict observance of the Torah [Daniel1:8-16] and gained the confidence and esteem of those who were over him.

Daniel’s ministry as a prophet began late in life. Whereas his early exploits were a matter of common knowledge within his community, these same events, with his pious reputation, serve as the basis for his prophetic ministry. The recognition for his prophetic message is that of other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel whose backgrounds are the basis for their revelations.

Daniel’s fidelity to God exposed him to persecution by jealous rivals within the king’s administration. The fact that he had just interpreted the emperors’ dream had resulted in his promotion and that of his companions. Being favored by the King, Cyrus, he was untouchable. His companions were vulnerable to the accusation that had them thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship the Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar as a god; but they were miraculously saved, and Daniel would years later be cast into a den of lions (for continuing to practice his faith in G-d], but was miraculously delivered; after which Cyrus issued a decree enjoining reverence for “the God of Daniel” [Daniel 6:26]. He “prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian,” whom he probably greatly influenced in the matter of the decree which put an end to the Jewish Captivity (BC 536).

His residence in Babylon was very probably in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, now identified with a mass of mounds called the Kasr, on the right bank of the river. However, Daniel and his three companions remained fiercely loyal to their Jewish religious and cultural identity, an identity which would sooner or later come into conflict with the paganism of the Babylonian court.

After the Persian conquest of Babylon, Daniel held the office of the first of the “three presidents” of the empire under the reign of the of Darius the Mede, and was thus practically at the head of state affairs, with the ability to influence the prospects of the captive Jews [Daniel 9], whom he had at last the happiness of seeing restored to their own land; although he did not return with them, but remained still in Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel, with whom Daniel was a contemporary, describes one Daniel as a “pattern of righteousness (14:14, 20) and wisdom” (28:3).

Daniel according to Islamic sources as follows; There Daniel was obliged to enter into the service of the king of Babylon, and in accordance with the custom of the age, received the Chaldean name of Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king! Daniel’s training was to fit him for service to the empire. Daniel became known for his interpretation of dreams and rose to the rank of governor of the province of Babylon, and became “chief of the governors” (Chald. Rab-signin) over all the wise men of Babylon, after passing a dangerous test of the astrologers by the king, which could easily have cost Daniel his life. Daniel made known and also interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; as well as a later dream preceding the king’s descent into animal behavior, and many years afterwards, when he was now an old man, amid the alarm and consternation of the terrible night of Belshazzar’s impious feast (in which Belshazzar and his concubines drank wine out of the royal Jewish ceremonial goblets of the Temple), Daniel was called in at the suggestion of the queen-mother (perhaps Nitocris, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar) to interpret the mysterious handwriting on the wall. For successfully reading the cryptic handwriting by an angel of God, Daniel was rewarded by the Babylonians with a purple robe and elevation to the rank of “third ruler” of the kingdom. The place of “second ruler” was held by Belshazzar as associated with his father, Nabonidus, on the throne Daniel interpreted the handwriting, and “in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain” by his own sons, who later fled. [Daniel 1:4 Daniel 1:17 & Daniel 2:14] [Daniel 5:16].

The Tomb of Daniel is in Susa, the traditional burial place of the biblical prophet Daniel.The time and circumstances of Daniel’s death have not been recorded. However, Daniel was still alive in the third year of Cyrus according to the Tanakh [Daniel 10:1] and he would have been almost 100 years old at that point, having been brought to Babylon when he was in his teens, more than 80 years previously. He possibly died at Susa in Persia [Iran]. Tradition holds that his tomb is located in Susa at a site known as Shush-e Daniyal. Other locations have been claimed as the site of his burial, including Daniel’s Tomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, as well as Babylon, Egypt, Tarsus and, notably, Samarkand, which claims a tomb of Daniel, with some traditions suggesting that his remains were removed, perhaps by Tamerlane, from Susa to Samarkand.

There are seven different locations all claimed to be the site of the tomb: Babylon, Kirkuk and Muqdadiyah in Iraq; Susa and Malamir in Persia (Iran), and Samarkand in Uzbekistan and Alexandria in Egypt. What has occured is that certain bones of Daniel were divided the remains, which they regard as possessing remarkable curative properties, as well as the power to bring rain in time of draught and were thus taken to the aforementioned locations where tombs or shrines were constructed in honor of him and miracles attributed to him. The tomb in Susa is said to grow in length miraculously.