text · B0030
Megillat Esther מגילת אסתר
The scroll of Purim — the one book of the canon set entirely in the diaspora court, where the divine name never appears and the rescue works through reversals. The baraita of Bava Batra assigns its writing to the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah; fittingly, Rashi's roster of that assembly includes Mordechai himself, so the story's protagonist sits inside the body that canonized it.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- מגילת אסתר
- Also known as
- Esther, Book of Esther, The Megillah
- Era
- second-temple
II. When
- Traditional
- the Purim story in Achashverosh's Persia; committed to writing by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, c. 3408–3450 AM, per Bava Batra 15a
- Academic
- composed in the Persian or early Hellenistic period
- Duration
- ≈42 years
- Precision
- approximate
IV. What
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Anshei Knesset HaGedolah wrote Yechezkel, the Twelve, Daniel, and Megillat Esther" (אנשי כנסת הגדולה כתבו... ומגילת אסתר) — the baraita of Bava Batra. Rashi's list of the assembly's members includes Mordechai among "Chaggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Zerubavel, Mordechai and their colleagues." | rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Timeline placement c. 3408–3450 AM, the working years of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, which on the traditional chronology overlap the Purim events themselves and their aftermath. The span is schematic. | tradition reconstruction | ★★★☆☆ |