Book of Esther Quiz: Part 2

1. The night before Esther's second banquet, the king could not sleep. What did he do, and what was read to him?

1. He called for music to be played and the court scribes began recounting the history of the empire to soothe him
2. He ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him — and they read the account of Mordecai exposing the assassination plot
3. He summoned his wise men for counsel about the meaning of a dream he had
4. He walked in the palace gardens and found the scroll of Esther's petition from before her appointment as queen

2. When the king found that Mordecai had never been rewarded for saving his life, he asked who was in the court. Haman had just arrived early in the morning. Why had Haman come so early?

1. Haman had been summoned early by the king's chamberlain to advise on a legal matter
2. Haman had come to present the king with gifts in preparation for Esther's banquet
3. He had come to ask the king to sign a formal order elevating him even further above the other nobles
4. He had come to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had prepared

3. The king asked Haman, 'What should be done for the man the king delights to honour?' Haman assumed the king meant him. What elaborate honour did Haman suggest?

1. Give him a seat at the king's table, a golden crown and a royal sword of honour
2. Grant him the title of prince, a palace in the capital and immunity from all taxes and legal obligations for life
3. Have the man wear royal robes and be led through the city on the king's own horse while a noble proclaims: This is what is done for the man the king delights to honour!
4. Let him sit at the king's right hand for a full day and receive the greetings of all the nobles and officials

4. The king immediately told Haman to do exactly that for Mordecai. How did Haman respond and what did he do afterward?

1. He asked the king if someone else could carry out the honour and was refused
2. He obeyed the letter of the command but deliberately took Mordecai through the back streets to minimise his public visibility
3. He obeyed without comment — he robed Mordecai and led him through the city — then rushed home in grief and covered his head
4. He objected and the king had to command him a second time before he complied

5. At Esther's second banquet, the king again offered Esther up to half his kingdom. What was Esther's request?

1. 'If I have found favour with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life — this is my petition. And spare my people — this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated'
2. She asked for a public ceremony honouring Mordecai before revealing the full scope of Haman's plot
3. She asked that the edict against the Jews be annulled and those responsible be punished
4. She first asked for Haman to leave the room, then presented her case to the king alone

6. When Esther identified Haman as 'this vile Haman,' what was the king's immediate reaction?

1. He called his guards and had Haman arrested immediately
2. He drew his sword and threatened Haman with immediate execution
3. He left the table in a rage and went into the palace garden — Haman stayed to beg for his life from Esther
4. He sent all the servants from the room so he could deal with Haman privately

7. What was the incident that sealed Haman's fate when the king returned from the garden?

1. Haman had tried to flee the palace and was caught by the guards at the gate
2. Haman knocked over the king's wine in his panic, which was considered a capital offence in Persian custom
3. Haman was found threatening Esther with a hidden knife
4. The king found Haman fallen on the couch where Esther was reclining — and concluded he was assaulting the queen

8. One of the king's eunuchs pointed out that Haman had prepared something particularly fitting for his fate. What was it?

1. A forged document bearing the king's seal authorising further oppression of the Jews
2. A list of all the Jews in Susa who were to be killed — the king used it to arrest Haman's co-conspirators instead
3. A petition to the king's advisers asking that Esther be removed as queen on grounds of her Jewish ancestry
4. A pole fifty cubits high at Haman's house, which Haman had intended to use to impale Mordecai

9. After Haman's execution, the king gave his estate to Esther and his signet ring to Mordecai. What role did Mordecai then assume?

1. Esther put Mordecai in charge of Haman's estate — and the king took off his signet ring and gave it to Mordecai
2. He became the king's chief adviser and personal secretary
3. He became the official governor of Judah, tasked with leading Jewish exiles back to Jerusalem
4. He was appointed to the king's council of seven advisers and given authority over all Jewish affairs in the empire

10. Esther came before the king again, weeping and begging. What problem remained even after Haman's death?

1. Haman had already sent secret messengers to the provincial governors with advance orders before his arrest
2. Haman's sons had taken over his plan and were carrying it out in the eastern provinces without the king's knowledge
3. The edict calling for the destruction of all Jews throughout the Persian empire was still in force — it could not simply be revoked
4. The king's advisers argued that reversing the edict would make the king look weak before the other nations

11. Since the first edict could not be cancelled, how did Mordecai and Esther solve the problem?

1. Mordecai arranged for the key officials in each province to secretly reassure the Jews that the edict would not be enforced
2. The king announced a royal holiday on the day of the planned massacre, which technically cancelled all civil obligations including the edict
3. The king issued a second edict allowing the Jews to assemble, protect themselves and destroy any armed forces that attacked them
4. They sent a letter announcing that the first edict was a forgery — Haman had forged the king's seal

12. Mordecai left the king's presence wearing something remarkable. What was his attire, and what was the mood in the city?

1. He wore his own finest Jewish garments, displaying his identity proudly for the first time — and the streets were filled with celebration
2. He wore royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen — and the city of Susa held a joyful celebration
3. He wore the high priest's robes, signalling that God had restored his people — the Jews throughout the city fasted and prayed in thanksgiving
4. He wore the king's own robe — a sign of the highest honour — and the city of Susa cheered

13. What unexpected effect did the second edict have among the peoples of the Persian provinces?

1. Many people fled the areas where Jews lived, fearing retaliation for past mistreatment
2. Many people of other nationalities became Jews — because fear of the Jews had seized them
3. Many Persians who had been planning to attack Jews on the appointed day handed themselves over to the authorities
4. The provincial governors sent gifts to Mordecai as a sign of their goodwill toward the Jewish people

14. When the appointed day came (the thirteenth of Adar), the Jews fought their enemies. How many people were killed in Susa, and what did Esther then request?

1. Five hundred men in Susa on the first day plus three hundred on the second day after Esther requested an extension; Haman's ten sons were also killed and impaled
2. Five hundred men in Susa plus ten thousand in the provinces; Esther asked that the Jews be allowed to keep the plunder they had taken
3. One thousand men in Susa; Esther asked that those responsible for Haman's plot in the eastern provinces also be punished
4. Three hundred men in Susa; Esther asked that Haman's sons be publicly executed as a deterrent to future attackers

15. The Jews did not take plunder even though the second edict authorised it. Why does the text note this three times?

1. All three proposed reasons are offered by commentators as explanations — the text does not specify the reason but the repetition is clearly deliberate
2. It emphasises that the Jews fought purely in self-defence — their motivation was survival, not enrichment
3. Taking plunder would have been illegal under Jewish law even if the Persian king permitted it
4. The narrator highlights it to contrast with Saul's failure to obey God completely in his battle against Agag — Israel learned from that earlier error

16. Mordecai and Esther established a new Jewish festival to commemorate these events. What is it called, and why?

1. Purim — named after the word pur (lot), because Haman had cast lots to determine the day of the massacre
2. The Days of Adar — named for the month in which the Jews defeated their enemies
3. The Feast of Esther — named after the queen whose courage made the rescue possible
4. The Festival of Deliverance — named for God's miraculous rescue of his people from certain death

17. The letter establishing Purim specified what the Jews were to do on these days each year. What were the observances?

1. A day of rest from all labour, gathering in the synagogue and reading the account of Haman's defeat
2. Both feasting with gift-giving on the festival days AND fasting on the day before (the Fast of Esther), as Esther had established before approaching the king
3. Fasting, prayer and reading the book of Esther in the synagogue
4. Feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor

18. The book of Esther ends with a brief note about Mordecai. What position did he hold, and what was his legacy?

1. He returned to Jerusalem to help lead the restoration of the temple and the Jewish community in the Promised Land
2. He served as the king's viceroy for the rest of his life, widely respected in Persia and among his own people
3. He wrote the book of Esther himself and established a school for the training of Jewish young people in the Persian court
4. Mordecai the Jew was second in rank to King Ahasuerus, preeminent among the Jews and held in high esteem — he worked for the good of his people and spoke up for the welfare of all the Jews

19. The story of Esther has parallels to the story of Joseph in Genesis. What is one of the most obvious structural similarities?

1. Both received prophetic dreams that predicted their future elevation and the downfall of their enemies
2. Both refused to worship pagan gods and were punished for it before being vindicated by the pagan king
3. Both were foreigners who rose to the second highest position in a pagan empire through wisdom and God's favour, and used their position to save their people from destruction
4. Both were Jews who faced false accusations and were thrown into prison before being elevated to second-in-command

20. Purim is still celebrated by Jewish people today. Which of these is a traditional Purim custom practised in Jewish communities?

1. A day of silence in which no one may speak between sunrise and sunset, in memory of the Jews who could not speak freely under the edict
2. Fasting for three days and then breaking the fast with a communal meal, in memory of Esther's fast
3. Planting trees in memory of Haman's execution and the trees of the Persian gardens
4. Reading the Megillah (book of Esther) aloud in the synagogue and making noise to drown out Haman's name whenever it is read