What is the Hermeneutical significance of the lack of direct mention of God in Esther?

Question

It is a fairly well-known piece of trivia that Esther (minus the apocryphal chapters) is the only book of the bible that does not directly mention God. Which of the accepted schools of Hermeneutics consider this to be meaningful information for the interpretation of the text?

Answer 1

I don't think any "school of Hermeneutics" worth its salt would discount the importance of that characteristic of the book. While I don't believe it changes the interpretation of the book, it certainly underscores one of the central messages of the book: viz., The sovereignty of God is manifest even when it is hidden. Karen Jobes put it extremely well:

The book of Esther is perhaps the most striking biblical statement of what systematic theologians call the providence of God. When we speak of God's providence, we mean that God, in some invisible and inscrutable way, governs all creatures, actions, and circumstances through the normal and the ordinary course of human life, without the intervention of the miraculous. The book of Esther is the most true-to-life biblical example of God's providence precisely because God seems absent. - Esther (The NIV Application Commentary), p. 43.

Iain Duguid echoes this same thought:

In the Book of Esther we see God working invisibly and behind the scenes. Here there are neither dramatic miracles nor great heroes, just apparently ordinary providence moving flawed and otherwise undistinguished people into exactly the right place at the right time to bring the empire into line and to establish God's purposes for his people. - Esther and Ruth (Reformed Expository Commentary)

Personally, I take great comfort from the reminder that some of God's most thrilling work is done from "behind the curtain", so to speak. Often, it is when He seems most distant and invisible that I find He is most vitally active in my life and circumstances.

Answer 2

The following is a overview from a commentator that has taught me much. I take this quote concerning what this commentator outlines your consideration.

It has been noted by many commentators that Esther is the only book of the Bible in which there does not appear the name of God, or any divine title, anywhere in the book. (Martin Luther favored eliminating it from the Bible on this basis) However, the name of God does appear in a number of places if one knows how and where to look!

An acrostic can be a mechanism for including a hidden message. In the Book of Esther we encounter some remarkable surprises. The name of God is hidden no less than eight times in acrostics in the text. Four times it appears as an acrostic, the famed Tetragammaton, "YHWH" or "Yahweh" or "YeHoVaH"; once as "EHYH" or "I AM" as at the Burning Bush. Also, Meshiach ("Messiah"), Yeshua ("Jesus"), and El Shaddai ("The Almighty"), also appear as equidistant letter sequences.

(For further reference: Chuck Missler, ”The Book of Esther”)

Answer 3

The name of a god is hidden in the Book of Ester, several times, but that name isn't "Ester" (Ishtar). It is the divine name itself, hidden as acrostics.

It has been observed by many that no Divine Name or Title is found in the book of Esther.

This is the more remarkable, since, in this short book of only 167 verses, the Median King is mentioned 192 times, his kingdom is referred to 26 times, and his name (*1) "Ahasuerus" is given 29 times.

Jehovah had declared (Deut. 31:16-18) (*2), that if His People forsook Him, He would hide His face from them. Though the book reveals Him as overruling all, His Name is hidden. It is there for His People to see, not for His enemies to see or hear.

Satan was at work, using Haman to blot out the Nation, as once before he had used Pharaoh for the same purpose (see Ap. 23 and 25). Jehovah's counsel must stand. His promise of Messiah, the coming "Seed" of the woman (Gen. 3:15), must not fail. Therefore He must overrule all for the preservation of His People, and of the line by which that "Seed" was to come into the world. > His working was secret and hidden : hence, the name of "JEHOVAH" is hidden secretly four times in this book, and the name "EHYEH" (I am that I am) once. The Massorah (Ap. 30) has a rubric calling attention to the former fact; and (at least) (*3) three ancient manuscripts are known in which the Acrostic (*4) letters in all five cases are written Majuscular (or, larger than the others) so that they stand out boldly and prominently, showing the four consonant letters of the mane JeHoVaH. In Hebrew y, h, w, h, or, as written in Hebrew from right to left, h, w, h, y. In English, L, O, R, D. Also the five letters of the fifth Acrostic, "EHYH".

…

— APPENDIX 60: The Name of Jehovah in the Book of Esther. | Companion Bible Condensed

For instance, in Hebrew, Ester 5:4 is:

וַתֹּאמֶר אֶסְתֵּר אִם־עַל־הַמֶּלֶךְ טוֹב יָבוֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן הַיּוֹם אֶל־הַמִּשְׁתֶּה אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂיתִי לֽוֹ׃

Notice the initial letters of the four consecutive words יָבוֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָמָן הַיּוֹם, reading the right-to-left Hebrew, are יָהַוהַ, or "HWHY", which is "YHWH".

Answer 4

There are TWO books of the Hebrew Bible that do not mention the name of God, viz, Song of Songs and Esther.

In the Book of Esther, we have several allusions to God:

• God's providence is manifest throughout the book. The most famous line in Esther 4:14 is, "If you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Many other "co-incidences" occur in the story that shows God working behind the scenes.
• No disbeliever could have written the book and no believer could read the book without faith being strengthened
• Esther tells Mordecai to fast as she and her servants will also. This is a common Jewish practice in seeking God and His will.

Now, the sacred name of God is, in Hebrew, יְהוָֹה = YHWH. This occurs in slightly disguised acrostic form in a few places in the book of Esther as follows:

1. Esther 1:20 (Reversed acrostic initial letters, spoken by Memucan) - The edict the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom—and so all women, from the least to the greatest, will honor their husbands.”

ונשמע פתגם המלך אשר־יעשה בכל־מלכותו כי רבה היא וכל־הנשים יתנו יקר לבעליהן למגדול ועד־קטן

2. Esther 5:4 (Forward acrostic initial letters, spoken by Esther) - “If it pleases the king,” Esther replied, “may the king and Haman come today to the banquet I have prepared for the king.”

ותאמר אסתר אם־על־המלך טוב יבוא המלך והמן היום אל־המשתה אשר־עשיתי לו

3. Esther 5:13 (Reversed acrostic final letters, spoken by Haman) - Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”

וכל־זה איננו שוה לי בכל־עת אשר אני ראה את־מרדכי היהודי יושב בשער המלך׃

4. Esther 7:7 - (Forward acrostic final letters, narration by the Jewish author) - In his fury, the king arose from drinking his wine and went to the palace garden, while Haman stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life, for he realized that the king was planning a terrible fate for him.

המלכה כי ראה כי־כלתה אליו הרעה מאת המלך

There is another that I will not document involving "I AM" in Est 7:3.

I would not put too much emphasis on this type of thing. The important point here is the message that God is an invisible God (Heb 11) and often works in mysterious ways (1 Cor 4:1, Eph 1:9, 3:3, Isa 45:15) and often works without being explicit.