The book of Esther begins with a description of its historical background. The events of the book occur when the city of Susa is serving as the capital of Persia and the empire includes 127 provinces (possible hyperbole) that extend from India to Ethiopia (Cush). During the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus organizes a lavish banquet that will last 180 days and at which event he will display before the male nobility of his kingdom his affluence and his distinguished fame as the ruler of the vast Persian Empire. Ahasuerus’s banquet, the longest feast mentioned in the Bible, is marked by indulgence in wine and strong drink, gastronomic extravagance, and excessive reveling (1:4–8), as was common in royal feasts of this period (Herodotus, Histories 1.133–35). The event corresponds well with …