Commented passages

Esther Rabbah I,

34:30

Two interpretations: 1. God’s absence in Esther is seen as punishment for the faithless people who fell for Ahasuerus’ flattery, replacing God in their hearts. Beware of such a king. 2. Ahasuerus was fickle because he enjoyed flattery. Implicitly interprets Job 30:29 through the Esther equals "Hester Panim" reading and also understands the King's feast as representing the sin equated with flattery.

Esther Rabbah I,

38:15

During creation, perhaps in the morning, God must have taken away the light from the wicked and stashed it in Eden, preemptively, because of the Flood.

Esther Rabbah I,

5:18

God elevated Esther with the same words He once used to bring down her ancestor Saul. His ways are far beyond those of humans.

Esther Rabbah I,

1:1

Index. Anyone described or introduced with היה already has their fate foreshadowed. They have a purpose. Job was destined to suffer. Job doesn’t quite fit as well, since the others have a verb or adjective that aligns with their implied fates compared to בארץ עוץ. This might subtly depend on Job vs Abraham’s homilies, e.g. TanB Shalach 27.

Esther Rabbah I,

14:19

The flood was so powerful that the water could wear away stones, even the cone-shaped lower millstones.

Esther Rabbah I,

16:13, 42:10

Alternative all who were introduced with היה lived to see the world or themselves destroyed and restored. Index of five figures. Job 16:13 may relate to ארץ in the example of Joseph, and ויסף-יוסף could suggest that the original order was different, possibly before Moses. The implied lesson is the restoration of the Jewish audience. This section in Gen. Rab. is framed by the figures of Noah at the beginning and Mordecai at the end.

Esther Rabbah II,

12:23

God elevates His adversaries, such as Haman, precisely in order to orchestrate their eventual downfall and thereby magnify His renown. The dynamic is closely parallel to the verse in the Book of Job, though the element of divine self‑glorification is more explicitly implied here.

Esther Rabbah II,

20:6, 20:7

Continuation of the previous homily: The wicked, like Haman, even if they rise to the skies, will end up like dung and be lost forever. In the story of Esther, Haman’s many friends will act as if they can no longer see him. Where is his lost prosperity?

Esther Rabbah II,

6:2

Part of a lengthy homily about Haman divining the right date for his decree of death, with Job chosen for his poetic plea to have his anger weighed as if on scales, symbolizing Libra.

Esther Rabbah II,

5:2

Allegoric reading: The fool whose harvest is taken is Haman, while the hungry who take are Esther and Mordecai. Interpreting “thorns” as a shield symbolizes prayer, drawn from their public acts of fasting and wearing sackcloth observed by the Jews, which ultimately deprived Haman.