Vashti (ושתי) is mentioned in the Book of Esther, a book included in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article discusses usage of the term Hebrew Bible. For the article on the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ...

In the Book of Esther

In Esther, Vashti is the wife of king Ahasuerus who is replaced by Esther. She is thus part of the story behind the Jewish holiday of Purim, one of Judaism's festivals. The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ... Ahasuerus or Ahasverus (Hebrew אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, Standard Hebrew Aḥašveroš, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĂḫašwērôš) is a name used several times in the Hebrew Bible and related legends and apocrypha. ... Haddassah, more commonly known as Esther (אֶסְתֵּר, Standard Hebrew Ester, Tiberian Hebrew ʾEstēr) was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm Lots, from Akkadian pūru) is a joyous Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ... This article describes the Jewish religion; for a consideration of ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity refer to the article Jew. ...

According to the account she was deposed because she refused to obey the King's request that she "show off her beauty" (which is interpreted to "appear naked" or, "dance") in the banquet hall of the palace of "Shushan" (Susa). Her refusal to obey her husband has helped to secure her stature as a folk hero of the modern feminist movement. Winged sphinx from the palace of Darius the Great at Susa. ... From the Greek cognate , in mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) is an eminent character archetype that quintessentially embodies key traits valued by its originating culture. ... Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous suffragette, in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. ...

In the Midrash

According to the Midrash, Vashti was the great-granddaughter of King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Nebuchadnezzar (or Nebudchadrezzar) II (ca. ...

Identification in history

Ahasuerus is often identified with Xerxes I of Persia. Herodotus relates a similar account regarding Xerxes and a wife named "Amestris." Identification of Vashti with Amestris is problematic, however as Amestris remained in power well into the reign of her son Artaxerxes I. A Griffin emblem, one of the symbols of the Persian Empire, from the palace of Persepolis Xerxes I (Persian: خشایارشاه, Khashâyâr Shâh), was a Persian Emperor (Shahanshah) (reigned 485 - 465 BC) of the Achaemenid dynasty. ... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Insert non-formatted text here:This article is about the wife of Xerxes. ... Artaxerxes I was king of Persia from 464 BC to 424 BC. He belonged to the Achaemenid dynasty and was the successor of Xerxes I. He is mentioned in two books of the Bible, Ezra and Nehemiah. ...

Jacob Hoschander (The Book of Esther in the Light of History, Oxford University Press, 1923) identifies Ahasuerus instead with Artaxerxes II and Vashti with a wife named Stateira. Artaxerxes II (c. ...

Meaning of the name

The meaning of the name Vashti is uncertain.

Hitchcock' Bible Names Dictionary of the 19th century, attempting to interpret the name as Hebrew, suggested the meanings "that drinks" or "thread". Critics of the historicity of the book of Esther proposed that the name may have originated from a conjectured Elamite goddess whom they called "Mashti", a theoretical reconstructed name which remains unattested in any source.

The name is indeed a genuine Persian name and is understood to mean "beautiful" or "good" in Persian, related to the word "vashishta" found in the Avesta. Hoschander proposed that it originated as a shortening of vashtateira which he also proposed as the origin of the name "Stateira". See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ...

Vashti is one of a very few proper names in the Tanakh that begins with the letter waw. Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach, IPA: or ) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...   Vav or waw is the sixth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic in abjadi order; it is the twenty-seventh in modern Arabic order. ...

References

• The Oxford Bible Commentary (edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001, pages 326-327, written by Carol Meyers)
  
• Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Random House, 1969

Vashti means 'beautiful' and 'thread of life'. 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Asimovs Guide to the Bible, 1967 and 1969. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...