Library/Deuterocanon

Additions to Esther

Six passages that put back what Hebrew Esther famously omits: God, prayer, a dream, and explicit piety. A second-temple rewrite of a court tale for a more theological audience.

Status: Catholic & Orthodox deuterocanon
Date: 2nd–1st century BCE
Languages: Greek
Setting: The same Persia, with God named and prayers supplied

What it contains

Mordecai’s dream
Edicts
Prayers of Mordecai and Esther
Interpretation of the dream

Why it sits outside most canons

Hebrew Esther stood without them; the Reformers preferred that form.

Themes

Providence
Prayer
Empire
Identity

Passages

Addition C (Esther’s prayer)
O my Lord, you only are our king. Help me, who am alone, and have no helper but you.