Public execution serves as a motif throughout the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and is used as a plot device in the Book of Esther. Such executions emphasize the ideas of justice and cultural connections between diaspora Jews and the Achamaenid, also known as the Persian Empire. Although Esther is largely thought to be a fictional character within a folk tale, the political world she encounters in the Persian courts suggests that Jewish people within Persia incorporated elements of both of the Persian political culture and their own. Specifically, the execution of Haman, his sons, and the eunuchs represent connections between Jewish and Achaemenid legal systems as well as the hidden nature of G-d in the Book of Esther. Gates are an especially common symbol of divine justice in the Tanakh and are present during the executions dictated by King Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther. Cat Quine’s article On Dying in a City Gate: Implications in the Deaths of Eli, Abner, and Jezebel provides context for these execution scenes and the symbolic architecture within them. Other elements such as linguistic connections and Ancient Near Eastern comparative politics provide further evidence for these interactions. The Book of Esther’s theme of justice within humanity relies on both Persian and Jewish elements to support it, making it one of the best literary pieces in analyzing how these two peoples interacted in the Achaemenid period.

Rae Bandy is a senior History and Jewish Studies student at the University of Kentucky. They specialize in legal and dress history in premodern Europe and have extensively studied the use of capital punishment in the premodern world. Their paper 'A Stake is Standing At Haman's House: Cultural Connections through Public Execution in the Book of Esther' has been presented and published through Johns Hopkins University's Macksey Journal. They are currently studying criminal punishments related to shoplifting in industrial Britain. Rae is also the Local Music Director at WRFL and hosts shows such as WRFL Live and Lipstick is Optional. In their spare time, Rae can be found sewing, listening to punk music, and cuddling their cat