Esther 1-2 Background and Beginning Like Ezra and Nehemiah, the book of Esther has its setting during the time of the Jewish “captivity” in Babylon/Persia; dating to about 475 BC. The name Esther means “star,” and so she is. Her given name was “Hadassah” (2:7), which means “myrtle tree,” but was changed to Esther (which, […]