Esther in the Dead Sea Scrolls
There is no text of Esther in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Maybe this reflects the debates amongst the sages as to whether Esther deserved to be in the Bible.
Possibly the Dead Sea sect were amongst the opponents of Esther. Or maybe they were amongst those Jewish groups that had not accepted the festival of Purim into their calendar.
Cecil Roth says Esther is one of the few places in the Bible that speaks favourably of foreign rule, but this fails to recognise the Biblical approval of Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar.
