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Category Archives: Weekly Table

Esther 3:7-15

Some Scripture-Digging Tips

Feel the weight.

Do some research on what, exactly, a talent is and compare it with today’s market price of silver.

Pair the passages.

Read this Scripture section alongside Proverbs 16:33. How do the details of one support the truth of the other?

The Technicalities

In Haman’s eyes, as far as he was concerned, the days of the Jews were numbered.

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Esther 2:19-3:6

Some Scripture-Digging Tips

Do some research.

Dig into the Agagites in the Bible to get more insight into Haman’s heritage.

Pair the passages.

Read this Scripture section alongside Romans 13:1-17 and 1 Timothy 6:15. How do reconcile them together?

The Technicalities

For all of the emphasis on Esther’s beauty, the favor she continually received, and the fact that the king loved his new queen more than all the other women; still, she wasn’t enough.

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Esther 2:1-18

Some Scripture-Digging Tips

Dig into the culture.

Do some research on ancient Persian beauty treatments and see what you can learn about the year-long beauty preparation processes of Esther 2:3 and 9.

Pair the passages.

Read this Scripture section alongside 1 Peter 3:3-4. How do the details of one give further insight into the other?

The Technicalities

There is a brief pause after chapter one, after which the story picks back up again some five years later.

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Esther 1

Some Scripture-Digging Tips

Outline the back story.

Read the introduction to Esther in your Bible and do any additional research to form an outline of the book’s author, its audience, and the time of its writing.

Consider the context.

Don’t just read the text immediately before and after your passage, you also want to dig into the cross-references!

Identify the key verse.

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Nehemiah 13:15-31

Some Scripture-Digging Tips

Notice patterns.

Take note of any repeated words or phrases in this chapter. Circle them and look at how they highlight a key theme of the passage.

Pair the passages.

Read this Scripture section alongside Proverbs 28:14 and 2 Corinthians 6:14. How do the details of one help support the truth of the other?

The Technicalities

It’s been eight years since the Jews re-established their Nehemiah 10 covenant with God – a vow in which they promised not to marry their children to the people of the land or buy goods sold on the Sabbath and to bring their firstfruits and the tithes of their land to the Levites (a tenth of which they put in the storehouse rooms).

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