Vashti

Vashti

Vashti , in the Bible, queen whom Ahasuerus deposed for disobedience.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

"Vashti." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Vashti." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Vashti.html

"Vashti." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Vashti.html

Learn more about citation styles

Vashti

Vashti Persian queen, wife of King Ahasuerus. The story of Vashti, as told in the book of Esther (1: 9–22), relates how the king, while in his cups, orders Vashti to appear before the assembled nobles wearing her royal crown in order to display her charms to them. (The Talmudic Rabbis embellish the tale by understanding the king's order to mean wearing her royal crown and nothing else.) Vashti refuses to obey the king's command, accusing him, according to the Rabbis, of not being able to hold his liquor, after which his counsellórs advise him to depose her, otherwise all women will take her as an example to defy their husbands. The king deposes Vashti, thus paving the way for the eventual appointment of Esther as queen. Henceforth, the verse states, every man will be ‘lord in his house’. In the Jewish tradition, Vashti is portrayed largely as a figure of fun but in Jewish feminism she is the heroine of the feminists because of her refusal to submit to the extraordinary and obscene demands of her drunken husband.

Show all research tools

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

  • MLA
  • Chicago
  • APA

LOUIS JACOBS. "Vashti." A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

LOUIS JACOBS. "Vashti." A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O96-Vashti.html

LOUIS JACOBS. "Vashti." A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. 1999. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O96-Vashti.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

Vashti's victory: how a valiant Illinois woman and her family won the first...
Magazine article from: Church &amp; State; 4/1/1998
The List: Mythical misdeeds in Mynyddgwyllt; Small-town life is writ large in...
Newspaper article from: Daily Post (Liverpool, England); 12/16/2005
Question about the queens.(Ask The Rebbetzin)(Queen Vashti)(Brief article)
Newspaper article from: The Jewish Advocate (Boston, MA); 3/21/2008

Facts and information from other sites

Pictures from Google Image Search

Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture
Click to see an enlarged picture

See more pictures of Vashti