Ask anyone, How were Mordecai and Esther related, and the answer you are sure to get is: they were uncle and niece. However, a look at the relevant verse in the Megillah (2:7) shows that they were cousins ("his uncle's daughter"). Whence did this misconception arise? How did it develop? Does it have any foundation in the sources? These are the questions we shall address below.
Indeed, this misconception is very widespread. ..
Dr. Ari Zivotofsky
Gonda Brain Research Center
http://www.biu.ac.il/JH/Parasha/eng/purim/ziv.html
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The Text of Esther tells us that Mordechai and Esther were first cousins.
Josephus, etc. Suggest an uncle and niece relationship
The Talmud states they were husband and wife.
Shalom,
RRW
1 comment:
This is one those things that everyone just knows, like how Rabbi Akiva's wife's name was Rachel even though it's written nowhere. We just know it is.
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