The Book of Esther is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. It tells the story of Esther, a Jewish woman who becomes the queen of the Persian King Xerxes and uses her position to save her people from a plot to destroy them.
The book begins with the story of Esther's rise to power, and it includes the story of the plot by the Persian official Haman to have all the Jews in the kingdom killed. Esther, with the help of her uncle Mordecai, persuades the king to spare the Jews and to punish Haman instead.
Key figures in the book of Esther include Esther, Xerxes, Haman, and Mordecai. The book also mentions various other individuals, such as the court officials and the Jews who were threatened by Haman's plot. The book also includes a celebration, known as the Feast of Purim, which is still celebrated by Jews today in memory of the deliverance of the Jews from Haman's plot.