Why Purim is Not a Biblical Holiday

Is Purim a Biblical holiday?

While many people intend to celebrate the events of YHWH preserving the Jewish people through the actions of Queen Esther when they celebrate Purim, that does not make this cultural holiday Biblical.

Why isn't Purim considered a Biblical holiday?

Biblical holidays are defined as holidays that YHWH directs believers to keep or observe. These are the set apart times of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Living God himself directed believers to celebrate these and gave us information on when they happen and any special instructions for the festivities. You can read about these in Leviticus 23.

These are the only Biblical holidays, because they are the only holidays that the Creator tells us to celebrate.

Are Purim and Passover the same?

No, these are two completely separate holidays! Again, while keeping Passover is something YHWH directs believers to do in Exodus 12, Leviticus 23, and Numbers 9, among other places, we are given no mandate from YHWH to participate in a holiday called Purim. At Passover we remember and honor the death of the Messiah, as well as the Living God bringing freedom to his people from slavery in the Exodus story. The historical aspect of Purim is to celebrate events in the book of Esther. Passover happens about a month after Purim. 

Is Purim in the Bible?

But isn't Purim in the book of Esther? Yes, the book of Esther does tell us about a manmade holiday known as Purim. But even if you believe the book of Esther is rightly canonized as part of Scripture (which many scholars don't - Esther is not referenced in any other book of the Bible and is the only book of Scripture not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls), there is no directive from YHWH to celebrate this day - in fact, there are no words at all from the Living God and no mention of his name in this book. It's important to see that even if Purim is mentioned in Scripture, that's not the same as it being ordained by YHWH, let alone a command.

What is the feast of Purim? 

The feast of Purim commemorates the events from Esther 2-9. The evil Haman, advisor to King Ahasuerus, plotted to destroy all the Jews in the king's provinces. Queen Esther risked her life to go to the king without being called for, invited him to dinner, and eventually exposed Haman's plot to the king. The king then authorized Esther's cousin Mordechai to write a decree stating that the Jews could defend themselves from attackers on the appointed day. The Jews were able to overpower those who hated them and wound up killing more than 75,000 people. 

Ostensibly, Purim is a celebration of the preservation of the Jewish people. Note that the Jewish people refers to members of the Southern House of Judah, and not the Northern House of Israel at this point in history.

How is Purim celebrated?

Traditionally in Judaism, Purim is celebrated by public reading of the scroll of Esther. Gifts or financial support are sent to the poor. Many wear costumes, often in a 'carnival' atmosphere. A triangle-shaped cookie known as hamantaschen - to symbolize the ears of Haman is consumed, along with large amounts of alcohol - in fact, the Talmud says that its the duty of celebrants to drink until they cannot recognize the difference between Haman and Mordechai. 

Should Christians celebrate Purim?

I firmly believe that all Bible believers should celebrate the Biblical holidays, but we have established that Purim is not one of those. Coupled with typical celebrations often including things Scripture says not to do, like crossdressing, and getting drunk, I have pause about taking part in this. Should we be grateful for the miracles of this story? Of course, but by not adding this manmade holiday to YHWH's Biblical holidays, we make celebrating the Biblical holidays more approachable, by showing that it's okay to stick with Biblical commandments without adding manmade traditions to the mix of our faith.

Please note that this post is to clarify why Purim is not included as one of the seven Biblical holidays. I realize it is a significant holiday in Judaism, with historic and spiritual meaning. I mean no disrespect to that. My goal is to teach the distinction between what Scripture says and Jewish customs. Many Jews have told me they don't want to see the Messianic movement appropriating their culture, which is why I want believers in Messiah to know the difference between Jewish culture and Biblical commandments. Blessings to all!

Related posts:
The Two Houses: Israel and Judah in Scripture
Why Hanukkah is Not a Biblical Holiday
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays

The Northern and Southern Kingdoms in the Bible (and why they matter)

Seeing the distinction between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel in the Bible is essential to understand many of the events in the Old Testament and many things that happen in the New Testament, including statements made by the Messiah! If we don't have correct understanding of these separate entities, much of Scripture isn't going to make sense, and we will misunderstand our own identity.

Let's start off by looking at the Biblical term for YHWH's people: Israel. This term that means "overcoming with YHWH" or "YHWH overcomes" is first given to Jacob in Genesis 32:28. The term is then passed on to his family, including anyone not biologically related who chooses to serve YHWH and to overcome with him. The twelve tribes of Israel come from Jacob's sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naftali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph (which is subsequently given to his own sons - Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin. While in Egypt their families grew into a great nation. The people of Israel were united through the Exodus, the years in the wilderness, the time of Joshua and Judges, and through the reigns of Kings Saul, David, and Solomon.

Shortly after the death of King Solomon, there was a dispute between the people their new king, Rehoboam. The people wanted him to lift the heavy burden of forced labor and taxation from the rule of Solomon but he he refused and the majority of Israel's tribes decided to stop honoring Rehoboam as their leader. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and at least part of Levi stuck with Rehoboam in the Southern Kingdom, while the majority of the tribes united as the Northern Kingdom. As the name of Israel was legally passed to Ephraim in Genesis 48:12-20, Ephraim and the other tribes in the North were collectively still known as Israel. Meanwhile the Southern Kingdom was known as Judah.

Why does this distinction matter? 

-The restoration of Israel is one of the main themes of Scripture. Scholars say that you're going to misunderstand 7/8 of the Bible if you don't make this distinction. If you don't differentiate the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, good luck trying to understand Kings as anything beyond legendary stories. You'll miss much of the Messiah's work, and many prophecies won't make sense at all. The terms are different because they mean different things. Lumping Israel and Judah together after 1 Kings 12 is going to cause confusion.

-Many have erroneously taught that only Jewish people (those descending from the tribe of Judah) are the chosen people of YHWH. Scripture does not teach this. What Scripture does teach is that Yahusha came for the lost tribes of Israel (Matthew 15:24). The Messiah came for all the tribes. Whether the tribe of Judah or Issachar or Ephraim or Gad, all are important to YHWH. When we realize that his people include all the tribes, we see the family growing by millions and millions. Most people with ancestry in ancient Israel are not Jews and do not come from Jews. Of course Scripture teaches that anyone covered by the blood of the Messiah is part of the people of Israel, regardless of if they have any blood connection to any of the twelve tribes.

-Believe that you are a gentile, and you will likely end up living like a gentile. There are many who sincerely desire to be part of YHWH's people, but live in ways that are totally against what he instructs...largely because they don't realize they are part of Israel! Again, this has nothing to do with your bloodline. It is your choice to join YHWH's people or not. Understanding that you are part of this is a wake up call that YHWH wants you to live differently than the rest of the world.

Have you ever considered that your ancestors could have seen the Dead Sea parted or lived in the Promised Land? That is such an amazing thought! It's very possible that your family could come from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Lots of books and research suggest the migration of the Northern Kingdom tribes all over the world, so no matter what your nationality or ethnicity is, you could physically be from the house of Israel. While knowing for sure you are from a tribe of Israel may be lost to us, it is certainly not lost from YHWH. If we don't make the distinction between the North and South Kingdoms it's easy to miss Scripture's promise that YHWH will restore the lost tribes.

Related posts:
The Two Houses: Israel and Judah in Scripture
Understanding the Other 88% of the Bible
Not All Bible Characters were Jewish

Understanding the Other 88% of The Bible

In The first time I read the entire Bible I had a lot of questions.

So many. Things like, "When will I get to the part where it says to ask Jesus into my heart?" and, "Where are Christmas and Easter?" or "When does God say to forget all the instructions he gave?"

I enjoyed the beautiful and poetic writings of the prophets and enjoyed the adventures of the rulers in Kings and Chronicles, but one thing didn't make sense. Why does it keep switching from Israel to Judah?

At the time I assumed they were both names for the same thing. Still this caused me great confusion because often the statements about or directed towards Israel were very different than the words about Judah. Several years ago, I stumbled across this quote:

"Not to understand the distinction of Israel from Judah is to positively misunderstand seven-eighths of the Bible." -Edward Hine.

In No wonder the confusion! A huge amount of Scripture - roughtly 88% by Hine's view - distinguishes between Israel and Judah. If I don't grasp this then I miss a huge amount of YHWH's truth.

So what's the difference?

The first time the word Israel appears is in Genesis 32:28 when Jacob is renamed Israel. His name is used to describe his descendants. His twelves sons and their families are known as the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

One of those tribes is known as Judah, after Jacob's fourth son. His descendants would later be known as Judahites, and later after that a certain sect of them would be known as Jews, known for practicing Judaism.

For centuries the tribes peaceably lived united under the name of Israel. Around 930 B.C. the nation of Israel was divided when King Rehoboam, son of Solomon, raised taxes and caused the tribes that were in the northern part of the country to rebel. They seceded from the King who was from the tribe of Judah and were ruled by Jeroboam of the tribe of Ephraim. You can read about this in 1 Kings 12. We know from 2 Chronicles 11:1 that in addition to the tribe of Judah, King Rehoboam also continued to rule over the tribe of Benjamin.

So when the stories in Kings switch back and forth from the King of Israel to the King of Judah, this is why! This seems obvious now that I know it but I missed this for years. I had read Kings, Chronicles, and the prophets many times without catching this! Learning this made understanding Scripture much easier for me and I hope it will for you as well.

Related posts:
The Two Houses: Israel and Judah in Scripture
Four Distinctions We Need to Make to Understand Scripture
Comparing the Melchizedek and Levitical Priesthoods

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History - What I'm Reading

Browsing the shelves in a library, I happened to come across this book. What are the odds of that?

Until the last few years I had never heard of the Lost Tribes of Israel.

As author Zvi Ben-Dor Benite presents, until the last few centuries the Lost Tribes were an incredibly popular subject; mentioned by the likes of John Calvin, Thomas Jefferson, the Israeli Parliament, Herman Melville, a 19th century theatrical parody, John Milton's Paradise Regained, and Theodore Roosevelt, among others.

A little background information:

The sons of Israel (better known as Jacob) comprise the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Through the reign of King Solomon the tribes were united as one nation known as Israel. When Solomon's son Rehoboam became king he became so harsh that the ten northern tribes revolted and the House of Israel was split in two. See 1 Kings 12:16.

The northern tribes--Ephraim, Manasseh, Reuben, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Issachar, Asher, Simeon, and Zebulon--were known as Israel, and the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin became known as Judah. (Levi doesn't have a land inheritance but they mostly stayed with Judah.)

This is why when you read in Kings and Chronicles it will say, "During the reign of ______ King of Israel," or "King _____ of Judah." I'd always thought Israel could be used interchangeably with Judah—like America or United States—but they are separate kingdoms!

So why are the tribes lost?

Around 740 BC Israel (the northern ten tribes) were taken captive by the Assyrians. This is seen in 2 Kings chapters 17 and 18, and 1 Chronicles 5.

Around 605 BC, Judah was also taken captive, but this time it was by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Judah was captive for 70 years and then returned to their land. The books of Nehemiah and Ezra discuss the return of the exiles to the land.

The Ten Lost Tribes: A World History is filled with fascinating stories of adventurers who searched the earth for the Lost Tribes. They believed they would find them in a specific, hard-to-reach place (the Island of Atlantis, perhaps?), and that they would be obviously Israelite.

Unlike the southern tribes the House of Israel never came back from the exile. They assimilated into the nations and forgot their Israelite identity. Certainly, there are hundreds of millions of people today who have descended from the Lost Tribes, but have no idea. YHWH promised Abraham that his descendants would fill the earth, and there must descendants from the Lost Tribes in every nation.

There are shreds of Hebrew evidence around the globe. The Ten Lost tribes recounts the story of a Marrano Jew named Antonio Montezinos travellin in South America in the 1600s. A local man named Francisco learned of Montezinos' background and offered to take him on a journey to "see your brothers." For one week, they crossed rivers and swamps in what is now Colombia. After resting on the Sabbath they reached a river on a Tuesday morning. Three men and a woman appeared by canoe, excited to meet Montezinos, and began reciting the Shema.

What an amazing story! The Ten Lost Tribes contains many such fascinating fragments. Many considered Native Americans to be the Lost Tribes. Yemeni Jews often said the tribes could be found, "beyond China." A man called Ben-Israel wrote in the 1600s that "a great number of Jews" in China could be descendants of the Lost Tribes. Expeditions were sent to India and others theorized the tribes had gone to the North Pole before venturing elsewhere. Mexico was a popular location, and some believe the tribes had crossed the Atlantic Ocean by way of the legendary Island of Atlantis.

This book was a fascinating read, and much praise goes to Zvi Ben-Dor Benite for what surely must have been a mountain of research. This book is rich in insight for anyone learning of Israel's Lost Tribes.