Recent decades have seen rapidly growing interest in the book of Esther, both in the popular media and among scholars and theologians. Its plot and characters, theology and political philosophy, are all benefiting from a much-deserved reevaluation. I am pleased to be able to contribute God and Politics in Esther to the discussion. I have long considered the Esther story to be an important doorway into the worldview of Hebrew Scripture and of Jewish tradition more generally. In this book, the second in a trilogy of works on the philosophy of the Hebrew Bible that are to appear with Cambridge University Press, I explain why this is so.

My work on Esther began with a challenge many years ago from Rabbi Jay Marcus, to whom I am grateful for commissioning and publishing the earliest version of this book. I am grateful, as well, to Lewis Bateman of Cambridge, who has set the pace for the new storm of academic publishing interest in the area of Jewish ideas. Lew has done perhaps more than anyone else to bring my work to the attention of a broad audience, a debt that I can hardly hope to repay. Thanks, too, to Suzanne Balaban of BMM Worldwide, who has deftly handled publicity for my recent books and added much good spirit to the publishing process besides. I wish to express my appreciation to those who have supported my work on this book, including Michael Murray, John Churchill, and Alex Arnold at the John Templeton Foundation, Barry and Lainie Klein, Seth and Nealy Fischer, Roger Hertog, David Messer, Jack Berger, Bart Baum, Ron Hersh, and Michael Moskowitz.

This book is dedicated to my father, Yehonathan Hazony, whose teachings and ideas are present in each page I write. His ongoing research into the behavior of quantum bodies, and his dissent from accepted theory on this subject despite the hardship of such an unpopular road, is an inspiration to me every day of my life.