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Esther: An Honor-Shame Paraphrase
Readers often misinterpret Scripture for a simple reason—our culture is very different from the ancient cultures of the Bible. For example, Westerners are often “blind” to the social dynamics of honor and shame.
The Honor-Shame Paraphrase helps you understand the Bible according to its original cultural context. We highlight social nuances to unlock the meaning of Scripture in insightful and accessible ways. This series is ideal for personal devotions, teaching preparation, ministry training, Bible studies, and life groups.
This paraphrase of Esther unlocks the subtle plot dynamics of this intriguing and theologically rich narrative. Thanks to providential circumstances, Jewish exiles in Persia escape complete humiliation and gain an honorable status. The socio-historical introduction explains key honor-shame motifs such as feasts, social hierarchy, and status in the story of Esther.
Learn more about the Honor-Shame Paraphrase series at
"This lively and engaging paraphrase of Esther, like all the biblical paraphrases in this series, seeks to illuminate and express key implicit cultural assumptions shaping biblical discourse. Sumptuous food and fabulous feasting, role violations and status reversals, male honoring and female defiance, enemy plotting and counter-cultural female heroics are all displayed here as strands of a fascinating story of honor denied and honor bestowed."
—Dr. John H. Elliott, Professor Emeritus, University of San Francisco, author of 1 Peter, Anchor Bible Commentary
“The Honor-Shame Paraphrase series gives us a fresh look at an ancient perspective. As a paraphrase, each book nicely serves as a middle ground between a commentary and a translation. Accordingly, they aptly highlight diverse and subtle ways that honor and shame influence the biblical writers. One easily sees the care given to remain biblically faithful and culturally meaningful. I commend this series both as a useful tool for personal study and public ministry.”
—Dr. Jackson Wu, professor to Chinese pastors, author of Saving God’s Face
"Applying shame and honor as ever present realities in the ancient world, Jayson Georges powerfully accents the cultural values behind the words that would otherwise seem flavorless. His paraphrasing penetrates deeply into the intentions of the heart that often lay hidden from readers. We are exposed to life as it was lived, feelings as they were felt and hidden motives as they were brought to light. The biblical text breathes afresh with meaning."
—Dr. Duane H. Elmer, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, author of Cross-Cultural Servanthood
"In a rapidly globalizing world cultural differences are confronting us daily. Not only have these cultural differences exposed a cultural bias in our daily lives, but they have also exposed the significant role culture plays in our approach to the Bible. The Honor-Shame Paraphrase provides a great resource that helps people understand how the Bible would have been understood in the Ancient Near East. I am both thankful and excited to recommend a resource that will help us understand the Bible."
—Spencer MacCuish, President, Eternity Bible College
The Honor-Shame Paraphrase helps you understand the Bible according to its original cultural context. We highlight social nuances to unlock the meaning of Scripture in insightful and accessible ways. This series is ideal for personal devotions, teaching preparation, ministry training, Bible studies, and life groups.
This paraphrase of Esther unlocks the subtle plot dynamics of this intriguing and theologically rich narrative. Thanks to providential circumstances, Jewish exiles in Persia escape complete humiliation and gain an honorable status. The socio-historical introduction explains key honor-shame motifs such as feasts, social hierarchy, and status in the story of Esther.
Learn more about the Honor-Shame Paraphrase series at
"This lively and engaging paraphrase of Esther, like all the biblical paraphrases in this series, seeks to illuminate and express key implicit cultural assumptions shaping biblical discourse. Sumptuous food and fabulous feasting, role violations and status reversals, male honoring and female defiance, enemy plotting and counter-cultural female heroics are all displayed here as strands of a fascinating story of honor denied and honor bestowed."
—Dr. John H. Elliott, Professor Emeritus, University of San Francisco, author of 1 Peter, Anchor Bible Commentary
“The Honor-Shame Paraphrase series gives us a fresh look at an ancient perspective. As a paraphrase, each book nicely serves as a middle ground between a commentary and a translation. Accordingly, they aptly highlight diverse and subtle ways that honor and shame influence the biblical writers. One easily sees the care given to remain biblically faithful and culturally meaningful. I commend this series both as a useful tool for personal study and public ministry.”
—Dr. Jackson Wu, professor to Chinese pastors, author of Saving God’s Face
"Applying shame and honor as ever present realities in the ancient world, Jayson Georges powerfully accents the cultural values behind the words that would otherwise seem flavorless. His paraphrasing penetrates deeply into the intentions of the heart that often lay hidden from readers. We are exposed to life as it was lived, feelings as they were felt and hidden motives as they were brought to light. The biblical text breathes afresh with meaning."
—Dr. Duane H. Elmer, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, author of Cross-Cultural Servanthood
"In a rapidly globalizing world cultural differences are confronting us daily. Not only have these cultural differences exposed a cultural bias in our daily lives, but they have also exposed the significant role culture plays in our approach to the Bible. The Honor-Shame Paraphrase provides a great resource that helps people understand how the Bible would have been understood in the Ancient Near East. I am both thankful and excited to recommend a resource that will help us understand the Bible."
—Spencer MacCuish, President, Eternity Bible College
28 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 26, 2017
13 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Jayson Georges
11 books6 followersJayson Georges (MDiv, Talbot) has served crossculturally for over fifteen years in Central Asia, a refugee community in the United States, and now in the Middle East. He is the coauthor of Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures and the author of The 3D Gospel and The Honor-Shame Paraphrase series. Georges has taught about honor-shame and patronage around the world and is the founding editor of honorshame.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 8, 2019
Where Honor and Shame Are Best Understood: This is part of a series of social-cultural expositions, not translations, of books of the Bible. The underlying themes of honor and shame are delightfully highlighted in this paraphrase of Esther! Honor and shame are best understood in a collective society where everybody “knows their place” and a hierarchical culture where those of higher status have responsibility for the lower status. Respecting someone promotes harmony and brings honor; disrespecting someone disrupts harmony and results in shame.
February 7, 2019
Quick informational read
Esther is the second book I have read in this series of honor shame paraphrases. This one was fantastic. It was a pleasure to learn about cultural expectations of the time the book of Esther was written in the introduction and throughout Esther. I highly recommend it.
Esther is the second book I have read in this series of honor shame paraphrases. This one was fantastic. It was a pleasure to learn about cultural expectations of the time the book of Esther was written in the introduction and throughout Esther. I highly recommend it.
July 2, 2018
A very interesting and insightful paraphrase of the book of Esther. Georges' goal is to point out what he sees as the honor-shame perspectives found in the book, so the paraphrase is definitely loose. While I think he missed in a couple of places, he still clearly demonstrates the honor-shame elements both in the culture of the time and in the book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews