PROPHETIC VOICE OF DISSENT

RECOGNITION OF THE INHERENT DANGER OF HUMAN GOVERNANCE BECOMING

ABUSIVE, TYRANNICAL, UNJUST, AND IDOLATROUS, AND THE THEOLOGICAL
POTENTIAL OF THE PROPHETIC VOICE OF DISSENT TO TRANSFORM OUR
COMMUNITIES: JOHN THE BAPTIST, VASHTI

1. JOHN THE BAPTIST OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE NARRATIVE1

John the Baptist, the powerful influencer, provides an alternative to the dominant
narrative. He lived in contrast to the existing norm. John the Baptist’s image is one living in
the desert, eating locusts and wild honey and dressed in camel’s hair and a leather belt. It may
sound like a minimalist style. But John’s focus was on standing for values and pointing others
to Christ.

a. Prophet does not compromise words

John the Baptist was least interested in being politically correct. Unlike preachers today,
John delivered an undiluted message. The straightforward message: repent, for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand! (Matthew 3:2). John’s fiery words to those who wanted to escape God’s
judgment: Brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Luke 3:7-9).

As if that was not enough, John the Baptist rebuked the authorities for unethical and
immoral practices (Luke 3:19-20). John was imprisoned and later beheaded, but he stood his
ground. The suffering world needs leaders who talk from the heart and not diplomatically
dodge the realities of the vulnerable. “The suffering world needs leaders who talk from the
heart and not diplomatically dodge the realities of the vulnerable.”

b. A leader who chose to serve and remain humble

John the Baptist was honoured by Christ for being a servant. The biblical saying still
holds: the more you humble yourself, the more God exalts you. There is no theory to prove it;

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ferozfernandes.com/john-the-baptist-offers-alternative-narrative-for-today

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ask a devotee who experienced it. Jesus said that among those born of women, there is no one
greater than John the Baptist (Luke 7:28).

Even when the opportunity presented itself, John remained humble, stating that he is
unworthy to untie the thong of the messiah’s sandals. He did not boast about himself neither
stole the spotlight from Jesus. He was clear about his mission: I must decrease, and Jesus must
increase.

The lost sheep await a humble servant leader who focuses on an empowering mission
to save and serve others. John the Baptist is a threatening opposition to the self-promoting
establishments. Imagine when the number of servant leader’s increases – there are more
chances that mercy and justice will reign. Genuine humility is an enabling experience which
the powerful offer to the vulnerable. True humility liberates others even at the cost of the
innocent life of a leader. “The lost sheep await a humble servant leader who focuses on an
empowering mission to save and serve others.”

c. A leader who refuses to brag

According to the tradition, Jesus was a cousin of John the Baptist. Get this right – the
Bible does not use the word ‘cousin’ to describe their relationship. But they were related both
by family and by purpose. John didn’t boast of his connection to Jesus, even as a relative. Even
John didn’t brag about himself. He was content with his role as a forerunner – preparing the
way for the messiah.

You may find yourself in a world that teaches self-promotion. Bragging has become a
mainstream norm. Yes, you hate it when people say: I did this, or I did that. You can even be
deceived when self-promotion is outsourced and handled by a public relations agency. A
servant leader has no time to brag, and even when they do, they will turn the spotlight on to
others – especially the less recognized in the process of success.

I heard an interesting saying five years ago. A friend told me that we live in a world
where “who you know is more important than what you know.” Obviously, to get things done
for oneself, not for others. The trend to boast about ‘whom you know’ continues. And also post
pictures with celebrities and famous personalities. I am not demonizing bragging. But drawing
the attention of the need to stay focused on purpose more than one’s own needs and wants.

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Humanity has vacancies for leaders who display grit, restrain, and other-centeredness.
“Humanity has vacancies for leaders who display grit, restrain, and other-centeredness.”

In conclusion, most people remember the birth of John the Baptist with festivities. You
are drawn towards the passion of the courageous soul. John offers a sustainable alternative to
our times. Life of John in an option to combat scenarios of over-dominance, over-indulgence,
and increasing indifference to the suffering other.

God’s timing in your life is always perfect. You have a calling and a purpose. Even in
a depressing time with mistrust, God enkindles hope in possibilities to be yourself and care for
those around you. You are the prophet of hope and inspiration. Let your actions be the only
words you speak.

2. VASHTI: MIDRASH AND AGGADAH2

According to midrashic tradition, Vashti was a princess and Ahasuerus was her father's
steward who acquired regal status by marrying her. Their differences were reflected in
Ahasuerus’s behaviour at the banquet when he summoned Vashti to appear before the men at
their revelry. The Babylonian Rabbis cast Vashti in a negative light. In contrast, their
counterparts in Erez Israel positively portrayed her. Vashti came to an end when Memu can,
one of the seven eunuchs of King Ahasuerus, counselled the king to depose Vashti. In the
midrashic depiction, when Ahasuerus grew sober, he regretted what he had done. He recalled
Vashti and her proper behaviour, and he also remembered how he had improperly condemned
her.

a. Vashti’s Identity

The Rabbis state that Vashti was one of the four women who were enthroned, two of
whom ruled over Israel (Jezebel and Athaliah) and two over other peoples (the heathen
Semiramis and Vashti) (Esther Rabbah 3:2).

The midrash conveys that Vashti was the orphaned daughter of Belshazzar; God was
her help and kept her alive and she was wed to the emperor of Persia and Media, even though
she was a Chaldean (Babylonian) (Esth. Rabbah 3:5). In the midrashic account of these events,

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jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/vashti-midrash-and-aggadah

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on the night that Belshazzar was killed, Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Mede were guests at
his table. The candelabrum fell and dashed out Belshazzar’s brains. Darius was crowned in his
stead and sat in Belshazzar’s customary place. The death of Belshazzar caused total
pandemonium in the palace. Some killed, while others engaged in looting. Vashti, Belshazzar’s
daughter, was a young girl. She saw the tumult in the castle and ran among the guests. Thinking
that her father was still alive, she mistakenly sat in Darius’s lap, in the belief that he was her
father. Darius took pity on her and married her to his son Ahasuerus. (Midrash Panim Aherim
[ed. Buber], version B, para. 1).

According to another midrashic tradition, Vashti was a princess and Ahasuerus was her
father's steward, in charge of the royal stables. He acquired regal status by marrying her (Esth.
Rabbah 3:14; BT Megillah 12b). The difference in their stations was reflected in Ahasuerus's
behaviour at the banquet when he summoned Vashti to appear before the men at their revelry.
Esth. 1:10 attests: “on the seventh day when the king was merry with wine,” from which the
Rabbis understood that the king was intoxicated. The midrash relates that Vashti sent a
messenger to her husband with the message: You were Father’s steward. My father Belshazzar
would drink wine in the measure of one thousand men and would not be inebriated, while you
act the fool from the wine of a single man! She thereby hinted to him that she was the daughter
of royalty, while he was a simple person who had reached his exalted status thanks to her (BT
Megillah loc. cit.).

Vashti’s feast is portrayed as a “banquet for women,” which, the Rabbis explain, was
different from the men’s revel. She gave them different types of drinks that women like and
served them the different manner of sweets that are favoured by women. Esth. 1:9 tells that this
banquet was held “in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.” One midrash explains that the
festivities were conducted in decorated and adorned rooms that suited women states, while
another tradition says that she hosted the women in spacious rooms so that if they wished to
use them for licentious behaviour, one would not be ashamed in front of her fellow. Yet a third
midrashic tradition tells that she hosted them in an inner chamber of the king’s so that if the
husband of any of these women wanted to rebel against the king, his wife would be a hostage
in the hands of Ahasuerus and Vashti, thus forestalling any seditious activity by their spouses
(Esth. Rabbah 3:10). According to another tradition, Vashti hosted them in the royal palace,
since it is the way of women to want to know all. She brought them into where the king sleeps
and told them: “This is where the king sits, this is where he eats, this is where he drinks, this is
where he sleeps” (Midrash Panim Aherim, version B, para. 1).

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b. Vashti as Seen by the Babylonian Rabbis

The Babylonian Rabbis tend to cast Vashti in an extremely negative light, as wicked,
jew-hater, and wanton. They comment on Esth. 1:9: “In addition, Queen Vashti gave a banquet
for women, in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus” that Vashti held her banquet in the royal
palace of King Ahasuerus, a place meant for men, and not in the natural venue for such an
event, the harem. They learn from this that Vashti had licentious intent when she organized her
banquet, just like her husband Ahasuerus (who later summoned her to appear before the men).
The Rabbis cite the immoral intent of each as an example of the popular saying, “He with
gourds and his wife with cucumbers,” in other words, the husband and the wife are alike, and
both act in the same manner (BT Megillah 12a–b).

Esth. 1:10 records: “On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine,” on which
the Rabbis observe that the seventh day of Ahasuerus’s banquet was also the seventh day of
the week, that is, the Sabbath. When the Israelites eat and drink on the Sabbath, they utter the
words of the Torah and praises God. But when the non-Jewish peoples eat and drink on this
day, they begin with indecent talk. And so it was at the banquet of Ahasuerus, where an
argument erupted among the men. Some said: “The Median women are the fairest,” while
others claimed: “Persian women are the fairest.” Ahasuerus replied to them: “The vessel that I
use [that is, his wife] is neither Mede nor Persian, but Chaldean (Babylonian) — do you want
to see her?” They told him, “Yes, but only if she is naked.” This demand is derived from Esth.
1:11: “to bring Queen Vashti before the king wearing a royal diadem” — wearing only a royal
diadem, without any other clothes on her body (BT Megillah 12b).

These Rabbis depict Vashti as a wanton adulteress, leading us to ask why, if this was
the case, she refused to appear at the men’s feast. These Rabbis maintain that Vashti wanted to
appear at Ahasuerus’ lewd party. Her plans were upset when leprosy erupted over her entire
body so that she could not make an appearance before all the guests.

According to another tradition, the angel Gabriel came and fixed a tail to her (BT
Megillah loc. cit.). God intervened in various ways to prevent Vashti from heeding Ahasuerus.
Thus He directed matters so that Vashti would be deposed and Esther would reign in her stead.

In the view of the Babylonian Rabbis, Vashti’s punishment was merited (middah ke-
neged middah: “measure for measure”): as she did to Jewish women, so it was decreed against

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her. The wicked Vashti would bring Jewish women, strip them naked and order them to
perform work on the Sabbath. Consequently, she was punished by being commanded to appear
in the nude at the banquet of Ahasuerus, on a Sabbath day (BT Megillah loc. cit.).

This collection of midrashim presents Vashti in a very negative light. The adverse
attitude of the Rabbis in Babylonia to Vashti might have resulted from the fact that Vashti was
Babylonian, and for the Rabbis she represented the local Babylonian women, who were
promiscuous and Jew-haters. Emphasizing their negative traits probably aided in erecting
barriers between the Jews living in Babylonia and the local Gentile women.

c. Vashti as Seen by the Rabbis of Erez Israel

In contrast to the negative depiction of Vashti by the Babylonian Rabbis, their

counterparts in Erez Israel positively portrayed her. Vashti was a scion of a royal dynasty and
deported herself with the proper honour and nobility. The midrash relates that when Ahasuerus
sent his sarisim (i.e., important ministers, some of whom were eunuchs) to bring Vashti, she
sent emissaries back to him three times, in an attempt to persuade him to withdraw his demand.
She sent him messages to which he would be receptive. She told him: “If they see me and think
me beautiful, they will want to lie with me, and they will kill you. And if they see me and think
me ugly, you will be disgraced because of me.” She hinted to him, but he did not take the hint;
she aimed her barb at him, but he was not stung. She sent a message to him: “You were my
father’s steward, and you were accustomed to having naked harlots come before you. Now that
you have become king, you have not mended your degraded ways!” She hinted to him, but he
did not take the hint; she aimed her barb at him, but he was not stung. She sent a message to
him: “You want me to come naked—even my father when he judged litigants in a trial, would
not judge them when they were naked” Esth. Rabbah 3:14). Vashti in this midrash is blessed
with wisdom. She cleverly seeks different ways by which to persuade Ahasuerus to withdraw
his request. First, she appeals to logic by setting forth all the possible scenarios that might result
from his demand, all of which are to his disadvantage. Then she addresses his sense of honour
and self-respect, demanding that he act as is fitting for a king. Finally, she appeals to his
compassion and asks that he does not insist upon her appearing naked before all his guests.
Using her messengers, Vashti hints to her husband that he does not consider the consequences
of his actions and that he wields the sceptre only because of his marriage to her; accordingly,
it is not appropriate that he order her to do something against her will. The reader sees

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Ahasuerus, in contrast with Vashti, as a ruler who acts rashly and does not think even one single
step ahead. The hints that his wife sends Ahasuerus merely bounce off the thick-skinned king.
Even in his palace, his behaviour is inappropriate, and he continues to act in a disgraceful
manner, like a steward.

Despite the positive depiction of Vashti by the Erez Israel Rabbis, they find a flaw in
her, for which she is punished by God and is deposed. They assert that Ahasuerus wanted to
rebuild the Temple, but Vashti stayed his hand. She told him: “You wish to rebuild what my
forefathers destroyed?” She was therefore punished by the loss of her crown (Esth. Rabbah loc.
cit.; Midrash Panim Aherim [ed. Buber], version B, para. 1). For the Rabbis of Erez Israel,
Vashti represented the Babylonian rule that laid waste to the Temple. Her replacement by
Esther symbolized the reversal that occurs in the Book of Esther and the hope that the ravagers
of the Temple would receive their punishment and the people of Israel would return to their
former glory.

d. Vashti’s End

As recorded in Esth. 1:12, Ahasuerus is enraged when he hears Vashti’s response: “The
king was greatly incensed, and his fury burned within him.” In the Rabbinic account, God
fanned the flames of Ahasuerus’s anger. He told the angel of fury: “Go and kindle a flame
within him, breathe it into his body and throw sulphur into his oven.” His rage did not subside
during all the years after Vashti’s banishment, until Esther’s appearance. According to one
opinion, his anger was assuaged only when Haman was hanged, as is said in Esth. 7:10: “So
they hung Haman on the gallows which he had put up for Mordecai, and the king’s fury
abated.” In the Rabbinic interpretation, this monarch represents God, the King of kings, who
were angered by Haman’s hatred of the Jews and who directed matters so that Haman would
be hanged and his decree frustrated. Consequently, the hanging of Haman abated God’s fury
(Esth. Rabbah 3:15).

Memucan, one of the seven eunuchs of King Ahasuerus, counselled the king to depose
Vashti. The Rabbis observe that Memucan was precipitate in offering advice without being
asked, from which they learn that “A commoner (hedyot, here: fool) leaps first.” Memucan had
his private interests when he advised the king to remove Vashti. There are three different views
as to why Memucan wished to be revenged upon Vashti. According to one, Vashti would strike
him back and forth on the face with her shoe. In consequence, Memucan says (Esth. 1:16):

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“Queen Vashti has committed an offence not only against Your Majesty,” that is, but she also
acted unjustly towards him, as well, and because of this he wanted a severe punishment to be
inflicted upon her. The second midrashic direction has Memucan wanting to be avenged
because Vashti did not invite his wife to the women’s banquet. And so he says (Esth. 1:17):
“For the queen’s behaviour will make all wives despise their husbands.” He speaks in general
language and not in a personal tone because he did not include himself and his wife in this
statement. According to the third position, Memucan had a daughter and wanted Vashti to be
deposed so that his daughter could marry Ahasuerus. Therefore, he says (Esth. 1:19): “And let
Your Majesty bestow her royal state upon another who is more worthy than she,” hinting at his
daughter (Esth. Rabbah 4:6).

The Book of Esther is not explicit regarding Vashti’s fate. Esth. 2:1 relates: “Some time
afterwards when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he thought of Vashti and what she had
done and what had been decreed against her,” but without specifying what had befallen her.
Four verses earlier (1:19), Memucan suggests: “If it pleases Your Majesty, let a royal edict be
issued by you, and let it be written into the laws of Persia and Media, so that it cannot be
abrogated, that Vashti shall never enter the presence of King Ahasuerus. And let Your Majesty
bestow her royal state upon another who is more worthy than she.” Memucan possibly
proposed that the king depose her as queen and banish her from the palace. A recurring theme
in the midrashim is that Vashti was not merely deposed, but executed.

Thus God fulfilled his prophecy in Isa. 14:22: “and I will wipe out from Babylon name
and remnant, kith and kin” (Midrash Panim Aherim [ed. Buber], version B, para. 1).
Memucan’s suggestion, as presented in the midrash, was to place Vashti’s head on a plate (i.e.,
to behead her), and Ahasuerus accepted his proposal (Esth. Rabbah 4:9, 12). Another midrash
explains that the negative effect of wine is like a snakebite, separating life and death. Thus
Ahasuerus’ excessive drinking led to the death of Vashti (Lev. Rabbah 12:1).

The midrash tells us that Ahasuerus acted improperly when he issued the decree
(Esth.1:22): “that every man should wield authority in his home.” This is not the way of the
world: if a man wants to eat lentils, and his wife desires peas, he cannot force his will upon her.
Rather, she acts as she wishes. Similarly, Ahasuerus acted inappropriately when he attempted
to compel Vashti to obey him (Esth. Rabbah 4:12).

In the midrashic depiction, when Ahasuerus grew sober, he regretted what he had done.
He recalled Vashti and her proper behaviour, and he also remembered how he had improperly

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condemned her (Esth. Rabbah 5:2). Another tradition has Ahasuerus wanting his wife when
the effects of his intoxication wore off. He was told: “You killed her!” He asked: “Why?” They
replied: “You said for her to come before you naked and she did not come.” He admitted to
them: “I did not act nicely. And who counselled me to kill her?” They told him: “The seven
ministers of Persia and Media.” He immediately killed them. Consequently, the seven eunuchs
are not mentioned again in the Book of Esther (Midrash Abba Gurion [ed. Buber], version B,
beginning of chapter 2).