A literary comparison between the prayers of Esther (LXX) and Judith

Abstract

In this article the author compares the LXX prayers of Esther and Judith, paying special attention to structure and style. The LXX book of Esther is briefly compared to Judith in terms of their setting and Wirkungsgeschichte. Working from this point of departure, the author then moves to a comparison in structure and style of the prayers. The aim is to show that these two prayers (1) reveal a largely similar structure, and (2) represent a certain forensic process; (3) that these features may have been shared and (4) revised (5) to fit the specific context and (6) to suit the textual strategy of each author.