Esther touching the scepter (Es. 5:2)
Ahasuerus listening to the Book of Records (Es. 6:1-3)
Mordecai's triumph (Es. 6:11)
Haman's daughter empties a chamber pot on her father's head (Bab. Talmud, Megillah 16a)
Carshena
Shethar
Zethar
Carcas
Avihayil (Esther's father)
Portrait medallion
Bird
Lion
Floral motif
Vase
Fruits
Main text framed |
The scroll is preserved in very good condition.
Text columns nos. 6-8 are flanked by the figures of Zeresh (not pictured in this image), Carshena, Shethar, and Admatha (the princes of Media and Persia listed in Es. 1:14; the latter is not pictured in this image), though Admatha is not visible in this image. The upper margin features the busts of Zethar, Carcas (the king's courtiers listed in Es. 1:10), and Avihayil (Esther's father - Es. 9:29). The lower margin features the narrative scenes of Ahasuerus extending the scepter to Esther (Es. 5:2), the reading of the empire's chronicles to the king (Es. 6:1-3), and the triumph of Mordecai (Es. 6:11). They are all captioned in Hebrew. The episodes are entitled בית המלכות ("the kingdom"), נדדה שנה - "the dream left [the king]", and ויקרא לפניו - "[it will be] proclaimed before him," respectively.
The Book of Esther in Hebrew
The scroll is formed of a single sheet containing 13 text columns with 32 lines each, except for col. 11 which has 11 lines divided into two half-columns.
The text in the scroll is printed, but its prototype was copied in the Hebrew Ashkenazi script with tagin.
The letters ח (Es. 1:6) and ת (Es. 9:29) are highlighted by their size. Other enlarged and diminished letters are included in col. 11.
To almost all ל letters appearing in the words המלך occurring at the head of the text columns, a decorative stroke is added.
The text is printed, therefore the scroll lacks ruling and pricking.
None
Another number of the scroll: 2001/0567.
The images of the scroll are available on https://collections.jewishmuseum.cz/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/221895# (accessed on 06.12.2020).
No bibliography on the scroll is available.