Front Matter -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication Page -- Table of Contents -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- INTRODUCTION -- Content -- THE WORK OF THE EXEGETE -- JEWISH SOURCES FOR EXEGESIS -- NON-JEWISH SOURCES FOR EXEGESIS -- LITERARY CONCERNS -- THEOLOGICAL ISSUES -- THE WORLD OF THE EXEGETE -- PERSIA THROUGH EUROPEAN EYES: GEOGRAPHY, ARCHITECTURE, CUSTOMS, AND INSTITUTIONS -- JEWISH-GENTILE RELATIONS AND JEWISH ATTITUDES TO GENTILES AS REFLECTED IN THE COMMENT ARIES -- THE STATE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE DIASPORA: PERCEPTIONS OF ANTISEMITISM -- THE ROYAL COURT -- THE JEWS AND THE MONARCHY:THE ROLE OF AHASUERUS IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER -- CONCLUDING REMARKS -- APPENDIX I: THE EXEGETES OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER: A BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SURVEY WITH TEXTUAL EXCURSUSES -- APPENDIX III: IMMANUEL OF ROME AND DANTE ON THE DIFFERENTIATION OF LANGUAGES AND THE DATING OF IMMANUEL'S COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER -- Back Matter -- NOTES -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- OTHER PRIMARY SOURCES -- SECONDARY SOURCES -- INDEXES -- Subject Index -- Index of Scriptural Citations -- Index of Manuscripts by Depository Libraries.