* Esther 5 (14vs)   - Queen Esther approached King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) to make her request

  * Esther 6 (14vs)   - Mordecai's reward and Haman's surprise

  * Esther 7 (10vs)   - Haman was hung on the gallows he had built for Mordecai the Jew

  * Esther 8 (17vs)   - Even though King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) couldn't cancel out his Haman-inspired decree to kill the Jews, he made a decree that the Jews could defend themselves against their enemies.

  * Esther 9 (32vs)   - In Adar the 12th month, enemies of the Jews attacked and were defeated. In honor of the victory, a new Jewish celebration called Purim began.

  * Esther 10 (3vs)   - King Ahasuerus (Xerxes)'s tribute and Mordecai the Jew's rise in power in Persia.

DATE: ca 465 BC - 20th year of reign of Xerxes I the Great - Esther's husband - died

DATE: ca 465-424 BC - Artaxerxes I Longimanus, son of Xerxes I, ruled the Persian Empire