Hadassah

Hadassah was the Hebrew name of Queen Esther before she took her Persian name. The name appears only once in Scripture, in Esther 2:7, where she is identified as Mordecai's cousin whom he raised as his own daughter. The myrtle tree, for which she was named, symbolizes righteousness and beauty in Jewish tradition.

Etymology & Roots

Hadassah comes from the Hebrew הֲדַסָּה (Hadassah), derived from הֲדַס (hadas), meaning 'myrtle tree' (Myrtus communis). The myrtle was a fragrant shrub associated in ancient Israel with beauty, blessing, and the restoration of God's favor. Zechariah's visions feature myrtle trees as part of the divine glory scenery (Zechariah 1:8–11). The name's botanical connection aligns with a broader pattern of Hebrew female names derived from plants and flowers.

The Septuagint uses the name Εσθηρ (Esther) throughout, following the Persian name, leaving Hadassah to appear only in the Hebrew text of Esther 2:7.

Biblical Bearers

Hadassah is the given Hebrew name of Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia who interceded to save her people from Haman's genocide. Esther 2:7 identifies her as 'Hadassah, that is Esther,' establishing both her Jewish identity and her adopted Persian identity. Mordecai, her older cousin who raised her after her parents died, presumably gave or preserved the Hebrew name.

The dual naming — Hadassah and Esther — encapsulates her liminal existence between Jewish and Persian identity, a tension central to the book's narrative and theological concerns.

Theological Significance

The myrtle, from which Hadassah's name derives, carries deep resonance in prophetic literature. Isaiah 41:19 and 55:13 associate the myrtle with divine restoration — replacing thorns and briers in the renewed creation. That the hidden deliverer of God's people bore a name meaning 'myrtle' quietly signals divine purpose at work beneath the surface.

Hadassah's concealment of her Jewish identity (Esther 2:10) followed by her courageous self-disclosure (Esther 8:3) enacts the book's theology of hidden divine providence. Her story illustrates how God uses those who are marginalized, orphaned, or seemingly powerless as instruments of covenantal protection.

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