Becoming Jews?

This article challenges dominant interpretations of mityahadim (“making themselves into Jews”) in Esth 8:17, which often read the phrase as anachronistic religious conversion, mere political allegiance, or fear-induced pretense. Instead, I argue for mityahadim as a literary portrayal of sincere communal and social affiliation, where Persian subjects adopt Jewish identity as part of the narrative ironies within the book of Esther. This view is supported by linguistic analysis of the hithpael verb, narrative coherence with Esther’s theme of reversal, parallels in Jewish literary tradition, Achaemenid imperial policies, and early Jewish interpretations of the book of Esther. The article thus reinterprets Esth 8:17 to show Jewish identity as dynamically capable of integrating outsiders amid cultural exchange.