What genre is the Book of Esther in the Bible?

Answer 1

The first step is to define what Esther is not. The Book of Esther is not religious, because it does not even mention God*, so it is not a scripture. It is clearly not a genuine work of history, because there are too many historical errors and there are good reasons to believe that Esther and Mordacai never really lived.

Broadly, the Book of Esther is historical fiction. It is a period novel.

Footnote

* The Latin Vulgate contains additional material that mentions God, and which Jerome acknowledged as late, Christian interpolations.

Answer 2

A:

The Book of Esther can be classified as a historical novel. A historical novel is a work of fiction that contains some references to to historical characters or events in order to appear historical. In the Book of Esther, King Xerxes is historical, but Queen Vashti and Esther are not.

Answer 3

The book of Esther is found in the K'tuvim (Writings) section of the Tanach.

Answer 4

The book of Esther is one of only two books in The Bible named after women, the other book is Ruth.

Also the book of Esther does not mention God directly.

Answer 5

Esther is written in prose.