2 Maccabees 15:36
- Language
- Greek
- Composed
- c. 124 BC or later
- Oldest surviving copy
- Codex Alexandrinus (5th c.)
- Status
- Deuterocanonical
"The day before Mordecai's day."
Ancient Mysteries & Interpretations
Where Did Purim Come From?
Esther explains Purim from Haman's lot (Akkadian pūru). The first outside mention is "Mordecai's day" in 2 Maccabees 15:36. Older scholars proposed origins in a Babylonian New Year or Persian festival, pointing to Mordecai/Marduk and Esther/Ishtar; these proposals lack direct evidence.
Pur = pūru: documented · Festival origin: unknown
1 What Scripture says
Esther 3:7; 9:17–32
"Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur" (Esther 9:26).
2 What evidence we might expect
- Early references to a Jewish spring festival in Adar.
3 What ancient sources survive
4 What discoveries exist
The Elephantine Passover letter (419 BC) concerns Unleavened Bread, not Purim.
5 How interpretations compare
Traditional reading
From the events
Purim began as Esther describes.
Scholarly reconstruction
Adapted festival
A Babylonian or Persian festival was given a Jewish story.
Source: Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Festivals vi–viii" (Purim and its proposed origins) ↗; TheTorah.com, "On the Origins of Purim and Its Assyrian Name" ↗
Scholarly reconstruction
Diaspora festival later adopted in Judea
Purim spread from the eastern diaspora; Esther's letters (9:20–32) promote it.
6 The strongest supported reconstruction
The festival is attested from the 2nd century BC; its earlier history is unknown.
7 What remains possible or unknown
- When and where Purim was first kept.
What the evidence shows
- Purim derives from a Babylonian festival.
- The Elephantine Passover letter mentions Purim.
Where this connects
- Lesson: Purim and Jewish Memory →Esther 3:7; 9:17–32
- Lesson: Violence, Numbers and Purim →Esther 9