Adele Berlin, a scholar of biblical and ancient Near Eastern literature, has developed the Biblical Studies program at the University of Maryland, USA and has designed and taught courses on biblical narrative and poetry, ancient Near Eastern culture and literature, and methods of biblical interpretation.

“This informative commentary . . . dissects the Book of Esther and, by extension, the Jewish holiday of Purim. Berlin begins with a lengthy introduction, discussing Esther as comedy and as diaspora literature; the introduction does a fine job of explaining the Persian period and its various art forms.”-Publishers Weekly "Berlin's literary approach to the book of Esther is a very well done, and filled with important information."—David J. Zucker, Women in Judaism