In the book of Esther ii, 7, we are told that Mordecai brought up his niece Hadassah, and it adds “Hadassah that is Esther” . While it has been generally recognized that is the feminine of “Myrtle” which occurs several times in the Bible (Is. xli, 19; lv, 13; Zach. i, 8, 10, 11; Neh. viii, 15), there has never been any clear and definite opinion as to the meaning of Esther. Already in olden times it was felt that Esther was of foreign origin, but no one thought that meant to convey that there was an identity of meaning in both names. Thus, we find in the Bab Talmud, Megilla 13A, that Rabbi Nehemia was of the opinion that her name was Hadassah, but that she was called by the Gentiles Esther, after the “star-Venus” whereas according to Rabbi Jehoshua, her name was Esther, and she was subsequently characterized as Hadassah “Myrtle” because of the greenish colour of her face.