This paper looks at the relation between the Hebrew and the two Greek texts of the book of Esther. I believe that the second Greek text, commonly called the A-text, is dependent on the MT and the LXX. For this purpose I have chosen a detail from the text of 8:15, namely the crown of. Mordecai. This detail stems from probably the most important chapter for the discussion on the relation between the MT and the Greek texts of the book of Esther. In the MT, Vasthi (1:11), Esther (2:17) and the king's horse (6:8) all wear a royal crown. Mordecai also receives a crown, but it seems a different crown from the first mentioned. Moreover he receives something else (8:15). In the LXX Vasthi (I:11) and Esther (2:17)have a diadem, the horse has nothing (6:8), but Mordecai wears a crown and a diadem (8:15). In the second Greek version, the women receive a diadem from the kingdom (1:11 and 2:17), the horse nothing (6:11). And now Mordecai has only a diadem on his head (7:39). My question is this: which kind of 'hats' are these people wearing and why is there a difference in the texts? My hypothesis is that the differences can be explained by looking back at the Vorlage of the texts, and by (the changes made by) a redactor/author. This case sheds light upon the relation between the MT and the two Greek texts. It seems that AT 7:39 (// to LXX 8:15) can partly be explained by dependence on the LXX and on the MT.
