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How old was Esther when she was selected by Achashveirosh? I am familiar with the Yalkut (Esther 2:8) which offers ages up to 80 and seems to settle on 74/75 the numerical value of Haddasah, however this seems preposterous to be taken literally. Therefore I am looking other authoritative sources for her age.

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Bereishit Rabbah 39:13 (39:4 in some edition) brings a machloket Rav and Shemuel if Esther was 40 or 80 years old respectively. According to the opinion of the Rabbanan, she was 75 years old.

Chaim
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  • that's pretty old to be the consort of the king – not-allowed to change my name Dec 18 '12 at 01:18
  • Why did she stay unmarried for so long? – Ariel Dec 18 '12 at 10:46
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    @Ariel Well, the Bavli says she was married to Mordochai. – Double AA Dec 18 '12 at 16:05
  • Yah, I've heard that but I always assumed it was the minority opinion because it clearly says in the megillah that they were looking for virgin maidens, and if she was married she wouldn't be (and I'm sure she would have told the soldiers that, since I doubt she wanted to go voluntarily). Plus if she was married that has huge implications for her going voluntarily to the king. Are you allowed to sin with Giluy Arayous in order to save someone? – Ariel Dec 18 '12 at 23:41
  • @ariel you are not allowed to sin with arayot to save someone. The gemara already asks both of your questions and has discussions about the answers. See megilla 13a and Sanhedrin 74b – Double AA Dec 18 '12 at 23:58
  • I looked at Megilla 13a and I see where it says she was married, but not where it explains why the soldiers took her anyway if she was not a virgin. (What it says later about the King loving her as if she was a virgin doesn't help since the soldiers could not have known that in advance.) – Ariel Dec 19 '12 at 00:05
  • Related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/14867/why-did-achashveirosh-take-esther-if-she-was-already-married – Ariel Dec 24 '12 at 07:51
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    Look in the Gra, mikol hanashim means they started taking married women – LN6595 Mar 13 '19 at 12:21
  • Isn’t there a Gemara that lists the four most beautiful women, and it removes Esther for having green skin? Why doesn’t it remove her for her age? – DonielF Mar 13 '19 at 12:40
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    @doniel megillah 15a, who said old isn't beautiful? – Double AA Mar 13 '19 at 12:44
  • @DoubleAA Who said having green skin isn’t beautiful? – DonielF Mar 13 '19 at 12:44
  • @Doniel that's the premise of that opinion. See when it's first quoted that she needed Chesed to be accepted – Double AA Mar 13 '19 at 12:48
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    @DonielF Maybe Achashveirosh needed glasses. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spectacles_(short_story) – user6591 Mar 13 '19 at 14:18
  • Strange the megilah texts says she was a young maiden. How do they get 80 . – Jack Chazanow Mar 08 '23 at 01:14
  • @Jack where does the megillah text say "young" – Double AA Mar 08 '23 at 01:38
  • וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ נַעֲרֵֽי־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מְשָׁרְתָ֑יו יְבַקְשׁ֥וּ לַמֶּ֛לֶךְ נְעָר֥וֹת בְּתוּל֖וֹת טוֹב֥וֹת מַרְאֶֽה׃ The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for Your Majesty – Jack Chazanow Mar 09 '23 at 02:12
  • @JackChazanow That's not a very precise translation. The word "young" does not appear in the Hebrew. There's a word נערה which means something like "maiden" which could have age connotations, or perhaps just marital status connotations. – Double AA Mar 09 '23 at 02:18