Mordecai = "little man" or "worshipper of Mars"<OL TYPE="1"><LI>cousin and adoptive father of queen Esther; son of Jair of the tribe of Benjamin; deliverer under Divine providence of the children of Israel from the destruction plotted by Haman the chief minister of Ahasuerus; institutor of the feast of Purim<LI>a Jew who returned from exile with Zerubbabel</OL>