Exegetical similarities and the liturgical use of the targumim of the megilloth

It has long been noted that the relatively expansive Targumim of the Five Scrolls share a number of -significant affinities'. These similarities, the expansive nature and structure, the admonition to study Torah and continue to perform good deeds, and the expectation of the coming Messianic era, suggest that they are part of a larger agenda to remind their audiences of God's guiding hand in Israel's history and to promote piety. Possibly receiving their final form in the same period and in the same contexts, it seems that the festal use of the biblical texts led to their rather unique formation.