Shoshanat Ya'akov is taken from the final lines of the acrostic piyut Asher Heni, which was composed to extend the blessing after the reading of Megillat Esther. It is of unknown authorship, and likely dates back to the 5th century, though some have ascribed it to the Men of the Great Assembly. The comparison of the Jewish people to a lily echoes the language of Song of Songs, however it is also an unambiguous reference to the city of Shushan, borrowing the words from Esther chapter 8: "The city of Shushan rejoiced and celebrated." The motifs for this melody are of unknown authorship. The earliest printed version of it appears in Harry Coopersmith's 1938 publication "Songs of My People", where it is described as being adapted by Coopersmith from folk tunes. The text for this version includes the lines "Cursed be the wicked; blessed be all the righteous", and misses out some lines present in other melodies.