Esther 2:1-18. Esther's elevation to be queen 1. _After these things_ Two years elapsed between the council of leading men held at Susa (see on Esther 1:1) and Xerxes" actual departure on his expedition against Greece (b.c. 481). If we were to accept the historical character of the story, we should... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then said the king's servants_ naturally alarmed at their sovereign's incipient change of disposition, which might bring disaster upon themselves.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to the house of the women_ the harem, which must have been of large dimensions, and was made up, as we see from Esther 2:14, of more than one building. It most likely consisted of three portions, viz. the house of the queen, such as Solomon built for Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kings 7:8), the house of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_There was a certain Jew_ The grammatical form in the original may be intended to emphasize the abruptness with which Mordecai is brought upon the scene. The influence which he, a Jew, is to have upon the history is thus placed in significant contrast with the brilliancy of the court of Susa. _Morde... [ Continue Reading ]
_who had been carried away_ According to Heb. grammar, the relative pronoun should refer to Mordecai. If, however, he was even as a boy one of the captives in the time of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin, 2 Kings 24:6), b.c. 598, and if, as we have seen, Ahasuerus is to be identified with Xerxes, Mordecai's age... [ Continue Reading ]
_brought up_ Heb. _was foster-father to_Hadassah. The word is rendered -nursing-father" in Numbers 11:12; Isaiah 49:23. _Hadassah, that is, Esther_ Hadassah, from the Heb. _hădas_, -myrtle. [66] " For this was substituted, either on her becoming queen or earlier, the name Esther, from the Persian _... [ Continue Reading ]
_the king's commandment and his decree_ the former substantive referring to his orally expressed order, the latter being the same word as that used for -the laws of the Persians and the Medes" (Esther 1:19). _Hegai_ See Esther 2:3. _was taken_ The _Targum Shçnî_says that Esther was hidden by Morde... [ Continue Reading ]
_she obtained kindness of him_ This or a synonymous expression is a favourite one with the author (Esther 2:15_; Esther 2:17_, Esther 5:2). _speedily_ In order that the prescribed period of twelve months" preparation (see Esther 2:12) might be accomplished as soon as possible in Esther's case, Hega... [ Continue Reading ]
_Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred_ We must suppose that it would easily be discovered that she, like many of her companions (see Esther 2:3), was not Persian by nation. Thus what she desired to conceal was not simply that she was a foreigner, but that she was a Jewess. Nevertheless w... [ Continue Reading ]
_walked every day before the court of the women's house_ In later times it would have been impossible for one in Mordecai's position, even though holding some post of humble character about the palace, to approach the harem. We cannot, however, say with certainty that the rule was equally stringent... [ Continue Reading ]
_after that it had been done to her according to the law for the women, twelve months_ More accurate than A.V. _after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women_. _sweet odours spices_or _balsam_. The Hebrew and English words for myrrh (_môr_) and balsam (_bôsem_) are ety... [ Continue Reading ]
_then in this wise_ better than _then thus_of A.V., as marking more forcibly the commencement of the apodosis, answering to the somewhat distant -Now when" at the beginning of Esther 2:12.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Abihail_ Esther's father is mentioned again in Esther 9:29. In both places the LXX. reads _Aminadab_, which is its equivalent for _Abinadab_. The object of introducing again at this point the description of Esther's connexion with Mordecai seems to be to call attention to the contrast between the m... [ Continue Reading ]
_the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth_ In the time of the Babylonish exile the months ceased to be called by the old Canaanitish names which the Jews had previously given them, e.g. Abib (Exodus 13:4), Ziv (1 Kings 6:1), and were denoted by numbers only. After the exile the new Babylonish name... [ Continue Reading ]
_the royal crown_ See on Esther 1:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
_a release_ Heb. _a rest_, an exemption for a certain time from taxation and from military service. Such e.g. had been granted by the Pseudo-Smerdis on his usurpation (Herod. iii. 67). _gifts_ The Heb. word was used in older times for a portion of food sent from the table (Genesis 43:34; 2 Samuel 1... [ Continue Reading ]
Mordecai's discovery of the plot against the king's life 19. _And when the virgins were gathered together the second time_ Render, _Now when maidens were being gathered together a second time_. There is no article attached to the word -virgins" in the original, and we have no means of knowing what... [ Continue Reading ]
_Esther had not yet shewed etc._ In the East, when persons rise in rank, it is expected that their relatives will rise with them. But the connexion between Esther and Mordecai had not been disclosed, the queen having been faithful in carrying out the direction of her foster-father to that effect. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
_In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate_ The main course of the story is thus resumed from Esther 2:19. _chamberlains_ eunuchs. _Bigthan and Teresh_ The former is possibly the Bigtha of Esther 1:10. In Esther 6:2 he is called Bigthana. _of those which kept the door_ who guarded the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the thing was known to Mordecai_ The Targum states that Mordecai was indebted for his discovery to extraordinary linguistic powers, as understanding no fewer than seventy languages! Josephus (_Ant._xi. 6. 4) less extravagantly attributes it to information obtained from a Jewish slave of the con... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when inquisition … on a tree_ The LXX. have more briefly, -And the king examined the two eunuchs and hung them." The word -examined" probably means by torture. _hanged on a tree_ crucified or impaled. Such was the form of capital punishment inflicted upon political offenders in Persia (Herod.... [ Continue Reading ]