THE DISOBEDIENCE AND DISGRACE OF QUEEN VASHTI 1. Ahasuerus] LXX has 'Artaxerxes,' but probably 'Xerxes,' the son of Darius Hystaspis, is meant, who succeeded his father in 485 b.c. INDIA.. ETHIOPIA] India here means not the peninsula of Hindostan, but the region near the Indus: ETHIOPIA is the mod... [ Continue Reading ]
SHUSHAN] i.e. Susa in Elam, the country lying to the E. of the Persian Gulf. THE PALACE] lit. 'the fortress,' as in Nehemiah 1:1.;... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE THIRD YEAR] i.e. 483 b.c. THY POWER] better, 'the forces': and so in Nehemiah 8:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHITE, GREEN, AND BLUE] Some take the second term to designate the 'material,' and render 'of white cotton and blue,' white and blue (or violet) being the Persian royal colours (href='190 8:15'>Est 8:15). THE BEDS] RV 'the couches,' upon which the feasters reclined.... [ Continue Reading ]
ROYAL WINE] LXX has 'wine which the king himself used to drink.' THE STATE] RV 'the bounty.'... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THE LAW] i.e. according to the king's express command on this occasion; for it is implied that in general the drinking was regulated by the court officials, and the guests had to drink just as much or as little as they were bidden, not as they pleased.... [ Continue Reading ]
VASHTI] According to Herodotus, Xerxes' queen was called Amestris.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WISE MEN, WHICH KNEW THE TIMES] probably experienced counsellors (cp. 1 Chronicles 12:32); but according to others, astrologers and diviners: cp. Isaiah 44:25; Daniel 5:15. FOR SO _was_ THE KING'S MANNER TOWARD ALL] better, 'for so was the king's business brought before all,' etc. The king was e... [ Continue Reading ]
THE NEXT UNTO HIM] i.e. nearest to the king in rank and importance.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Likewise_ SHALL THE LADIES, etc.] RV 'And this day shall the princesses of Persia and Media which have heard of the deed of the queen say _the like_ unto all the king's princes.'... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT IT BE NOT ALTERED] cp. Daniel 6:8. Any command written in the king's name and sealed with his ring was similarly irrevocable.... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IT IS GREAT] i.e. the decree is weighty and important.... [ Continue Reading ]
ACCORDING TO THE WRITING THEREOF] i.e. the letters sent to the several provinces were written in the characters and language that prevailed in each. Many of the extant inscriptions of the Persian kings are tri-lingual. AND THAT _IT_ SHOULD BE PUBLISHED, etc.] better (by a slight correction), 'and t... [ Continue Reading ]