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Text -- Esther 2:1-23 (NET)

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Esther Becomes Queen in Vashti’s Place
2:1 When these things had been accomplished and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided against her. 2:2 The king’s servants who attended him said, “Let a search be conducted in the king’s behalf for attractive young women. 2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. 2:4 Let the young woman whom the king finds most attractive become queen in place of Vashti.” This seemed like a good idea to the king, so he acted accordingly. 2:5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 2:6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried into exile with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile. 2:7 Now he was acting as the guardian of Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her as if she were his own daughter. 2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women. 2:9 This young woman pleased him, and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. 2:10 Now Esther had not disclosed her people or her lineage, for Mordecai had instructed her not to do so. 2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing and what might happen to her. 2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus– for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women2:13 the woman would go to the king in the following way: Whatever she asked for would be provided for her to take with her from the harem to the royal palace. 2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to a separate part of the harem, to the authority of Shaashgaz the king’s eunuch who was overseeing the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king was pleased with her and she was requested by name. 2:15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her. 2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh year of his reign. 2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval more than all the other young women. So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen in place of Vashti. 2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants– it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.
Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King
2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, just as Mordecai had instructed her. Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her. 2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, became angry and plotted to assassinate King Ahasuerus. 2:22 When Mordecai learned of the conspiracy, he informed Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in Mordecai’s behalf. 2:23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators hanged on a gallows. It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics

Names, People and Places:
 · Abihail a Levite in Moses' time,wife of Abishur of the tribe of Judah;,the son of Huri of the tribe of Gad,a woman; King David's niece and Rehoboam's wife,the father of Queen Esther and Uncle of Mordecai, a Benjamite
 · Ahasuerus king of Persia after Darius
 · Babylon a country of Babylon in lower Mesopotamia
 · Benjaminite the tribe of Benjamin of Israel
 · Bigthan a man who was palace guard for King Ahasuerus
 · Esther second queen of Ahasuerus
 · Hadassah adopted daughter of her cousin Mordecai of Benjamin
 · Hegai a eunuch official in charge of the harem of King Ahasuerus
 · Jair son of Segub son of Hezron of Judah,a man of Gilead who judged Israel twenty-two years,son of Shime-i son of Kish of Benjamin; father of Mordecai,the father of Elhanan, who slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath
 · Jeconiah son and successor of King Jehoiakim of Judah
 · Jerusalem the capital city of Israel,a town; the capital of Israel near the southern border of Benjamin
 · Jew the people descended from Israel
 · Judah the son of Jacob and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,a tribe, the land/country,a son of Joseph; the father of Simeon; an ancestor of Jesus,son of Jacob/Israel and Leah; founder of the tribe of Judah,the tribe of Judah,citizens of the southern kingdom of Judah,citizens of the Persian Province of Judah; the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile,"house of Judah", a phrase which highlights the political leadership of the tribe of Judah,"king of Judah", a phrase which relates to the southern kingdom of Judah,"kings of Judah", a phrase relating to the southern kingdom of Judah,"princes of Judah", a phrase relating to the kingdom of Judah,the territory allocated to the tribe of Judah, and also the extended territory of the southern kingdom of Judah,the Province of Judah under Persian rule,"hill country of Judah", the relatively cool and green central highlands of the territory of Judah,"the cities of Judah",the language of the Jews; Hebrew,head of a family of Levites who returned from Exile,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a man who was second in command of Jerusalem; son of Hassenuah of Benjamin,a Levite in charge of the songs of thanksgiving in Nehemiah's time,a leader who helped dedicate Nehemiah's wall,a Levite musician who helped Zechariah of Asaph dedicate Nehemiah's wall
 · Kish the father of King Saul,son of Abiel of Benjamin; father of Saul,son of Jeiel of Benjamin; uncle of Kish the father of Saul,second son of Mahli (Merari Levi); recognized by King David as the only son through whom Mahli's clan was built,son of Abdi; one of the Levites of Merari that King Hezekiah assigned to supervise the cleansing of the temple,a man who was an ancestor of Mordecai; the father of Shimei
 · Mordecai a leader among those who returned from exile with Zerubbabel,son of Jair of Benjamin; cousin and guardian of Queen Esther
 · Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who took Judah into exile
 · Sha-Ashgaz the eunuch official in charge of king Ahasuerus' concubines
 · Shime-i son of Gershon/Gershom son of Levi,the son of Gera of Benjamin,son of Jesse (Judah); father of Jonathan who killed a giant,a man who was a friend of kings David and Solomon,son of Ela, Moses' land distribution deputy for Benjamin,son of Pedaiah son of King Jehoiachin,son of Zaccur of Simeon,son of Gog of Reuben,son of Libni of Merari of Levi,the head of a clan of Benjamin; son of Elpaal?,a man who was a descendant of Ladan/Libni son of Levi (WZ),son of Jeduthun (Levi); worship leader under Jeduthun and David,a man of Ramoth; David's supervisor of vineyards,son of Heman (David's seer) of Samuel of Kohath of Levi,an officer of the temple store house under King Hezekiah,a Levite who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Hashum Clan who put away his heathen wife,a layman of the Binnui Clan who put away his heathen wife,son of Kish; founding father of the clan of Shime-i of Benjamin
 · Susa capital city of Elam and winter home of the Persian kings (OS)
 · Tebeth 10th month of the Hebrew calendar
 · Teresh a gate keeper of the palace of King Ahasuerus
 · Vashti queen of Ahasuerus


Dictionary Themes and Topics: Chamberlain | Government | Servant | Marriage | Mordecai | Hegai | Esther | Teresh | Bigthan | Lasciviousness | Kish | Shaashgaz | Crown | Jair | Abihail | Hadassah | Citizenship | Conspiracy | Harem | Loyalty | more
Table of Contents

Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes

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Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Est 2:1 Or “decreed” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “and about his proclamation against her.”

NET Notes: Est 2:2 Heb “young women, virgins, good of form.” The same phrase also occurs in v. 3.

NET Notes: Est 2:3 Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

NET Notes: Est 2:4 Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.” Cf. TEV “The king thought this was good advice.”

NET Notes: Est 2:5 Mordecai is a pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk. Probably many Jews of the period had two names, one for secular use an...

NET Notes: Est 2:6 Jeconiah is an alternative name for Jehoiachin. A number of modern English versions use the latter name to avoid confusion (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, NLT).

NET Notes: Est 2:7 Heb “had taken her to him.” The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) describes Mordecai adoptin...

NET Notes: Est 2:8 Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

NET Notes: Est 2:9 Heb “of the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 11, 13, 14.

NET Notes: Est 2:10 Heb “that she not tell” (NRSV similar); NASB “that she should not make them known.”

NET Notes: Est 2:11 Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

NET Notes: Est 2:12 Heb “to be to her according to the law of the women”; NASB “under the regulations for the women.”

NET Notes: Est 2:14 The LXX does not include the words “was pleased with her.”

NET Notes: Est 2:15 Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”

NET Notes: Est 2:16 The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.

NET Notes: Est 2:17 Heb “caused her to rule.”

NET Notes: Est 2:18 The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

NET Notes: Est 2:19 That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where impo...

NET Notes: Est 2:20 The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

NET Notes: Est 2:21 Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

NET Notes: Est 2:22 Heb “in the name of Mordecai” (so NRSV); NIV “giving credit to Mordecai.”

NET Notes: Est 2:23 Or “on a pole”; KJV, ASV “on a tree.”

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