Advanced Commentary

(ex.: John 3:14-18)

Table of Contents Bible Dictionary
Arts
Questions
Sermon Illustrations
Resources/Books

Context
1:9 Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> also <01571> gave <06213> a banquet <04960> for the women <0802> in King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325>’ royal <04438> palace <01004>. 1:10 On the seventh <07637> day <03117>, as King <04428> <04428> Ahasuerus <0325> was feeling <03820> the effects <02896> of the wine <03196>, he ordered <0559> Mehuman <04104>, Biztha <0968>, Harbona <02726>, Bigtha <0903>, Abagtha <05>, Zethar <02242>, and Carcas <03752>, the seven <07651> eunuchs <05631> who attended <08334> him, 1:11 to bring <0935> Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> into the king’s <04428> presence <06440> wearing her royal <04438> high turban <03804>. He wanted to show <07200> the people <05971> and the officials <08269> her beauty <03308>, for <03588> she was <01931> very attractive <04758> <02896>. 1:12 But Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> refused <03985> to come <0935> at the king’s <04428> bidding <01697> conveyed through <03027> the eunuchs <05631>. Then the king <04428> became <07107> extremely <03966> angry <07107>, and his rage <02534> consumed <01197> him. 1:13 The king <04428> then inquired <0559> of the wise <02450> men who were discerners <03045> of the times <06256>– for <03588> it was the royal <04428> custom <01697> to confer with all <03605> those who were proficient <03045> in laws <01881> and legalities <01779>. 1:14 Those who were closest <07138> to <0413> him were Carshena <03771>, Shethar <08369>, Admatha <0133>, Tarshish <08659>, Meres <04825>, Marsena <04826>, and Memucan <04462>. These men were the seven <07651> officials <08269> of Persia <06539> and Media <04074> who saw <07200> the king <04428> on a regular basis <06440> and had the most prominent <07223> offices <03427> in the kingdom <04438>. 1:15 The king asked, “By law <01881>, what <04100> should be done <06213> to Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> in light of <05921> the fact that <0834> she has not <03808> obeyed <06213> the instructions <03982> of King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325> conveyed through <03027> the eunuchs <05631>?” 1:16 Memucan <04462> then replied <0559> to the king <04428> and the officials <08269>, “The wrong <05753> of Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> is not <03808> against <05921> the king <04428> alone <0905>, but against <05921> all <03605> the officials <08269> and all <03605> the people <05971> who <0834> are throughout all <03605> the provinces <04082> of King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325>. 1:17 For <03588> the matter <01697> concerning the queen <04436> will spread <03318> to all <03605> the women <0802>, leading them to treat <05869> their husbands <01167> with contempt <0959>, saying <0559>, ‘When King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325> gave orders <0559> to bring <0935> Queen <04436> Vashti <02060> into his presence <06440>, she would not <03808> come <0935>.’ 1:18 And this <02088> very day <03117> the noble ladies <08282> of Persia <06539> and Media <04074> who <0834> have heard <08085> the matter <01697> concerning the queen <04436> will respond <0559> in the same way to all <03605> the royal <04428> officials <08269>, and there will be more than enough <01767> contempt <0963> and anger <07110>! 1:19 If <0518> the king <04428> is so inclined <02895>, let a royal <04438> edict <01697> go forth <03318> from him <06440>, and let it be written <03789> in the laws <01881> of Persia <06539> and Media <04074> that cannot <03808> be repealed <05674>, that <0834> Vashti <02060> may not <03808> come <0935> into the presence <06440> of King <04428> Ahasuerus <0325>, and let the king <04438> convey <05414> her royalty <04428> to another <07468> who is more deserving <02896> than <04480> she. 1:20 And let the king’s <04428> decision <06599> which <0834> he will enact <06213> be disseminated <08085> throughout all <03605> his kingdom <04438>, vast <07227> though <03588> it <01931> is. Then all <03605> the women <0802> will give <05414> honor <03366> to their husbands <01167>, from the most prominent <01419> to <05704> the lowly <06996>.” 1:21 The matter <01697> seemed appropriate <05869> <03190> to the king <04428> and the officials <08269>. So the king <04428> acted <06213> on the advice <01697> of Memucan <04462>. 1:22 He sent <07971> letters <05612> throughout <0413> all <03605> the royal <04428> provinces <04082>, to <0413> each <04082> province <04082> according to its own script <03791> and to <0413> each <05971> people <05971> according to its own language <03956>, that every <03605> man <0376> should be <01961> ruling <08323> his family <01004> and should be speaking <01696> the language <03956> of his own people <05971>.

• Est 1:10-22 -- Queen Vashti is Removed from Her Royal Position

• Vashti

  [ebd] beautiful, the queen of Ahasuerus, who was deposed from her royal dignity because she refused to obey the king when he desired her to appear in the banqueting hall of Shushan the palace (Esther 1:10-12). (See ESTHER.)
  [isbe] VASHTI - vash'-ti (washti; Astin; Old Persian "beautiful woman"): The former queen of Xerxes, whom he divorced. On the 7th day of a great feast which the king was giving to the assembled nobles of the empire and others, he c...
  [nave] VASHTI, wife of king Ahasuerus. Put away for refusing to exhibit herself at a royal banquet, Esth. 1:9-22; 2:1, 4, 17.
  

• Memucan

  [ebd] dignified, one of the royal counsellors at the court of Ahasuerus, by whose suggestion Vashti was divorced (Esther 1:14, 16, 21).
  [isbe] MEMUCAN - me-mu'-kan (memukhan; derivation unknown but probably of Persian origin (Est 1:14,16,21)): One of "the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom." Ahasuerus consults t...
  [smith] (dignified), one of the seven princes of Persia in the reign of Ahasuerus, who "saw the king?s face," and sat first in the kingdom. (Esther 1:14,16,21)
  [nave] MEMUCAN, one of the seven princes of Ahasuerus who counsels the king to divorce Queen Vashti, Esth. 1:14-21.
  

• Persia

  [isbe] PERSIA - pur'-sha, (parats; Persia; in Assyrian Parsu, Parsua; in Achemenian Persian Parsa, modern Fars): In the Bible (2 Ch 36:20,22,23; Ezr 1:1,8; Est 1:3,14,18; 10:2; Ezek 27:10; 38:5; Dan 8:20; 10:1; 11:2) this name deno...
  [nave] PERSIA An empire which extended from India to Ethiopia, comprising one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Esth. 1:1; Dan. 6:1. Government of, restricted by constitutional limitations, Esth. 8:8; Dan. 6:8-12. Municipal gov...
  

• Shushan

  [ebd] a lily, the Susa of Greek and Roman writers, once the capital of Elam. It lay in the uplands of Susiana, on the east of the Tigris, about 150 miles to the north of the head of the Persian Gulf. It is the modern Shush, on the...
  

• Medes

  [isbe] MEDES - medz (madhi; Assyrian Amada, Mada; Achaem. Persian Mada; Medoi (Gen 10:2; 2 Ki 17:6; 18:11; 1 Ch 1:5; Ezr 6:2; Est 1:3,14,18,19; 10:2; Isa 13:17; 21:2; Jer 25:25; 51:11,28; Dan 5:28; 6:1,9,13,16; 8:20; 9:1; 11:1)): M...
  [nave] MEDES Inhabitants of Media. Israelites distributed among, when carried to Assyria, 2 Kin. 17:6; 18:11. Palace in the Babylonian province of, Ezra 6:2. An essential part of the Medo-Persian empire, Esth. 1:1-19. Supremacy ...
  

• Servant

  [nave] SERVANT Distinguished as bond servant, who was a slave, and hired servant. Bond Laws of Moses concerning, Ex. 21:1-11, 20, 21, 26, 27, 32; Lev. 19:20-22; 25:6, 10, 35-55; Deut. 15:12, 14, 18; 24:7. Kidnapping forbidden, D...
  

• Queen

  [nave] QUEEN The wife of a king, 1 Kin. 11:19. Crowned, Esth. 1:11; 2:17. Divorced, Esth. 1:10-22. Sits on the throne with the king, Neh. 2:6. Makes feasts for the women of the royal household, Esth. 1:9. Exerts an evil influe...
  

• Divorce

  [nave] DIVORCE. Ex. 21:7-11; Deut. 21:10-14; Deut. 24:1-4; Ezra 10:1-16; Neh. 13:23-30; Jer. 3:1; Mic. 2:9; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31, 32; Matt. 19:3-12 Mark 10:2. Luke 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:10-17 Disobedience of the wife to the husband,...
  

• Family

  [nave] FAMILY. Of Saints Blessed, Psa. 128:3, 6. Should be taught God's word, Deut. 4:9, 10. Worship God together, 1 Cor. 16:19. Be duly regulated, Prov. 31:27; 1 Tim. 3:4, 5, 12. Live in unity, Gen. 45:24; Psa. 133:1. Live ...
  

• Husband

  [nave] HUSBAND. Gen. 2:23, 24 Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7. Num. 5:11-31; Deut. 22:13-21; Deut. 24:5; Prov. 5:15-19; Eccl. 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; 1 Cor. 7:3, 5; 1 Cor. 7:14, 16, 33; 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18, 19; 1 Tim. 5:8; 1 Pet...
  

• Women

  [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...
  

• Wife

  [nave] WIFE Called Desire of the Eyes, Ezek. 24:16. Help, Gen. 2:18, 20. Fruitful Vine, Psa. 128:3. The judgment denounced against Eve, Gen. 3:16. Relation of, to husband, Gen. 2:18, 23, 24; 1 Cor. 11:3-12. Domestic duties of,...
  

• Chamberlain

  [ebd] a confidential servant of the king (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). In Rom. 16:23 mention is made of "Erastus the chamberlain." Here the word denotes the treasurer of the city, or the quaestor, as the Romans styled him. He is almost the ...
  [isbe] CHAMBERLAIN - cham'-ber-lin: In the Old Testament the word rendered chamberlain, caric, is more properly "eunuch," an officer which oriental monarchs placed over their harems (Est 1:10,12,15; 2:3,14,21; 4:4 f; 6:2,14; 7:9; 2...
  [nave] CHAMBERLAIN, an officer of a king, 2 Kin. 23:11; Esth. 1:10-15; 2:3-21; 4:4, 5; Acts 12:20; Rom. 16:23.
  

• Babylon

  [nave] BABYLON City of Built by Nimrod, Gen. 10:10. In the land of Shinar, Gen. 10:10; 11:2. Tower of, Gen. 11:1-9. Capital of the kingdom of Babylon, Dan. 4:30; 2 Kin. 25:13; 2 Chr. 36:6, 7, 10, 18, 20. Gates of, Isa. 45:1, 2...
  

• Abagtha

  [ebd] one of the seven eunuchs in Ahasuerus's court (Esther 1:10; 2:21).
  [isbe] ABAGTHA - a-bag'-tha ('abhaghetha', perhaps meaning "fortunate one"): One of the seven eunuchs, or "chamberlains," of Xerxes mentioned in Est 1:10. The name is Persian, and is one of the many Persian marks in the Book of Est...
  [smith] (God-given), one of the seven eunuchs in the Persian court of Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10)
  [nave] ABAGTHA, a Persian chamberlain, Esth. 1:10.
  

• PURIM; PUR

  [isbe] PURIM; PUR - pur'-rim, pur (purim, "lots"; Septuagint Phrourai): The name of a Jewish festival celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the month Adar, the final month of the Biblical year, corresponding to February-March. 1....
  

• Shethar

  [ebd] a star, a prince at the court of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:14).
  [isbe] SHETHAR - she'-thar (~shethar]; Codex Vaticanus and Lucian, Sarsathaios; Codex Alexandrinus Sarestheos): One of the "seven princes" at the court of Ahasuerus (Est 1:14); these princes "sat first in the kingdom" and had the r...
  [smith] (Pers. a star), one of the seven princes of Persia and Media. (Esther 1:14) (B.C. 483.)
  [nave] SHETHAR, a prince of Persia, Esth. 1:14.
  

• Mehuman

  [ebd] faithful, one of the eunchs whom Ahasuerus (Xerxes) commanded to bring in Vashti (Esther 1:10).
  [isbe] MEHUMAN - me-hu'-man (me`human (Est 1:10)): A eunuch of Ahasuerus, the first of the seven chamberlains.
  [smith] (faithful), one of the seven eunuchs of Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10)
  [nave] MEHUMAN, a chamberlain of Ahasuerus, Esth. 1:10.
  

• Bigtha

  [ebd] garden, or gift of fortune, one of the seven eunuchs or chamberlains who had charge of the harem of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:10).
  [isbe] BIGTHA - big'-tha (bighetha'; Septuagint Barazi; Codex Vaticanus, Boraze; Codex Alexandrinus, Oareboa): One of the seven eunuchs or chamberlains having charge of the harem of King Xerxes ("Ahasuerus") and commanded to bring ...
  [smith] (gift of God), one of the seven chamberlains or eunuchs of the harem of King Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483.)
  [nave] BIGTHA Esth. 1:10
  

• Carcas

  [isbe] CARCAS - kar'-kas (karkac): One of seven chamberlains, ordered to summon Queen Vashti before King Ahasuerus (Est 1:10). The Targum allegorizes the first five of the names.
  [smith] (severe), the seventh of the seven "chamberlains," i.e. eunuchs, of King Ahasuerus. (Esther 1:10) (B.C. 483.).
  [nave] CARCAS, a Persian chamberlain, Esth. 1:10.
  

• Queen Vashti Deposed

  

Biblical Polygamists

Back to Commentary Page