Text -- Esther 1:7 (NET)

1:7 Drinks were served in golden containers, all of which differed from one another. Royal wine was available in abundance at the king’s expense.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

JFB: Est 1:7

There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from Est 5:6; Est 7:2, Est 7:7-8, where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the description, that this was a banquet rather than a feast.

Clarke: Est 1:7

Vessels being diverse - They had different services of plate.

TSK: Est 1:7

vessels of gold : 1Ki 10:21; 2Ch 9:20; Dan 5:2-4

royal wine : Heb. wine of the kingdom

state of the king : Heb. hand of the king.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Haydock: Est 1:7

Vessels. When Lysanias had taken the camp of Mardonius, and beheld the rich vessels, he could not help expressing a surprise that people possessing such advantages, should come to molest the Lacedemonians, who lived so poorly. (Herodotus ix. 79.)

Gill: Est 1:7

They gave them drink in vessels of gold, the vessels being divers one from another,.... In the pattern and workmanship of them, though of the same metal, which diversity made the festival the more grand; earthen cups, with the Persians, were reckoned very mean; when a king would disgrace a man, he obliged him to use earthen cups ^d. The Targum represents these vessels to be the golden vessels of the temple at Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar carried away; which could not be, since they had been delivered by Cyrus to Zerubbabel, Ezr 1:7,

and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king; such as the king was able to give, the best he had, and that in great plenty; the wine the kings of Persia used to drink, as Strabo ^e relates, was Chalybonian wine, or wine of Helbon, as it is called, Eze 27:18; see Gill on Eze 27:18, but by the wine of the kingdom, as it may be rendered, is meant wine of the country; the wine of Schiras is reckoned the best in Persia ^f.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Est 1:7

¹ tn Heb “to cause to drink” (Hiphil infinitive construct of שָׁקָה, shaqah). As the etymology of the Hebrew word for “banquet” (מִשְׁתֶּה, mishteh, from שָׁתָה, shatah, “to drink”) hints, drinking was a prominent feature of ancient Near Eastern banquets.

Geneva Bible: Est 1:7

And they gave [them] drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the ^{( e )} state of the king.

^{( e )} As was befitting for so magnificent a king.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Est 1:1-22

1 Ahasuerus makes royal feasts.

10 Vashti, sent for, refuses to come.

13 Ahasuerus, by the counsel of Memucan, puts away Vashti, and makes the decree of men's sovereignty.

MHCC: Est 1:1-9

The pride of Ahasuerus's heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made an extravagant feast. This was vain glory. Better is a dinner of herbs with quietness, than this banquet of wine, with all the noise and tumult that must have attended it. But except grace prevails in the heart, self-exaltation and self-indulgence, in one form or another, will be the ruling principle. Yet none did compel; so that if any drank to excess, it was their own fault. This caution of a heathen prince, even when he would show his generosity, may shame many called Christians, who, under pretence of sending the health round, send sin round, and death with it. There is a woe to them that do so; let them read it, and tremble, Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16.

Matthew Henry: Est 1:1-9

Which of the kings of Persia this Ahasuerus was the learned are not agreed. Mordecai is said to have been one of those that were carried captive from Jerusalem (Est 2:5, Est 2:6), whence it should seem that this Ahasuerus was one of the first kings of that empire. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that he was that Artaxerxes who hindered the building of the temple, who is called also Ahasuerus (Ezr 4:6, Ezr 4:7), after his great-grandfather of the Medes, Dan 9:1. We have here an account,

I. Of the vast extent of his dominion. In the time of Darius and Cyrus there were but 120 princes (Dan 6:1); now there were 127, from India to Ethiopia, Est 1:1. It had become an over-grown kingdom, which in time would sink with its own weight, and, as usual, would lose its provinces as fast as it got them. If such vast power be put into a bad hand, it is able to do so much the more mischief; but, if into a good hand, it is able to do so much the more good. Christ's kingdom is, or shall be, far larger than this, when the kingdoms of the world shall all become his; and it shall be everlasting.

II. Of the great pomp and magnificence of his court. When he found himself fixed in his throne, the pride of his heart rising with the grandeur of his kingdom, he made a most extravagant feast, wherein he put himself to vast expense and trouble only to show the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty, Est 1:4. This was vain glory, an affection of pomp to no purpose at all; for none questioned the riches of his kingdom, nor offered to vie with him for honour. If he had shown the riches of his kingdom and the honour of his majesty, as some of his successors did, in contributing largely towards the building of the temple and the maintaining of the temple service (Ezr 6:8, Ezr 7:22), it would have turned to a much better account. Two feasts Ahasuerus made: - 1. One for his nobles and princes, which lasted a hundred and eighty days, Est 1:3, Est 1:4. Not that he feasted the same persons every day for all that time, but perhaps the nobles and princes of one province one day, of another province another day, while thus he and his constant attendants fared sumptuously every day. The Chaldee paraphrast (who is very bold in his additions to the story of this book) says that there had been a rebellion among his subjects and that this feast was kept for joy of the quashing of it. 2. Another was made for all the people, both great and small, which lasted seven days, some one day and some another; and, because no house would hold them, they were entertained in the court of the garden, Est 1:5. The hangings with which the several apartments were divided or the tents which were there pitched for the company, were very fine and rich; so were the beds or benches on which they sat, and the pavement under their feet, Est 1:6. Better is a dinner of herbs with quietness, and the enjoyment of one's self and a friend, than this banquet of wine with all the noise and tumult that must needs attend it.

III. Of the good order which in some respects was kept there notwithstanding. We do not find this like Belshazzar's feast, in which dunghill-gods were praised and the vessels of the sanctuary profaned, Dan 5:3, Dan 5:4. Yet the Chaldee paraphrase says that the vessels of the sanctuary were used in this feast, to the great grief of the pious Jews. It was not like Herod's feast, which reserved a prophet's head for the last dish. Two things which are laudable we may gather from the account here given of this feast: - 1. That there was no forcing of healths, nor urging of them: The drinking was according to the law, probably some law lately made; none did compel, no, not by continual proposing of it (as Josephus explains it); they did not send the glass about, but every man drank as he pleased (Est 1:8), so that if there were any that drank to excess it was their own fault, a fault which few would commit when the king's order put an honour upon sobriety. This caution of a heathen prince, even when he would show his generosity, may shame many who are called Christians, who think they do not sufficiently show their good housekeeping, nor bid their friends welcome, unless they make them drunk, and, under pretence of sending the health round, send the sin round, and death with it. There is a woe to those that do so; let them read it and tremble, Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16. It is robbing men of their reason, their richest jewel, and making them fools, the greatest wrong that can be. 2. That there was no mixed dancing; for the gentlemen and ladies were entertained asunder, not as in the feast of Belshazzar, whose wives and concubines drank with him (Dan 5:2), or that of Herod, whose daughter danced before him. Vashti feasted the women in her own apartment; not openly in the court of the garden, but in the royal house, Est 1:9. Thus, while the king showed the honour of his majesty, she and her ladies showed the honour of their modesty, which is truly the majesty of the fair sex.

Keil-Delitzsch: Est 1:1-8

The banquet. Est 1:1-3 mark a period. משׁתּה עשׂה , which belongs to ויהי , does not follow till Est 1:3, andeven then the statement concerning the feast is again interrupted by a longparenthesis, and not taken up again and completed till Est 1:5. On the use of ויהי in historical narratives at the beginning of relations having,as in the present instance and Rth 1:1, no reference to a precedingnarrative, see the remark on Jos 1:1. Even when no express reference toany preceding occurrence takes place, the historian still puts what he hasto relate in connection with other historical occurrences by an "and it cameto pass."Ahashverosh is, as has already been remarked on Ezra 4,Xerxes, the son of Darius Hystaspis. Not only does the name אחשׁורושׁ point to the Old-Persian name Ks'ayars'a (with א prosthetic), but the statements also concerning the extent of thekingdom (Est 1:1; Est 10:1), the manners and customs of the country andcourt, the capricious and tyrannical character of Ahashverosh, and thehistorical allusions are suitable only and completely to Xerxes, so that,after the discussions of Justi in Eichhorn's Repert . xv. pp. 3-38, andBaumgarten, de fide , etc., pp. 122-151, no further doubt on the subject canexist. As an historical background to the occurrences to be delineated, the wideextent of the kingdom ruled by the monarch just named is next described:"He is that Ahashverosh who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127provinces." מדינה ... שׁבע is not an accusativedependent on מלך , he ruled 127 provinces, for מלך ,to reign, is construed with על or בּ , but is annexed in the form of afree apposition to the statement: "from India to Cush;"as also in Est 8:9. הדּוּ is in the Old-Persian cuneiform inscriptions, Hidhu; inZend, Hendu; in Sanscrit, Sindhu, i.e., dwellers on the Indus, for Sindhumeans in Sanscrit the river Indus; comp. Roediger in Gesenius, Thes . Append. p. 83, and Lassen, Indische Alterthumsk . i. p. 2. כּוּשׁ isEthiopia. This was the extent of the Persian empire under Xerxes. Mardonius in Herod. 7:9 names not only the Sakers and Assyrians, butalso the Indians and Ethiopians as nations subject to Xerxes. Comp. alsoHerod. 7:97, 98, and 8:65, 69, where the Ethiopians and Indians arereckoned among the races who paid tribute to the Persian king and foughtin the army of Xerxes. The 127 מדינות , provinces, aregovernmental districts, presided over, according to Est 8:9, by satraps,pechahs, and rulers. This statement recalls that made in Dan 6:2, that Darius the Mede set overhis kingdom 120 satraps. We have already shown in our remarks on Dan 6:2 that this form of administration is not in opposition to the statementof Herod. iii. 89f., that Darius Hystaspis divided the kingdom for thepurpose of taxation into twenty ἀρχαί which were called σατραπηΐ́αι . The satrapies into which Darius divided the kingdom generallycomprised several provinces. The first satrapy, e.g., included Mysia andLydia, together with the southern part of Phrygia; the fourth, Syria andPhoenicia, with the island of Cyprus. The Jewish historians, on the otherhand, designate a small portion of this fourth satrapy, viz., the regionoccupied by the Jewish community (Judah and Benjamin, with their chiefcity Jerusalem), as מדינה , Ezr 2:1; Neh 1:3; Neh 7:6; Neh 11:3. Consequently the satrapies of Darius mentioned in Herodotus differ fromthe medinoth of Dan 6:2, and Est 1:1; Est 8:9. The 127 medinoth are a divisionof the kingdom into geographical regions, according to the races inhabitingthe different provinces; the list of satrapies in Herodotus, on the contrary,is a classification of the nations and provinces subject to the empire,determined by the tribute imposed on them.

Est 1:2

The words: in those days, take up the chronological statement ofEst 1:1, and add thereto the new particular: when King Ahashverosh sat onthe throne of his kingdom in the citadel of Susa. שׁבת does notinvolve the notion of quiet and peaceable possession after the terminationof wars (Clericus, Rambach), but that of being seated on the throne withroyal authority. Thus the Persian kings are always represented upon araised seat or throne, even on journeys and in battle. According to Herod. vii. 102, Xerxes watched the battle of Thermopylae sitting upon histhrone. And Plutarch ( Themistocl . c. 13) says the same of the battle ofSalamis. Further examples are given by Baumg. l.c. p. 85f. On the citadelof Susa, see Neh 1:1, and remarks on Dan 8:2.

Est 1:3

"In the third year of his reign he made a feast to all his princes andhis servants, when the forces of Persia and Media, the nobles and princesof the provinces, were before him." משׁתּה עשׂה , tomake, to prepare, i.e., to give, a feast; comp. Gen 21:8. The princes andthe servants are, all who were assembled about him in Susa. These arespecified in the words which follow as חיל פ . We might supply ל before חיל from the preceding words, (viz.) the forces, etc.; butthis would not suit the לפניו at the end of the verse. For thisword shows that an independent circumstantial clause begins with חיל , which is added to call attention to the great number of princes andservants assembled at Susa (Bertheau): the forces of Persia ... were beforehim: when they were before him. By חיל , the host, the forces,Bertheau thinks the body-guard of the king, which, according to Herod. vii. 40, consisted of 2000 selected horsemen, 2000 lancers, and 10,000infantry, is intended. There is, however, no adequate reason for limiting חיל to thebody-guard. It cannot, indeed, be supposed that the whole military powerof Persia and Media was with the king at Susa; but חיՀœ without כּל can only signify an élite of the army, perhaps the captains andleaders as representing it, just as "the people"is frequently used for "therepresentatives of the people."The Persians and Medes are always namedtogether as the two kindred races of the ruling nation. See Dan 6:9, who,however, as writing in the reign of Darius the Mede, places the Medesfirst and the Persians second, while the contrary order is observed herewhen the supremacy had been transferred to the Persians by Cyrus. Onthe form פּרס , see rem. on Ezr 1:1. After the mention of theforces, the Partemim , i.e., nobles, magnates (see on Dan 1:3), and theprinces of the provinces are named as the chief personages of the civilgovernment.

Est 1:4-6

"When he showed the glorious riches of his kingdom and theexcellent honour of his greatness many days, one hundred and eightydays."This verse has been understood by most expositors as stating thatthe king magnificently and splendidly entertained all the grandeesmentioned in Est 1:3 for a full half-year, and gave them a banquet which lasted180 days. Clericus supposes proceedings to have been so arranged, thatthe proceres omnium provinciarum were not entertained at one and thesame time, but alii post alios , because all could not be absent together per sex menses a suis provinciis . Bertheau, however, thinks that the historiandid not purpose to give an exact and graphic description of the proceeding,but only to excite astonishment, and that they who are astonished will notinquire as to the manner in which all took place. The text, however, doesnot say, that the feast lasted 180 days, and hence offers no occasion forsuch a view, which is founded on a mistaken comprehension of Est 1:4, whichcombines וגו בּהראתו with משׁתּה עשׂה ofEst 1:3, while the whole of Est 1:4 is but a further amplification of thecircumstantial clause: when the forces, etc., were before him; thedescription of the banquet not following till Est 1:5, where, however, it isjoined to the concluding words of Est 1:4 : "when these (180) days were full,the king made a feast to all the people that were found in the citadel ofSusa, from great to small, seven days, in the court of the garden of theking's house."This verse is thus explained by Bertheau: after the soldiers, nobles, andprinces of the district had been entertained for six months, all the maleinhabitants of Susa were also entertained in a precinct of the palace garden,the women being feasted by Vashti the queen in the palace (Est 1:9), It is,however, obvious, even from Est 1:11, which says that on the seventh day ofthis banquet the king commanded the queen to appear "to show the peopleand the princes her beauty,"that such a view of the occurrence isinadmissible. For this command presupposes, that the people and princeswere assembled at the king's banquet; while, according to the view ofBertheau and older expositors, who insist on two banquets, one lasting180 days, the other seven, the latter was given to the male inhabitants ofSusa only. The princes and people of the whole kingdom did not,however, dwell in Susa. These princes and people, to whom the queen wasto show her beauty, are undoubtedly the princes and servants of the king,the forces of Persia and Media, and the nobles and princes of theprovinces enumerated in Est 1:3. With this agrees also the description of the guests invited to the sevendays feast. בּשׁוּשׁן הנּמצאים כּל־העם does not signify "all theinhabitants of Susa,"but all then present, i.e., then assembled in the citadelof Susa. הנּמצאים used of persons means, those who for somepurpose are found or present in any place, in distinction from its usualinhabitants; comp. 1Ch 29:17; 2Ch 34:32; Ezr 8:25; and העם does not here signify people in the sense of population, but peoplewho are met in a certain place, and is used both here and Neh 12:38 of anassembly of nobles and princes. קטן ועד למגּדול , moreover, does not mean old and young, but high and low, thegreater and lesser servants ( עבדים ) of the king, and informs us that ofthose assembled at Susa, both princes and servants participated withoutexception in the banquet.

This view of Est 1:3-5 is confirmed by the consideration, that if the seven daysbanquet were a different one from that mentioned in Est 1:3, there could be noreason for naming the latter, which would then be not only entirelyunconnected with the narrative, but for which no object at all would bestated; for בּהראתו cannot be translated, as in the Vulgate, by utostenderet , because, as Bertheau justly remarks, ב cannot indicate apurpose. From all these reasons it is obvious, that the feast of whichfurther particulars are given in Est 1:5-8 is the same משׁתּה which theking, according to Est 1:3, gave to his שׂרים and עבדים , and thatthe text, rightly understood, says nothing of two consecutive banquets. The sense of Est 1:3-5 is accordingly as follows: King Ahasuerus gave to hisnobles and princes, when he had assembled them before him, and showedthem the glorious riches of his kingdom and the magnificence of hisgreatness for 180 days, after these 180 days, to all assembled before him inthe fortress of Susa, a banquet which lasted seven days. The connection of the more particular description of this banquet, bymeans of the words: when these (the previously named 180) days wereover, following upon the accessory clause, Est 1:4, is anacoluthistic, and theanacoluthon has given rise to the misconception, by which Est 1:5 isunderstood to speak of a second banquet differing from the משׁתּה of Est 1:3. The purpose for which the king assembled the grandees ofhis kingdom around him in Susa fore a whole half-year is not stated,because this has no connection with the special design of the present book. If, however, we compare the statement of Herod. vii. 8, that Xerxes, afterthe re-subjection of Egypt, summoned the chief men of his kingdom toSusa to take counsel with them concerning the campaign against Greece, itis obvious, that the assembly for 180 days in Susa, of the princes andnobles mentioned in the book of Esther, took place for the purpose ofsuch consultation. When, too, we compare the statement of Herod. vii. 20, that Xerxes wasfour years preparing for this war, we receive also a corroboration of theparticular mentioned in Est 1:3, that he assembled his princes and nobles inthe third year of his reign. In this view "the riches of his kingdom,"etc.,mentioned in Est 1:4, must not be understood of the splendour andmagnificence displayed in the entertainment of his guests, but referred tothe greatness and resources of the realm, which Xerxes descanted on to hisassembled magnates for the purpose of showing them the possibility ofcarrying into execution his contemplated campaign against Greece. Thebanquet given them after the 180 days of consultation, was held in thecourt of the garden of the royal palace. בּיתן is a later form of בּית , which occurs only here and Est 7:7-8. חצר ,court, is the space in the park of the royal castle which was prepared forthe banquet. The fittings and furniture of this place are described in Est 1:6. "White stuff,variegated and purple hangings, fastened with cords of byssus and purpleto silver rings and marble pillars; couches of gold and silver upon apavement of malachite and marble, mother-of-pearl and tortoise-shell."The description consists of mere allusions to, or exclamations at, thesplendour of the preparations. In the first half of the verse the hangings ofthe room, in the second, the couches for the guests, are noticed. חוּר from חור means a white tissue of either linen or cotton. Bertheau supposes that the somewhat larger form of ch is intended todenote, even by the size of letter employed, the commencement of thedescription. כּרפּס , occurring in Sanscrit, Persian, Armenian, andArabic, in Greek κάρπασος , means originally cotton, in Greek, according tolater authorities, a kind of fine flax, here undoubtedly a cotton texture ofvarious colours. תּכלת , deep blue, purple. The hangings of the space set apart were of these materials. Blue andwhite were, according to Curtius Est 6:6, Est 6:4, the royal colours of thePersians; comp. M. Duncker, Gesch. des Alterthums , ii. pp. 891 and 951of the third edition, in which is described also the royal table, p. 952. Thehangings were fastened ( אחוּז ) with cords of white byssus andpurple to rings and pillars of white marble. מטּות , couches(divans) of gold and silver, i.e., covered with cloth woven of gold and silverthread, were prepared for the guests at the feast. These couches wereplaced upon a tesselated, mosaic-like floor; the tesselation being composedof stones of various colours. בּהט , in Arabic a mock stone, inlxx σμαραγδίτης , a spurious emerald, i.e., a green-coloured stoneresembling the emerald, probably malachite or serpentine. שׁשׁ iswhite marble; דּר , Arabic darrun , darratun , pearl, lxx πίννινος λίθος , a pearl-like stone, perhaps mother-of-pearl. סחרת , a kind ofdark-coloured stone (from סחר = שׁחר , to be dark), black,black marble with shield-like spots (all three words occur only here).

Est 1:7-8

The entertainment: "And drinks poured into vessels of gold!and vessels differing from vessels, and royal wine in abundance, accordingto the hand of a king. (Est 1:8) And the drinking was according to law; ninedid compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house todo according to every one's pleasure." השׁקות , inf. Hiph., to giveto drink, to hand drinks, is used substantively. The golden drinking vesselswere of various kinds, and each differing in form from another. Greatvariety in drinking vessels pertained to the luxury of Persians; comp. Xenoph. Cyrop . viii. 8, 18. מלכוּת יין is wine fromthe royal cellar, therefore costly wine. Many interpreters understand it ofthe Chalybonian wine, which the Persian kings used to drink. See rem. onEze 27:18. המּלך כּיד , according to the hand of theking, i.e., according to royal bounty; comp. 1Ki 10:13. The words: "the drinking was according to law, none did compel,"aregenerally understood to say, that the king abolished for this banquet, theprevailing custom of pledging his guests. According to Grecian information(see Baumgarten, p. 12f.), an exceedingly large quantity of wine was drunkat Persian banquets. This sense of the words is not, however, quite certain. The argument of Baumgarten, Si hic mos vulgaris fuisset in epulis regiis, sine dubio haec omnia non commemorata essent , no more holds good thanhis further remark: formulam illam אנס אין כּדּת non puto adhibitam fuisse, nisi jam altera contraria אנס כּדּת solemnis esset facta . The historian can have noticed thisonly because it was different from the Jewish custom. Bertheau also justlyremarks: "We are not told in the present passage, that the king, on thisoccasion, exceptionally permitted moderation, especially to such of hisguests as were, according to their ancestral customs, addicted tomoderation, and who would else have been compelled to drinkimmoderately. For the words with which this verse concludes, which theyimply also a permission to each to drink as little as he chose, are speciallyintended to allow every one to take much. על יסּד , toappoint concerning, i.e., to enjoin, comp. 1Ch 9:22. בּית רב , those over the house, i.e., the court officials.

Constable: Est 1:1-22

A. Vashti Deposed ch. 1

This chapter records the providential circumstances whereby Esther was able to rise to her influential position with the Persian king.

"Though no mention is made of God's providence, it nevertheless plays a prominent part, and may even give the book its raison d'etre."²⁰

Joyce Baldwin concluded that the writer composed the book in a chiastic structure that focuses on the providence of God in the king's sleepless night.²¹

A Opening and background (ch. 1)

B The king's first decree (chs. 2-3)

C The clash between Haman and Mordecai (chs. 4-5)

D "On the night the king could not sleep" (6:1)

C' Mordecai's triumph over Haman (chs. 6-7)

B' The king's second decree (chs. 8-9)

A' Epilogue (ch. 10)

Constable: Est 1:1-9

1. The king's feast 1:1-9

Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name of the Persian king, Khshayarsha, whom we know better in ancient history by his Greek name, Xerxes.²² He reigned over the Persian Empire from 486 to 464 B.C. and was the son of Darius I (521-486 B.C.). His vizier, Artabanus, assassinated him.

Xerxes is famous in secular history for two things: his defeat at the hands of the Greeks, and his building of the royal Persian palace at Persepolis. In 481 B.C. he took about 200,000 soldiers and hundreds of ships to Greece to avenge his father Darius' defeat at the battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). However, he suffered defeat in a three-fold manner. His soldiers lost the battle of Thermopylae to the Spartans, his army also lost at the battle of Plataea, and the Greeks destroyed his navy in the battle of Salamis.

The writer mentioned the vast area Xerxes controlled (cf. Esth. 8:9; 10:1). Perhaps he did this to avoid confusion with another Ahasuerus (Dan. 9:1) whose son, Darius the Mede, governed the Babylonian provinces under Cyrus the Great from 539 to about 525 B.C. "India" refers to the territory that is now West Pakistan. "Cush" was the upper (southern) Nile region including southern Egypt, the Sudan, and northern Ethiopia.

The 127 "provinces" (Heb. medina) were governmental units of the empire. These were political subdivisions of the satrapies (cf. 3:12).²³

"Susa" (v. 2) is the Greek name for the Hebrew "Shushan." It was a winter capital and had formerly been the capital of the kingdom of Elam. Susa was the name of both the capital city and the royal fortress that occupied a separate part of the city.²⁴ Other Persian capitals were Ecbatana (200 miles north of Susa; modern Hamadan; Ezra 6:2), Babylon (200 miles west; Ezra 6:1), Pasargadae, and Persepolis (both 300 miles southeast).²⁵ Persepolis was Xerxes' main residence.²⁶ A generation after the events the writer described in the Book of Esther, Nehemiah served as cupbearer to Artaxerxes, Xerxes' son (cf. Neh. 1:1-2:1).

The Hebrew word translated "capital" (NASB) or "citadel" (NIV; habirah) refers to an acropolis or fortified area that stood 72 feet above the rest of the city. A wall two and one-half miles long surrounded it.²⁷

The third year of Ahasuerus' (Xerxes') reign was evidently 482 B.C. For 180 days (six months) he entertained his guests (v. 4). This was evidently the military planning session that Ahasuerus conducted to prepare for his campaign against the Greeks. The Greek historian Herodotus referred to this meeting and said it took Ahasuerus four years (484-481 B.C.) to prepare for his Greek campaign.²⁸

"While labourers received barely enough to live on, even though they were producing works of art that are still unsurpassed, life at court was extravagant beyond imagining. The more lavish the king's hospitality, the greater his claim to supremacy."²⁹

White and violet (blue, v. 6) were the royal colors of Persia.³⁰

Guzik: Est 1:1-22

Esther 1 - A Queen Is Deposed

Esther is the last of the historical books of the Bible, so its main character is named Esther - that is, Venus, the morning star, which sheds its light after all the others stars have ceased to shine, and while the sun still delays to rise. Thus the deeds of Queen Esther cast a ray of light forward into Israel's history from a dark time.

A. King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) holds a big feast.

1. (1-2) King Ahasuerus and his domain.

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this was the Ahasuerus who reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India to Ethiopia), in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel,

a. It came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus: This king Ahasuerus is well known to history, though more commonly under the name Xerxes. He inherited the vast Persian Empire from his father, Darius I (who is mentioned in passages such as Ezra 4:24, 5:5-7, 6:1-15; Daniel 6:1 and 6:25; Haggai 1:15 and 2:10).

i. The fact of the existence of this king and circumstance is extremely well attested; archaeologists have discovered the ruins of the very palace where these events happened.

b. In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom: At this time (approximately 483 B.C.), Ahasuerus was planning for a doomed invasion of Greece, which would take place several years later. At this time the city of Athens was in its classical glory and in Greece they were celebrating the 79 ^th Olympic games.

i. At this time, the Persian Empire was the largest the world had ever seen. It covered what we call today Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel; and also parts of modern day Egypt, Sudan, Libya, and Arabia.

ii. Also at this time Ezra had returned to Jerusalem after it had been conquered by the Babylonians. The temple had been rebuilt some 30 years before, although more simply and withouth the glory of Solomon's temple.

iii. In 40 years, under the successor of Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes I), Nehemiah would return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the previously conquered city.

2. (3-9) Three royal feasts.

That in the third year of his reign he made a feast for all his officials and servants; the powers of Persia and Media, the nobles, and the princes of the provinces being before him; when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the splendor of his excellent majesty for many days, one hundred and eighty days in all. And when these days were completed, the king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel, from great to small, in the court of the garden of the king's palace. There were white and blue linen curtains fastened with cords of fine linen and purple on silver rods and marble pillars; and the couches were of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of alabaster, turquoise, and white and black marble. And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the generosity of the king. In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had ordered all the officers of his household, that they should do according to each man's pleasure. Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus.

a. He made a feast for all his officials and servants: The first feast was for all the government officials, where Ahasuerus showed off the glory and splendor of the riches of his kingdom. This feast lasted for 180 days.

b. The king made a feast lasting seven days for all the people who were present in Shushan the citadel: The second feast was for the citizens of the capital city, Sushan and it lasted for seven days.

i. The basic reason for these feasts was, of course, pride. The king wanted to impress his subjects with a great display of his own wealth and power and majesty and generosity. This is typical of the way that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them (Matthew 20:25). There is little doubt that Ahasuerus paid for this feast out of the public treasury.

c. There were white and blue linen curtains: In the ancient Hebrew, the white material is literally described as "white stuff." This may be evidence that Esther was written with a man's eye for decorating detail, not a woman's.

d. In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory: Among some of the ancients, each guest was obliged to have a drink with the current round, or else leave the party. At this second feast, the king command that each man could drink as he pleased.

e. Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women: The third feast was for the women in the royal palace, and was conducted by the wife of king Ahasuerus, Queen Vashti.

B. Queen Vashti is deposed.

1. (10-11) King Ahasuerus demands that Vashti display her beauty before the guests at the feast.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, to bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown, in order to show her beauty to the people and the officials, for she was beautiful to behold.

a. When the heart of the king was merry with wine: The clear implication is that Ahasuerus was drunk.

b. To bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing her royal crown: According to Jewish tradition, this request came from an argument among the men at the feast as to which country had the most beautiful women. Ahasuerus decided to settle the issue by putting his wife the queen on public display.

c. For she was beautiful to behold: It is not specifically said, but the implication is that Vashti was expected to display herself in an immodest way.

2. (12) Queen Vashti refuses to appear before the drunken guests of the feast.

But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him.

a. But Queen Vashti refused to come: Though Vashti was by no means a follower of the true God, she had enough wisdom and modesty to know that this was something she should not do.

i. The Bible says that wives have a special responsibility to submit to their husbands (wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord; Ephesians 5:22). Yet it does not mean that a wife must obey her husband if he commands her to sin. Every command to submit on a human level is conditioned by the higher obligation to obey God before man.

ii. However, it is important for a Christian in such a situation to maintain a submissive and respectful attitude towards the one in authority. It is possible to disobey the command of another, but do so in a submissive manner. It is impossible to say if Queen Vashti had this attitude in this situation.

iii. Jewish traditions say that her refusal had nothing to do with modesty. These stories say that she was ready to appear before the banqueters completely unclothed, except that God smote her with leprosy just as she received the request (an obviously fanciful tradition).

b. Therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned: Queen Vashti was therefore in a very dangerous situation. It does not seem that she put herself in this situation, because it seems that she was not even at this banquet.

i. Sadly, many women today put themselves in dangerous places, especially where alcohol is involved, showing a severe lack of wisdom. Nevertheless, it certainly gives no justification to the sin of men against an unwise woman in such a situation.

ii. "What woman, possessing even a common share of prudence and modesty, could consent to expose herself to the view of such a group of drunken Bacchanalians? Her courage was equal to her modesty: she would resist the royal mandate, rather than violate the rules of chaste decorum. . . . Hail, noble woman! be thou a pattern to all thy sex on every similar occasion!" (Clarke)

3. (13-22) The banishment of Vashti.

Then the king said to the wise men who understood the times (for this was the king's manner toward all who knew law and justice, those closest to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who had access to the king's presence, and who ranked highest in the kingdom): "What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs?" And Memucan answered before the king and the princes: "Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but also all the princes, and all the people who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen's behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.' This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king's officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath. If it pleases the king, let a royal decree go out from him, and let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it will not be altered, that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. When the king's decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small." And the reply pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. Then he sent letters to all the king's provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own people.

a. That Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she: When King Ahasuerus heeded this advice from Memucan, he showed himself to be unreasonable and wrong. He should have honored the dignity of his Queen. Yet, history's profile of Ahasuerus shows him to be an unreasonable and foolish man in many cases.

i. On one occasion, Ahasuerus executed the builders of a bridge because an ocean storm destroyed it; then he commanded that the water and waves be whipped and chained to punish the sea.

b. That each man should be master in his own house: The purpose for the harsh treatment of Vashti was so that she would not set a bad example for the other women of Persia. Ahasuerus wanted to reinforce the idea of a man's leadership in the home.

i. They were afraid that because of Queen Vashti's example, wives would despise their husbands . . . that there would be excessive contempt and wrath; therefore they wanted to insure that each man should be master in his own house.

ii. The goal presented here was admirable, and speaks to the need within every man to sense respect and honor from his wife. Paul's instruction to wives was summed up like this: let the wife see that she respects her husband (Ephesians 5:33). A wife's respect is the most precious gift she can give her husband.

iii. However, the means used here to gain and preserve this respect were foolish. A man cannot demand or coerce respect from his wife - if it isn't freely given, then it isn't worth anything.

© 2006 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Esther (Book Introduction)

ESTHER derives its name from the Jewess, who, having become wife of the king of Persia, employed her royal influence to effect a memorable deliverance for the persecuted Church of God. Various opinions are embraced and supported as to the authorship of this book, some ascribing it to Ezra, to Nehemiah, or to Mordecai. The preponderance of authorities is in favor of the last. The historical character of the book is undoubted, since, besides many internal evidences, its authenticity is proved by the strong testimony of the feast of Purim, the celebration of which can be traced up to the events which are described in this book. Its claim, however, to canonical authority has been questioned on the ground that the name of God does not once occur in it. But the uniform tradition both of the Jewish and the Christian Churches supports this claim, which nothing in the book tends to shake; while it is a record of the superintending care of divine providence over his chosen people, with which it is of the utmost importance the Church should be furnished. The name of God is strangely enough omitted, but the presence of God is felt throughout the history; and the whole tone and tendency of the book is so decidedly subservient to the honor of God and the cause of true religion that it has been generally received by the Church in all ages into the sacred canon.

JFB: Esther (Outline)

• AHASUERUS MAKES ROYAL FEASTS. (Est. 1:1-22)
• ESTHER CHOSEN TO BE QUEEN. (Est. 2:1-20)
• MORDECAI, DISCOVERING A TREASON, IS RECORDED IN THE CHRONICLES. (Est 2:21-23)
• HAMAN, ADVANCED BY THE KING, AND DESPISED BY MORDECAI, SEEKS REVENGE ON ALL THE JEWS. (Est 3:1-15)
• MORDECAI AND THE JEWS MOURN. (Est 4:1-14)
• ESTHER INVITES THE KING AND HAMAN TO A BANQUET. (Est 5:1-14)
• AHASUERUS REWARDS MORDECAI FOR FORMER SERVICE. (Est 6:1-14)
• ESTHER PLEADS FOR HER OWN LIFE AND THE LIFE OF HER PEOPLE. (Est 7:1-6)
• THE KING CAUSES HAMAN TO BE HANGED ON HIS OWN GALLOWS. (Est 7:7-10)
• MORDECAI ADVANCED. (Est 8:1-6)
• AHASUERUS GRANTS TO THE JEWS TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. (Est 8:7-14)
• MORDECAI'S HONORS, AND THE JEWS' JOY. (Est 8:15-17)
• THE JEWS SLAY THEIR ENEMIES WITH THE TEN SONS OF HAMAN. (Est. 9:1-19)
• THE TWO DAYS OF PURIM MADE FESTIVAL. (Est 9:20-32)
• AHASUERUS' GREATNESS. MORDECAI'S ADVANCEMENT. (Est 10:1-3)

TSK: Esther (Book Introduction)

This Book, which derives its name from the person whose history it chiefly relates, is termed in Hebrew, מגלה [Strong’s 04039] אסתר [Strong’s 0635], megillath Esther , " the volume of Esther." Concerning its author there are various opinions: some attribute it to Ezra; some to Joachim, the son of Joshua the high priest; others to the men of the great synagogue; and others to Mordecai, which seems the most probable opinion. The events here related probably refer to the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, who, according to Prideaux, was the Ahasuerus of Esther, agreeably to Josephus (Ant. 1 xi. c. 6), the Septuagint version, and the apocryphal additions to this book. The history, therefore, comes in between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezr 6:22, commencing about am 3540, and continuing through a period of twelve years. it relates the royal feast of Ahasuerus; the disgrace of Vashti (Esther 1); the elevation of Esther to the Persian throne; the essential service rendered to the king by Mordecai, in detecting a plot against his life (Esther 2); the promotion of Haman, and his purposed destruction of the Jews (Est 3:1-15); the consequent affliction of the Jews, and the measures pursued by them (Esther 4); the defeat of Haman’s plot, through the instrumentality of Esther, against Mordecai (Esther 5-7); and also the defeat of his general plot against the Jews (Esther 8, Est 9:1-15); the institution of the feast of Purim to commemorate this deliverance (Esther 9:16-32); and the advancement of Mordecai (Est 10:1-3); and though some Christians have hesitated to receive this book into the sacred canon, yet it has always been received by the Jews, not only as perfectly authentic, but also as one of the most excellent of their sacred books. That it is a genuine and faithful description of a real fact, the observation of the feast of Purim, to the present day, is a sufficient evidence; since it is impossible, and in fact inconceivable, that a nation should institute, and afterwards continue to celebrate without interruption, through every generation of that people, in a long succession of ages, in whatever places they may have sojourned, this solemn annual festival, merely because one of their nation had written an agreeable fable or romance. It has been remarked, as an objection to this book, that the name of God no where occurs in it: His superintending providence, however, is frequently illustrated. It is shewn, indeed, in every part of the work; disconcerting evil designs, and producing great events, by means seemingly inadequate. It also presents an interesting description of mortified pride, and of malice baffled to the destruction of its possessors; and exhibits a very lively representation of the vexations and troubles, the anxieties, treachery, and dissimulation of a corrupt court.

TSK: Esther 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Est 1:1, Ahasuerus makes royal feasts; Est 1:10, Vashti, sent for, refuses to come; Est 1:13, Ahasuerus, by the counsel of Memucan, puts away Vashti, and makes the decree of men’s sovereignty.

Poole: Esther 1 (Chapter Introduction)

BOOK of ESTHER

This book was constantly received for a part of the canon of the Scripture by the people of the Jews, whose authority herein is the more considerable, because to them were committed the oracles of God, Rom 3:2 , to keep them safely, and transmit them carefully to posterity. And it is a very strong presumption that they were true to their trust, that our blessed Lord, and his holy apostles, who taxed the Jews with many faults, both greater and less, never charged them with unfaithfulness herein; which, if the Jews had been guilty, they would certainly have done, and by their office were obliged to do it, for the instruction and caution of the Christian church, whose faith was built no less upon the writings of the prophets than upon the doctrine of the apostles. The penman of it is both by Jewish and Christian interpreters, ancient and modern, thought to be Mordecai; who was both a holy man of God, and a principal actor in this history; and therefore who so fit and proper for it as himself?

ESTHER CHAPTER 1

Ahasuerus and Vashti make a royal banquet, Est 1:1-9 . He sends for Vashti, Est 1:10,1 . She refuseth to come, Est 1:12 . He consulteth his wise men about it, Est 1:13-15 . Their judgment and advice to put her away, Est 1:16-20 . He maketh the decree of men’ s sovereignty in their own houses, Est 1:21,22 .

Quest. Who was this king?

Answ It is confessed and manifest that this was one of the kings of Persia; but which of them it was is not yet agreed, nor is it of any necessity for us now to know. But it is sufficiently evident that this was either,

1. Darius Hystaspes, as divers both Jewish and Christian writers affirm; for his kingdom was thus vast, and he subdued India, as Herodotus reports; and one of his wives was called Atossa , which differs little from Hadassah , which is Esther’ s other name, Est 2:7 . Or,

2. Xerxes, whose wife, as Herodotus notes, was called Amestris , which is not much differing from Esther; by whom all these things were transacted whilst he was potent and prosperous, before his unhappy expedition against the Grecians. Or,

3. Artaxerxes Longimanus, to whom the characters of Ahasuerus represented in this book do not disagree. And whereas it is objected, that by this account Mordecai must be a man of about a hundred and forty years, and consequently Esther, who is called his uncle’ s daughter , Est 2:7 , must be too old to make a wife for the king; as for Mordecai, it may be granted, there being divers instances of persons of greater age than that in sacred and profane historians; and for Esther, it may be said that she was his uncle’ s granddaughter , nothing being more frequent than for the names of sons or daughters to be given to more remote posterity.

An hundred and seven and twenty provinces so seven new provinces were added to those hundred and twenty mentioned Dan 6:1 .

MHCC: Esther (Book Introduction)

We find in this book, that even those Jews who were scattered in the province of the heathen, were taken care of, and were wonderfully preserved, when threatened with destruction. Though the name of God be not in this book, the finger of God is shown by minute events for the bringing about his people's deliverance. This history comes in between Ezra chapters 6 and 7.

MHCC: Esther 1 (Chapter Introduction)

(Est 1:1-9) The royal feast of Ahasuerus.

(Est 1:10-22) Vashti's refusal to appear, The king's decree.

Matthew Henry: Esther (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Esther

How the providence of God watched over the Jews that had returned out of captivity to their own land, and what great and kind things were done for them, we read in the two foregoing books; but there were many who staid behind, having not zeal enough for God's house, and the holy land and city, to carry them through the difficulties of a removal thither. These, one would think, should have been excluded the special protection of Providence, as unworthy the name of Israelites; but our God deals not with us according to our folly and weakness. We find in this book that even those Jews who were scattered in the provinces of the heathen were taken care of, as well as those who were gathered in the land of Judea, and were wonderfully preserved, when doomed to destruction and appointed as sheep for the slaughter. Who drew up this story is uncertain. Mordecai was as able as any man to relate, on his own knowledge, the several passages of it; quorum pars magna fuit - for he bore a conspicuous part in it; and that he wrote such an account of them as was necessary to inform his people of the grounds of their observing the feast of Purim we are told (Est 9:20, Mordecai wrote these things, and sent them enclosed in letters to all the Jews), and therefore we have reason to think he was the penman of the whole book. It is the narrative of a plot laid against the Jews to cut them all off, and which was wonderfully disappointed by a concurrence of providences. The most compendious exposition of it will be to read it deliberately all together at one time, for the latter events expound the former and show what providence intended in them. The name of God is not found in this book; but the apocryphal addition to it (which is not in the Hebrew, nor was ever received by the Jews into the can on), containing six chapters, begins thus, Then Mordecai said, God has done these things. But, though the name of God be not in it, the finger of God is, directing many minute events for the bringing about of his people's deliverance. The particulars are not only surprising and very entertaining, but edifying and very encouraging to the faith and hope of God's people in the most difficult and dangerous times. We cannot now expect such miracles to be wrought for us as were for Israel when they were brought out of Egypt, but we may expect that in such ways as God here took to defeat Haman's plot he will still protect his people. We are told, I. How Esther came to be queen and Mordecai to be great at court, who were to be the instruments of the intended deliverance, ch. 1, 2. II. Upon what provocation, and by what arts, Haman the Amalekite obtained an order for the destruction of all the Jews, Est 3:1-15. III. The great distress the Jews, and their patriots especially, were in thereupon, ch. 4. IV. The defeating of Haman's particular plot against Mordecai's life, ch. 5-7. V. The defeating of his general plot against the Jews, ch. 8. VI. The care that was taken to perpetuate the remembrance of this, ch. 9, Est 10:1-3. The whole story confirms the Psalmist's observation (Psa 37:12, Psa 37:13), The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him; he sees that his day is coming.

Matthew Henry: Esther 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Several things in this chapter itself are very instructive and of great use; but the design of recording the story of it is to show how way was made for Esther to the crown, in order to her being instrumental to defeat Haman's plot, and this long before the plot was laid, that we may observe and admire the foresight and vast reaches of Providence. " Known unto God are all his works" before-hand. Ahasuerus the king, I. In his height feasts all his great men (Est 1:1-9). II. In his heat he divorces his queen, because she would not come to him when he sent for her (Est 1:10-22). This shows how God serves his own purposes even by the sins and follies of men, which he would not permit if he know not how to bring good out of them.

Constable: Esther (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The title of this book comes from its principle character, Esther. In this it is similar to many other Old Testament books (e.g., Joshua, Ruth, Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, et al.).

Writer and Date

The writer did not identify himself in the text. References in the book show that he was familiar with Persian culture and literature (2:23; 10:2). The writer also wrote as though he was an eyewitness of the events he recorded. He was pro-Jewish and was probably a Jew. It is possible, though not certain, that Mordecai wrote the book.¹ The idea that the writer was Esther has not found support mainly because female writers were uncommon in ancient patriarchal societies such as Israel.

This book would have been a source of encouragement to the Jews who had returned to the Promised Land after the Exile. Consequently many scholars believe a Jew may have written it for this purpose. Perhaps he was a Jew who had returned to the land from Susa, the site of the events recorded in the book.

The writer could have written it any time after 473 B.C., the year the Jews defended themselves and instituted the Feast of Purim, the last historical events in the book (9:27-28). If a contemporary of these events composed it, he probably did so within a generation or two of this date. The first extra-biblical reference to the book is in 2 Maccabees 15:36, which dates from late in the second century B.C.

Genre

"From the literary point of view, the book ranks high as an outstanding example of narrative art."²

"The genre of the Book of Esther is historical narrative. As such, biblical narrative is characterized by the cooperation of three components: ideology (socioreligious perspective), historiography (use of historical persons and events in a narrative), and aesthetic appeal (its influence and persuasion of the reader).³ Each of these three elements can be readily seen in Esther. The ideology is the orthodox faith of ancient Israel. The book is theological in that its primary purpose is to teach about God and his continuing relationship with his people. It is historiographical in that it is an account of historical persons and historical events as they occurred. It is aesthetic because it is full of drama and suspense and draws its readers to anticipate happenings and events that often are the reverse of what the reader expects."⁴

Most scholars today regard the Book of Esther as a historical novel.⁵ However, bear in mind that most scholars are not conservative in their view of Scripture.

"I believe it would be true to say that a study of literary themes has done more to promote an understanding of the book than all the discussion about historicity, which so occupied scholars earlier this century."⁶

Scope

The events of the Book of Esther took place during the Persian period of ancient history (539-331 B.C.) and during the reign of King Ahasuerus in particular (486-464 B.C.).

Chronology of the Book of Esther
483	Ahasuerus' military planning session in Susa
482	The deposition of Vashti
481	The beginning of Ahasuerus' unsuccessful expedition against Greece
480	Esther's arrival in Susa
479	Ahasuerus' return to SusaEsther's coronation
478
477
476
475
474	The issuing of Ahasuerus' decrees affecting the Jews
473	The Jews' defense of themselvesThe establishment of the Feast of Purim

The first historical event to which the writer alluded seems to be Ahasuerus' military planning session at which he plotted the strategy for his ill-fated campaign against Greece (1:3-21). The king held this planning session in the winter of 483-482 B.C. The last recorded event in Esther is the institution of the Feast of Purim that took place in 473 B.C. Therefore the events recorded in the book spanned a period of about 10 years.⁷

By the time Esther opens many Jews had returned from the Exile to Palestine to reestablish the institutions of Judaism (Ezra 1-6). Most of the Jews in exile did not return even though their law (Deut. 28) and the prophets (Isa. 48:20; Jer. 50:8; 51:6) encouraged them to do so. They preferred the comfort and convenience of life as they had come to know it outside the Promised Land to the discomfort and privation involved in obeying God. Esther and Mordecai were among those who chose not to return.⁸

The events of Esther fit chronologically between chapters 6 and 7 of Ezra.

Purpose

There seem to be at least two purposes for the book. First, it demonstrates God's providential care of His people even when they were outside the Promised Land because of disobedience. Second, it explains the origin of the feast of Purim with a view to commending its observance to the Jews (9:24-28).⁹ Ancient histories, the Greek history of Herodotus being one, were often written "for public recitation at private gatherings or public festivals."¹⁰ Esther was evidently written for the same purpose. The Jews retold the story of Esther at Purim each year.

"The importance of the book for modern historians can be gauged by the fact that, whereas Josephus included the Esther story in his Antiquities of the Jews, Martin Noth in his History of Israel makes no mention of it, and Geo Widengren dismisses it in thirteen lines. It is without much historical value.'¹¹ John Bright mentions the book by name but that is all.¹² Whatever others say, in practice historians ignore the book of Esther. Whatever the reason for this neglect of the book may be, we are justified in assuming that present-day historians do not take seriously the threat it records to the very existence of the Jewish race."¹³

A third purpose may be to warn readers against anti-Semitism (cf. Gen. 12:1-3).

"Esther says to the Christian that anti-Jewish hostility is intolerable to God."¹⁴

"It is easy to see why the book is valued by Jews, who have suffered so much through the ages and have clung to the assurance implied by Purim that, however severe the threat upon their race, they have a future."¹⁵

Message¹⁶

The events of this book took place between those recorded in Ezra 6 and 7. They have nothing to do with the people who returned from exile in Babylon. They deal with those who remained behind. Remember the dates of the three returns: 537, 458, and 444. The events in Esther took place about 482-473 B.C.

Esther's Jewish name was Hadasseh, which means myrtle. The myrtle tree was native to Babylonia, but the returning exiles took the myrtle tree with them to Palestine. There this tree became a symbol of the nation of Israel transplanted from Babylon in Palestine. Zechariah used the myrtle tree as a symbol of Israel in Zechariah 1:7-11. Esther's parents probably named her for this beautiful tree. Most of the students of this book have recognized her as a symbol of the Jewish people living among Gentiles.

Esther's Persian name was Esther, which means star. Another view is that she was named in honor of Ishtar, a pagan goddess. The myrtle tree bears a beautiful star-like flower. Esther may have received her Persian name because she was the flower of the myrtle tree, full of beauty and grace. In life she became just that, the flower of Israel, its loveliest production. She was not just physically beautiful, but she became a great blessing to her people and a great blessing to the Gentiles as well. She became what God intended Israel to be.

This book is unique in the Old Testament in several respects. The writer did not mention God's name once in its pages. E. J. Young wrote in his Introduction to the Old Testament, "Since these Jews were no longer in the theocratic line, so to speak, the name of the covenant God is not associated with them."¹⁷ Matthew Henry wrote, "But, though the name be not in it, the finger of God is, directing many minute events for the bringing about of his people's deliverance."¹⁸ There are no references to the Law of Moses, the temple, or Jewish worship. There is one reference to a fast and one to a feast that are very general and show only that the Jews in exile maintained some religious habits. There is also no reference to Jerusalem, except the one in 2:6 that says Mordecai's great-grandfather went into exile from Jerusalem. Yet even without these familiar references it is impossible to read this book without being conscious of God. The great value of this book is its revelation of God acting in providence.

There are several other unique features of Esther. No New Testament writer quoted or referred to it. No church father wrote a commentary on it. It never mentions prayer. It mentions nothing explicitly supernatural. Martin Luther wrote that he wished it had never been written. It is the only Old Testament historical book that records a history of the Jews outside their land during the times of the Gentiles. The "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24) began with Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of Jerusalem and will continue until Christ's second coming. It is the time when Israel's fortunes and fate are in the hands of Gentiles.

Like Ruth, the Book of Esther is an illustration. It records a slice of life out of the exilic period that illustrates a great revelation. Ruth illustrates redemption. Esther illustrates providence.

Let me clarify this term. This is a term that many Christians have abused and misunderstood. Providence means foresight. Our word comes from Latin (pro video) and means to see the affairs of life before they happen. The acquired meaning of providence, what it has come to mean through usage, is activity resulting from foresight. We can see at once that people can never exercise providence as God can. We have very limited powers of foresight. We do not know what a day will bring forth (Prov. 27:1). God, on the other hand, foresees all things and can act because of that foreknowledge.

The theological doctrine of providence is that God both possesses and exercises absolute power over all the works of His hands. Psalm 11 is a great passage that sets forth this revelation. The Book of Esther illustrates God's providence. The writer did not speak of God directly, but His acting as a result of His foresight is obvious in what he wrote. God hid Himself but was at work in Esther.

Esther reveals three things about divine providence.

First, it reveals the method of providence.

It shows that even though people do not acknowledge God's presence He is always at work. His control becomes especially clear at the end of the book (10:3). Events had turned around completely from the way they were at the beginning of the book. Instead of being in peril, the Jews were now at peace. God not only rules over the major issues in life, but He also uses the trivialities of life to accomplish His purposes. Some of these trivialities were: the king's decision to summon Vashti after he got drunk, Vashti's refusal, Haman's hatred for Mordecai, the king's insomnia, and the passage his servant read to him.

God's providence is all-inclusive. That is part of its method. No person or detail of life escapes God's control (Rom. 8:28). "All things" includes all individuals and all events.

Second, Esther reveals the principles of providence.

God proceeds on the basis of perfect knowledge: intimate, accurate, absolute knowledge (Ps. 11:4).

Another principle of His providence is His undeviating righteousness. God's providence works in harmony with man's freedom. It never coerces people. The king made his own decisions; God did not compel him to act as he did. Haman plotted his own intrigues, made his own arrangements, built his own gallows. The same was true of Mordecai and Esther. Yet the sphere in which they made their decisions was God's sovereignty (Acts 17:28a). Haman built his gallows, but God hanged him on it.

A third principle of God's providence is that of absolute power. God is great enough to give people genuine freedom and yet cause things to turn out the way He wants them to. God causes human freedom to contribute to His divine purpose. We cannot comprehend this truth completely. We cannot contain revelation within reason. That is why it is impossible to bring all of revelation into a comprehensive philosophy. Philosophy is what is reasonable, but revelation goes beyond reason. Not that it is irrational; it simply transcends reason.

Third, Esther reveals the results of providence.

On the human level there are two results. To those who recognize divine providence comes great confidence and courage. However to those who do not come panic and punishment. We can see this most clearly in the characters of Esther and Mordecai, and in Haman.

On the divine level the result of providence is that God progresses toward His ultimate goal. Throughout all of Scripture we see this identical mighty movement.

The message of this book is that God is, and God acts through history to accomplish His purposes regardless of whether humans acknowledge Him or not.

There are many arguments for the existence of God. The argument from providence is one of these, though apologists do not usually give it as much emphasis as some other arguments. The fact that human events are harmonizing with God's ultimate purposes as He has revealed these in Scripture testifies to God's existence. When people forget God, He still molds history and governs life in harmony with His purposes. We cannot escape God's hand; we only change our destiny. We become His friends or His foes by our attitude toward Him (Dan. 5:22-23).

The great application of the message of this book is take God into account. This is the essence of biblical wisdom, by the way. Trust Him and cooperate with Him or you will suffer destruction. God's providence may seem very impersonal and austere. However William Cowper has reminded us that, "Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face."¹⁹ Romans 8:28 is perhaps the most concise word on the providence of God that the Scriptures contain. God will complete His plans. We determine our own destiny as we cooperate with His will or oppose it. Our choice affects our destiny, but it does not frustrate His plan. Consequently it is very important that we know God's plans and make them known to others. He has revealed His plans in His promises in Scripture. Therefore we should pay very careful attention to the promises of God. The biblical covenants are his comprehensive formal promises. Even though many people in the world today ignore God, His plans will become reality eventually. This fact should make us confident and optimistic in the present.

Constable: Esther (Outline)

Outline

I. God's preparations 1:1-2:20

A. Vashti deposed ch. 1

1. The king's feast 1:1-9

2. The queen's dismissal 1:10-22

B. Esther elevated 2:1-20

1. The plan to replace Vashti 2:1-4

2. Esther's selection 2:5-11

3. The choice of Esther as queen 2:12-20

II. Haman's plot 2:21-4:3

A. Background considerations 2:21-3:6

1. Mordecai's loyalty 2:21-23

2. Haman's promotion 3:1-6

B. Haman's proposal 3:7-15

1. The casting of lots 3:7

2. Haman's request 3:8-9

3. The king's permission 3:10-15

C. Mordecai's reaction 4:1-3

III. Esther's intervention 4:4-9:19

A. Mordecai's instruction 4:4-17

B. The plot exposed chs. 5-7

1. Esther's preparations ch. 5

2. Mordecai's exaltation ch. 6

3. Haman's fall ch. 7

C. The Jews' deliverance 8:1-9:19

1. The rewarding of Esther and Mordecai 8:1-2

2. Esther's request for her people 8:3-8

3. The royal decree 8:9-14

4. The joy of the Jews 8:15-17

5. The Jews' self-defense 9:1-19

IV. The Jews' rejoicing 9:20-32

V. Mordecai's greatness ch. 10

Constable: Esther

Esther

Bibliography

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Armerding, Carl. Esther: For Such a Time as This. Chicago: Moody Press, 1955.

Baker, Carl A. "An Investigation of the Spirituality of Esther." M.Div. thesis, Grace Theological Seminary, 1977.

Baldwin, Joyce G. Esther. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1984.

_____. "The Message of Esther for Today." Evangel 5:3 (Autumn 1987):9.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.

Breneman, Mervin. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. The New American Commentary series. N.c.: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1993.

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Bury, J. B.; S. A. Cook; and F. E. Adcock, eds. The Cambridge Ancient History. 12 vols. 2nd ed. reprinted. Cambridge, Eng.: University Press, 1928.

Bush, Frederic W. Ruth, Esther. Word Biblical Commentary series. Dallas: Word Books, 1996.

Clines, David J. A. The Esther Scroll: The Story of the Story. JSOT Supplement 30. Sheffield, Eng.: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1984.

_____. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. New Century Bible Commentary series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., and London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1984.

Cohan, A. The Five Megilloth. London: Soncino Press, 1946.

Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of the Bible Books--Old Testament." Paper submitted for course 685 Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1967.

Cowper, William. Olney Hymns, 35. In The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1955.

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Fox, Michael V. Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina, 1991.

_____. "The Religion of the Book of Esther." Judaism 39:2 (Spring 1990):135-47.

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_____. "Eight Questions Most Frequently Asked About the Book of Esther." Bible Review 3:1 (Spring 1987):16-31.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Esther (Book Introduction)

THE BOOK OF ESTHER.

INTRODUCTION.

This Book takes its name from queen Esther; whose history is here recorded. The general opinion of almost all commentators on the Holy Scripture, make Mardochai the writer of it: which also may be collected below from chap. ix. 20. (Challoner) --- He and the queen were certainly authors of the letter, (Haydock) enjoining the celebration of the feast of Purim, or "lots," which is the ground-work (Calmet) of the present narration. (Du Hamel) --- The compiler has also had recourse to the archives of the kingdom of Persia: so that his work has all the authority that can be required of a profane historian; and being moreover inspired in all its parts, we cannot refuse to receive it with the utmost respect. Those additions which are not now in Hebrew, (Calmet) though they were perhaps formerly, (Worthington; Origen; Du Hamel) have been carefully preserved by St. Jerome, and were recognized by the ancient Vulgate, as they are at present by the Greek, without any distinction. Lysimachus, the Greek translator, was probably the author of them, chap. xi. 1. (Calmet) --- The objections of Capellus against this "Greek scribbler," as he is pleased to style him, despising the judgment of both Jews and Christians, are in general very unaccountably borrowed (Haydock) from the Latin version, and are easily refuted. (Houbigant) --- Those Jews, who have rejected this work entirely, with Melito, (Eusebius, Hist. iv. 26.; St. Gregory of Nazianzus, &c.) ought not to prevail against the consent of the majority, (Calmet) expressed in the Councils of Laodicea, Carthage, Trent, session 4, &c. To read this book according to the order of time, we should begin [with] chap. xi., ver. 2, &c., chap. i., ii., and xii., and iii., to ver. 14; then we find the distress of the Jews in the rest of that chapter, and in chap. xiii., to ver. 8, and their delivery in chap. iv. to ix., ver. 17, and chap. xiii. ver. 8, &c., and chap. xiv., xv., and xvi. The consequences of these events are recorded [in] chap. ix., ver. 17, &c., to chap. xi. 1., (Worthington) with which verse the book ends, in the Greek editions. (Haydock) --- They vary considerably, as did the copies of the ancient Vulgate, which called forth the complaints of St. Jerome, Preface. But the Church has distinguished what was spurious from the genuine word of God; so that the doubts of Lyran, Sixtus, (Bib. viii.) &c., respecting the fragments at the end of the book being not canonical, ought no longer to be indulged; much less can the boldness of many Lutherans, (Calmet) and particularly of Le Clerc, (Houbigant) be tolerated, who represent the whole work as a mere fiction. The Jews have a greater respect for it than for any of the prophets; whose works, they say, will perish at the coming of the Messias: whereas this will subsist with the books of Moses, and the feast of Purim will never be abolished, chap. ix. 28. (Maimonides) --- Ben. Gorion (ii. 2.) admits the additions. But Josephus is silent about them, as he probably did not find them in his copy. (Calmet) --- He recites, however, both the epistles of Assuerus. (Antiquities xi. 6.) (Du Hamel) --- It is not agreed whether these events happened before or after the captivity. But it is now most commonly supposed, that Esther was married to Darius Hystaspes, the year of the world 3489, about the time of the dedication of the temple, chap. xiv. 9. He had been on the throne six years, and reigned other thirty. See Herodotus vii. 4. (Calmet) --- Josephus thinks that Esther was the queen of Artaxerxes Longimanus, who was a great friend of the Jews. (Du Hamel) --- The Thalmud attributes this work to the great Synagogue, consisting of Esdras, Mardochai, Joachim, &c., and, as various persons might write the same history, the Greek, with the additions, seems to be taken from one copy, and the Hebrew from another rather more concise, (Huet; Du Hamel) but equally inspired. (Haydock)

Gill: Esther (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER

This book has its name from the person who is the principal subject of it; it is by Clemens of Alexandria ^a called the Book of Mordecai also; it is commonly called, in the Hebrew copies, "Megillah Esther", the Volume of Esther; and sometimes in the Jewish writings only "Megillah", by way of eminency, "the Volume". It was written, according to the Talmudists ^b, by the men of the great synagogue, composed by Ezra; and some think it was written by Ezra himself ^c; but Aben Ezra is of opinion it was written by Mordecai, since he was concerned in, and had perfect knowledge of, all things related in it; which is rejected by Spinosa ^d, who conceits that this, and the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were written by one and the same historian long after the times of Judas Maccabaeus: as to the canonical authority of it, it has been generally received by Jews and Christians; our wise men, says Maimonides ^e, openly and plainly affirm of the book of Esther, that it was dictated by the Holy Spirit; so Aben Ezra on Est 6:6, and he himself ^f affirms, that

"all the books of the prophets, and all the Hagiographa (or holy writings), shall cease in the days of the Messiah, except the volume of Esther; and, lo, that shall be as stable as the Pentateuch, and as the constitutions of the oral law, which shall never cease.''

Though the versions of other books of Scripture might not be read in the synagogues, versions of this book might to those who did not understand Hebrew ^g; and so Luther ^h says, the Jews more esteem the book of Esther than any of the prophets. Whence Mr. Baxter ⁱ had that notion, I can not devise, that the Jews used to cast to the ground the book of Esther before they read it, because the name of God was not in it: nor is that any objection to its authenticity, since the hand and providence of God may be most clearly seen in it; in raising Esther to such grandeur, and that for the deliverance of the people of the Jews, and in counter working and bringing to nought the plots of their enemies, and in saving them: nor that it is not quoted in the New Testament; it is sufficient there is no disagreement between them, yea, an entire agreement, particularly in the account of the captivity of Jeconiah, which is expressed almost in the same words in Est 2:6 as in Mat 1:11. It stands in Origen's catalogue ^k of the books of the Old Testament; nor is it any material objection that it appears not in the catalogue of Melito ^l, since in that list is comprehended under Ezra not Nehemiah only, but Esther also, which Jerom ^m mentions along with it. This book is not only of use to the Jews, as it shows the original and foundation of a feast of theirs, still kept up by them, the feast of Purim, and makes for the glory of their nation, and therefore it is no wonder it should be so highly esteemed by them; but serves to show the singular providence of God in taking care of his people in adversity, in humbling the proud, and exalting the lowly, and saving those that pray to him, and trust in him; it furnishes out various instructions in the conduct of the several persons herein mentioned; it is a history but of ten or eleven years at most, from the third of Ahasuerus, to the twelfth of his reign, Est 1:3.

Gill: Esther 1 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 1

This chapter relates, how that Ahasuerus, a great king of Persia, made a feast, first for the grandees of his kingdom, and then for his people, as his queen did for the women, Est 1:1, who being sent for by him, and she refusing to come, was, by the advice of one of his counsellors, divorced from him, and an order made and published throughout his dominions, that every man should bear rule in his own house, Est 1:10.