1:10 On the seventh day, as King Ahasuerus was feeling the effects of the wine, 1 he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who attended him, 2
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 3 ) 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.
2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan 4 and Teresh, 5 two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, 6 became angry and plotted to assassinate 7 King Ahasuerus.
12:20 Now Herod 8 was having an angry quarrel 9 with the people of Tyre 10 and Sidon. 11 So they joined together 12 and presented themselves before him. And after convincing 13 Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, 14 to help them, 15 they asked for peace, 16 because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country.
1 tn Heb “as the heart of the king was good with the wine.” Here the proper name (King Ahasuerus) has been substituted for the title in the translation for stylistic reasons.
2 tn Heb “King Ahasuerus”; here the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. similarly NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT “King Xerxes.”
3 tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”
4 tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.
5 tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.
6 tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”
7 tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Or “was extremely angry.” L&N 33.453 gives the meaning “be angry and quarrel, quarrel angrily” here. However, in L&N 88.180 the alternative “to be violently angry, to be furious” is given. The term is used only once in the NT (BDAG 461 s.v. θυμομαχέω).
10 sn Tyre was a city and seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
11 sn Sidon was an ancient Phoenician royal city on the coast between Berytus (Beirut) and Tyre (BDAG 923 s.v. Σιδών).
12 tn Or “with one accord.”
13 tn Or “persuading.”
14 tn On the term translated “personal assistant” BDAG 554 s.v. κοιτῶν states, “used as part of a title: ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος the one in charge of the bed-chamber, the chamberlain.” This individual was not just a domestic servant or butler, but a highly respected person who had considerable responsibility for the king’s living quarters and personal affairs. The English word “chamberlain” corresponds very closely to this meaning but is not in common use today. The term “personal assistant,” while it might convey more business associations than management of personal affairs, nevertheless communicates the concept well in contemporary English.
15 tn The words “to help them” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.
16 tn Or “for a reconciliation.” There were grave political risks in having Herod angry at them. The detail shows the ruler’s power.