Esther 1:11-12

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ¹  1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ²  to come at the king’s bidding ³  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ⁴  him.

Esther 1:15

1:15 The king asked, ⁵  “By law, ⁶  what should be done to Queen Vashti in light of the fact that she has not obeyed the instructions of King Ahasuerus conveyed through the eunuchs?”

Esther 2:1

Esther Becomes Queen in Vashti’s Place

2:1 When these things had been accomplished ⁷  and the rage of King Ahasuerus had diminished, he remembered ⁸  Vashti and what she had done and what had been decided ⁹  against her.

Esther 2:4

2:4 Let the young woman whom the king finds most attractive ¹⁰  become queen in place of Vashti.” This seemed like a good idea to the king, ¹¹  so he acted accordingly.

¹ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

² sn Refusal to obey the king was risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti behaved so rashly and put herself in such danger. Apparently she anticipated humiliation of some kind and was unwilling to subject herself to it, in spite of the obvious dangers. There is no justification in the biblical text for an ancient Jewish targumic tradition that the king told her to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high turban, that is, essentially naked.

³ tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

⁴ tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

³ tn These words are not present in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity (cf. NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT, all of which supply similar phrases).

⁴ tc The location of the prepositional phrase “according to law” is somewhat unusual in the Hebrew text, but not so much so as to require emendation. Some scholars suggest deleting the phrase as an instance of dittography from the final part of the immediately preceding word in v. 14. Others suggest taking the phrase with the end of v. 14 rather than with v. 15. Both proposals, however, lack adequate justification.

⁴ tn Heb “after these things” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The expression is very vague from a temporal standpoint, not indicating precisely just how much time might have elapsed. Cf. v. 21.

⁵ sn There may be a tinge of regret expressed in the king’s remembrance of Vashti. There is perhaps a hint that he wished for her presence once again, although that was not feasible from a practical standpoint. The suggestions by the king’s attendants concerning a replacement seem to be an effort to overcome this nostalgia. Certainly it was to their advantage to seek the betterment of the king’s outlook. Those around him the most were probably the most likely to suffer the effects of his ire.

⁶ tn Or “decreed” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); TEV “and about his proclamation against her.”

⁵ tn Heb “who is good in the eyes of the king.”

⁶ tn Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.” Cf. TEV “The king thought this was good advice.”