Esther 1:2

1:2 In those days, as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa ¹  the citadel, ² 

Esther 2:3

2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ³  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ⁴ 

Esther 3:15

3:15 The messengers ⁵  scurried forth ⁶  with the king’s order. ⁷  The edict was issued in Susa the citadel. While the king and Haman sat down to drink, the city of Susa was in an uproar! ⁸ 

Nehemiah 1:1

A Prayer of Nehemiah

1:1 ⁹ These are the words of Nehemiah ¹⁰  son of Hacaliah:

It so happened that in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, ¹¹  I was in Susa ¹²  the citadel.

Daniel 8:2

8:2 In this ¹³  vision I saw myself in Susa ¹⁴  the citadel, ¹⁵  which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “Shushan” (so KJV, ASV). Most recent English versions render this as “Susa.”

² tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah) can refer to a castle or palace or temple. Here it seems to have in mind that fortified part of the city that might be called an acropolis or citadel. Cf. KJV “palace”; NAB “stronghold”; NASB “capital”; NLT “fortress.”

³ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

⁴ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

⁵ tn Heb “runners.” So also in 8:10, 14. Cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “couriers.”

⁶ tn Or “went forth in haste” (so ASV).

⁷ tn Heb “with the word of the king.”

⁸ sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, while common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, the perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.

⁹ sn In ancient Judaism Ezra and Nehemiah were regarded as a single book with dual authorship. According to the Talmud, “Ezra wrote his book” (b. Bava Batra 15a). The Gemara then asks and answers, “And who finished it? Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.” Accordingly, the two are joined in the Leningrad Codex (ca. A.D. 1008), the manuscript upon which modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible (e.g., BHK and BHS) are based.

¹⁰ sn The name Nehemiah in Hebrew (נְחֶמְיָה, nÿkhemyah) means “the LORD comforts.”

¹¹ tn That is, the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign (cf. 2:1).

¹² tn Heb “Shushan.”

¹³ tn Heb “the.”

¹⁴ sn Susa (Heb. שׁוּשַׁן, shushan), located some 230 miles (380 km) east of Babylon, was a winter residence for Persian kings during the Achaemenid period. The language of v. 2 seems to suggest that Daniel may not have been physically present at Susa, but only saw himself there in the vision. However, the Hebrew is difficult, and some have concluded that the first four words of v. 2 in the MT are a later addition (cf. Theodotion).

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah, “castle, palace”) usually refers to a fortified structure within a city, but here it is in apposition to the city name Susa and therefore has a broader reference to the entire city (against this view, however, see BDB 108 s.v. 2). Cf. NAB “the fortress of Susa”; TEV “the walled city of Susa.”

¹⁶ tn The term אוּבַל (’uval = “stream, river”) is a relatively rare word in biblical Hebrew, found only here and in vv. 3 and 6. The Ulai was apparently a sizable artificial canal in Susa (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV), and not a river in the ordinary sense of that word.