Esther 1:4

1:4 He displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his majestic greatness for a lengthy period of time ¹  – a hundred and eighty days, to be exact! ² 

Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ³ The following events happened ⁴  in the days of Ahasuerus. ⁵  (I am referring to ⁶  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ⁷  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ⁸ )

Esther 1:5

1:5 When those days ⁹  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ¹⁰  banquet for all the people who were present ¹¹  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ¹²  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Esther 9:28

9:28 These days were to be remembered and to be celebrated in every generation and in every family, every province, and every city. The Jews were not to fail to observe these days of Purim; the remembrance of them was not to cease among their descendants.

Esther 9:22

9:22 as the time when the Jews gave themselves rest from their enemies – the month when their trouble was turned to happiness and their mourning to a holiday. These were to be days of banqueting, happiness, sending gifts to one another, and providing for the poor.

Esther 1:2

1:2 In those days, as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa ¹³  the citadel, ¹⁴ 

Esther 9:26

9:26 For this reason these days are known as Purim, after the name of pur.

Esther 2:21

2:21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan ¹⁵  and Teresh, ¹⁶  two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance, ¹⁷  became angry and plotted to assassinate ¹⁸  King Ahasuerus.

Esther 4:16

4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I ¹⁹  will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. ²⁰  If I perish, I perish!”

Esther 9:27

9:27 Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

Esther 9:31

9:31 to establish these days of Purim in their proper times, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established, and just as they had established both for themselves and their descendants, matters pertaining to fasting and lamentation.

Esther 9:21

9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

Esther 4:11

4:11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable ²¹  to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court – that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared. ²²  Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days!”

Esther 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ²³  when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –

Esther 9:18

The Origins of the Feast of Purim

9:18 But the Jews who were in Susa assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth days, and rested on the fifteenth, making it a day for banqueting and happiness.

Esther 5:1

Esther Appeals to the King for Help

5:1 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace, ²⁴  opposite the king’s quarters. ²⁵  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ²⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “many days” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “for many days.”

² tn The words “to be exact!” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to bring out the clarifying nuance of the time period mentioned. Cf. KJV “even an hundred and fourscore days.”

³ sn In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah and with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Martin Luther also questioned the canonicity of this book, objecting to certain parts of its content. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. It is possible that the absence of Esther from what has survived at Qumran is merely a coincidence. Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

⁴ tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

⁵ tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) in this book the LXX has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler mentioned in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.), and a number of modern English versions use “Xerxes” (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).

⁶ tn Heb “in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who used to rule…” The phrase “I am referring to” has been supplied to clarify the force of the third person masculine singular pronoun, which is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun.

⁷ sn The geographical extent of the Persian empire was vast. The division of Xerxes’ empire into 127 smaller provinces was apparently done for purposes of administrative efficiency.

⁸ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV, NCV; KJV “Ethiopia”) referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. India and Cush (i.e., Ethiopia) are both mentioned in a tablet taken from the foundation of Xerxes’ palace in Persepolis that describes the extent of this empire. See ANET 316-17.

⁵ tc The Hebrew text of Esther does not indicate why this elaborate show of wealth and power was undertaken. According to the LXX these were “the days of the wedding” (αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ γάμου, Jai Jhmerai tou gamou), presumably the king’s wedding. However, a number of scholars have called attention to the fact that this celebration takes place just shortly before Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. It is possible that the banquet was a rallying for the up-coming military effort. See Herodotus, Histories 7.8. There is no reason to adopt the longer reading of the LXX here.

⁶ tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”

⁷ tn Heb “were found.”

⁸ tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”

⁷ tn Heb “Shushan” (so KJV, ASV). Most recent English versions render this as “Susa.”

⁸ 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.”

⁹ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthana,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 6:2.

¹⁰ tc The LXX does not include the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.

¹¹ tn Heb “guarders of the threshold”; NIV “who guarded the doorway.”

¹² tn Heb “sought to send a hand against”; CEV “decided to kill.”

¹¹ tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.

¹² tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”

¹³ tn Heb “one is his law”; NASB “he (the king NIV) has but one law”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and he will live”; KJV, ASV “that he may live”; NIV “and spare his life.”

¹⁵ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.

¹⁹ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).