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, ¹  opposite the king’s quarters. ²  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ³ 

Esther 2:11

2:11 And day after day Mordecai used to walk back and forth in front of the court of the harem in order to learn how Esther was doing ⁴  and what might happen to her.

Esther 2:13

2:13 the woman would go to the king in the following way: Whatever she asked for would be provided for her to take with her from the harem to the royal palace.

Esther 6:2

6:2 it was found written that Mordecai had disclosed that Bigthana ⁵  and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted to assassinate ⁶  King Ahasuerus.

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 ⁷  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ⁸ 

Esther 2:9

2:9 This young woman pleased him, ⁹  and she found favor with him. He quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her rations; he also provided her with the seven specially chosen ¹⁰  young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. ¹¹ 

Esther 4:14

4:14 “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew ¹²  who will escape. If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear ¹³  from another source, ¹⁴  while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be ¹⁵  that you have achieved royal status ¹⁶  for such a time as this!”

¹ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

² 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.

³ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

⁴ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

⁷ tn This individual is referred to as “Bigthan,” a variant spelling of the name, in Esth 2:21.

⁸ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; NASB “had sought to lay hands on.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

¹¹ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

¹³ tn Heb “was good in his eyes”; NLT “Hegai was very impressed with Esther.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “being looked at (with favor).”

¹⁵ tn Heb “of the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 11, 13, 14.

¹⁶ tn Heb “from all the Jews”; KJV “more than all the Jews”; NIV “you alone of all the Jews.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “stand”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NLT “arise.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “place” (so KJV, NIV, NLT); NRSV “from another quarter.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God. D. J. A. Clines disagrees; in his view a contrast between deliverance by Esther and deliverance by God is inappropriate (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther [NCBC], 302). But Clines’ suggestion that perhaps the reference is to deliverance by Jewish officials or by armed Jewish revolt is less attractive than seeing this veiled reference as part of the literary strategy of the book, which deliberately keeps God’s providential dealings entirely in the background.

¹⁹ tn Heb “And who knows whether” (so NASB). The question is one of hope, but free of presumption. Cf. Jonah 3:9.

²⁰ tn Heb “have come to the kingdom”; NRSV “to royal dignity”; NIV “to royal position”; NLT “have been elevated to the palace.”