Esther 9:26

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

Esther 9:19

9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

Esther 1:12

1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ¹  to come at the king’s bidding ²  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ³  him.

Esther 3:8

3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people ⁴  that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants ⁵  throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. ⁶ 

Esther 2:23

2:23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators ⁷  hanged on a gallows. ⁸  It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.

Esther 3:4

3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day ⁹  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ¹⁰  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ¹¹ 

Esther 3:6

3:6 But the thought of striking out against ¹²  Mordecai alone was repugnant to him, for he had been informed ¹³  of the identity of Mordecai’s people. ¹⁴  So Haman sought to destroy all the Jews (that is, the people of Mordecai) ¹⁵  who were in all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

Esther 1:19

1:19 If the king is so inclined, ¹⁶  let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, ¹⁷  that Vashti ¹⁸  may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another ¹⁹  who is more deserving than she. ²⁰ 

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.

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

³ tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

¹ tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.

² tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”

³ tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”

¹ tn Heb “they both were hanged.” The referent (the two eunuchs who conspired against the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Or “on a pole”; KJV, ASV “on a tree.”

¹ sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

² tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”

³ sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.

¹ tn Heb “to send a hand against”; KJV, NRSV “to lay hands on.”

² tn Heb “they had related to him.” For stylistic reasons this has been translated as a passive construction.

³ tc The entire first half of the verse is not included in the LXX.

⁴ tc This parenthetical phrase is not included in the LXX. Some scholars emend the MT reading עַם (’am, “people”) to עִם (’im, “with”), arguing that the phrase is awkwardly placed and syntactically inappropriate. While there is some truth to their complaint, the MT makes sufficient sense to be acceptable here, and is followed by most English versions.

¹ sn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.

² sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.

³ sn Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.

⁴ tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”

⁵ tn Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. NAB, NASB, NLT “more worthy than she.”