Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ¹ The following events happened ²  in the days of Ahasuerus. ³  (I am referring to ⁴  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ⁵  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ⁶ )

Esther 1:20

1:20 And let the king’s decision which he will enact be disseminated ⁷  throughout all his kingdom, vast though it is. ⁸  Then all the women will give honor to their husbands, from the most prominent to the lowly.”

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 4:2

4:2 But he went no further than the king’s gate, for no one was permitted to enter the king’s gate clothed in sackcloth.

Esther 5:3

5:3 The king said to her, “What is on your mind, ⁹  Queen Esther? What is your request? Even as much as half the kingdom will be given to you!”

Esther 5:6

5:6 While at the banquet of wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your request? It shall be given to you. What is your petition? Ask for as much as half the kingdom, ¹⁰  and it shall be done!”

Esther 1:5

1:5 When those days ¹¹  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ¹²  banquet for all the people who were present ¹³  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ¹⁴  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

Esther 7:2

7:2 On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done!”

Esther 3:13

3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that ¹⁵  they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, ¹⁶  on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day ¹⁷  of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.

Esther 8:9

8:9 The king’s scribes were quickly ¹⁸  summoned – in the third month (that is, the month of Sivan), on the twenty-third day. ¹⁹  They wrote out ²⁰  everything that Mordecai instructed to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces all the way from India to Ethiopia ²¹  – a hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all – to each province in its own script and to each people in their own language, and to the Jews according to their own script and their own language.

[1:1]  ¹ 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.

[1:1]  ² tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

[1:1]  ³ 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).

[1:1]  ⁴ 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.

[1:1]  ⁵ 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.

[1:1]  ⁶ 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.

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “heard”; KJV, NAB, NLT “published”; NIV, NRSV “proclaimed.”

[1:20]  ⁸ tc The phrase “vast though it is” is not included in the LXX, although it is retained by almost all English versions.

[5:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “What to you?”; NAB, NIV NRSV “What is it, Queen Esther?”

[5:6]  ¹⁹ sn As much as half the kingdom. Such a statement would no doubt have been understood for the exaggeration that it clearly was. Cf. the similar NT scene recorded in Mark 6:23, where Herod makes a similar promise to the daughter of Herodias. In that case the request was for the head of John the Baptist, which is a lot less than half the kingdom.

[1:5]  ²⁵ 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.

[1:5]  ²⁶ tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”

[1:5]  ²⁷ tn Heb “were found.”

[1:5]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”

[3:13]  ³¹ tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ³² tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.

[3:13]  ³³ tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”

[8:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in that time”; NIV “At once.”

[8:9]  ³⁸ sn Cf. 3:12. Two months and ten days have passed since Haman’s edict to wipe out the Jews.

[8:9]  ³⁹ tn Heb “it was written”; this passive construction has been converted to an active one in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[8:9]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV), referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. Cf. KJV and most other English versions “Ethiopia.”