Esther 1:11

1:11 to bring Queen Vashti into the king’s presence wearing her royal high turban. He wanted to show the people and the officials her beauty, for she was very attractive. ¹ 

Esther 6:1

The Turning Point: The King Honors Mordecai

6:1 Throughout that night the king was unable to sleep, ²  so he asked for the book containing the historical records ³  to be brought. As the records ⁴  were being read in the king’s presence,

Esther 6:14

6:14 While they were still speaking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived. They quickly brought Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared.

Esther 1:17

1:17 For the matter concerning the queen will spread to all the women, leading them to treat their husbands with contempt, saying, ‘When King Ahasuerus gave orders to bring Queen Vashti into his presence, she would not come.’

Esther 3:9

3:9 If the king is so inclined, ⁵  let an edict be issued ⁶  to destroy them. I will pay ten thousand talents of silver ⁷  to be conveyed to the king’s treasuries for the officials who carry out this business.”

[1:11]  ¹ tn Heb “was good of appearance”; KJV “was fair to look on”; NAB “was lovely to behold.”

[6:1]  ² tn Heb “and the sleep of the king fled.” In place of the rather innocuous comment of the Hebrew text, the LXX reads here, “And the Lord removed the sleep from the king.” The Greek text thus understands the statement in a more overtly theological way than does the Hebrew text, although even in the Hebrew text there may be a hint of God’s providence at work in this matter. After all, this event is crucial to the later reversal of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jewish people, and a sympathetic reader is likely to look beyond the apparent coincidence.

[6:1]  ³ tn Heb “the book of the remembrances of the accounts of the days”; NAB “the chronicle of notable events.”

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the records) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:9]  ³ tn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.”

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “let it be written” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “let it be decreed.”

[3:9]  ⁵ sn The enormity of the monetary sum referred to here can be grasped by comparing this amount (10,000 talents of silver) to the annual income of the empire, which according to Herodotus (Histories 3.95) was 14,500 Euboic talents. In other words Haman is offering the king a bribe equal to two-thirds of the royal income. Doubtless this huge sum of money was to come (in large measure) from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.