Esther 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Esther 1:18

1:18 And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!

Esther 2:18

2:18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants – it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense. ⁵ 

Esther 3:14

3:14 A copy of this edict was to be presented as law throughout every province; it was to be made known to all the inhabitants, ⁶  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Esther 8:13

8:13 A copy of the edict was to be presented as law throughout each and every province and made known to all peoples, so that the Jews might be prepared on that ⁷  day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

Esther 10:3

10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking ⁸  Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. ⁹  He worked enthusiastically ¹⁰  for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of ¹¹  all his descendants. ¹² 

Esther 1:5

1:5 When those days ¹³  were completed, the king then provided a seven-day ¹⁴  banquet for all the people who were present ¹⁵  in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. ¹⁶  It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.

[1:3]  ¹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ² tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[2:18]  ⁵ tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”

[3:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.

[10:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”

[10:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”

[10:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”

[10:3]  ²¹ sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).

[1:5]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”

[1:5]  ²³ tn Heb “were found.”

[1:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”