Esther 1:9

1:9 Queen Vashti ¹  also gave a banquet for the women in King Ahasuerus’ royal palace.

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, ²  opposite the king’s quarters. ³  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ⁴ 

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 ⁵  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 2:16

2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ⁶  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ⁷  year of his reign.

Esther 4:13

4:13 he ⁸  said to take back this answer to Esther:

Esther 8:2

8:2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.

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 ⁹  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ¹⁰ 

Esther 2:8-9

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ¹¹  many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace ¹²  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women. 2:9 This young woman pleased him, ¹³  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 ¹⁴  young women who were from the palace. He then transferred her and her young women to the best quarters in the harem. ¹⁵ 

Esther 2:14

2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to a separate part ¹⁶  of the harem, to the authority of Shaashgaz the king’s eunuch who was overseeing the concubines. She would not go back to the king unless the king was pleased with her ¹⁷  and she was requested by name.

Esther 6:4

6:4 Then the king said, “Who is that in the courtyard?” Now Haman had come to the outer courtyard of the palace to suggest that the king hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had constructed for him.

Esther 7:8

7:8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet of wine, Haman was throwing himself down ¹⁸  on the couch where Esther was lying. ¹⁹  The king exclaimed, “Will he also attempt to rape the queen while I am still in the building!”

As these words left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Esther 8:1

The King Acts to Protect the Jews

8:1 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate ²⁰  of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

Esther 8:7

8:7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action ²¹  against the Jews.

[1:9]  ¹ sn Vashti is the name of Xerxes’ queen according to the Book of Esther. But in the Greek histories of this period the queen’s name is given as Amestris (e.g., Herodotus, Histories 9.108-13). The name Vashti does not seem to occur in the nonbiblical records from this period. Apparently the two women are not to be confused, but not enough is known about this period to reconcile completely the biblical and extrabiblical accounts.

[5:1]  ² tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ³ 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.

[5:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[2:11]  ³ tn Heb “to know the peace of Esther.”

[2:16]  ⁴ tc The Greek MSS Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) read “twelfth” here.

[2:16]  ⁵ tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[2:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “was good in his eyes”; NLT “Hegai was very impressed with Esther.”

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “being looked at (with favor).”

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “of the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 11, 13, 14.

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “second.” The numerical adjective שֵׁנִי (sheniy, “second”) is difficult here. As a modifier for “house” in v. 14 the word would presumably refer to a second part of the harem, one which was under the supervision of a separate official. But in this case the definite article would be expected before “second” (cf. LXX τὸν δεύτερον, ton deuteron). Some scholars emend the text to שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”), but this does not completely resolve the difficulty since the meaning remains unclear. The translation adopted above follows the LXX and understands the word to refer to a separate group of women in the king’s harem, a group housed apparently in a distinct part of the residence complex.

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX does not include the words “was pleased with her.”

[7:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “falling”; NAB, NRSV “had (+ just TEV) thrown himself (+ down TEV).”

[7:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “where Esther was” (so KJV, NASB). The term “lying” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “was reclining.”

[8:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “house” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV; also in vv. 2, 7). Cf. TEV “all the property.”

[8:7]  ¹² tn Heb “sent forth his hand”; NAB, NIV “attacked”; NLT “tried to destroy.” Cf. 9:2.