Discovery BoxEsther 2:12-20
Context2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, 1 when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women – 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. 2:14 In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to a separate part 2 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 3 and she was requested by name.
2:15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter 4 ) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her. 2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth 5 month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh 6 year of his reign. 2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval 7 more than all the other young women. 8 So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen 9 in place of Vashti. 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. 10
2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, 11 Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 12 2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, 13 just as Mordecai had instructed her. 14 Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.
[2:12] 1 tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”
[2:14] 2 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] 3 tc The LXX does not include the words “was pleased with her.”
[2:15] 4 tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”
[2:16] 5 tc The Greek
[2:16] 6 tc The Syriac Peshitta reads “fourth” here.
[2:17] 7 tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.
[2:17] 8 tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”
[2:17] 9 tn Heb “caused her to rule.”
[2:18] 10 tc The LXX does not include the words “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”
[2:19] 11 tc The LXX does not include the words “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.
[2:19] 12 sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where important business was transacted. Being in this position afforded Mordecai an opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although the author does not include the particular details of how this information first came to Mordecai’s attention.
[2:20] 13 sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.
