Esther 2:16

2:16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth ¹  month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh ²  year of his reign.

Esther 2:7-8

2:7 Now he was acting as the guardian ³  of Hadassah ⁴  (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. ⁵  This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. ⁶  When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her ⁷  as if she were his own daughter.

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ⁸  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 ⁹  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

Esther 6:10-11

6:10 The king then said to Haman, “Go quickly! Take the clothing and the horse, just as you have described, and do as you just indicated to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Don’t neglect ¹⁰  a single thing of all that you have said.”

6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”

Esther 2:15

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 ¹¹ ) 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]  ¹ tc The Greek MSS Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) read “twelfth” here.

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

[2:7]  ³ tn According to HALOT 64 s.v. II אמן the term אֹמֵן (’omen) means: (1) “attendant” of children (Num 11:12; Isa 49:23); (2) “guardian” (2 Kgs 10:1, 5; Esth 2:7); (3) “nurse-maid” (2 Sam 4:4; Ruth 4:16); and (4) “to look after” (Isa 60:4; Lam 4:5). Older lexicons did not distinguish this root from the homonym I אָמַן (’aman, “to support; to confirm”; cf. BDB 52 s.v. אָמַן). This is reflected in a number of translations by use of a phrase like “brought up” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV) or “bringing up” (NASB).

[2:7]  ⁴ sn Hadassah is a Jewish name that probably means “myrtle”; the name Esther probably derives from the Persian word for “star,” although some scholars derive it from the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Esther is not the only biblical character for whom two different names were used. Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and his three friends Hananiah (renamed Shadrach), Mishael (renamed Meshach), and Azariah (renamed Abednego) were also given different names by their captors.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for there was not to her father or mother.” This is universally understood to mean Esther’s father and mother were no longer alive.

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “beautiful of form.” The Hebrew noun תֹּאַר (to’ar, “form; shape”) is used elsewhere to describe the physical bodily shape of a beautiful woman (Gen 29:17; Deut 21:11; 1 Sam 25:3); see BDB 1061 s.v. Cf. TEV “had a good figure.”

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “had taken her to him.” The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) describes Mordecai adopting Esther and treating her like his own daughter: “to take as one’s own property” as a daughter (HALOT 534 s.v. I לקח 6).

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[6:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not let fall”; NASB “do not fall short.”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”