Esther 8:16

8:16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor. ¹ 

Esther 1:1

The King Throws a Lavish Party

1:1 ² The following events happened ³  in the days of Ahasuerus. ⁴  (I am referring to ⁵  that Ahasuerus who used to rule over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces ⁶  extending all the way from India to Ethiopia. ⁷ )

Esther 2:5

2:5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. ⁸  He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

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, ⁹  so that they would be prepared for this day.

Esther 6:1

The Turning Point: The King Honors Mordecai

6:1 Throughout that night the king was unable to sleep, ¹⁰  so he asked for the book containing the historical records ¹¹  to be brought. As the records ¹²  were being read in the king’s presence,

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 ¹³  day to avenge themselves from their enemies.

Esther 9:21

9:21 to have them observe the fourteenth and the fifteenth day of the month of Adar each year

Esther 1:22

1:22 He sent letters throughout all the royal provinces, to each province according to its own script and to each people according to its own language, ¹⁴  that every man should be ruling his family ¹⁵  and should be speaking the language of his own people. ¹⁶ 

Esther 2:7-8

2:7 Now he was acting as the guardian ¹⁷  of Hadassah ¹⁸  (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. ¹⁹  This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. ²⁰  When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her ²¹  as if she were his own daughter.

2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known ²²  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 ²³  to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.

Esther 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ²⁴  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 –

Esther 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ²⁵  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ²⁶  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Esther 3:4

3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day ²⁷  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ²⁸  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ²⁹ 

Esther 5:1-2

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, ³⁰  opposite the king’s quarters. ³¹  The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. ³²  5:2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ³³  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

Esther 9:27

9:27 Therefore, because of the account found in this letter and what they had faced in this regard and what had happened to them, the Jews established as binding on themselves, their descendants, and all who joined their company that they should observe these two days without fail, just as written and at the appropriate time on an annual basis.

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 ³⁴ ) 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.

[8:16]  ¹ tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor” (so NASB). The present translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.

[1:1]  ² sn In the English Bible Esther appears adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah and with the historical books, but in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings. The canonicity of the book was questioned by some in ancient Judaism and early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God. Some questioned whether a book that did not mention God could be considered sacred scripture. Attempts to resolve this by discovering the tetragrammaton (YHWH) encoded in the Hebrew text (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. Martin Luther also questioned the canonicity of this book, objecting to certain parts of its content. Although no copy of Esther was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard it as canonical. It is possible that the absence of Esther from what has survived at Qumran is merely a coincidence. Although the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read it without sensing the providence of God working in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. The absence of mention of the name of God may be a deliberate part of the literary strategy of the writer.

[1:1]  ³ tn Heb “it came about”; KJV, ASV “Now it came to pass.”

[1:1]  ⁴ tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV) in this book the LXX has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler mentioned in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.), and a number of modern English versions use “Xerxes” (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the days of Ahasuerus, that Ahasuerus who used to rule…” The phrase “I am referring to” has been supplied to clarify the force of the third person masculine singular pronoun, which is functioning like a demonstrative pronoun.

[1:1]  ⁶ sn The geographical extent of the Persian empire was vast. The division of Xerxes’ empire into 127 smaller provinces was apparently done for purposes of administrative efficiency.

[1:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “Cush” (so NIV, NCV; KJV “Ethiopia”) referring to the region of the upper Nile in Africa. India and Cush (i.e., Ethiopia) are both mentioned in a tablet taken from the foundation of Xerxes’ palace in Persepolis that describes the extent of this empire. See ANET 316-17.

[2:5]  ³ sn Mordecai is a pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk. Probably many Jews of the period had two names, one for secular use and the other for use especially within the Jewish community. Mordecai’s Jewish name is not recorded in the biblical text.

[3:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NRSV).

[6:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Heb “the book of the remembrances of the accounts of the days”; NAB “the chronicle of notable events.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the records) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “this” (so NASB); most English versions read “that” here for stylistic reasons.

[1:22]  ⁷ sn For purposes of diplomacy and governmental communication throughout the far-flung regions of the Persian empire the Aramaic language was normally used. Educated people throughout the kingdom could be expected to have competence in this language. But in the situation described in v. 22 a variety of local languages are to be used, and not just Aramaic, so as to make the king’s edict understandable to the largest possible number of people.

[1:22]  ⁸ tn Heb “in his house”; NIV “over his own household.”

[1:22]  ⁹ tc The final prepositional phrase is not included in the LXX, and this shorter reading is followed by a number of English versions (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT). Some scholars suggest the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.

[2:7]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”

[2:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”

[2:12]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

[2:20]  ¹¹ 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.

[2:20]  ¹² tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[3:4]  ¹² sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

[3:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”

[3:4]  ¹⁴ sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.

[5:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”

[5:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).

[5:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes”; NASB “she obtained favor in his sight”; NIV “he was pleased with her”; NLT “he welcomed her.”

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