Esther · Chapter 2

Verse 1. He remembered Vashti — With grief and shame, that in his wine and rage he had so severely punished, and so irrevocably rejected, so beautiful and desirable a person, and that for so small a provocation, to which she was easily led by the modesty of her sex and by the laws and customs of Persia.

ESTHER MADE QUEEN, 1-18.

1. After these things — How long after the divorce of Vashti is uncertain. It may have been only a few months, or it may have been a year or more after. It is no doubt to be dated before Xerxes’ departure for Greece, so that the gathering of the virgins to Shushan took place while he was absent from his capital. See note on verse 16. He remembered Vashti — And along with the remembrance came a desire to have her restored to favour again, and probably, also, a feeling that she had been too severely dealt with.

Verse 2. Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king] This was the usual way in which the harem or seraglio was furnished: the finest women in the land, whether of high or low birth, were sought out, and brought to the harem. They all became the king’s concubines: but one was raised, as chief wife or sultana, to the throne; and her issue was specially entitled to inherit.

Verses 2, 3. Then said the king’s servants — Who, for their own interests, were obliged to quiet the king’s mind, and procure him another amiable consort. To the house of the women — Or rather, of the virgins; for the house of those who were wives or concubines was different from this, and under another governor. Keeper of the women — Of all the women, both virgins and concubines: only the virgins he himself took care of, as requiring more care and caution, and the concubines he committed to Shaashgaz, (verse 14,) his deputy. Things for purification — That is, to cleanse them from all impurities, to perfume, and adorn, and every way prepare them for the king: for the legal purification of the Jews he never regarded.

2. Then said the king’s servants — The king probably made known his thoughts and feelings to his servants, and sought their counsel in the matter. These servants were his court officials, officers of the palace, and most of them probably eunuchs. Fair young virgins sought — These officers were anxious to maintain the inviolability of the decree against Vashti, and to prevent the restoration of the deposed favourite, lest the lives of those princes who had advised her repudiation should be endangered.

V. 3. Keeper-Of all the women, both virgins and concubines: only the virgins he himself took care of, as requiring more care and caution, and the concubines be committed to Shaashgaz, ver. 14, his deputy. Purification-That is, to cleanse them from all impurities, to perfume, and adorn, and every way prepare them for the king: for the legal purification of the Jews he never regarded.

Verse 3. Hege the king’s chamberlain] Ëlmh syrs agh Hege seris hammelech, “Hege, the king’s eunuch;” so the Septuagint, Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac. In the Eastern countries the women are intrusted to the care of the eunuchs only.

Let their things for purification be given them] ˆhyqrmt tamrukeyhen, their cosmetics. What these were we are told in Esther 2:12; oil of myrrh, and sweet odours. The myrrh was employed for six months, and the odours for six months more, after which the person was brought to the king. This space was sufficient to show whether the young woman had been chaste; whether she were with child or not, that the king might not be imposed on, and be obliged to father a spurious offspring, which might have been the case had not this precaution been used. Instead of the oil or myrrh, the Targum says it was the oil of unripe olives which caused the hair to fall off, and rendered the skin delicate.

Verses 2, 3. Then said the king’s servants — Who, for their own interests, were obliged to quiet the king’s mind, and procure him another amiable consort. To the house of the women — Or rather, of the virgins; for the house of those who were wives or concubines was different from this, and under another governor. Keeper of the women — Of all the women, both virgins and concubines: only the virgins he himself took care of, as requiring more care and caution, and the concubines he committed to Shaashgaz, (verse 14,) his deputy. Things for purification — That is, to cleanse them from all impurities, to perfume, and adorn, and every way prepare them for the king: for the legal purification of the Jews he never regarded.

Verse 3. Gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace. The polygamy we have hitherto seen is small in comparison of the indulgences of the Babylonian and Persian court. This practice, so contrary to the laws of nature, as appears from the number of males being twenty five to twenty four females, had its origin in the concupiscence of the flesh. Lamech, the seventh in Cain’s line, broke the mounds of modesty, and the waters of corruption overflowed the earth; and hence great men would have more than one wife. After the flood, when the seventy two tribes were dispersed abroad; and when they ultimately, to avoid surprise and massacre from their hostile neighbours, retired to walled towns, each town having still its own king, the continuance of petty wars often so reduced the number of men, that polygamy founded plausible pleas for sensual indulgence on the deficiency of males. But surely a temporal calamity could be no just plea for a permanent violation of the law of nature. And what scenes of misery can be conceived more great than the harems of the east, filled with a thousand jealous and disappointed women? They were little else than mere state prisoners, most of them doomed never more to see the king’s face with joy: and how vain, how totally perverted, must that mortal be who thinks he has a power to reduce his subjects to that state of dignified misery. He is ignorant that the first duty of a king is to be the father of all his people. Need we wonder then that the pursuing hand of vengeance should follow the houses of Gideon, of Ahab, and of Solomon. Yet it is intimated that Solomon’s greatest defects in this way were not till old age, when a state of dotage gave the heathen women an entire ascendency over him. How grateful then should we be that Jesus has taught us better, and that Paul also has required a man to be the husband but of one living wife.

3. In all the provinces… that they may gather — Had the king been wanting a legitimate wife, no Persian officer would have proposed a measure like this. The laws of Persia and Media required the king to select his wives from the seven noble families. (Herod., 3:84.) Hence this gathering of virgins from all the provinces, irrespective of country or race, shows that the search was for a favourite concubine, not a legitimate queen. The house of the women — The harem, or apartment of the royal palace in which were kept the king’s wives and concubines, numbering often several hundred. See note on 1 Kings 11:3. The necessary degradation of woman under such usages is a matter of note, and the parents of beautiful maidens evidently had no power to withhold their daughters if demanded for the royal harem. Hege… keeper of the women — He seems to have been chief eunuch, and principal overseer of the harem. Rawlinson thinks he may have been the keeper of the virgins only, since Shaashgaz was keeper of the concubines. Verse 14. Things for purification — Such as are mentioned in verse 12.

ESTHER MADE QUEEN, 1-18.

1. After these things — How long after the divorce of Vashti is uncertain. It may have been only a few months, or it may have been a year or more after. It is no doubt to be dated before Xerxes’ departure for Greece, so that the gathering of the virgins to Shushan took place while he was absent from his capital. See note on verse 16. He remembered Vashti — And along with the remembrance came a desire to have her restored to favour again, and probably, also, a feeling that she had been too severely dealt with.

Verse 5. Whose name was Mordecai] The Targum says, “He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimea, the son of Gera, the son of Kish.” And “this was the same Shimea that cursed David; and whom David forbade Joab to slay because he saw, in the spirit of prophecy, that he was to be the predecessor of Esther and Mordecai; but when he became old, and incapable of having children, David ordered Solomon to put him to death.”

Ver. 5. Mordecai, that is, bitter or sorrowful, agreeing with his captivity, seventy years before the edict of Cyrus. He was a very old man, for all these occurrences fell out while the second temple was building, and Zechariah was prophesying.—Mordecai is also said to have been a son of Shimei. The Targums admit that this was the Shimei, notwithstanding the lapse of time, who cursed David.

5. Mordecai — Some scholars connect this name with Merodach, the Babylonian idol, (Jeremiah 50:2,) but the etymology is uncertain. He may, perhaps, be identified with Natacas, or Matocas, whom Ctesias mentions as one of Xerxes’ most favourite and powerful eunuchs, and whom he sent after his return from Greece, to plunder and destroy a temple of Apollo. That Mordecai was a eunuch appears probable from the position he held in the Persian court, his access to the house of the women, and his adoption and care of the youthful Esther. Jair… Shimei… Kish — These are obviously the immediate ancestors of Mordecai, since, according to the next verse, the great-grandfather, Kish, had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Hence there is no sufficient reason to identify this Shimei with the son of Gera, mentioned in 2 Samuel 16:5, or this Kish with the father of Saul. 1 Samuel 9:1. These four generations would naturally cover about the period of time that intervened between the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8) and the middle of Xerxes’ reign.

Verse 6. Who had been carried away from Jerusalem — This may refer either to Kish, Mordecai’s grandfather, last mentioned, or to Mordecai himself, which, however, is not probable, as in that case he must have been a very old man, not less than a hundred and forty years of age.

6. Who had been carried away — The relative who, here, must refer to Kish, not to Mordecai; for it is scarcely possible that a captive of Nebuchadnezzar should have been an officer of the Persian court in the time of Xerxes. Daniel was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and continued till the reign of Cyrus, (Daniel 1:1, 21,) and the fact is mentioned as worthy of special remark. Had Mordecai been his contemporary, and yet have lived on to the time of Xerxes, the fact would no doubt have received special notice. But the attempt of Tyrwhitt (Esther and Ahasuerus) to show that a great-grandson of a captive taken by Nebuchadnezzar could not have been contemporary with Xerxes, is every way futile. Kish may have been a mere child when taken captive, and Shimei and Jair may not have been the first born. Arguments based on parallel lines of descent are often misleading, for, of the great-grandchildren of two contemporaries, some may be mere infants when others are of mature age. Jeconiah — Another form of the name Jehoiachin. Comp. 2 Kings 24:12, with Jeremiah 24:1.

V. 7. Esther-Hadassah was her Hebrew name before her marriage; and she was called Esther by the king after it.

Verse 7. He brought up Hadassah] hcdh hadassah signifies a myrtle in Chaldee: this was probably her first or Babylonish name. When she came to the Persian court, she was called Esther, [Persian] aster, or [Persian] sitara, which signifies a star in Persian: the name is undoubtedly Persian. Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle of Mordecai, and therefore must have been Mordecai’s cousin, though the Vulgate and Josephus make her Mordecai’s niece: but it is safest here to follow the Hebrew.

Verses 7, 8. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther — Hadassah was her Hebrew name, before her marriage; and she was called Esther by the king after it. Esther was brought also unto the king’s house — Or taken, and that by force, as the word jqlt, tillakach, often signifies: for so great was the power and tyranny of the Persian kings, that they could and did take what persons they liked to their own use.

Ver. 7. Esther his uncle’s daughter. This reminds us of Catharine, empress of the Russias, and niece of a Lutheran clergyman. Grace often attends those who become fathers to orphans.

7. Hadassah, that is, Esther — Tyrwhitt regards Hadassah as the court name, by which she was known among the Persians, and Esther as her Jewish maiden name, by which she was known to her own people. But to this it may be fairly replied that she would be more likely to be known to her own people as well as to the Persians by her royal name; and most interpreters have naturally understood from the expression, he brought up Hadassah, which is Esther, that Hadassah was her early maiden name, and that she took the name of Esther when she became queen. Moreover Hadassah is of Semitic origin, and signifies myrtle; while Esther is the Persian word for star, (Greek, asthr.) The fair and beautiful maiden was known as myrtle; the brilliant and fascinating queen was called star. The name Hadassah is, indeed, substantially identical with Atossa, mentioned by the Greek writers as the wife of Darius Hystaspes, and daughter of Cyrus, but the identity in name is insufficient to identify the Jewish virgin with one who is so clearly represented by Herodotus as both daughter of Cyrus and widow of Cambyses. (Herodotus, 3:88.) His uncle’s daughter — This uncle’s name was Abihail. Verse 15. Mordecai and Esther were cousins, but Mordecai was evidently much the older.

Verses 7, 8. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther — Hadassah was her Hebrew name, before her marriage; and she was called Esther by the king after it. Esther was brought also unto the king’s house — Or taken, and that by force, as the word jqlt, tillakach, often signifies: for so great was the power and tyranny of the Persian kings, that they could and did take what persons they liked to their own use.

ESTHER MADE QUEEN, 1-18.

1. After these things — How long after the divorce of Vashti is uncertain. It may have been only a few months, or it may have been a year or more after. It is no doubt to be dated before Xerxes’ departure for Greece, so that the gathering of the virgins to Shushan took place while he was absent from his capital. See note on verse 16. He remembered Vashti — And along with the remembrance came a desire to have her restored to favour again, and probably, also, a feeling that she had been too severely dealt with.

V. 9. Pleased-Because she was very beautiful, therefore he supposed she would be acceptable to the king; and by the Divine power, which moveth the hearts of men which way he pleaseth.

Verse 9. The maiden pleased him] He conceived a partiality for her above the rest, probably because of the propriety of her deportment, and her engaging though unassuming manners.

Seven maidens] These were to attend her to the bath, to anoint and adorn her, and be her servants in general.

Verse 9. The maiden pleased him — Because she was very beautiful, therefore he supposed she would be acceptable to the king; and by the divine power, which moveth the hearts of men which way he pleaseth.

9. Such things as belonged to her — Hebrew, her portions, that is, proper allowances of food. Seven maidens… meet to be given her — Each of the virgins probably had seven maids appointed to attend her, but Esther’s seven were selected with special care, (meet, twyar, looked up, searched out, from har, to see, to look after,) and Hegai’s further partiality for her was shown in his preferring, or changing, her and her maids to the choice apartments of the harem.

V. 10. Shew it-Lest the knowledge hereof should either make her contemptible, or bring some inconvenience to the whole nation; but there was also an hand of God in causing this to be concealed, for the better accomplishment of that which he designed, though Mordecai was ignorant of it.

Verse 10. Esther had not showed her people] This might have prejudiced her with the king; for it was certainly no credit at the Persian court to be a Jew; and we shall find from the sequel that those who were in the Persian dominions were far from being reputable, or in a safe state. Besides, had her lineage been known, envy might have prevented her from ever having access to the king.

Verse 10. Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it — Lest the knowledge hereof should either make her contemptible, or bring some inconvenience to the whole nation: but there was also a hand of God in causing this to be concealed, for the better accomplishment of that which he designed, though Mordecai was ignorant of it. If Mordecai sought or desired that his niece should become either the king’s concubine or wife, he certainly acted contrary to the Jewish law, which forbid any marriage or communication of that sort with idolaters; but the circumstances of things, and perhaps the hopes he entertained of being able to do his nation great service thereby, may plead his excuse.

10. Not showed her people — She was directed to this course by her cousin and foster-father as a matter of politic prudence, lest her attachment to her race and religion should prejudice her interests with the officers of the harem.

Verse 11. Mordecai walked every day, &c. — He might walk there without being suspected, because he belonged to the court, and was a man of some rank; for those that were carried away in Jeconiah’s captivity (as his ancestors were, verse 6) were of the better sort, 2 Kings 24:14, &c.; Daniel 1:4. And Esther might find means, by some of those that attended her, to acquaint him with the state of her health and affairs.

11. Mordecai… before the court of the women’s house — He was one of the royal porters, (comp. verse 19,) and from his ready access to the court of the harem, it is very naturally supposed that he was a eunuch.

Verse 12. Six months with oil of myrrh] See on Esther 2:3. The reason of this purification seems not to be apprehended by any writer I have seen. The most beautiful of all the young virgins of all the provinces of Babylon were to be selected; and these were taken out of all classes of the people, indiscriminately; consequently there must have been many who were brought up in low life. Now we know that those who feed on coarse strong food, which is not easily digested, have generally a copious perspiration, which is strongly odorous; and in many, though in every respect amiable, and even beautiful, this odour is far from being pleasant. Pure, wholesome, easily digested, and nourishing aliment, with the frequent use of the hot bath, continued for twelve months. the body frequently rubbed with olive oil, will in almost every case remove all that is disagreeable of this kind. This treatment will give a healthy action to all the subcutaneous vessels, and in every respect promote health and comfort.

Verse 12. According to the manner of the women — Who were kept so long, partly for their better purification, as it here follows; partly out of state, as that which became so great a king; and partly that, being so long in safe custody, the king might be sure he was not imposed upon by a child begotten by another man. Six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours — It is observed by Pliny, lib. 13, cap. 1, that ointments were first invented by the Persians. Oil of myrrh was used, not only on account of its fragrancy, but to make the skin soft and smooth, and to clear it from all manner of scurf; and the sweet odours were necessary, in those hot countries, to take away all ill scents, and, as some think, to enliven and invigorate the constitution.

Ver. 12. Twelve months. The candidates purified daily, to promote health. The time among the Jews, for captives taken in war, was one month; here a whole year is allowed, that the purity of the virgins, with regard to chastity or disease, might be fully ascertained. Sarah was thus some time in the house of Pharaoh, and of Abimelech.

12. According to the manner of the women — Rather, the law of the women; that is, the order or requirement indicated in verse 2 and explained in the sequel of this verse, according to which these women were to go through a twelvemonths’ purification. Myrrh… sweet odours — The design was to cleanse, soften, and beautify to the utmost possible degree.

V. 13. Desired-For ornament, or by way of attendance. And it should be observed, that every one whom the king took to his bed, was his wife of a lower rank, as Hagar was Abraham’s, so that it would have been no sin or dishonour to Esther, though she had not been made queen.

Verse 13. Whatsoever she desired] When any of the young women were called to go to the king, it appears that it was an ordinance that whatever kind of dress stuff, colour, jewels, &c., they thought best to set off their persons, and render them more engaging, should be given them.

Verse 13. Thus came every maiden unto the king — Thus purified and prepared, and thus furnished and attended, as it follows. Whatsoever she desired was given her — For ornament, or by way of attendance. And it should be observed, that every one whom the king took to his bed was his wife of a lower rank, as Hagar was Abraham’s; so that it would have been no sin or dishonour to Esther, though she had not been made queen.

13. Whatsoever she desired — In the way of jewels, ornaments, or dress. “No doubt,” says Rawlinson, “the virgins generally took the opportunity — one that would occur but once in their lives — to load themselves with precious ornaments of various kinds, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, and the like.”

Verse 14. She returned into the second house] This was the place where the king’s concubines were kept. They went out no more, and were never given in marriage to any man, and saw the king’s face no more unless specially called.

Custody of Shaashgaz] This is probably another Persian name; [Persian] sheshkhunj, beardless, a proper epithet of a eunuch; or [Persian] sestgunj, weak loins, for the same reason. Names of this kind at once show the reason of their imposition, by describing the state of the person.

14. The second house of the women — An apartment or division of the harem of secondary importance or rank — the place of the concubines. But the word second may be taken in the sense of again, and the passage rendered, she returned to the house of the women again, or, a second time. So Bertheau and Keil. When, however, these women returned again to the harem, they were assigned to a different department from that of the virgins. This is evident from their being placed in custody of Shaashgaz, the keeper of the concubines, not of Hegai, who had charge of the virgins.

Verse 15. She required nothing] She left this entirely to her friend Hege, who seems to have been intent on her success. She therefore left her decorations to his judgment alone, and went in that dress and in those ornaments which he deemed most suitable.

Verse 15. She required nothing — Not being desirous to set herself off with artificial beauty, nor, probably, to please the king; having been brought to the king’s house without and against her own inclination and choice. But what Hegai, the king’s chamberlain, appointed — Being covetous of nothing, she left it entirely to the king’s chamberlain to give her what he pleased, which was a mark of a modest and generous temper in her. And Esther obtained favour of all them that looked upon her — All that beheld her admired her beauty, which needed no ornament; for the greatest ornaments of virgins are, modesty, silence, well-disciplined eyes, a serene countenance, without levity, and horror of all wantonness; which, all meeting in her, made her agreeable in the eyes of all that saw her.

15. She required nothing — She made no effort to adorn her person with jewelry or dress to please her own fancy, but left that matter entirely to Hegai, who would be likely to know best what would please the king.

Verse 16. The tenth month-Tebeth] Answering to part of our December and January.

Verse 16. So Esther was taken into his house-royal — She was not sent back unto the second house of the women, as the rest were, but the king kept her in his own house. In the seventh year of his reign — How it came to pass that it was so long before Esther was advanced to succeed Vashti, seems difficult to resolve. But we are to consider, that a great deal of time was spent in gathering the virgins together, and that it was a year after they were collected, before she was brought to the king; and besides, he took some time, it is likely, to try how he liked her wit, humour, and conversation.

Ver. 16. So Esther was taken to king Ahasuérus. According to ver. 8, she was brought to the king’s house. It does not appear that Mordecai had any active concern in this affair. The Jews say he concealed her, when he first heard of the decree.

16. The tenth month… Tebeth — Corresponding nearly with our January. The seventh year of his reign — Vashti was divorced in the third year of his reign, so that four years or more elapsed before another queen was crowned in her stead. Xerxes’ preparations for his Grecian war, and his absence from his capital during that campaign, well accounts for this long interval. Herodotus says (vii, 20) that he was four full years preparing for his Grecian war, but this may easily be a mistake, for the Greek historian’s figures are not always to be depended upon. It may have been a year or more after Vashti’s divorce before the king’s love for her returned, and then the order was given for collecting the fair young virgins at Shushan, but before it could be executed Xerxes was off for Greece. Meanwhile the order for assembling the virgins was carried out by the eunuchs, so that when the king returned again to Shushan he found his harem supplied with many virgins and soon after chose Esther as his queen.

Verse 17. Set the royal crown upon her head] Made her what is now called in the East the SULTANA, the queen. She was the mistress of all the rest of the wives, all of whom were obliged to pay her the most profound respect.

17. Set the royal crown upon her head — To show his delight in honouring her, and to distinguish her as his favourite mistress. Compare Esther 1:9, 11, notes.

Verse 18. Made a release to the provinces] Remitted some kind of tribute or impost, in honour of Esther, at her coronation, as our kings generally do when they are crowned, ordering a discharge from prison of many who are confined for minor offenses. As it was the custom of the Persian kings to give their queens something like what is called with us the aurum reginæ, “queen gold,” which was a tenth of all fines, &c., above what was given to the king; (for they gave them such a city to buy them clothes, another for their hair, a third for their necklaces, a fourth for their pearls, &c.;) it is probable that, on this occasion, Esther so wishing, he relieved those cities and provinces which had before paid this queen gold from all these expenses; and this would tend greatly to make the queen popular.

Verse 18. And he made a release to the provinces — According to Herodotus, it was customary for the Persian kings, upon their accession to the throne, to remit the tribute which was due to them from all their cities; and Ahasuerus, on this occasion, out of his abundant joy, remitted some tax, or part of a tax, then due, which he did that every body might rejoice with him.

Ver. 18. Esther’s feast. Her coronation was very splendid; and the partial remission of taxes would swell the joy.

18. Esther’s feast — A banquet to her honour; to celebrate her election to Vashti’s place. Made a release to the provinces — Usually understood as a release from tribute. Septuagint has afesin; Vulgate, requiem. The Hebrew word hjnh, which occurs nowhere else, comes from a root which means to rest, and may, therefore, properly denote a respite from taxation. The Persian kings were wont to remit the arrears of tribute due at the time of their accession, (Herod., 3:67; 6:59,) and Xerxes may have thought it wise to grant such a release just after the disastrous Grecian war. According to the state of the king — The feast, the release, and the gifts, were all in keeping with true kingly munificence.

V. 19. Sat-By office, as one of the king’s guards or ministers; being advanced to this place by Esther’s favour.

Verse 19. When the virgins were gathered together the second time — They in all probability were gathered together first in the provinces, and afterward in Susa, before they were taken into the house of the king’s chamberlain. The writer now goes back to what happened before Esther’s marriage. Then Mordecai sat in the king’s gate — It was ordered by Cyrus, as Xenophon informs us, Cyropaæd., lib. 8, that all persons whatever, who had any employment at court, should attend at the palace gate, where there was doubtless a proper waiting-place for their reception, that they might be in readiness whenever they were wanted or called for; and that this custom was afterward continued, we may learn from Herodotus, lib. 3. cap. 120. See Le Clerc. Mordecai has been thought by some to have been one of the porters of the royal palace; but it is probable he was an officer of higher rank. Poole thinks he was one of the king’s guard, or ministers, and that he had been advanced to this place by Esther’s favour, though without any discovery of her relation to him.

MORDECAI EXPOSES A COURT CONSPIRACY, 19-23.

19. When the virgins… the second time — Rather, at the gathering together of virgins a second time. Hence it appears there was a second collection of virgins at Shushan, made some years after the previous one, and with the design, no doubt, of enriching the royal harem with new beauties. After his unsuccessful war with Greece, the king abandoned all plans of conquest, and gave himself over to the pleasures of his harem. Accordingly, such a second gathering of virgins would be readily devised to gratify both his vanity and lust. Mordecai sat in the king’s gate — He was one of the royal porters who guarded the doors of the great palace at Shushan.

Verse 20. Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, &c. — A rare example of virtue, that she should be so observant of him when she was a queen: for most persons forget what they were when they are unexpectedly advanced to great honour, dignity, or riches.

20. Esther had not… showed — This verse should be regarded as a parenthesis, and is designed, as a circumstantial clause, to show that Esther was obedient to Mordecai as much after she became queen as before. It also shows that this second collection of virgins sprang from no prejudice against Esther as a Jewess.

Verse 21. Mordecai sat in the kings gate] Mordecai might have been one of the officers of the king, as the gate was the place where such usually attended to await the king’s call. It is not likely that he was the porter; had he been only such, Haman could have removed him at once.

Two of the king’s chamberlains] Eunuchs. Why they conspired against the life of the king, we are not informed. The Targum says that they found out that Esther had intended to use her influence with the king to get them removed from their office, and Mordecai put in their place; therefore they determined to poison Esther, and slay the king in his bedchamber. It is very likely that they were creatures of Haman, who probably affected the kingdom, and perhaps were employed by him to remove the king, and so make his way open to the throne.

Verse 21. Two of the king’s chamberlains — “These were two great men, who perhaps kept the door of the king’s bed-chamber, and being either incensed at the divorce of Vashti, whose creatures they were, or at the advancement of Esther, who they thought would in all probability raise her kinsman Mordecai above them, took disgust thereat, and so resolved to avenge themselves on the king.” — Dodd. See Prideaux, and Esther 6:2, 3.

21. Bigthan — Probably the same as Bigtha, Esther 1:10. Called Bigthana in Esther 6:2. Which kept the door — Literally, guards of the threshold. Being doorkeepers, like Mordecai, the latter was able the more readily to learn of their conspiracy. Such conspiracies among the officers of the court were common in the East, and many a monarch (and subsequently even Xerxes himself) fell by the hand of assassins.

Verse 22. Was known to Mordecai] Josephus says that a Jew, named Barnabasus, overheard the plot, told it to Mordecai, Mordecai to Esther, and Esther to the king, in Mordecai’s name; and he was registered as the discoverer.

MORDECAI EXPOSES A COURT CONSPIRACY, 19-23.

19. When the virgins… the second time — Rather, at the gathering together of virgins a second time. Hence it appears there was a second collection of virgins at Shushan, made some years after the previous one, and with the design, no doubt, of enriching the royal harem with new beauties. After his unsuccessful war with Greece, the king abandoned all plans of conquest, and gave himself over to the pleasures of his harem. Accordingly, such a second gathering of virgins would be readily devised to gratify both his vanity and lust. Mordecai sat in the king’s gate — He was one of the royal porters who guarded the doors of the great palace at Shushan.

Verse 23. It was found out] It was proved against them, in consequence of which they were hanged. Perhaps the words x[ l[ wltyw vaiyittalu al ets, they were hung upon wood or a tree, may refer to their being impaled. A pointed stake is set upright in the ground, and the culprit is taken, placed on the sharp point, and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in at the fundament passes up through the body and comes out by the side of the neck. A most dreadful species of punishment, in which revenge and cruelty may glut the utmost of their malice. The culprit lives a considerable time in excruciating agonies.

It has been observed that the name of God does not once occur in this book. This is true of the Hebrew text, and all translations from it; but in the Septuagint we find the following words, in Esther 2:20, after, Esther had not showed her kindred: Outwv gar eneteilato auth Mardocaiov, fobeisqai ton Qeon, kai poiein ta prostagmata autou, kaqwv hn metJ autou; “For so Mordecai had charged her to fear GOD, and to keep his commandments, as she did when with him.” This, as far as the Septuagint is concerned, takes away the strange reproach from this book. It must be owned that it was not because there were not many fair opportunities that the sacred name has not been introduced. ESTHER

Verse 23. It was written in the book of the Chronicles — A day-book, wherein all memorable things were recorded. Before the king — This may refer either, 1st, To the writing of it, signifying that it was written in the king’s presence by scribes, who were continually with the king, to record all remarkable things which happened in the court from time to time: or, 2d, To the book, which was laid up before the king, that he might more easily and frequently peruse it for his own direction or amusement. Here we see the danger and infelicity of the greatest men, the life of a most potent monarch depending upon the fidelity of one single person, whose service was neglected by the court, though a memorial was made of it. Thus all masters of families are obnoxious to the perfidiousness, of those that wait upon them.

23. Hanged on a tree — This punishment was performed by the Persians by crucifying or impaling. Grecian writings and the Behistun inscription frequently mention this kind of execution. The criminal was sometimes first slain, but generally impaled alive. The book of the chronicles — Official records, made and kept by the royal scribes, and constituting a body of state papers or annals. See note on Ezra 4:15, 2 Samuel 8:17, and Introduction to Kings, on the sources.