Esther chapter 1
1:1 Ahasuerus: In Greek his name is Xerxes; he is the Persian king mentioned in Ezra 4:6 who reigned from 486 to
465 B.C. He attacked the Greeks and was twice humiliated by them (in 480 and 479 B.C. at Salamis and Plataea).
The India referred to was not peninsular India but the territory corresponding to the province of Punjab in West
Pakistan today. Ethiopia was the country south of Egypt, now part of the Northern Sudan, not modern Ethiopia. Darius
had conquered it early in his reign, before 513 B.C. The reference to a hundred and seven and twenty provinces was
an attempt to make the domain of the king as impressive as possible, for the primary divisions of the empire were the
satrapies, of which there were never more than 31. The word “provinces” refers to the smaller governmental unites,
such as that of Judah (Neh. 1:3), whereas the fifth satrapy included all of Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus.
1:2 Shushan or Susa was one of the main capitals of the Persian Empire in this period, the others being Babylon,
Ecbatana (Achetha, Ezra 6:1, 2), and Persepolis, Daniel was once carried there in a vision (Dan. 8:2), and later
Nehemiah served there as Artaxerxes’ cupbearer (Neh. 1:1; 2:1).
1:4-12 Herodotus refers to this as a time when Xerxes laid plans for the great invasion of Greece. Along with him
were military and civil leaders during the hundred and fourscore days, 180 days. At the conclusion, a seven-day
drinking feast was held (vv. 5,7) with the queen, Vashti, holding a separate feast for the women guests (v. 9). On the
last day of the feast, the drunken king (v. 10) summoned his queen, perhaps to make a lewd display of her before his
guests, but she refused to obey (v. 12). The name Vashti is puzzling because according to Herodotus, the queen’s
name was Amestris, daughter of Otanes, who had supported Darius in his bid for the throne in 522 B.C. Possibly, he
had other queens, whose names have not come to light, or she had alternative names. Or there may be a linguistic
link between the names Vashti and Amestris.
1:13. The wise men, which knew the times were a part of a traditional institution; they were consulted by Pharaoh
(Gen. 41:8) and were present in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 2:2). The "times" were strictly propitious occasions for
action according to the stars, that is, astrologers.
1:21, 22. Memucan's appeal was to male self-interest. Note the whimsical way laws were made in a land where so
much was made of law and judgement (vv. 8, 13, 15, 19). The king dispatched his edict without so much as a further
thought. There was something ludicrous about this decree that a husband was to take charge in his own household,
for this was the standing rule in an oriental home. The law was not even enforceable. There is an ironic contrast
between King Ahasuerus at the beginning of the chapter, when he is the world's greatest monarch, rich and powerful,
aloof yet generous, and that same king by the end of the chapter, where he attempts to maintain his dignity despite
the defiance of his wife. This lawmaker of the Persians and Medes, whose law could not be altered, was prepared to
pass an edict framed in a moment of pique, when he was not even sober. Such is the measure of the king who
reigned over the world, and had the future of all his power.
Esther Chapter 2
2:1. After these things. . .he remembered Vashti suggests a lapse of time, and since verse 16 tells us that it was the
seventh year of Ahasuerus before Esther went into the king's presence, probably the Greek war intervened before
the king gave a thought to Vashti. Esther became queen in December 479 B.C. (v. 16), and more than a year must
have first become attracted to Vashti while he was still waging his great campaigns against Greece (481-479 B.C.).
2:2-4. Realizing that the restriction of Vashti would spell doom for them, the princes abandoned the precedent of
providing a queen from among their own daughters, and suggested that the king choose a new queen from among
the most beautiful virgins in the empire. Hege the king's chamberlain was a eunuch in charge of the "house of
women," a most responsible post. The leaders were well aware of the weakness of Xerxes' character (Herodotus,
9.108-113) and took a full advantage of it for their own purposes.
2:5-7. Mordecai was a name current in Babylon incorporating Marduk, the name of the state god of Babylon. The
names in his genealogy are well known from the family of King Saul: Kish (1 Sam. 9:1; 14:51: 1 Chr. 8:33) and Shimei
(2 Sam. 16:5). He had royal blood and was a member of God's chosen family who inherited the promises. The phrase
who had been carried away most likely does not refer to Mordecai, but involves a telescoping of generations (Gen. 46:
27; Heb. 7:10). Jeconiah, also known as Coniah (Jer. 22:24-30) and as Jehoiachin (2 Kin. 24:6-17), was Judah's king
in 597 B.C. and was deported by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon (2 Kin. 25:27-30). Hadassah is the Hebrew name of the
heroine and means "Myrtle." In prophetic symbolism the myrtle would replace the briers and thorns of the desert, so
depicting the Lord's forgiveness and acceptance of His people (Is. 41:19; 55:13; cf. Zech. 1:8). Myrtle branches are
still carried in procession at the Feast of Tabernacles, and signify peace and thanksgiving. Esther is the Persian word
for "Star"; it picks up the sound of the Hebrew, and suggests the star-like flowers of the myrtle.
2:12-14. Each woman prepared herself for twelve months, just for one night with the king (v. 12). These verses
highlight the inhumanity of polygamy.
2:19-23. The second time evidently was another occasion when the king added to his harem, after Esther had been
made queen, Mordecai's sitting in the king's gate may indicate that when Esther became queen. she had him
appointed a magistrate or judge. He is now in a position to overhear what is being said by palace officials (v. 21) and
to have access to the royal courts (v. 22). He is found sitting at the king's gate on a regular basis (2:21; 3:2; 5:9, 13;
6:10, 12). He actually foiled as assassination plot against the king, and the report of this service was duly recorded in
the king's diary (6:1, 2). Xerxes later lost his life through just such a plot.
Esther Chapter 3
3:1. The reference to the Agagite is reminiscent of the story in 1 Samuel 15 when Saul is reprimanded for sparing
King Agag. Later one of his descendants killed Saul (note Ex. 17:8-16; Deut. 25:17-19; 1 Chr. 4:43). Haman was like
his predecessors in that they "feared not God" (Deut. 25:18).
3:2. Jews customarily bowed before their kings (2 Sam. 14:4; 18:28; 1 Kin. 1:16). But when Persians bowed before
their kings, they paid homage as to a divine being. The Spartans refused to bow before Xerxes for this reason
(Herodotus, 7. 136). As a faithful Jew Mordecai could not give such honor (Deut. 6:13, 14).
3:7. According to many the subject of the origin of the Feast of Purim (lots) is the main theme of the book. Early in
April 474 B.C., Haman had the astrologers and magicians cast the lot to determine which day of the year would bring
destruction to Israel. Little did he realize that when "the lot is cast into the lap. . . the whole disposing thereof is of the
Lord" (Prov. 16:33). The lot fell on the twelfth month (February-March) which not only gave Haman time to prepare
but also, in the overruling providence of God, gave the Jews time to thwart his plan.
3:8-11. Haman is careful to ingratiate himself with the king by appearing to be motivated only by the king's profit. In
effect he offers the king a bribe (v. 9), which he expected to raise by confiscating the property of the Jews, ten
thousand talents of silver, or about 12 million ounces. The king was not even interested enough to inquire who the
people were. So he gave Haman his signet ring. With this seal of executive power, Haman would be able to send
letters in the king's name (v. 12). Later the ring was given to Mordecai (8:2, 8). Possibly to avoid the appearance of
greed, Xerxes offered money to Haman. The king's utter indifference to the fate of millions of his subjects has found
modern parallels in Hitler, Stalin, and Khrushchev.
3:12-15. The date in verse 12 was memorable to any Jew because it was the day before the slaying of the Passover
lamb (Ex. 12:6). Was God able to save His people now as He had done in the past?
Esther Chapter 4
4:1-3. Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes. These customs were attested in widely separated
Old Testament periods (Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 1:11; Is. 3:24; Dan. 9:3) and were practiced by other nations (Is. 15:3;
Ezek. 27:30-33) as well as by Israel. The law against wearing sackcloth in the king's gate is not otherwise attested,
but it is intrinsically credible (Neh. 2:2).
4:9-14. Access to the king was strictly limited, since he needed to be protected both from attempts on his life and from
vexation with people's problems. Even his wife had no right to approach. That she had not been called for thirty days
is just one more indication how abnormal life was in the palace at Susa. Mordecai's response put pressure on Esther,
for he reminded her that she risked death whether she approached the king or not (v. 13). There are three lines to
his argument: (1) Esther herself will not be exempt from destruction under the edict. (2) He reveals his own conviction
that God will not permit the extinction of His people: if Esther fails, God will have another way of saving the Jews, since
God's purposes are not thwarted by the failure of one individual to respond positively to His leading. (3) The outcome
of her decision is so far-reaching that, without exaggeration, she is now at the very moment when her life's purpose is
at stake (v. 14).
4:15-17. Esther's reply is also a confession of faith as she implies that she accepts the suggestion of Mordecai as her
duty, but that she is full of apprehension at the thought of fulfilling it. Her statement and if I perish, I perish is not blind
fatalism or a hopeless resignation (cf. Gen. 43:14), but rather a confidence in God's will and wisdom (Job 13:15; Dan.
3:17, 18).
Esther Chapter 5
5:4-8 It certainly was providential that Esther did not express her desire to the king at the first banquet, since the
events of chapter 6 transpired between the banquets, making it much easier for Esther to expose Haman at the
second banquet.
5:9-14 The word gallows haunts the book (6:4, 7:9, 10; 8:7; 9:13, 25). The connection between murder and
merriment (then go thou in merrily with the king unto the banquet) and Haman’s pleasure (and the thing pleased
Haman) is even more sinister than the gallows he had made.
Esther Chapter 6
6:1-3 The book of records of the chronicles was the source from which the king’s honors list was drawn, and as a
general rule special services were promptly rewarded. Since Mordecai’s good deed in saving the king’s life had been
overlooked something must be done and done quickly.
Esther Chapter 7
7:1-4. The second day is the second banquet of Esther, and she is asked a second time, What is they petition? (cf. 5:
6). She asks to be spared along with her people, “for we are sold, I and my people.” She finally identifies herself with
the people of Israel who had been “sold,” referring to the bribe of Haman (3:9, 4:7).
7:8-10 They covered Haman’s face, as the ancients often did those about to be executed. Harbonah was one of the
inner circle of seven in 1:10. The irony of verse 10 is spelled out in Psalm 9:16b: “the wicked is snared in the work of
his own hands” (Ps. 7:16; 94:23).
Esther Chapters 8-10.
8:1, 2. Now that she had revealed her nationality to Xerxes (7:4), Esther was happy to present Mordecai to the king as
her guardian and cousin. The word house refers to "all that he had" as in Genesis 39:4, thus his total estate.
Mordecai was given his ring (3:10; 8:8) and was appointed chief minister of the empire (as was Joseph, Gen. 41:42).
8:3-6. In spite of Haman's death and Mordecai's exaltation, the Jews were still doomed to destruction by an
irreversible decree.
8:7, 8. Xerxes reminds her of his favor toward her and that he loves her. But he adds that no one, not even the king
of Persia himself, had the power to reverse the laws of the Medes and Persians (Dan. 6:12-15). Nevertheless,
Mordecai had the full right to issue a counterdecree in the king's name, which would be just as irreversible as the one
issued by Haman.
8:9-13. Mordecai's counterdecree was issued in June of 474 B.C., a little over two months after the first decree was
issued, allowing more than eight months for the Jews to prepare their defenses (v. 9).
8:14-17. The posts were the couriers riding the mules and camels. Many of the people of the land became Jews is the
only Old Testament reference to people of other races becoming Jews, though the New Testament bears ample
witness to the process in the first century A.D. (Matt. 23:15; Acts 2:10; 6:5; 13:43).