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Esther Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
Esther 2:1. After these
things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti, what
she had done, and what had been decreed against her.
YLT 1After these things, at the
ceasing of the fury of the king Ahasuerus, he hath remembered Vashti, and that
which she did, and that which hath been decreed concerning her;
After these
things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased,....
Which went off with his
wine, and so was quickly after, a few days at most, unless this can be
understood as after the expedition of Xerxes into Greece, from whence he
returned to Shushan, in the seventh year of his reign; and if he is the
Ahasuerus here meant, he married Esther that year, Esther 2:16 and it
seems certain, that after his expedition he gave himself up to his amours, and
in his way to Sardis he fell in love with his brother's wife, and then with his
daughterF2Herodot. Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 107. :
he remembered
Vashti;
her beauty, and was
grieved, as Jarchi observes, that she was removed from him; and so Josephus
saysF3Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2. , that he passionately loved
her, and could not bear parting with her, and therefore was grieved that he had
brought himself into such difficulties: the Targumists carry it further, and
say that he was wroth with those that advised him to it, and ordered them to be
put to death, and that they were:
and what she
had done;
that it was a trivial
thing, and not deserving of such a sentence as he had passed upon her; that it
was not done from contempt of him, but from modesty, and a strict regard to the
laws of the Persians:
and what was
decreed against her;
that she should come no
more before him, but be divorced from him; the thought of which gave him great
pain and uneasiness.
Esther 2:2. 2 Then
the king’s servants who attended him said: “Let beautiful young virgins be
sought for the king;
YLT 2and servants of the king,
his ministers, say, `Let them seek for the king young women, virgins, of good
appearance,
Then said the
king's servants that ministered unto him,....
Fearing that, if Vashti
should be restored, vengeance would be taken on them; or however to remove the
grief and melancholy of the king, they gave the following advice:
let there be
fair young virgins sought for the king;
that he might enjoy them,
and choose one of them, the most agreeable to him, and put her in the room of
Vashti.
Esther 2:3. 3 and
let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they
may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the
women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai[a] the king’s
eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them.
YLT 3and the king doth appoint
inspectors in all provinces of his kingdom, and they gather every young woman
-- virgin, of good appearance -- unto Shushan the palace, unto the house of the
women, unto the hand of Hege eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, and to
give their purifications,
And let the
king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom,....
Who best knew where
beautiful virgins might be found in their respective provinces, in which they
dwelt:
that they may
gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace;
the metropolis of the
kingdom, where was the royal palace:
to the house of
the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the
women;
in which house it seems
were two apartments, one for the virgins before they were introduced to the
king, the other for them when they were become his concubines, which had a keeper
also; but this Hege seems to have been over the whole house, Esther 2:14. It was
not only usual with the eastern people, as with the Turks now, for great personages
to have keepers of their wives and concubines, but with the Romans alsoF4"Pone
seram, cohibe", &c. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. ver. 346, 347. :
and let their
things for purification be given them;
such as oil of myrrh,
spices, &c. to remove all impurity and ill scent from them, and make them
look smooth and beautiful.
Esther 2:4. 4 Then
let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This thing pleased the
king, and he did so.
YLT 4and the young woman who is
good in the eyes of the king doth reign instead of Vashti;' and the thing is
good in the eyes of the king, and he doth so.
And let the
maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti,....
Have the royal estate,
that was taken from Vashti, given to her, the crown royal set on her head,
&c.
and the thing
pleased the king, and he did so;
appointed officers in all
his provinces to seek out the most beautiful virgins, and bring them to his
palace; so with the Chinese now, the king never marries with any of his
kindred, though ever so remote; but there is sought throughout his kingdom a
damsel of twelve or fourteen years, of perfect beauty, good natural parts, and
well inclined to virtue; whence, for the most part, the queen is the daughter
of some artisan; and in their historyF5Semedo's History of China,
part 1. ch. 23. , mention is made of one that was the daughter of a mason.
Esther 2:5.
5 In Shushan the citadel
there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son
of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.
YLT 5A man, a Jew, there hath
been in Shushan the palace, and his name [is] Mordecai son of Jair, son of
Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjamite –
Now in Shushan
the palace was a certain Jew,....
Not one of the tribe of
Judah, for he was afterwards called a Benjaminite; but was so called, because
he was of the kingdom of Judah, which consisted of both tribes. Jarchi says,
all that were carried captive with the kings of Judah were called Jews among
the nations, though of another tribe:
whose name was
Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
who was among those that
came with Zerubbabel from Babylon to Jerusalem, and returned to Persia again, Ezra 2:2, though
some think this was another Mordecai; See Gill on Ezra 2:2, who
descended not from Kish, the father of Saul, but a later and more obscure
person.
Esther 2:6.
6 Kish[b]
had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured
with Jeconiah[c] king of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away.
YLT 6who had been removed from
Jerusalem with the removal that was removed with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed –
Who had been
carried away from Jerusalem,....
Which, according to someF6Vid.
Rainold. de Lib. Apocryph. Praelect. 113, 117, 146. , is to be connected, not
with Mordecai, but with Kish, his great-grandfather; and indeed otherwise
Mordecai must be now a very old man, and Esther his first cousin, they being
brothers' children, must be at an age, one would think, not to be reckoned
among young virgins, and not be so amiable as she is represented; and indeed,
according to the former Targum, she was seventy five years of age, which is not
credible; and yet this, and more she must be, to be equal to Mordecai, if he
was carried captive, as follows:
with the
captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away;
which was eleven years
before the destruction of Jerusalem, for so long Zedekiah reigned after that
captivity of Jeconiah: hence Sir John MarshamF7Chronicon. see. 18.
p. 609, 621. makes this affair of Esther to be within the time of the
Babylonish captivity, and places Ahasuerus her husband between Darius the Mede
and Cyrus, contrary to history and Scripture, see Daniel 6:28.
Esther 2:7.
7 And Mordecai had
brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had
neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful.
When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
YLT 7and he is supporting
Hadassah -- she [is] Esther -- daughter of his uncle, for she hath neither
father nor mother, and the young woman [is] of fair form, and of good
appearance, and at the death of her father and her mother hath Mordecai taken
her to him for a daughter.
And he brought
up Hadassah (that is Esther) his uncle's daughter,....
Her Hebrew name was
Hadassah, which signifies a myrtle, to which the Israelites, and good men among
them, are sometimes compared, Zechariah 1:8. Her
Persian name was Esther, which some derive from "satar", to hide,
because hidden in the house of Mordecai, so the former Targum, and by his
advice concealed her kindred: or rather she was so called by Ahasuerus, when
married to him, this word signifying in the Persian language a "star"F8Castell.
Lex. Persic. Latin. col. 329. Vid. Pfeiffer. difficil. Script. cent. 3. loc.
28. and so the latter Targum says she was called by the name of the star of
Venus, which in Greek is αστηρ; though it is
saidF9Caphtor Uperah, fol. 60. 2. , that the myrtle, which is called
"hadassah" in Hebrew, is in the Syriac language "esta"; so
"asa" in the TalmudF11T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 44. 1.
signifies a myrtle; and, according to HillerusF12Onomastic. Sacr. p.
621, 622. , "esther" signifies the black myrtle, which is reckoned
the most excellent; and so "amestris", according to him, signifies
the sole myrtle, the incomparable one. Xerxes had a wife, whose name was
Amestris, which Scaliger thinks is as if it was הם אסתר, and the same with Esther; but to this are objected,
that her father's name was Otanes, and her cruelty in the mutilation of the
wife of Masistis, her husband's brother, and burning alive fourteen children of
the best families of the Persians, as a sacrifice to the infernal gods; and
besides, Xerxes had a son by her marriageable, in the seventh year of this
reignF13Herodot. Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 107. 111. & Polymnia,
sive, l. 7. c. 61. 114. , the year of Ahasuerus, in which he married Esther:
but it is observed by some, that these things are confounded with the
destruction of Haman's family, or told by the Persians to obliterate the memory
of Esther, from whom they passed to the Greek historians:
for she had
neither father nor mother;
according to the former
Targum, her father died and left her mother with child of her, and her mother
died as soon as she was delivered of her:
and the maid
was fair and beautiful;
which was both the reason
why she was taken and brought into the king's house, and why Mordecai took so
much care of her:
whom Mordecai,
when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter;
loved her, and brought her
up as if she had been his daughter, and called her so, as the Targum. The
Rabbins, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, say, he took her in order to make her
his wife; and so the Septuagint render it; though perhaps no more may be
intended by that version than that he brought her up to woman's estate.
JosephusF14Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.) calls him her
uncle; and so the Vulgate Latin version, his brother's daughter; but both are
mistaken.
Esther 2:8.
8 So it was, when the king’s
command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at
Shushan the citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was
taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women.
YLT 8And it cometh to pass, in
the word of the king, even his law, being heard, and in many young women being
gathered unto Shushan the palace, unto the hand of Hegai, that Esther is taken
unto the house of the king, unto the hand of Hegai, keeper of the women,
So it came to
pass, when the king's commandment and decree was heard,....
In the several provinces
of his kingdom:
and when many
maidens were gathered unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai;
JosephusF15Ibid.
(Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.) says, there were gathered to the number of four
hundred:
that Esther was
brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, the keeper of the
women:
by force, as Aben Ezra and
the former Targum, and so the word is sometimes used.
Esther 2:9.
9 Now the young woman
pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations
to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for
her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place
in the house of the women.
YLT 9and the young woman is good
in his eyes, and she receiveth kindness before him, and he hasteneth her
purifications and her portions -- to give to her, and the seven young women who
are provided -- to give to her, from the house of the king, and he changeth her
and her young women to a good [place in] the house of the women.
And the maiden
pleased him,....
Not the king, into whose
presence she was not yet introduced, but the chamberlain; her beauty and her
behaviour recommended her to him, and he concluded within himself that she was
the person that of all would be acceptable to the king:
and she
obtained kindness of him:
had favours shown others
had not:
and he speedily
gave her things for purification;
as oil, spices, &c.
that she might be the sooner fitted to be had into the king's presence:
with such
things as belonged to her;
food and drink from the
king's table; the Targum interprets it gifts, as chains and royal apparel:
and seven
maidens, which were given her, out of the king's house;
to wait upon her the seven
days of the week, as the same Targum:
and he
preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women;
removed her and them to
it, which was the most splendid, had large, airy, and pleasant rooms.
Esther 2:10.
10 Esther had not revealed
her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it.
YLT 10Esther hath not declared
her people, and her kindred, for Mordecai hath laid a charge on her that she
doth not declare [it];
Esther had not
showed her people nor her kindred,....
What nation or family she
was of; it not being asked, she was under no obligation to declare it; and
being born in Shushan, as very probable, she was taken to be a Persian:
for Mordecai
had charged her that she should not show it;
lest she should be
despised and ill treated on that account; fearing, if the king knew it, he
would not marry her, as Aben Ezra; or rather, as the same writer thinks, that
she might keep the law of God privately, observe the sabbath, &c.
Esther 2:11. 11 And
every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to
learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her.
YLT 11and during every day
Mordecai is walking up and down before the court of the house of the women to
know the welfare of Esther, and what is done with her.
And Mordecai
walked every day before the court of the women's house,....
Being one of the court,
and in an high post, as Aben Ezra thinks, he might walk there without being
examined, and called to an account for it:
to know how
Esther did;
to inquire of her health
and prosperity, or peace, the word here used signifies, even all sorts of it:
and what should
become of her;
or was done to her,
whether she was well used, or as yet introduced to the king, how it fared with
her, and what befell her.
Esther 2:12.
12 Each young woman’s turn
came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation,
according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their
preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with
perfumes and preparations for beautifying women.
YLT 12And in the drawing nigh of
the turn of each young woman to come in unto the king Ahasuerus, at the end of
there being to her -- according to the law of the women -- twelve months, for
so they fulfil the days of their purifications; six months with oil of myrrh,
and six months with spices, and with the purifications of women,
Now when every
maid's turn was come to go in to King Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve
months, according to the manner of women,....
That were prepared in the
house of the women to be presented to the king for his liking; for it seems
that these virgins came in turns to him, according to the time they had been in
the house; as did the wives of the kings of Persia, as Herodotus relatesF16Thalia,
sive, l. 3. c. 69. :
for so were the
days of their purifications accomplished;
that is, in the space of
twelve months, which were thus divided: to wit:
six months with
oil of myrrh;
which Ben Melech
interprets of musk:
and six month's
with sweet odours;
the former was used to
make the skin smooth and soft, and these to remove all ill scents through
sweat, or any other cause:
and with other
things for the purifying of women:
by bathing, rubbing,
&c. and such a space of time was observed not only for the thorough
purification of them, but partly was of state and grandeur, and partly that it
might be a clear case they were not with child by another, before they came to
the king.
Esther 2:13.
13 Thus prepared, each
young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take
with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace.
YLT 13and with this the young
woman hath come in unto the king, all that she saith is given to her, to go in
with her, out of the house of the women, unto the house of the king;
Then thus came
every virgin unto the king,....
When her twelve months
were up, and she was purified in the manner before observed:
whatsoever she
desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the
king's house;
whatever she commanded the
chamberlain was obliged to furnish her with, or grant it to her, whether for
ornament, as jewels, rich apparel, &c. or for attendance; whatever prince
or peer she required to accompany her to the king, was to be obtained for her,
as the Targum: and everything for mirth, all kinds of songs, or instruments of
music, as Jarchi.
Esther 2:14.
14 In the evening she went,
and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the
custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not
go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by
name.
YLT 14in the evening she hath
gone in, and in the morning she hath turned back unto the second house of the
women, unto the hand of Shaashgaz eunuch of the king, keeper of the concubines;
she cometh not in any more unto the king except the king hath delighted in her,
and she hath been called by name.
In the evening
she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women,....
Or the other apartment of
the house of the women, where were kept those the king had made his concubines
or secondary wives. Aben Ezra interprets it the second time, and so the Targum
by "again":
to the custody
of Shaashgaz the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines;
of which the kings of
Persia had a great number; Darius, whom Alexander conquered, had three hundred
and sixtyF17Curt. Hist. l. 3. c. 3. :
she came in
unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she was
called by name;
but remained shut up in
the house, and might not lie with, nor be married to, another man.
Esther 2:15.
15 Now when the turn came for
Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his
daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s
eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the
sight of all who saw her.
YLT 15And in the drawing nigh of
the turn of Esther -- daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, whom he had taken
to him for a daughter -- to come in unto the king, she hath not sought a thing
except that which Hegai eunuch of the king, keeper of the women, saith, and
Esther is receiving grace in the eyes of all seeing her.
Now when the
turn of Esther the daughter of Abihail,....
For this was her father's
name, and not Aminadab, as the Septuagint version:
the uncle of
Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter;
which makes it quite clear
that Mordecai was not Esther's uncle, as Josephus, but her own cousin: now when
her turn
was come to go
in unto the king;
which the virgins under
purification took by turns, Esther 2:14,
she required
nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women,
appointed;
what he ordered her to
have, or to do, she submitted to, being in his hands, and so obeyed his orders;
but more she asked not, either for ornament or attendance, being not at all
solicitous whether the king liked her or not; for it was not of choice, but by
constraint, she went unto him; nor needed she anything to recommend her, her
virtue, modesty, and beauty, were sufficient:
and Esther
obtained favour of all them that looked upon her:
when she came to court,
the eyes of all were attracted to her; all admired her beauty, her innocent and
modest look, and her graceful mien and deportment.
Esther 2:16.
16 So Esther was taken to King
Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month
of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
YLT 16And Esther is taken unto
the king Ahasuerus, unto his royal house, in the tenth month -- it [is] the
month of Tebeth -- in the seventh year of his reign,
So Esther was
taken unto King Ahasuerus, into his house royal,....
Did not return on the
morrow to the house of the women, as those who only became the king's
concubines did, Esther 2:14, but
she was taken to be his wife, and designed for his queen, and so was retained
in his palace, and placed in an apartment suitable to the dignity she was about
to be advanced unto:
and this was
done in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth;
and answers to part of
December and part of January; not the twelfth month Adar, as the Septuagint
version, and so JosephusF17Ut supra (Antiqu. l. 11. c.6. sect. 2.) ,
contrary to the original text: either that law had not obtained among the
Persians, or the king thought himself not bound by it, which forbid marriage at
any other time than the beginning of the vernal equinoxF18Strabo.
Geograph. l. 1. p. 504. :
in the seventh
year of his reign;
and the divorce of Vashti
being in the third year of his reign, it was four years before Esther was taken
by him; who, if Xerxes, it may be accounted for by his preparation for, and
engagement in, a war with Greece, which took him up all this time; and from
whence he returned in the seventh year of his reign, at the beginning of it,
and married Esther at the close of it, see Esther 2:1 as may
be suggested.
Esther 2:17.
17 The king loved Esther more
than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight
more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her
queen instead of Vashti.
YLT 17and the king loveth Esther
above all the women, and she receiveth grace and kindness before him above all
the virgins, and he setteth a royal crown on her head, and causeth her to reign
instead of Vashti,
And the king
loved Esther above all the women,....
The virgins he made his
concubines, as next explained; though Jarchi interprets it of married women,
for such he supposes were gathered and brought to him, as well as virgins:
and she
obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins;
who had been purified, and
in their turns brought to him:
so that he set
the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti; declared her
queen, and gave her all the ensigns of royalty: so it was usual with the
eastern kings to put a crown or diadem on the heads of their wives at the time
of marriage, and declare them queensF19Vid. Paschalium de Coronis,
l. 10. c. 8. p. 689. .
Esther 2:18.
18 Then the king made a great
feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he
proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the
generosity of a king.
YLT 18and the king maketh a great
banquet to all his heads and his servants -- the banquet of Esther -- and a
release to the provinces hath made, and giveth gifts as a memorial of the king.
Then the king
made a great feast unto all his princes and servants, even Esther's feast,....
A feast to all his nobles,
courtiers, and ministers of state, on account of his marriage with Esther;
which, according to the Greek version, was held seven days; but, according to
Josephus, it lasted a whole monthF20Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6.
sect. 2.) :
and he made a
release to the provinces;
of taxes and tribute due
to him, as was the custom of the kings of Persia when they came to the throne,
as HerodotusF21Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 59. relates; so Smerdis the
magus, that mounted the throne after Cambyses, pretending to be his brother,
released them for three years to comeF23Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 67. ;
and Grotius says kings used to do it at their marriage, but gives no instance
of it:
and gave gifts:
according to the latter
Targum, to the provinces, all of them, that he might be sure that the people of
Esther shared his favours, who were as yet unknown; but rather these gifts were
given to his nobles, or it may be to Esther; so the former Targum,"he gave
to her a gift and portion:"
according to
the state of the king;
his royal ability and
munificence, and suitable to his grandeur; and it was usual with the Persian
kings to give to their wives whole cities for one thing or another, as for
necklaces, hair laces, shoes, &c.F24Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l.
2. c. 98. Cicero in Verrem, l. 3. Orat. 8. ; SocratesF25In Plat.
Alcibiad. speaks of a whole country in Persia called the "Queen's
girdle", and another her "Headdress".
Esther 2:19.
19 When virgins were gathered
together a second time, Mordecai sat within the king’s gate.
YLT 19And in the virgins being
gathered a second time, then Mordecai is sitting in the gate of the king;
And when the
virgins were gathered together the second time,....
Some think this second
collection is that which was made when Esther was taken and brought to the
keeper of the women, called the second, in reference to a former collection of
them, made when Vashti was taken and made queen; but as there is no proof of
any such collection then made, rather the case was this, such was the lust of
the king, though he had a queen he loved, and a multitude of concubine's, yet a
second collection of virgins was made for his gratification:
then Mordecai
sat in the king's gate;
or court, being an officer
in it, promoted by the interest of Esther, though not as yet known to be a
relation of her's: so θυρα in XenophonF26Cyropaedia,
l. 8. c. 2,5,11,40. is used of the court of the king of Persia, as the Ottoman
or Turkish court is now called the "Porte".
Esther 2:20.
20 Now
Esther had not revealed her family and her people, just as Mordecai had charged
her, for Esther obeyed the command of Mordecai as when she was brought up by
him.
YLT 20Esther is not declaring her
kindred and her people, as Mordecai hath laid a charge upon her, and the saying
of Mordecai Esther is doing as when she was truly with him.
Esther had not
showed her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her,....
As not before, so neither
since she was made queen, see Esther 2:10,
though, according to the Targums, she was urged to it by the king himself:
for Esther did
the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him:
which showed great
humility in her, notwithstanding her advancement, great respect to him, and a
sense of gratitude for the kindness he had shown; and this charge to her was
still continued by Mordecai, partly that she might not fall into contempt, and
partly to prevent hatred and envy to the Jewish nation, through her promotion;
but chiefly so it was ordered in Providence, the proper time being not yet
come.
Esther 2:21. 21 In
those days, while Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, two of the king’s
eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, doorkeepers, became furious and sought to lay
hands on King Ahasuerus.
YLT 21In those days, when
Mordecai is sitting in the gate of the king, hath Bigthan been wroth, and
Teresh, (two of the eunuchs of the king, the keepers of the threshold,) and
they seek to put forth a hand on king Ahasuerus,
In those days,
while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,....
Being, as before observed,
an officer at court:
two of the
king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the door;
of the inner court, as
Aben Ezra, of the doors of his bedchamber; perhaps they were the chief of his
bodyguards, as the Septuagint version; in later times, such officers were about
the chambers of great personages as their guardsF1Vid. Pignorium de
Servis, p. 408, &c. & Popma de Servis, p. 33. & Alstorph. de Lectis
Vet. c. 12. :
these were
wroth, and sought to lay hand on the King Ahasuerus;
to poison him, as Jarchi and
both the Targums; however, to take away his life by some means or another.
GorionidesF2Hist. Heb. l. 2. c. 1. p. 72. says their design was,
while the king was asleep, to cut off his head, and carry it to the king of
Greece; there being at that time great wars between the kingdom of Greece and
the kingdom of Persia, which exactly agrees with the times of Xerxes, and with
this part of his reign, about the seventh year of it, what was the occasion of
this wrath is not said, it is thought to be either the divorce of Vashti, whose
creatures they were, or the marriage of Esther, and particularly the promotion
of Mordecai, fearing they should be turned out of their places; so the former
Targum.
Esther 2:22.
22 So the matter became known
to Mordecai, who told Queen Esther, and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s
name.
YLT 22and the thing is known to
Mordecai, and he declareth [it] to Esther the queen, and Esther speaketh to the
king in the name of Mordecai,
And the thing
was known to Mordecai,....
But by what means does not
appear; the Jewish writers sayF3T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 13. 2. Targum
prius & Jarchi in loc. , these two men were Tarsians, and spoke in the Tarsian
language, which they thought Mordecai did not understand; but he, being skilled
in languages, overheard them, and understood what they said; but, according to
JosephusF4Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 4. , it was discovered to him
by Barnabazus, a servant of one of the chamberlains; the latter Targum says, it
was showed unto him by the Holy Ghost:
who told it
unto Esther, and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name;
whose name she mentioned,
partly as a voucher of the truth of what she reported, and partly to ingratiate
Mordecai to the king, that he might be still yet more promoted in due time.
Esther 2:23.
23 And when an inquiry was
made into the matter, it was confirmed, and both were hanged on a gallows; and
it was written in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
YLT 23and the thing is sought
out, and found, and they are hanged both of them on a tree, and it is written
in the book of the Chronicles before the king.
And when
inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out,....
That these two men had
entered into a conspiracy to take away the king's life; full proof and evidence
were given of it:
therefore they
were both hanged on a tree;
JosephusF5Ibid.
(Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 4.) says they were crucified; but hanging was
frequent among the Persians, as Grotius observes, and better agrees with the
word here used:
and it was
written in the book of the chronicles before the king;
in a diary kept by the
king's order, in which memorable events were set down, and might be done in the
presence of the king, as well as the book lay open before him to read at any
time; and this is observed to agree with the manner of Xerxes, who is reportedF6Plutarch.
in Themistocle. to sit on a throne of gold to behold a sea fight between the
Grecians and Persians, and had several scribes by him to take down whatever was
done in the fight.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)