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Esther 1 - Concise Bible - Commentary

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Esther 1

1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

2 that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,

3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

4 when he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.

5 And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king's palace;

6 where were white, green, and blue, hangings, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds were of gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.

7 And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.

8 And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.

9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus.

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,

11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.

12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.

13 Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment:

14 and the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king's face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;)

15 what shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?

16 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

17 For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.

18 Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath.

19 If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.

20 And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.

21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:

22 for he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

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Esther 1

THE JEWS IMPERILLED

The events of this book belong chronologically after Zerubbabel’s company have gone to Jerusalem, and before the commissions of Ezra and Nehemiah. The scene is laid in Persia. Cyrus and Darius 1 have passed away, and Ahasuerus, son of the last named, and identified by some with Xerxes, and by others with Darius Hystaspes, is on the throne. He is a sensual, fickle, cruel despot. It was his great fleet that was defeated by the much smaller one of Greece at Salamis, about 480 B.c. He is mentioned in Ezr 4:6. He was succeeded by his son Artaxerxes, who figures in the later chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The story of the book is well known, and may be divided as follows: Queen Vashti’s Fall (Est 1:1-22) Esther’s Exaltation (Est 2:1-23) Haman’s Conspiracy (Est 3:1-15) Esther’s Intervention (Est 4:1 to Est 7:10) Haman’s Judgment (Est 8:1 to Est 9:19) The Commemorative Feast (Est 9:20-32) The Epilog (Est 10:1-3)

QUEEN VASHTI’S FALL (Est 1:1-22)

Some think this feast (Est 1:3) was the occasion when the great campaign against Greece was determined upon. If a half-year seems long (Est 1:4), perhaps the time was extended to allow the different nobles and princes to “make their appearance at the court successively.” The climax was the “garden party” of a week (Est 1:5-7), although it should be understood that only men were present (Est 1:9). Verse eight seems to mean that in contrast with the customary excessive drinking, any were free to remain sober if they would. “Knew the times” (Est 1:13) is equivalent to “skilled in the law.”

ESTHER EXALTED (Est 2:1-23)

When sober, the king rued his action (Est 2:1), but had he changed his mind and restored Vashti, the consequences would have been serious to his advisers, hence their present counsel (Est 2:2-4). “Things for purification” (Est 2:3) mean the oils for cleansing and anointing (Est 2:12). “She required nothing,” etc. (Est 2:15), points to a desire of the virgins on similar occasions to bedeck themselves with ornaments, but Esther acted differently on the chamberlains advice, and with good results (Est 2:17). Note the expiration of four years between Est 1:3 and Est 2:7, which some think was occupied by the expedition against Greece, and for which secular history gives some justification. The incident of Est 2:21-23, is recorded here to explain that which follows later.

HAMAN’S CONSPIRACY (Est 3:1-15)

The casting of the lot (Hebrew, put, Est 3:7), was for selecting the most propitious day for the murderous undertaking Haman had in mind. While in western nations such an idea as in verses six and nine would never occur to a revengeful man, it was different in the East. Massacres of a race, or a class, have at all times been among the incidents of history there. A great massacre of the Magi occurred only about fifty years before this, and a massacre of the Scythians fifty years before that again. The ten thousand talents (Est 3:9), or as some calculate it $12,500,000 of our money, was to be obtained by the confiscation of the Jews’ property.

ESTHER’S INTERVENTION (Est 4:1 to Est 7:10)

It would appear by a comparison of Est 3:12-13 of the preceding chapter, that the Jews were for a whole year harassed because of their impending fate. This explains the opening verses of the present chapter (Est 4:1-3). Observe Mordecai’s reliance on the promises of God concerning Israel (Est 4:14). They cannot all be destroyed. God would not permit it, for it would defeat His purpose concerning the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world, and all else that was included in that purpose. Esther’s request to fast is a call to repentance and a request for prayer (compare 1Ki 21:27-29; Joe 1:14; and Jon 3:5). Her boldness is seen in the following: She proposed to go to the king without being called; to make request for the change of a law which, according to Persian custom, could not be done; to reveal herself as a Jew; and to place herself in opposition to the all-powerful favorite, Haman.

The usual situation of the throne in the throne-room of an oriental palace is one from which the monarch can see into the court through the doorway opposite to him (Est 5:1). Esther’s tactful delay in making known her request (Est 5:7-8), was doubtless to further impress the king, or possibly to evolve her plan, which may not yet have been clear in her own mind.

God’s hand is seen clearly in Est 6:1 (compare with Est 2:23). The dramatic incidents of the chapter tell their own story as they swiftly pass before us. In Est 7:3, Esther’s words are to be understood as offering her own life in the place of the people. The loss of the people would be a great damage to the king (Est 6:4). In the East at banquets they recline on couches (Est 6:8).

QUESTIONS

1. What chronological place is occupied by this book?

2. Give some historical data of the king.

3. What great historical event may have intervened between the fall of the one queen and the exaltation of the other?

4. What does pur mean?

5. Name some great massacres of this general period.

6. What shows Mordecai’s faith?

7. What shows Esther’s courage?

8. Give an illustration of the special providence of God in this lesson.




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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge Univ. Press & BFBS
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