Vashti refuses to come to show B. C. 519. B. C. 519. A. M. 3495. 9 Also Vashti the queen made a || according to law, because she hath A. M. 3485. 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, i welcome, unless they make them drunk; and, under pretence of sending the health round, send the sin round, and death with it! Verse 9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women-While the king entertained the men. For this was the common custom of the Persians, that men and women did not feast together. In the royal house-Not in the open air, as the men were, but more privately, as was fit for women. Verse 12. The queen Vashti refused to comeBeing favoured in this refusal by the law of Persia, which was, to keep men's wives, and especially queens, from the view of other men. His anger burned in him--It was the more immoderate, because his blood was heated with wine, which made his passion too strong for his reason. Otherwise he would not have thought it decent for the queen, nor safe for himself, to have her beauty, which was very great, exposed in this unusual manner, and would have thought she had acted prudently in refusing. Verse 13. Which knew the times-The histories of former times, what princes had done in such cases as this was, and were well skilled in the laws and customs of their country, and were therefore able to give the king counsel in all extraordinary and 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 10 If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment 11 from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, 12 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. 13 2 Kings xxv. 19. Hebrew, What to do. Eph. v. 33. 10 Heb. If it be good with the king.- 11 Heb. from before him. 12 Heb. that it pass not away, Chap. viii. 8; Dan. vi. 8, 12, 15. 13 Heb. unto her companion. perplexed cases. Inasmuch, however, as the Persian kings did nothing without their magi, or wise men, who were great pretenders to astrology, some have supposed that men of this sort were now called in, to know whether it was a proper time to do what the king had in his mind. Verse 14. Which saw the king's face-Who had constant freedom of access to the king, and opportunities of familiar converse with him; which is thus expressed, because the Persian kings were very seldom seen by their subjects. Who sat the first in the kingdom-Who were his chief counsellors and officers. Verse 16. Vashti the queen hath done wrong to all the princes, &c.—By giving their wives an example and encouragement to contemn and disobey their husbands. It is a crime of a high nature, and therefore deserves an exemplary punishment. Verse 18. Thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath-Contempt in the wives, and thereupon wrath in the husbands, and consequently strife in families, which may produce great and general mischiefs. Verse 19. If it please the king-Which this cunning politician knew it would do. That it be not altered-Which caution was necessary for his own Young virgins are selected A. M. 3485. p ESTHER. ed throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. that the king may choose one. B. C. 519. 20 And when the king's decree || cording to the word of Memucan: A. M. 3495. 21 And the saying 14 pleased the king and the princes; and the king did ac P Eph. v. 33; Col. iii. 18; 1 Pet. iii. 1. 14 Heb. was good in the eyes of the king.— - Chap. viii. 9. Eph. v. 22, 24; 1 Tim. ii. 12. 15 Heb. that one should publish it according to the language of his people. The saying pleased the king and the princes-Partly because their own authority and interest were concerned in it; and especially by the singular providence of God, who designed to bring about his own great work by this small occasion. security, lest the king's anger should cool, and the queen should recover her former state, and the king's favour, in which case this lord would, most likely, have fallen under his displeasure: but the order being once registered as a law of the kingdom, the king could not alter his decree without disgracing himself. Verse 22. That it should be published according Verses 20, 21. All the wives shall give to their || to the language of every people-That all sorts of husbands honour, &c.-None will dare to disobey, persons, not men only, but women also, might unwhen they hear that the greatness of the queen could derstand it, and therefore be inexcusable if they did not preserve her from such a heavy punishment. | not comply with it. CHAPTER II. The virgins of the kingdom are gathered together, 1–4; and Esther with the rest, 5-8. She finds favour with the king's chamberlain, 9-11. The manner of preparing the virgins, and bringing them to the king, 12-14. Esther pleases him, who makes her queen, 15-20. Mordecai discovers a conspiracy against the king, 21-23. A. M. 3486. B. C. 518. A FTER these things, when the||berlain, keeper of the women; and let A. M. 3486. appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, 'unto the custody of Hege the king's chamHeb. unto the hand.- Or, Hegai, Verse 8. a Chap. i. 19. 2 NOTES ON CHAPTER II. 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. 4 And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. 5 Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; 6 b Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried b2 Kings xxiv. 14; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10, 20; Jer. xxiv. 1. gins and concubines: only the virgins he himself took care of, as requiring more care and caution, and the concubines he committed to Shaash gaz, (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. Verses 2, 3. Then said the king's servants--Who, for their own interests, were obliged to quiet the king's Verse 6. Who had been carried away from Jeru mind, and procure him another amiable consort. To salem-This may refer either to Kish, Mordecai's the house of the women-Or rather, of the virgins; grandfather, last mentioned, or to Mordecai himself, for the house of those who were wives or concubines which, however, is not probable, as in that case he was different from this, and under another governor. must have been a very old man, not less than a hunKeeper of the women-Of all the women, both vir-dred and forty years of age. Esther is chosen, CHAPTER II. and pleases the king. B. C. 518. A. M. 3196. away with 3 Jeconiah king of Judah, || kindred: for Mordecai had charged A. M. 3196. her that she should not show it. B. C. 518. whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 And he brought up Hadassah, (that is, Esther,) his uncle's daughter for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was * fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. 5 d 8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the Women. e : 8 11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. 12 Now when every maid's turn B. C. 515. was come to go in to King Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women ;) 13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house. 14 In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name. 15 Now when the turn of Esther, the 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 np, 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--Who were kept so long, partly for their better pu rank; for those that were carried away in Jeconiah's captivity (as his ancestors were, verse 6) were of the better sort, 2 Kings xxiv. 14, &c.; Dan. i. 4. And Esther might find means, by some of those that attended her, to acquaint him with the state of her health and affairs. use. 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. Verse 12. According to the manner of the women rification, 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. 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 be- Verse 13. Thus came every maiden unto the king come either the king's concubine or wife, he certain--Thus purified and prepared, and thus furnished ly acted contrary to the Jewish law, which forbid and attended, as it follows. Whatsoever she desired any marriage or communication of that sort with was given her--For ornament, or by way of attendidolaters; but the circumstances of things, and per- ance. And it should be observed, that every one haps the hopes he entertained of being able to do his whom the king took to his bed was his wife of a nation great service thereby, may plead his excuse. lower rank, as Hagar was Abraham's; so that it Verse 11. Mordecai walked every day, &c.--He would have been no sin or dishonour to Esther, might walk there without being suspected, because though she had not been made queen. he belonged to the court, and was a man of some Verse 15. She required nothing-Not being dest The conspiracy of the two B. C. 514. B. C. 514. A. M. 3489. daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mor-|| lease to the provinces, and gave gifts, A. M. 3490. decai, who had taken her for his daugh- according to the state of the king. ter, was come to go in unto the king, she required 19 And when the virgins were gathered togenothing but what Hegai the king's chamber- ther the second time, then Mordecai sat in the lain, the keeper of the woinen, appointed. And king's gate. Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. 16 So Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus into his house-royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 10 Heb. before him. - Chap. i. 3.Verse 21; Chap. iii. 2. 11 Heb. rest. rous 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. Verse 16. So Esther was taken into his houseroyal--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. 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. Verse 19. When the virgins were gathered together the second time--They in all probability were 20 Esther had not yet showed her kindred, nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him. 21 In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's chamberlains, 12 Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept 13 the door, were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. 22 And the thing was known to Mordecai, m who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's 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, Cyropæd., 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. Verse 20. Esther did the commandment of Mor decai, &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. 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 chap. vi. 2, 3. Verse 23. It was written in the book of the Chro nicles-A day-book, wherein all memorable things Haman becomes the king's CHAPTER III. favourite, and is highly exalted. B. C. 514. A M. 3490. matter, it was found out; therefore it was written in the book of the A. M. 3490. they were both hanged on a tree: and Chronicles before the king. B. C. 514. Haman, offended at Mordecai, resolves to destroy all the Jews, 1-6. He obtains an order from the king to have them all slain on one day, 7-11. This order is sent throughout the kingdom, 12–15. A. M. 3494. B. C. 510. A a B. C. 510. FTER these things did King Aha- || him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor A. M. 3494. suerus promote Haman the son did him reverence. of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. с 3 Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the king's commandment? e 2 And all the king's servants that were in the king's gate bowed, and reverenced Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning Esth. xvi. 10. b Num. xxiv. 7; 1 Sam. xv. 8. .C Chap. ii. 19.d Verse 5; Psa. xv. 4; Esth. xiii. 12.- .. Verse 2. 4 Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether NOTES ON CHAPTER III. Verse 1. After these things--About five years after, as appears from verse 7. Did Ahasuerus promote Haman the Agagite-An Amalekite, of the seed-royal of that nation, whose kings were successively called Agag. And set his seat above all the princes--Gave him the first place and seat which was next the king. Verse 2. For the king had so commanded concerning him--To bow the knee, and give reverence to all great persons, was a common respect due to them, and there needed not a particular command from the king requiring it to be shown by all his servants to Haman; since, no doubt, they paid it to all princes, and would much more pay it to him who took place of them all, and was his sovereign's favourite. There was therefore, probably, more implied in the reverence commanded to be paid to him than what proceeded from a mere civil respect. The kings of Persia, we know, required a kind of divine adoration from all who approached them; and, as they arrogated this to themselves, so they sometimes imparted it to their chief friends and favourites, which seems to have been the case with regard to Haman at this time. And if so, we need not wonder that a righteous Jew should deny that honour, or the outward expressions of it, to any man; since the wise and sober Grecians positively refused to give it to their very kings themselves, the people of Athens once passing sentence of death on one Timocrates, a citizen of theirs, for prostrating himself before Darius, though he was then one of the greatest monarchs upon earth. The author of the apocryphal additions to the book of Esther seems to imply that this was the case of Mordecai, whom he introduces praying thus, chap. xiii. 12, &c. "Thou knowest, O Lord, that it is not in contempt, or pride, nor for any desire of glory, that I did not bow down to proud Haman, for I would willingly kiss his feet for the salvation of Israel; but I did this, that I might not prefer the glory of man to the glory of God, nor adore any one but thee my Lord alone." See Valer. Max., lib. 6, cap. 3. We may observe further here, that Mordecai should refuse to pay such obeisance, as all others paid to Haman at this time, will appear the less strange, if we consider that Haman being of that nation against which God pronounced a curse, (Exod. xvii. 14,) Mordecai might think himself, on this account, not obliged to pay him the reverence which he expected; and if the rest of the Jews had the like notion of him, this might be a reason sufficient for his extending his resentment against the whole nation. See Dodd. Verse 4. To see whether Mordecai's matters would stand-Whether he would persist in his refusal, and what the event of it would be; for he had told them that he was a Jew-And therefore did not deny this reverence to Haman out of pride, or any personal grudge against him, much less from a rebellious mind, and contempt of the king's authority and command, but merely out of conscience, being obliged, as a Jew, to give such honour to God only. |