CHAPTER 2

(518 B.C.)

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW QUEEN

¹After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her (the idea seems to be that the king somewhat regretted what he had done concerning Vashti; however, the die was now cast, and he must follow through).

²Then said the kings servants who ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king:

³And 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 kings chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them:

⁴And let the maiden which pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

ESTHERS ANCESTRY

⁵Now 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 (Mordecai was with Nehemiah, an exile in Shushan; he held a high position in the palace; at the same time, Daniel was exiled in Babylon, about 200 miles due west of Shushan, with Ezekiel exiled in some other part of Babylonia, of which the exact location is unknown);

⁶Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. (This was the second deportation, which took place in 597 B.C. The first deportation took place in 605 B.C., when Daniel was deported. The third deportation took place in 586 B.C., and Jerusalem was then burned and the Temple completely destroyed all under Nebuchadnezzar.)

⁷And he (Mordecai) brought up Hadassah (her Hebrew name), that is, Esther (her Persian name), his uncles daughter (his own first cousin, but probably much younger than he): 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 (not perhaps by a formal adoption, but by taking her to live with him, and treating her as if she had been his own child; from this, we know that the man was kindly and benevolent).

⁸So it came to pass, when the kings commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai (who was in charge of all of this), that Esther was brought also unto the kings house, to the custody of the Hegai, keeper of the women (evidently, because of her beauty, she was chosen among many others as a possible choice to be the new queen).

⁹And the maiden pleased him (Hegai), 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 (as attendants), out of the kings house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women (she obtained the favor of this man, which no doubt was all guided by the Lord).

¹⁰Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred (had not divulged that she was Jewish): for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it (because of possible prejudice).

¹¹And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the womens house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.

ESTHER CHOSEN TO BE QUEEN

¹²Now when every maids turn 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 [a years purification was considered necessary before any maiden could approach the king];)

¹³Then 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 kings house (any maiden was entitled to demand anything that she liked, in the way of dress or ornaments, and it had to be given her, so she might look her best, or what she thought was her best).

¹⁴In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the kings 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 (this was a ritual which was incumbent upon each woman).

¹⁵Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the kings chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed (Esther would not trust to ostentatious dress or ornaments, but would leave it up to Hegai as to what she should wear, which evidently portrayed her natural beauty). And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them who looked upon her (she stood out above all the rest).

¹⁶So 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 (1:3, coupled with this Verse, proclaim to us that four years had elapsed between the degradation of Vashti and the enthronement of Esther).

¹⁷And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. (Thus, in the providence of God, and by His overruling of human folly, Esther was seated upon the throne at the very time that Satan made a supreme effort to destroy every member of the Tribe of Judah in particular, and the Israelites in general, so as to make impossible the advent of the promised Redeemer.

He was defeated by the hidden Hand of God. The judgment threatened in Deut. 31:1618 I will hide My Face came to pass; but, though Israel proved faithless to Him, He abode faithful to her, for He could not deny Himself and, though He hid Himself, yet was the Lords care over them as real as ever Williams.)

¹⁸Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esthers feast (in her honor); and he made a release to the provinces (relaxation from taxes for a short period of time), and gave gifts, according to the state of the king (in celebration of his new queen).

MORDECAI SAVES THE KINGS LIFE

¹⁹And when the virgins were gathered together the second time (evidently, some type of Persian ritual), then Mordecai sat in the kings gate (signifying place, position, and authority, all in the realm of government).

²⁰Esther had not yet shown her kindred nor her people (none knew that she was Jewish); as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him (despite the fact that she was now queen, she still heeded the counsel of Mordecai, as always, and rightly so!).

²¹In those days, while Mordecai sat in the kings gate, two of the kings chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those which kept the door (a position of the highest possible trust), were wroth, and sought to lay hands on the king Ahasuerus.

²²And the thing was known to Mordecai (Josephus says that a certain man by the name of Pharnabazus, a slave of one of the conspirators, betrayed them to Mordecai), who told it unto Esther the queen; and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecais name (Esther revealed to the king that Mordecai had relayed to her this information, which would save the kings life).

²³And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out; therefore they were both hanged on a tree (Bigthan and Teresh): and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king (and so the kings life was saved because of Mordecai and Esther).