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The Pulpit Commentary - Esther 1:12

Anger. Vashti's disobedience kindled in the king's mind 1 . It was a case of rebellion. The worst crime in the view of a despot is to dispute his will. Nothing so easily inflames anger in a man who is used to power and unused to self-control as any want of submission to his authority. 2 . The rebellion was in the king's own household. It was the queen, his wife, who ventured to disobey him. Men naturally expect a special readiness of sympathy and co-operation from those who are... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Esther 1:12

Esther 1:12. The queen Vashti refused to come Being 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... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Esther 1:1-22

1:1-2:23 ESTHER BECOMES QUEENOfficials and leading citizens from all over the Persian Empire had gathered in the winter capital for an exhibition designed to display the riches and magnificence of the royal court. The exhibition lasted six months and was brought to a fitting climax by a lavish seven-day banquet (1:1-9). The week of wine and merriment so excited the king that his sexual urges were in danger of getting out of control. Consequently, when he told his queen Vashti to display her... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Esther 1:12

refused. Probably because sent for by servants; not by the nobles (Esther 1:3 ), and before the "peoples" (Esther 1:5 ). read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Esther 1:12

Esther 1:12. Therefore was the king very wroth— His anger 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 to have her beauty, which was very great, exposed in this unusual manner. See Bishop Patrick. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 1:1-20

I. GOD’S PREPARATIONS 1:1-2:20Joyce Baldwin believed that the writer composed the book in a chiastic structure that focuses on the providence of God in the king’s sleepless night. [Note: Baldwin., p. 30.] A Opening and background (ch. 1) B The king’s first decree (chs. 2-3) C The clash between Haman and Mordecai (chs. 4-5) D "On the night the king could not sleep" (Esther 6:1) C’ Mordecai’s triumph over Haman (chs. 6-7) B’ The king’s second decree (chs. 8-9)A’ Epilogue (ch. 10)This first major... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 1:10-22

2. The queen’s dismissal 1:10-22The Persian kings castrated many of the men who served the king and his family (Esther 1:10) so they could not have sexual relations with the female members of the royal court and start dynasties of their own."Vashti" ("best," "the beloved," or "the desired one," Esther 1:11) was evidently the Persian name of the queen whom Herodotus referred to as Amestris (her Greek name). [Note: J. Stafford Wright, "The Historicity of Esther," in New Perspectives on the Old... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 1:1-22

The Disobedience and Disgrace of Queen Vashti1. Ahasuerus] LXX has ’Artaxerxes,’ but probably ’Xerxes,’ the son of Darius Hystaspis, is meant, who succeeded his father in 485 b.c.India.. Ethiopia] India here means not the peninsula of Hindostan, but the region near the Indus: Ethiopia is the modern Nubia.2. Shushan] i.e. Susa in Elam, the country lying to the E. of the Persian Gulf. The palace] lit. ’the fortress,’ as in Nehemiah 1:1.; 3. In the third year] i.e. 483 b.c. Thy power] better, ’the... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Esther 1:1-22

Empire Day Esther 1:6 Our text is from the first chapter of Esther, part of the sixth verse, 'Red, and blue, and white,' or, in more familiar order, red, white, and blue, those three great colours on the flag which has floated both in England and foreign parts over the whole of the British Empire. What a strange power colours have in the nation's history! We are familiar with the college colours, the dark blue of Oxford and the light blue of Cambridge; with school colours, the light blue of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Esther 1:1-22

AHASUERUS AND VASHTIEsther 1:1-22THE character of Ahasuerus illustrates the Nemesis of absolutism, by showing how unlimited power is crushed and dissolved beneath the weight of its own immensity. The very vastness of his domains overwhelms the despot. While he thinks himself free to disport according to his will, he is in reality the slave of his own machinery of government. He is so entirely dependent for information on subordinates, who can deceive him to suit their own private ends, that he... read more

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