Esther 1:14

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Esther 1:14

Esther 1:14. 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. 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

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

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Esther 1:14

(14) Marsena.—It has been suggested that we may possibly recognise here Mardonius, the commander at Marathon; and in Admatha, Artabanus, the uncle of Xerxes.The seven princes.—There were seven leading families in Persia, the heads of which were the king’s chief advisers, the “seven counsellors” of Ezra 7:14. Herodotus (iii. 84) speaks of the seven nobles who rose against the Pseudo-Smerdis as chief in the nation. 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

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Esther 1:1-22

Analysis and Annotations THE BANQUETS AND QUEEN VASHTI DISOWNED CHAPTER 1 1. The first feast of the king (Esther 1:1-4 ) 2. The king’s feast unto all the people (Esther 1:5-8 ) 3. The queen’s feast for the women (Esther 1:9 ) 4. The queen’s refusal to appear at the king’s feast (Esther 1:10-12 ) 5. The queen put away (Esther 1:13-22 ) Esther 1:1-4 . King Ahasuerus, one of the leading characters of this book, is known in history as Xerxes I. The name Ahasuerus is an appellative,... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Esther 1:14

1:14 And the next unto him [was] Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, [and] Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the {i} king’s face, [and] which sat the first in the kingdom;)(i) Who were his chief counsellors that always had access to him. read more

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