Esther 4:5 NIV

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Esther 4:5

commandment = charge. Hebrew. zavah. See Esther 3:2 . read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Esther 4:5

5. Then called Esther for Hatach, one of the king's chamberlains, whom he had appointed to attend upon her—Communication with the women in the harem is very difficult to be obtained, and only through the medium of the keepers. The chief eunuch receives the message from the lips of the queen, conveys it to some inferior office of the seraglio. When the commission is executed, the subaltern communicates it to the superintendent, by whom it is delivered to the queen. This chief eunuch, usually an... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 4:4-17

A. Mordecai’s Instruction 4:4-17Mordecai’s mourning may have been the only thing that disturbed Esther. She may have known nothing about the decree. On the other hand, she may have known of both, and concluded that since the king did not know that she was a Jewess, she would be safe (Esther 4:13). However, Mordecai implied that Hathach knew she was a Jewess (Esther 4:13, cf. Esther 4:9), and probably others did as well.Several students of Esther have pointed out that Mordecai does not come... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Esther 4:4-19

III. ESTHER’S INTERVENTION 4:4-9:19Haman’s plan to exterminate the Jews created a crisis, and now Esther’s intervention with Ahasuerus provided the solution. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 4:1-17

Mordecai’s Appeal to Esther to Save her Countrymen1. When Mordecai perceived] His position at the door of the palace (Esther 2:21) would enable him to obtain early intelligence. 2. Even before] better, ’as far as before.’ The LXX adds, ’and stopped.’6. The street] RV ’the broad place’: and so in Esther 6:9, Esther 6:11. 11. One law of his] RV ’one law for him’: i.e. who approached the king without leave given.14. Then shall there enlargement, etc.] RV ’Then shall relief,’ etc. Mordecai’s... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Esther 4:1-17

Not Afraid of Sackcloth Esther 4:2 ; 2 Corinthians 3:12 In the book of Esther 4:2 , we read, 'None might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth'. St. Paul in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians 3:12 says, 'Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech'. In the first text we read of a refusal to face the facts of life, the hard and painful facts 'None might enter into the king's gate clothed in sackcloth'. In the second we read of an unflinching sincerity of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Esther 4:1-5

QUEEN ESTHEREsther 4:1-5; Esther 7:1-4; Esther 9:12-13THE young Jewess who wins the admiration of the Persian king above all the chosen maidens of his realm, and who then delivers her people in the crisis of supreme danger at the risk of her own life, is the central figure in the story of the origin of Purim. It was a just perception of the situation that led to the choice of her name as the title of the book that records her famous achievements, Esther first appears as an obscure orphan who... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Esther 4:1-17

THE CONSTERNATION OF THE JEWS -- MORDECAI AND ESTHER CHAPTER 4 1. The great lamentations of the Jews (Esther 4:1-3 ) 2. Esther’s discovery (Esther 4:4-9 ) 3. Esther’s helplessness (Esther 4:10-12 ) 4. Mordecai’s answer (Esther 4:13-14 ) 5. Esther’s decision (Esther 4:15-17 ) Esther 4:1-3 . When Mordecai heard of what had been done and the plan to exterminate his people became known to him he rent his clothes. This and the putting on of sackcloth and ashes were the outward... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 4:1-17

ESTHER AGREES TO INTERCEDE (vv. 1-17) Mordecai of course very soon learned of this satanic plot of Haman against Israel and he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes in token of humiliation and repentance.Whether he prayed to God we are not told, but he cried out bitterly in the midst of the city, coming to the outside of the king's gate, though forbidden to come into the gate clothed in sackcloth (vv. 1-2). At the same time, everywhere the decree of Haman had been sent, the Jews... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Esther 4:1-17

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... read more