CONTENTS This chapter is a continuation of the history, resulting from the former. Vashti the queen being deposed, Esther, a Jewish girl, is chosen. Mordecai her relation is enabled to make discovery of a treason meditated against the king. read more
(1) ¶ After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. (2) Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: (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 chamberlain,... read more
Suffered. He began to repent. The Persians used to deliberate when warm with wine: but their decrees were not ratified till they had examined them again the next day. (Herodotus i. 133.) --- This was not the case here; the king divorced his wife without any delay. (Calmet) --- Septuagint intimate that he presently lost thoughts of her. "He no longer remembered Vasthi with any affection, reflecting what she had said, and how he had condemned her." (Haydock) --- But the Alexandrian copy agrees... read more
1-20 We see to what absurd practices those came, who were destitute of Divine revelation, and what need there was of the gospel of Christ, to purify men from the lusts of the flesh, and to bring them back to the original institution of marriage. Esther was preferred as queen. Those who suggest that Esther committed sin to come at this dignity, do not consider the custom of those times and countries. Every one that the king took was married to him, and was his wife, though of a lower rank. But... read more
The Choice of Virgins for the Position of Queen v. 1. After these things, when the wrath of King Aliasuerus was appeased, when the excitement attending the banquet and the affair of the queen's insubordination had subsided, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her, his brooding over the matter tending to make him melancholy and causing the king's counselors to suggest a course of procedure to him and to divert a threatening danger. v. 2. Then said the... read more
FIRST SECTIONThe Rise and Conflict of Opposite ElementsEsther 2:3A.—ESTHER IS RAISED TO THE PLACE OF VASHTI, AND MORDECAI MAKES HIMSELF DESERVING OF THE FAVOR OF AHASUERUSEsther 2:1-23I. Esther’s Elevation. Esther 2:1-181After these things [words], when [as] the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased [subsided], he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was2decreed against her. Then [And] said the king’s servants [young men] that ministered unto him [his waiters], Let there be fair... read more
the Service of a Foreigner Esther 2:1-23 Esther’s Hebrew name meant Myrtle. It could not have been easy for her to retain her sweet simplicity amid the corruptions of her time, but her Persian name means “a star,” as though she were a garden enclosed, encircled by the atmosphere of the divine purity and protection. We must not judge Esther by our own standards, but by the custom of her time. Each of these young girls was considered to be married to the king, was kept under his roof, and was... read more
In this chapter we have a revelation of customs obtaining in the household of the king. We can read them with thankfulness that wherever the purifying forces of revealed religion have operated they have forever become impossible. In the midst of this story Mordecai appears on the scene. Living with him was his cousin, whom he had taken to be his daughter. In carrying out the decree of the king, she was taken to the royal palace in the company of the maidens. Mordecai's action in this matter... read more
Esther 2:1-Proverbs : . Esther Chosen Queen.— Ere long Ahasuerus longs for his lost queen’ s comradeship. He is moved to issue a summons throughout all his territories, commanding all fair maidens to appear as candidates for the queenship. This command removes the fancy that a Jewess had no right to come. She had to come. Among the assembled fair ones was the cousin and ward of Mordecai, called Hadassah, i.e. Myrtle. Let us notice that this name is the same as that of the place Adasah in... read more
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The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Esther 2:1-23
Esther 2:0 1. After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. 2. Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: 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 [the harem, always a prominent feature in the... read more