Esther 1:20 NIV

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

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 1:20

1:20 And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is {o} great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.(o) For he had under him a hundred and twenty-seven countries. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Esther 1:1-22

THE FIRST FEAST OF THE KING (vv. 1-4) Ahasuerus was a name given to the chief king of Persia.The Ahasuerus of verse 1 is recorded in history as Xerxes 1. His empire extended over a very large area, including 127 provinces from India to Ethiopia.The capital of his empire was Shushan, a beautiful city surrounded by mountains and rich in vegetation.It is here called a citadel, for it was a fortress, a castle built not only for residence, but for military defense (v. 2). It was in the third... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Esther 1:1-22

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

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Esther 1:1-22

Esther 1:0 1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia [Ethiopia paid tribute to Xerxes, or Ahasuerus], over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) 2. That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan [the general abode of the Persian kings] the palace, 3. In the third year of his reign [483 b.c.], he made a feast [a successful campaign had just been finished in Egypt] unto... read more