Esther 2:5

THE INTRODUCTION OF MORDECAI AND ESTHER

"There was a certain Jew in Shushan the palace whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives that had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle's daughter, for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter."

"Mordecai" (Esther 2:5). This name is said to be derived from the pagan god Marduk, meaning "dedicated to Mars."[6]

"Carried away from Jerusalem (by) Nebuchadnezzar" (Esther 2:6). That deportation of Jews was more than a century prior to the events of this chapter; and the meaning appears to be that Mordecai's parents or grandparents were the ones carried away. Mordecai's name suggests that he was born in Babylon, although the Babylonians generally changed the names of people whom they employed, as in the case of Daniel and others.

These three verses serve the purpose of introducing the persons around whom the rest of the narrative is woven.