Esther 2:3 - Exposition

The house of the women . In an Oriental palace the women's apartments are always distinct from those of the men, and are usually placed in a separate building, which the Greeks called the gynaeceum, and the Jews "the house of the women." At Susa this was a large edifice, and comprised several subdivisions (see Esther 2:14 ). Hege, the king's chamberlain . Literally, "the king's eunuch, i.e. one of the royal eunuchs (see Esther 1:10 ). Keeper of the women . Strictly speaking, Hege seems to have been keeper of the virgins only (see Esther 2:14 ); but he may have exercised a certain superintendence over the entire gynaeceum. Their things for purification . See Esther 2:12 . Such a divinity lodged in the Persian king that even pure maidens had to be purified before approaching him! It would have been well if the divinity had been himself less impure.