Esther 8:15 - Exposition

Royal apparel of blue and white . The Persian monarch himself wore a purple robe and an inner vest of purple striped with white. The robes of honour which he gave away were of many different colours, but generally of a single tint throughout (Xen; 'Cyrop.,' 8.3, § 3); but the one given to Mordecai seems to have been blue with white stripes. These were the colours of the royal diadem (Q. Curt; 'Vit. Alex.,' 3.3). A great crown of gold . Not a tall crown, like that of the monarch, which is called in Hebrew kether (Greek κίταρις ), but 'atarah , a crown of an inferior kind, frequently worn by nobles . And with a garment of fine linen and purple . The "fine linen" was of course white. The real meaning of the word thakrik , translated "garment," is doubtful. Gesenius understands an outer garment' 'the long and flowing robe of an Oriental monarch;" in which case the "apparel" previously mentioned must be the inner vest. Others, as Patrick, make the thakrik to be the inner, and the "apparel" ( l'bush ) the outer garment. The Septuagint, however, translates thakrik by διάδημα , and its conjunction with the "crown" favours this rendering. The diadem proper of a Persian monarch was a band or fillet encircling the lower part of his crown, and was of blue, spotted or striped with white. Ahasuerus seems to have allowed Mordecai to wear a diadem of white and purple. The city of Shushan rejoiced . As the Susanchites had been "perplexed" at the first edict ( Esther 3:15 ), so were they "rejoiced" at the second. Such of them as were Persians would naturally sympathise with the Jews. Even the others may have disliked Haman's edict, and have been glad to see it, practically, reversed.