Esther 2:5

5. Mordecai Some scholars connect this name with Merodach, the Babylonian idol, (Jeremiah 50:2,) but the etymology is uncertain. He may, perhaps, be identified with Natacas, or Matocas, whom Ctesias mentions as one of Xerxes’ most favourite and powerful eunuchs, and whom he sent after his return from Greece, to plunder and destroy a temple of Apollo. That Mordecai was a eunuch appears probable from the position he held in the Persian court, his access to the house of the women, and his adoption and care of the youthful Esther.

Jair… Shimei… Kish These are obviously the immediate ancestors of Mordecai, since, according to the next verse, the great-grandfather, Kish, had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Hence there is no sufficient reason to identify this Shimei with the son of Gera, mentioned in 2 Samuel 16:5, or this Kish with the father of Saul. 1 Samuel 9:1. These four generations would naturally cover about the period of time that intervened between the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 24:8) and the middle of Xerxes’ reign.