Verse 8
8. A certain people scattered abroad Emphatically such were the Jews at this time. From the fall of Samaria, (2 Kings 17:6,) the tribes of Israel had become more and more dispersed among the people in all the provinces of the East, until their tribe divisions could be now but faintly recognised. Many had returned to Jerusalem, as the Book of Ezra shows, and others returned afterwards, but thousands more continued to dwell in the various countries whither they had become dispersed.
Their laws are diverse from all people The Jews were, unquestionably, “a peculiar people,” and adherence to their customs brought Mordecai and Haman into conflict.
Neither keep they the king’s laws Mordecai’s offence was not the first instance of a Jew’s refusal, from religions scruples, to keep the laws of the heathen kings. Instance the case of Daniel and his companions, (Daniel 1:8; Daniel 3:16-18; Daniel 6:10,) and compare the charge of the Samaritan chiefs, Ezra 4:12-16.
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