Esther 2 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Esther 2

Esther Chosen Queen

2:1 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king¹ be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.

5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king’s order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king’s palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king’s palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her.

12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women—13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king’s palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name.

15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown² on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther’s feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity.

Mordecai Discovers a Plot

19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.³ And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.

Footnotes

[1] 2:4 Hebrew who is good in the eyes of the king
[2] 2:17 Or headdress
[3] 2:23 Or wooden beam or stake; Hebrew tree or wood. This Persian execution practice involved affixing or impaling a person on a stake or pole (compare Ezra 6:11)

Commentary

v1-4: Some time has elapsed since the events of chapter 1. Xerxes had attempted to conquer Sparta, where he was defeated by the famous 300 (Film of the same name).

A replacement to be sought for Vashti, one "better than she" (1.19). Hegai was commanded to prepare the bride for the king.

The king wanted a beautiful young virgin; picturing what the church should be;

beautiful; spiritual character;
young; strong and vigorous, without spot or wrinkle; and
virgin; pure and single-hearted devotion.

Esther fulfilled this description, v7.

v5-6: God had brought Mordecai into Susa, having been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Some Jews had returned to Judah (see Ezra and Nehemiah) but Mordecai and Esther and many others had remained scattered across the empire.

Mordecai and Esther now lived in a hostile environment, whose behaviour and conversations were severely difficult. This culture was pagan, hostile to their Jewish faith. There was no longer even a residual godly influence - the empire was utterly pagan. Ultimately Esther had to sleep with the King for a night.

v7: Mordecai had cared for his cousin, Esther, for her parents had died. He maintained a constant vigilance for her; see v11. We note too that God's purposes are fulfilled through male and female. In an overwhelmingly male dominated society, God honoured Esther the woman as the hero of the story.

In the same way, Christ ever lives to make intercession for His people.

v8-9: Esther immediately made an impact in the harem. Hegai was impressed with her, and gave her special treatment from an early stage.

We should not think that Esther had any choice in the matter. She and Mordecai lived in a totalitarian society where freedoms, especially in the capital city of Susa, were restricted.

v10: Esther's ancestry was hidden; just as, in Christ, our past is forgiven and put out of God's mind.

It is not entirely clear why Mordecai had commanded Esther not to share her heritage. Yet the scripture says there is a time to be silent as well as a time to speak (Eccl 3.7). Here was discretion, waiting the right moment; whch came when Esther exposed Haman's scheme at the second banquet (7.4-6).

v11: Mordecai's sole concern was the well-being of Esther.

v12-14: The arrangements for each woman to go into the king. We are reminded that this king was extremely wealthy, and could provide anything for his harem. Yet also, he lacked integrity, and was selfish, hence his treatment of Vashti (ch 1).

We should not be naive here. Esther's role was to sleep with the king, and have intercourse with him.

v15-16: Esther trusted in Hegai's judgment; we must take God at His word.

v17-18: Esther stood out from the other virgins, and there were clearly very many. The King chose her as his Queen, and ordered that a banquet be prepared.

v19-20: Mordecai had remained around the palace, as the virgins were assembled the second time.

v21-23: A little incident occurred, showing Mordecai's loyalty to the king. This was recorded in the book of the chronicles of the king. The incident occurred after Esther had become Queen; had it happened earlier, then Mordecai's testimony may have not been accepted. We see how an apparently minor incident becomes significant. Our God is Lord of heaven and earth and works all things for His purposes, and for the good of His people.

Jeremiah had urged the captives to seek the well-being of the places where God had moved them; Jer 29.4-7. We presume that Mordecai was familiar with this instruction. He could have joined in with the plot against the King, to try to bring down the empire - but instead he exposed the plot.

In 6.1-2, Mordecai's life was preserved because of this incident. But, like Joseph (Gen 40.23), he was forgotten initially.

The scene was now set, for Haman's exaltation and later scheme, and for his overthrow. Four years pass before the events of chapter 3; compare v16 with 3.7.