¹ sn The canonicity of the Book of Esther was questioned by at least some in ancient Judaism and in early Christianity. It is one of five OT books that were at one time regarded as antilegomena (i.e., books “spoken against”). The problem with Esther was the absence of any direct mention of God in the book. Some questioned whether a book that did not even mention God could properly be considered as sacred Scripture. Attempts to resolve this problem by discovering the tetragrammaton secretly encoded into the Hebrew text of Esther (e.g., in the initial letters of four consecutive words found in the Hebrew text of Esth 5:4) are unconvincing, although they do illustrate how keenly the problem was felt by some. It is interesting that no copy of Esther has been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, although this does not necessarily mean that the Qumran community did not regard the book as canonical. Even in more modern times, Martin Luther entertained questions about the canonicity of this book and had some rather unfortunate negative things to say concerning it. However, in spite of the fact that the book does not directly mention God, it would be difficult to read the book without sensing its clear emphasis on the providence of God as it worked in powerful, though at times subtle, ways to rescue his people from danger and possible extermination. Finally, we may note that whereas Esther appears in the English Bible adjacent to Ezra-Nehemiah with the historical books, in the Hebrew Bible it is one of five short books (the so-called Megillot) that appear toward the end of the biblical writings.
²tn Where the Hebrew text has “Ahasuerus” the LXX regularly has “Artaxerxes.” The ruler in view in the Hebrew text is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 BC).
³sn The city of Susa served as one of several capitals of Persia during this time; the other locations were Ecbatana, Babylon, and Persepolis. Partly due to the extreme heat of its summers, Susa was a place where Persian kings stayed mainly in the winter months.
⁴tc Due to the immense numbers of people implied, some scholars have suggested that the original text may have had a word like “leaders of” before “the army.” However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers that the story sets forth are not necessarily improbable.
⁵sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is Persia and Media. In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.
⁶sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of time for which it lasted, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. Moore, for example, cites evidence for a Persian banquet given for 15,000 people; he also documents an Assyrian celebration which included 69,574 guests. (See Carey A. Moore, Esther: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, Anchor Bible 7B, ed. William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman [Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971], 6.)
⁷tn Heb “many days.”
⁸tc LXX adds tou gamou (“of the wedding feast”).
⁹tn Heb “were found.”
¹⁰tc LXX has hex (“six”) instead of “seven.”
¹¹tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”
¹²tn Heb “to cause to drink” (hiphil infinitive construct of saqah). As the etymology of the word for “banquet” (misteh) hints, drinking was a prominent feature of ancient Near Eastern banquets.
¹³tn Heb “the drinking was according to law; there was no one compelling.”
¹⁴tn Heb “every chief of his house.”
¹⁵tn Heb “as the heart of the king was good with the wine.”
¹⁶sn Such a refusal to obey the king was extremely risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti chose to behave so rashly and to put herself in such great danger. An ancient Jewish targumic tradition to the effect that the king was telling the queen to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high-turban, that is to say essentially naked, finds no real justification in the biblical text.
¹⁷tn Heb “judgment.”
¹⁸tn Heb “seers of the face of the king.”
¹⁹tn Heb “were sitting first.”
²⁰tn The location of the prepositional phrase “according to law” is a bit unusual in the Hebrew text, but not so much so as to require emendation. Some scholars have suggested deleting the phrase as an instance of dittography from the final part of the immediately preceding word in v. 14. Others have suggested taking the phrase with the end of v. 14 rather than with v. 15. Both proposals lack adequate justification.
²¹sn This sort of deferential language was a common part of ancient Near Eastern court language used in addressing a despot, and it occurs fairly often in Esther.
²²sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8.
²³tn Heb “her neighbor.”
²⁴tc This phrase is absent in LXX.
²⁵tc The final prepositional phrase is absent in LXX. This fact has suggested to some scholars that the phrase may be the result of dittography from the earlier phrase “to each people according to its language,” but this is not a necessary conclusion. The edict was apparently intended to reassert male prerogative with regard to two things (and not just one): sovereign and unquestioned leadership within the family unit, and the right of deciding which language was to be used in the home when a bilingual situation existed.
¹tn Heb “after these things.” The expression is very vague from a temporal standpoint, not indicating precisely just how much time might have elapsed. Cf. v. 21.
²sn There may be a tinge of regret expressed in the king’s remembrance of Vashti. There is perhaps a hint to the effect that he wished for her presence once again, although that was not feasible from a practical standpoint. The following suggestions concerning a replacement for her seem to be an effort on the part of the king’s attendants to overcome this nostalgia.
³tn Heb “virgin young women, good of form.” So also v. 3.
⁴tn Heb “the house of the women.” So also vv. 9, 11, 13, 14.
⁵tn Heb “their ointments.”
⁶tn Heb “the matter was good in the eyes of the king.”
⁷sn The name Mordecai is a pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk.
⁸sn Hadassah is a Jewish name that probably means “myrtle”; the name Esther probably derives from the Persian word for “star.” Esther is not the only biblical character for whom two different names were used. Cf., e.g., Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and his three friends Hananiah (renamed Shadrach), Mishael (renamed Meshach), and Azariah (renamed Abednego).
⁹tn Heb “the peace of Esther.”
¹⁰tc The words “that were required for the women” (Heb “to be to her according to the law of women”) are absent from LXX.
tn Heb “to be to her according to the law of women.”
¹¹tc The words “was pleased with her” are absent in LXX.
¹²tc The Greek manuscripts Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus have “twelfth” here.
¹³tc The Syriac Peshitta has “fourth” here.
¹⁴tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.
¹⁵tc LXX lacks “more than all the other young women.”
¹⁶tn Heb “caused her to rule.”
¹⁷tc LXX lacks “and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.”
¹⁸tc LXX lacks “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word shenit (“a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.
¹⁹sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate means that he was a high-ranking government official. It was at the city gate where important business was transacted. Being in this position afforded Mordecai opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although we are not told the particular details of how this information first came to his attention.
²⁰sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess.” (So Moore, Esther, 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of, for example, Daniel.
²¹tc LXX adds “to fear God.”
²²tc LXX lacks the names “Bigthan and Teresh” here.
²³tn Heb “send a hand against.”
²⁴sn The text of Esther does not disclose exactly how Mordecai came to know of the plot against the king’s life. Ancient Jewish conjectures to the effect that Mordecai accidentally overheard conspiratorial conversation, or that an informant brought this information to him, or that it came to him as a result of divine prompting, are all without adequate support from the biblical text. We are simply not told the source of his insight into this momentous event.
²⁵tc LXX lacks “the queen.”
²⁶tc LXX adds here “the things concerning the plot.”
tn Heb “in the name of Mordecai.”
¹tn Heb “after these things.”
²sn The reason for Mordecai’s refusal to bow before Haman is nowhere clearly stated. Certainly the Jews did not refuse to bow as a matter of principle; many biblical texts bear witness to their practice of falling prostrate before people of power and influence. Perhaps the issue here has to do with the fact that Haman traced his ancestry to the Amalekite named Agag, and Mordecai recalled the role that such people had played against Israel in an earlier age (see Exod 17:8-16).
³tn Heb “Haman.”
⁴tn Heb “to send a hand against.”
⁵tc All of this first half of the verse is absent in LXX.
⁶tc This parenthetical phrase is absent in LXX.
⁷tc LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.”
tn Heb “from day to day and month to month.”
⁸tn Heb “to cause them to rest.”
⁹sn This huge sum of money was to come, no doubt in large measure, from the anticipated confiscation of Jewish property and assets once the Jews had been destroyed. That such a large sum of money is mentioned may indicate something of the economic standing of the Jewish population in the empire of King Ahasuerus.
¹⁰tn Heb “the silver is given to you.”
¹¹tc LXX lacks “on the thirteenth day.”
¹²sn The city of Susa was in an uproar. This final statement of v. 15 is a sad commentary on the pathetic disregard of despots for the human misery and suffering that they sometimes inflict on those who are helpless to resist their power. Here, as common people braced for the reckless loss of life and property that was about to begin, its perpetrators went about their mundane activities as though nothing of importance was happening.
¹tn Heb “Mordecai.”
²tn Heb “great.”
³tn Heb “were spread to.”
⁴tn The words “about these things” are not physically present in the Hebrew text.
⁵tn Heb “caused to stand before her.”
⁶tn Heb “to know what this was, and why this was.”
⁷tn Heb “given.”
⁸tn Heb “one is his law.”
⁹tn Heb “and he will live.”
¹⁰tn Heb “Mordecai.”
¹¹tn Heb “stand.”
¹²tn Heb “place.” This is probably an oblique reference to help coming from God.
¹³tn Heb “And who knows whether.”
¹⁴tn Heb “have come to the kingdom.”
¹⁵tn Heb “which is not according to law.”
¹tn The expression “the house of the king” is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.
²tn Heb “she found grace in his eyes.”
³sn As much as half the kingdom. Such a statement would no doubt have been understood for the exaggeration that it clearly was. Cf. the similar NT scene recorded in Mark 6:23.
⁴tn Heb “and tomorrow.”
⁵tn Heb “I will do according to the word of the king,” i.e., answer the question that he has posed.
⁶tn Heb “happy and good of heart.”
⁷tn Heb “tremble from before him.”
⁸tn Heb “the glory of his riches.”
⁹tn Heb “caused to come.”
¹⁰sn Fifty cubits would be about seventy-five feet, which is a surprisingly height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes erection on a natural hill for visual effect.
¹tn In place of the rather innocuous comment of the Hebrew text (Heb “and the sleep of the king fled”), LXX has here, “And the Lord removed the sleep from….” The Greek text thus understands the statement in a more overtly theological way than does the Hebrew text, although even in the Hebrew text there may be a hint of God’s providence at work in this matter. After all, this event is crucial to the later reversal of Haman’s plot to destroy the Jews, and a sympathetic reader is likely to look beyond the apparent coincidence.
²tn Heb “the book of the remembrances of the accounts of the days.”
³tn Heb “to send a hand against.”
⁴tn Heb “honor and greatness.” The expression is a hendiadys.
⁵tn Heb “said in his heart.”
⁶tc This final comment is absent in LXX.
⁷tc Read with LXX wehilbiso (“and he will clothe him”) rather than MT wehilbisu (“and they will clothe”). Likewise, the later verbs in this verse (“cause him to ride” and “call”) are better taken as singulars rather than plurals.
⁸tn Heb “let fall.”
⁹tc Part of the Greek tradition and the Syriac Peshitta understand this word as “friends,” probably reading Hebrew rahamayw (“his friends”) rather than MT hakamayw (“his wisemen”).
¹tn Heb “to drink.”
²tc The second occurrence of Hebrew wayyo’mer (“and he said”) in MT should probably be deleted. The repetition is unnecessary in the context and may be the result of dittography in MT.
³tn Heb “has so filled his heart.”
⁴sn There is great irony here in that the man who set out to destroy all the Jews now begs for his own life from a Jew.
⁵tn Heb “falling.”
¹tn Heb “Esther.”
²tc The expression “the Agagite” is absent in LXX.
³tn Heb “sent forth his hand.” Cf. 9:2.
⁴tn Heb “in that time.”
⁵tn Heb “He”; the referent (Mordecai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
⁶tn Heb “making haste and hurrying.”
⁷tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys.
⁸tn Heb “light and gladness and joy and honor.” The translation understands the four terms to be a double hendiadys.
⁹tn Heb “were becoming Jews.” But the hithpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the translation understands the use of the word here. This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels to examine. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” in front of “they became Jews.”
¹⁰tn Heb “fallen upon them.”
¹tn Heb “great.”
²tc For this number much of the Greek manuscript tradition has 15,000. The Lucianic Greek recension has 70,100.
³tc LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “second.”
⁴tc Read the niphal wayyissalah (“were sent”) rather than the MT wayyislah (qal, “and he sent”). The subject of the MT verb would have to be Mordecai, but this is problematic in light of v. 29, where both Esther and Mordecai are responsible for the letters.
⁵tn Heb “peace and truth.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.
¹tn Heb “great.”
²tn Heb “he was seeking.”
³tn Heb “he was speaking peace to.”
⁴sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal, or deuterocanonical, writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible.