Esther Chapter Two
Esther is Chosen to Be the Queen
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.
Once the anger from Vashti’s disobedience subsided, Ahasuerus remembered her and what she had done. But then he also remembered what he had done in response to her disobedience with an unchangeable decree. Perhaps missing Vashti and feeling remorse over his anger-motivated edict, the text implies that the king was ‘depressed’ and his attitude was apparently obvious to his servants.
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 king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.
The king’s servants then offer an intriguing idea aimed at taking the king’s mind off Vashti. They suggest to him what we might call today a “beauty contest.” They further advise that the king should then appoint officers that would go throughout his kingdom and gather all of the beautiful young virgins and bring them back the harem there in Susa under the custody of Hegai. While there in the citadel, each young woman would receive cosmetic treatments and afterwards the king could choose Vashti’s replacement. The king liked the idea and ordered it to be done as they suggested.
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.
The author now introduces us to another one of the leading characters, a Jewish man named Mordecai. He is described as the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was forcibly removed from his home in Jerusalem at the same time the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had Jeconiah (alternate name for Jehoiachin) deposed as the king of Judah (see 2 Kings 24:14-15; 2 Chronicles 36:10; Jeremiah 24:1; 29:1-2), and carried into Babylonian exile along with thousands of other Jews.
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.
Mordecai was raising Hadassah, the Hebrew name for Esther (her Persian name, meaning ’Star’), who was the daughter of his uncle and when her parents died, he adopted her as his daughter. The young woman was very beautiful and pleasant to look at. The text doesn’t explain whether it was her desire to “enter the contest” or if she was spotted and was forced to enter, nonetheless she was placed under the care and custody of Hegai. Since Mordecai was already living in Susa, it is likely Esther was seen before this campaign began. While in the king’s palace she found favor of Hegai and he provided her with food and cosmetics. Hegai even provided her with seven young women as servants and moved them to the best rooms 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.
Mordecai instructed Esther not to tell anyone that she was Jewish. Many believe that Mordecai was protecting his own identity, however, many of the Jews did serve in a variety of roles, including in the king’s court (for example see Nehemiah 2:1-8). It was likely that he was more concerned that she may not find favor if it was known that she was from a conquered nation, essentially considered only as a slave. Mordecai walked by the court of the harem to see how Esther was and what they were doing to her, just as any concerned parent might do.
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—
The author explains that the ‘regular period’ for beautifying women was a twelve month process. Six months with the oil of myrrh (for softening skin) followed by six months with fragrant spices and beauty treatments (the Hebrew word translated here as ‘ointments’ is ’tamrûq’,[1] means scrubbing, scraping, or rubbing, the removal of something that might be harmful). A process that each ‘contestant’ had to endure before being seen by the king.
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.
When it came time to be inspected by the king, each woman was given the choice of what to wear (clothing and adornment) from the king’s harem. They would then be ushered in front of the king during the evening and then in the morning be taken to the “second harem,” likely the location of the king’s concubines, as the women were now in the custody of Shaashgaz, another one of the king’s eunuchs who was in charge of the concubines (those not selected to be queen would likely remain in the palace as the king’s concubines). The women were not allowed to see the king again unless the king was delighted in them and was summoned by her name. Understanding that these women would have been considered the king’s concubines already, having a sexual relationship with them would not be considered illicit (adultery) and the evening with the king likely involved sexual intercourse.
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.
When her time to appear in front of the king came, Esther did not ask for any adornments other than what Hegai suggested, relying on her natural beauty, rather than try to impress through jewelry or clothing. It apparently worked as she quickly became everyone’s favorite.
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 crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Approximately four years had passed since Vashti’s disobedience.[2] During this time King Ahasuerus had invaded Greece (480-479 B.C.) in response to an earlier defeat during his father’s reign. Possibly returning from the battlefront after some success but also after some difficult defeats, the king continues his pursuit of finding a queen. The author tells us that the king was strongly attracted to Esther and loved her more than any of the other contestants. Esther had successfully won the heart of Ahasuerus and became his queen.
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.
The king offered another great feast, this one ion behalf of his new queen, Esther. All of the kings officials and servants were in attendance. The phrase “remission of taxes” is one Hebrew word ‘hānāhāh’,[3] denoting a holiday, a day of rest. The New Living Translation renders this verse, “To celebrate the occasion, he gave a great banquet in Esther’s honor for all his nobles and officials, declaring a public holiday for the provinces and giving generous gifts to everyone.” (Esther 2:18, NLT) Even with the woes of war, the king was elated with Esther and generously offered gifts to everyone in honor of her.
Mordecai Discovers a Plot Against the King
19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.
The reference to “the second time” is the Hebrew word ’šēniy’,[4] meaning second, can refer to a second item in a series. It is likely a reference to the virgins that were competing to be the next queen were gathered together and sent to the “second harem” (see verse 14) to be with the king’s other concubines. Sitting at the king’s gate refers to Mordecai being a palace official or at least in the employment of the king.
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.
Esther continued to obey the advice of Mordecai, just as she did during the time he raised her. She still did not let anyone know of her lineage. The fact that author chose to write about this again (see verse 10), tells us that this information will not only be important, it may be the key factor in this story, as well as give us a hint as to why this story is in the Bible.
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.
While sitting at the king’s gate, Mordecai overhears a conversation about an assassination plot against the king. Having access to the queen, Mordecai alerts her of the plot who then tells the king (even the queen had limited access to the king, see Esther 4:11) and reveals that Mordecai was the source of that information.
23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows. And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king.
Very little detail is provided regarding the investigation, however, the plot was proven to be true and the two conspirators were put to death. The event was then recorded in the official royal chronicles. The two men were hanged (Hebrew ‘tālāh’,[5] to suspend something in the air) on the gallows (Hebrew ‘ēs’,[6] a tree, wood, or something made of wood).
Gallows are a structure made from upright posts and a crossbeam from which a person was hanged with a rope, or he was nailed to the crossbeam. The Hebrew is literally “hanged on a tree [or, wood],” but the exact meaning of this phrase is not entirely clear. It can refer to hanging, but alternatively it can mean “impaled on a stake” (see Ezra 6:11), and historical evidence indicates that the Persians did use that form of punishment. This second interpretation is followed by NJV, “the two were impaled on stakes.”[7]
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 8562.
[2] Believed to be 479-478 B.C.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 2010.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 8145.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 8158.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 6086.
[7] Omanson, R. L., & Noss, P. A. (1997). A handbook on the book of Esther: the Hebrew and Greek texts (p. 85). United Bible Societies.