ESTHER

CHAPTER 1

Vs 1

• Ahasuerus - Ahasuerus is actually a title - not a name (like Pharoah). secular historical references we know him as Xerxes 1st. This was a real person, a real king, and a real event.

• Shushan was east of Babylon and was the primary palace of the Persian empire for many years.

• A feast was apparently held in preparation for Xerxes' campaign to invade Greece. This party lasted 180 days, during which would have also been planning meetings and political maneuvering to ensure the loyalty and participation of the leaders in his kingdom.

• At the end of the 180 days was another feast which lasted 7 days. This one was for ALL the people, not just the leaders to send the king and his armies off on a high note.

Vs 9

• Queen Vashti also set up a feast for all the women during the same time. The men and women would not intermingle - they had separate areas for celebration.

Vs 10

• On the 7th day, the king was drunk and he ordered his staff to bring the Queen in wearing her crown in order to show her off; she refused to come. This was a serious breach on her part and the king's temper flared because she refused the king's direct command.

• The king consults with his wise men and the highest ranking members of his kingdom. They are concerned that if the Queen is allowed to deny the King's public command and get away with it, then any wife would feel that she too could deny the command of her husband, which would lead to the destruction of their entire familial hierarchy and culture.  

Vs 19

• The result of that consultation was that Vashti would be deposed as Queen and another would be chosen in her place. She would be disgraced and sent away, and the king would reinforce that the men were the masters of their house throughout the kingdom.

In between chapters 1 & 2: Ahasuerus went on the campaign against Greece and suffered a horrible defeat. He took over 2 million men with him on campaign and returned with only about 5000 men. Several years have passed by the time we get to Chapter 2.

CHAPTER 2

Vs 1

• The king returned in defeat and was likely depressed. It was at this point he was wishing for Vashti back to comfort him and cheer him up. There were two problems with that: first, he had issued the decree under the unbreakable law of the Medes and Persians, which meant he was also bound and could not undo the judgement. Second, his servants and advisors couldn't allow Vashti to be re-established or it would once again rock the stability of the man's right to rule. So the servants come up with an alternative solution: a beauty contest among the young virgins of the land. The 'winner' would be chosen to replace Vashti.

Vs 5

• In the palace at Shushan was a Jew named Mordecai. He was Esther's cousin, but he had taken her in as his own daughter after her parents both died. He heard about this beauty contest and made sure that Esther was included in the selection because she was a stunningly beautiful young woman.

  • Mordecai was a descendent of Kish, a Benjamite. His lineage is important because he is in the same line as Saul, the first king of Israel. That means Esther was also in the royal line.

  • He had been carried away captive under Nebuchadnezzar - about 80 years earlier. That tells us he was quite an elderly man at this time.

  • He apparently held some key position in the palace. He had free access to the palace including the court of the women's quarters and the gate areas which were both places of authority and security.

• Apparently Esther was not only very beautiful, but she was also personable and pleasant. She won over the eunuch in charge of keeping the harem and he aided her in any way he could: extra beauty preparations, 7 of the best maidservants, and moved her into the best location available, away from the general population of virgins. No one knew Esther was a Jew. She was hidden in the crowd.

• Mordecai lingered nearby every day to monitor her welfare.

Vs 12

• Each young woman was given a full 12 months to prepare for her one night with the king. They were all required to adhere to the same beauty regimen: 6 month of oil of myrrh, and 6 months of perfumes and other beauty treatments. When it was her turn, each woman would go in to the king's bedchamber at night and in the morning would be moved to the concubine quarters. She would not be allowed to see the king again unless he specifically called her by name.

  • As a woman, this is a very uncomfortable section of Scripture for me. Imagine being a young woman in this culture, having dreams of being married with children and a home, but all that is changed by this one opportunity to become queen. You prepare for a year and give everything you have, including your virginity, to the king and are then tossed aside but held still as a concubine. No hope of anything else in your life but waiting for the day the king remembers you exist only for his sexual pleasure - which may never happen.

• When Esther's turn came, she only took whatever the king's eunuch advised.

  • She listened to wise counsel and found favor with everyone she met.

  • She went to the king - this was 4 years after the great feast we read about in the first chapter.

  • The king was so impressed and pleased with her that he promotes her to Queen in Vashti's place.

• The king makes a feast in Esther's honor and proclaims a holiday.

 Vs 19

• Esther is now firmly established as queen and Mordecai can relax about her welfare so he is now sitting in the king's gate. The gate area was the primary seat of authority and public administration. It separated the chaos of the outside world from the sacred interior of royal power. Access was strictly controlled and the elders and judges would administer justice, hear lawsuits, and carryout sentences from this location.

• While sitting in the gate area, Modecai catches wind of a plot against the king. He passes the information on to Esther, who is able to pass the information on to the king in Moredecai's name, and the plot is stopped. The conspirators were hanged and the incident was written down in the king's chronicles.

  • Although the incident was stopped, Mordecai was not rewarded or recognized for his part in saving the king.

Chapter 2 ends with Esther and Mordecai both in comfortable, blessed positions. All good… until Chapter 3. In the next section we will meet the villain of the story.