3 In the third H7969 year H8141 of his reign, H4427 he made H6213 a feast H4960 unto all his princes H8269 and his servants; H5650 the power H2428 of Persia H6539 and Media, H4074 the nobles H6579 and princes H8269 of the provinces, H4082 being before H6440 him:
Then Nebuchadnezzar H5020 the king H4430 sent H7972 to gather together H3673 the princes, H324 the governors, H5460 and the captains, H6347 the judges, H148 the treasurers, H1411 the counsellors, H1884 the sheriffs, H8614 and all H3606 the rulers H7984 of the provinces, H4083 to come H858 to the dedication H2597 of the image H6755 which Nebuchadnezzar H5020 the king H4430 had set up. H6966 Then H116 the princes, H324 the governors, H5460 and captains, H6347 the judges, H148 the treasurers, H1411 the counsellors, H1884 the sheriffs, H8614 and all H3606 the rulers H7984 of the provinces, H4083 were gathered together H3673 unto the dedication H2597 of the image H6755 that Nebuchadnezzar H5020 the king H4430 had set up; H6966 and they stood H6966 before H6903 the image H6755 that Nebuchadnezzar H5020 had set up. H6966
Then H116 these H459 presidents H5632 and princes H324 assembled together H7284 to the king, H4430 and said H560 thus H3652 unto him, H5922 King H4430 Darius, H1868 live H2418 for ever. H5957 All H3606 the presidents H5632 of the kingdom, H4437 the governors, H5460 and the princes, H324 the counsellors, H1907 and the captains, H6347 have consulted together H3272 to establish H6966 a royal H4430 statute, H7010 and to make a firm H8631 decree, H633 that whosoever shall ask H1156 a petition H1159 of H4481 any H3606 God H426 or man H606 for H5705 thirty H8533 days, H3118 save H3861 of thee, H4481 O king, H4430 he shall be cast H7412 into the den H1358 of lions. H744
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Esther 1
Commentary on Esther 1 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 1
Es 1:1-22. Ahasuerus Makes Royal Feasts.
1. Ahasuerus—It is now generally agreed among learned men that the Ahasuerus mentioned in this episode is the Xerxes who figures in Grecian history.
3. made a feast unto all his princes and his servants—Banquets on so grand a scale, and extending over so great a period, have been frequently provided by the luxurious monarchs of Eastern countries, both in ancient and modern times. The early portion of this festive season, however, seems to have been dedicated to amusement, particularly an exhibition of the magnificence and treasures of the court, and it was closed by a special feast of seven days' continuance, given within the gardens of the royal palace. The ancient palace of Susa has been recently disinterred from an incumbent mass of earth and ruins; and in that palace, which is, beyond all doubt, the actual edifice referred to in this passage, there is a great hall of marble pillars. "The position of the great colonnade corresponds with the account here given. It stands on an elevation in the center of the mound, the remainder of which we may well imagine to have been occupied, after the Persian fashion, with a garden and fountains. Thus the colonnade would represent the 'court of the garden of the king's palace' with its 'pillars of marble.' I am even inclined to believe the expression, 'Shushan the palace,' applies especially to this portion of the existing ruins, in contradistinction to the citadel and the city of Shushan" [Loftus, Chaldaea and Susiana].
6. Where were white, green, and blue hangings, &c.—The fashion, in the houses of the great, on festive occasions, was to decorate the chambers from the middle of the wall downward with damask or velvet hangings of variegated colors suspended on hooks, or taken down at pleasure.
the beds were of gold and silver—that is, the couches on which, according to Oriental fashion, the guests reclined, and which were either formed entirely of gold and silver or inlaid with ornaments of those costly metals, stood on an elevated floor of parti-colored marble.
7. they gave them drink in vessels of gold—There is reason to believe from this account, as well as from Es 5:6; 7:2, 7, 8, where the drinking of wine occupies by far the most prominent place in the description, that this was a banquet rather than a feast.
9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women—The celebration was double; for, as according to the Oriental fashion, the sexes do not intermingle in society, the court ladies were entertained in a separate apartment by the queen.
10-12. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine—As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
he commanded … the seven chamberlains—These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent exposure of herself before a company of drunken revellers, was becoming both the modesty of her sex and her rank as queen; for, according to Persian customs, the queen, even more than the wives of other men, was secluded from the public gaze. Had not the king's blood been heated with wine, or his reason overpowered by force of offended pride, he would have perceived that his own honor, as well as hers, was consulted by her dignified conduct.
13-19. Then the king said to the wise men—These were probably the magi, without whose advice as to the proper time of doing a thing the Persian kings never did take any step whatever; and the persons named in Es 1:14 were the "seven counsellors" (compare Ezr 7:14) who formed the state ministry. The combined wisdom of all, it seems, was enlisted to consult with the king what course should be taken after so unprecedented an occurrence as Vashti's disobedience of the royal summons. It is scarcely possible for us to imagine the astonishment produced by such a refusal in a country and a court where the will of the sovereign was absolute. The assembled grandees were petrified with horror at the daring affront. Alarm for the consequences that might ensue to each of them in his own household next seized on their minds; and the sounds of bacchanalian revelry were hushed into deep and anxious consultation what punishment to inflict on the refractory queen. But a purpose was to be served by the flattery of the king and the enslavement of all women. The counsellors were too intoxicated or obsequious to oppose the courtly advice of Memucan was unanimously resolved, with a wise regard to the public interests of the nation, that the punishment of Vashti could be nothing short of degradation from her royal dignity. The doom was accordingly pronounced and made known in all parts of the empire.