2:10 Now Esther had not disclosed her people or her lineage, 1 for Mordecai had instructed her not to do so. 2
2:19 Now when the young women were being gathered again, 3 Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate. 4
1 tn Cf. v. 20, where the same phrase occurs but with the word order reversed.
2 tn Heb “that she not tell” (NRSV similar); NASB “that she should not make them known.”
3 tc The LXX does not include the words “Now when the young women were being gathered again.” The Hebrew word שֵׁנִית (shenit, “a second time”) is difficult in v. 19, but apparently it refers to a subsequent regathering of the women to the harem.
4 sn That Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate apparently 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 an opportunity to become aware of the plot against the king’s life, although the author does not include the particular details of how this information first came to Mordecai’s attention.