Esther 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ¹  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ²  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Esther 9:4

9:4 Mordecai was of high rank ³  in the king’s palace, and word about him was spreading throughout all the provinces. His influence ⁴  continued to become greater and greater.

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¹ sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. 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” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.

² tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

³ tn Heb “great”; NRSV “powerful”; NIV “prominent”; NCV “very important.”

⁴ tn Heb “the man Mordecai” (so NASB, NRSV).