Discovery BoxEsther 1:18 
Context1:18 And this very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media who have heard the matter concerning the queen will respond in the same way to all the royal officials, and there will be more than enough contempt and anger!
Esther 2:5
Context2:5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai. 1 He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite,
Esther 4:3
Context4:3 Throughout each and every province where the king’s edict and law were announced 2 there was considerable 3 mourning among the Jews, along with fasting, weeping, and sorrow. 4 Sackcloth and ashes were characteristic 5 of many.
1 sn Mordecai is a pagan name that reflects the name of the Babylonian deity Marduk. Probably many Jews of the period had two names, one for secular use and the other for use especially within the Jewish community. Mordecai’s Jewish name is not recorded in the biblical text.
2 tn Heb “reached” (so NAB, NLT); KJV, NASB, NIV “came”; TEV “wherever the king’s proclamation was made known.”
3 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “the Jews went into deep mourning.”
4 sn Although prayer is not specifically mentioned here, it is highly unlikely that appeals to God for help were not a part of this reaction to devastating news. As elsewhere in the book of Esther, the writer seems deliberately to keep religious actions in the background.
5 tn Heb “were spread to many”; KJV, NIV “many (+ people NLT) lay in sackcloth and ashes.”
