Discovery BoxEsther 1:19 
Context1:19 If the king is so inclined, 1 let a royal edict go forth from him, and let it be written in the laws of Persia and Media that cannot be repealed, 2 that Vashti 3 may not come into the presence of King Ahasuerus, and let the king convey her royalty to another 4 who is more deserving than she. 5
Esther 2:8
Context2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known 6 many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace 7 to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.
Esther 8:17--9:1
Context8:17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples 8 pretended 9 to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them. 10
9:1 In the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), on its thirteenth day, the edict of the king and his law were to be executed. It was on this day that the enemies of the Jews had supposed that they would gain power over them. But contrary to expectations, the Jews gained power over their enemies.
1 sn Heb “If upon the king it is good”; KJV “If it please the king.” Deferential language was common in ancient Near Eastern court language addressing a despot; it occurs often in Esther.
2 sn Laws…that cannot be repealed. On the permanence of the laws of Media and Persia see also Esth 8:8 and Dan 6:8, 12, 15.
3 sn Previously in this chapter the word “queen” accompanies Vashti’s name (cf. vv. 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17). But here, in anticipation of her demotion, the title is dropped.
4 tn Heb “her neighbor”; NIV “someone else.”
5 tn Heb “who is better than she.” The reference is apparently to worthiness of the royal position as demonstrated by compliance with the king’s wishes, although the word טוֹב (tob, “good”) can also be used of physical beauty. Cf. NAB, NASB, NLT “more worthy than she.”
6 tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”
7 tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”
8 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
9 tn Heb “were becoming Jews”; NAB “embraced Judaism.” However, the Hitpael stem of the verb is sometimes used of a feigning action rather than a genuine one (see, e.g., 2 Sam 13:5, 6), which is the way the present translation understands the use of the word here (cf. NEB “professed themselves Jews”; NRSV “professed to be Jews”). This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Hebrew Bible, so there are no exact parallels. However, in the context of v. 17 the motivation of their conversion (Heb “the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them”) should not be overlooked. The LXX apparently understood the conversion described here to be genuine, since it adds the words “they were being circumcised and” before “they became Jews.”
10 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”
