Discovery BoxEsther 1:5 
Context1:5 When those days 1 were completed, the king then provided a seven-day 2 banquet for all the people who were present 3 in Susa the citadel, for those of highest standing to the most lowly. 4 It was held in the court located in the garden of the royal palace.
Esther 1:14
Context1:14 Those who were closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were the seven officials of Persia and Media who saw the king on a regular basis 5 and had the most prominent offices 6 in the kingdom.
Esther 2:8
Context2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known 7 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 8 to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.
Esther 2:12
Context2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, 9 when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –
Esther 2:17
Context2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval 10 more than all the other young women. 11 So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen 12 in place of Vashti.
Esther 3:7
Context3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year 13 of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur 14 (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. 15 It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). 16
Esther 3:13
Context3:13 Letters were sent by the runners to all the king’s provinces stating that 17 they should destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews, from youth to elderly, both women and children, 18 on a particular day, namely the thirteenth day 19 of the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar), and to loot and plunder their possessions.
Esther 4:8
Context4:8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated 20 in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people.
Esther 4:16
Context4:16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa and fast in my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I 21 will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law. 22 If I perish, I perish!”
Esther 6:11
Context6:11 So Haman took the clothing and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai. He led him about on the horse throughout the plaza of the city, calling before him, “So shall it be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor!”
Esther 7:2
Context7:2 On the second day of the banquet of wine the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It shall be granted to you. And what is your petition? Ask up to half the kingdom, and it shall be done!”
Esther 7:4
Context7:4 For we have been sold 23 – both I and my people – to destruction and to slaughter and to annihilation! If we had simply been sold as male and female slaves, I would have remained silent, for such distress would not have been sufficient for troubling the king.”
Esther 8:11
Context8:11 The king thereby allowed the Jews who were in every city to assemble and to stand up for themselves – to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any army of whatever people or province that should become their adversaries, including their women and children, 24 and to confiscate their property.
Esther 8:17--9:2
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 25 pretended 26 to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them. 27
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. 9:2 The Jews assembled themselves in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to strike out against those who were seeking their harm. No one was able to stand before them, for dread of them fell on all the peoples.
Esther 9:16
Context9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand 28 of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.
Esther 10:2-3
Context10:2 Now all the actions carried out under his authority and his great achievements, along with an exact statement concerning the greatness of Mordecai, whom the king promoted, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia? 10:3 Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was the highest-ranking 29 Jew, and he was admired by his numerous relatives. 30 He worked enthusiastically 31 for the good of his people and was an advocate for the welfare of 32 all his descendants. 33
1 tc The Hebrew text of Esther does not indicate why this elaborate show of wealth and power was undertaken. According to the LXX these were “the days of the wedding” (αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ γάμου, Jai Jhmerai tou gamou), presumably the king’s wedding. However, a number of scholars have called attention to the fact that this celebration takes place just shortly before Xerxes’ invasion of Greece. It is possible that the banquet was a rallying for the up-coming military effort. See Herodotus, Histories 7.8. There is no reason to adopt the longer reading of the LXX here.
2 tc The LXX has ἕξ ({ex, “six”) instead of “seven.” Virtually all English versions follow the reading of the MT here, “seven.”
3 tn Heb “were found.”
4 tn Heb “from the great and unto the small.”
5 tn Heb “seers of the face of the king”; NASB “who had access to the king’s presence.”
6 tn Heb “were sitting first”; NAB “held first rank in the realm.”
7 tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”
8 tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”
9 tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”
tn Heb “to be to her according to the law of the women”; NASB “under the regulations for the women.”
10 tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.
11 tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”
12 tn Heb “caused her to rule.”
13 sn This year would be ca. 474
14 tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).
15 tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.
tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).
16 tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.
17 tn The words “stating that” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
18 tn Heb “children and women.” The translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
19 tc The LXX does not include the words “on the thirteenth day.”
20 tn Heb “given” (so KJV); NASB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “issued”; NIV “published”; NAB “promulgated.”
21 tn Heb “I and my female attendants.” The translation reverses the order for stylistic reasons.
22 tn Heb “which is not according to the law” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “contrary to the law.”
23 sn The passive verb (“have been sold”) is noncommittal and nonaccusatory with regard to the king’s role in the decision to annihilate the Jews.
24 tn Heb “children and women.” As in 3:13, the translation follows contemporary English idiom, which reverses the order.
25 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
26 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.”
27 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”
28 tc For this number much of the Greek
29 tn Heb “great among the Jews” (so KJV, NASB); NIV “preeminent among the Jews”; NRSV “powerful among the Jews.”
30 tn Heb “brothers”; NASB “kinsmen”; NIV “fellow Jews.”
31 tn Heb “he was seeking”; NAB “as the promoter of his people’s welfare.”
32 tn Heb “he was speaking peace to”; NRSV “and interceded for the welfare of.”
33 sn A number of additions to the Book of Esther appear in the apocryphal (or deuterocanonical) writings. These additions supply further information about various scenes described in the canonical book and are interesting in their own right. However, they were never a part of the Hebrew Bible. The placement of this additional material in certain Greek manuscripts of the Book of Esther may be described as follows. At the beginning of Esther there is an account (= chapter 11) of a dream in which Mordecai is warned by God of a coming danger for the Jews. In this account two great dragons, representing Mordecai and Haman, prepare for conflict. But God responds to the prayers of his people, and the crisis is resolved. This account is followed by another one (= chapter 12) in which Mordecai is rewarded for disclosing a plot against the king’s life. After Esth 3:13 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes authorizing annihilation of the Jews (= chapter 13). After Esth 4:17 the account continues with a prayer of Mordecai (= part of chapter 13), followed by a prayer of Esther (= chapter 14), and an account which provides details about Esther’s appeal to the king in behalf of her people (= chapter 15). After Esth 8:12 there is a copy of a letter from King Artaxerxes in which he denounces Haman and his plot and authorizes his subjects to assist the Jews (= chapter 16). At the end of the book, following Esth 10:3, there is an addition which provides an interpretation to Mordecai’s dream, followed by a brief ascription of genuineness to the entire book (= chapter 11).
