Discovery BoxEsther 2:3 
Context2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem 1 under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. 2
Esther 2:8
Context2:8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known 3 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 4 to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.
Esther 2:15
Context2:15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter 5 ) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her.
Esther 2:17
Context2:17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval 6 more than all the other young women. 7 So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen 8 in place of Vashti.
Esther 3:4
Context3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day 9 without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. 10 Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. 11
Esther 4:4
Context4:4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior, 12 the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them.
Esther 5:1
Context5:1 It so happened that on the third day Esther put on her royal attire and stood in the inner court of the palace, 13 opposite the king’s quarters. 14 The king was sitting on his royal throne in the palace, opposite the entrance. 15
Esther 5:14
Context5:14 Haman’s 16 wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a gallows seventy-five feet 17 high built, and in the morning tell the king that Mordecai should be hanged on it. Then go with the king to the banquet contented.” 18
It seemed like a good idea to Haman, so he had the gallows built.
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 19 pretended 20 to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had overcome them. 21
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 tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.
2 tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”
3 tn Heb “were heard” (so NASB); NRSV “were (had been NIV) proclaimed.”
4 tn Heb “the house of the king.” So also in vv. 9, 13. Cf. NLT “the king’s harem.”
5 tn Heb “who had taken her to him as a daughter”; NRSV “who had adopted her as his own daughter.”
6 tn Heb “grace and loyal love.” The expression is probably a hendiadys.
7 tc The LXX does not include the words “more than all the other young women.”
8 tn Heb “caused her to rule.”
9 sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.
10 tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”
11 sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.
12 tn The words “about Mordecai’s behavior” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NIV, NLT “about Mordecai”; TEV, CEV “what Mordecai was doing.”
13 tn Heb “of the house of the king”; NASB, NRSV “of the king’s palace.”
14 tn Heb “the house of the king”; NASB “the king’s rooms”; NIV, NLT “the king’s hall.” This expression is used twice in this verse. In the first instance, it is apparently the larger palace complex that is in view, whereas in the second instance the expression seems to refer specifically to the quarters from which the king governed.
15 tn Heb “the entrance of the house” (so ASV).
16 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Haman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “fifty cubits.” Assuming a standard length for the cubit of about 18 inches (45 cm), this would be about seventy-five feet (22.5 meters), which is a surprisingly tall height for the gallows. Perhaps the number assumes the gallows was built on a large supporting platform or a natural hill for visual effect, in which case the structure itself may have been considerably smaller. Cf. NCV “a seventy-five foot platform”; CEV “a tower built about seventy-five feet high.”
18 tn Or “joyful”; NRSV “in good spirits”; TEV “happy.”
19 tn Heb “peoples of the land” (so NASB); NIV “people of other nationalities”; NRSV “peoples of the country.”
20 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.”
21 tn Heb “had fallen upon them” (so NRSV); NIV “had seized them.”
