John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Nehemiah 12:1



INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 12



This chapter gives an account of the chief of the priests and Levites in the days of Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Joiakim, Eliashib, and Nehemiah,

Ne 12:1, of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, and of the joy expressed on that occasion, Ne 12:27, and of the appointment of some persons over the treasuries for the priests, Levites, singers, and porters, Ne 12:44.



Ver. 1. Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua,.... Who went up from the captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem with them; the one was the prince, the other the high priest, the same with Joshua the high priest, Zec 3:1, the names of the priests are given in this and the six following verses:



Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra; not Jeremiah the prophet, who cannot be thought to live so long as through the captivity; but Ezra may be Ezra the priest and scribe, who might come up with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem, and return to Babylon again, and from thence come again as he did, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, Ezr 7:1, though this by some {m} is not thought very probable.



{m} Vid. Rainold de Lib. Apocryph. praelect. 153. p. 402, &c.





Nehemiah 12:2



Ver. 2-7. Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,.... Whose names are among the sealers of the covenant, Ne 10:3. Malluch is afterwards called Melicu, Ne 12:14,



Shechaniah, called Shebaniah, Ne 12:14 and so in Ne 10:4



Rehum, who, by transposition of letters, is Harim, Ne 12:15, and so in Ne 10:5.



Meremoth, called Meraioth, Ne 12:15,



Iddo, Ginnetho, read Ginnethon, Ne 12:16 so in Ne 10:6.



Abijah; there was a course of a priest of this name, of which Zechariah the father of John the Baptist was, Lu 1:5.



Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah; the first two are called Miniamin and Moadiah, Ne 12:17.



Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, Sallu; called Sallai, Ne 12:20.



Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah these were the chief of the priests, and of their brethren, in the days of Jeshua; heads of courses; or, however, priests of the greatest note in the times of Jeshua the high priest.





Nehemiah 12:3



Ver. 3. See Gill on "Ne 12:2".





Nehemiah 12:4



Ver. 4. See Gill on "Ne 12:2".





Nehemiah 12:5



Ver. 5. See Gill on "Ne 12:2".





Nehemiah 12:6



Ver. 6. See Gill on "Ne 12:2".





Nehemiah 12:7



Ver. 7. See Gill on "Ne 12:2"





Nehemiah 12:8



Ver. 8. Moreover the Levites,.... Who lived in the same times: were



Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah; most of these are made mention of in Ne 8:7, the last of them is said to be



over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren; he was the precentor, or had the directing and conducting of the songs of the temple, particularly the thanksgiving song at the daily sacrifices; Jarchi takes the word here used to be the name of a musical instrument.





Nehemiah 12:9



Ver. 9. Also Bakbukiah and Unni,.... Two other Levites; the first is mentioned in Ne 11:17,



their brethren, were over against them in the watches; the Levites were divided into twenty four wards, and these were placed one against another, 1Ch 23:6.





Nehemiah 12:10



Ver. 10,11. And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begot Joiada, and Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua. This is an account of the high priests in succession in the second temple, the first six of them; and if Jaddua, the last mentioned, is the same with Jaddus, as Josephus {n} supposes, who went forth in his pontifical robes to meet Alexander the great returning from his conquests of Tyre and Gaza, from whom he obtained many favours, and whom he had into the temple, and showed him the prophecy of Daniel concerning himself; this paragraph must be written by another hand, and not Nehemiah, since it can hardly be thought he should live so long; and as to his times, this account of him, or the history of his own times, seems not to have gone through the priesthood of Eliashib, the third of those high priests, see

Ne 13:28, and to reach no further than to the thirty second of Darius Hystaspis, Ne 13:6 this fragment therefore might be inserted by some godly man under a divine direction in later times, as we have several insertions in the books of Moses and Joshua of the like kind; and particularly in 1Ch 3:19 where the genealogy of Zerubbabel is carried down beyond the times of the Maccabees, and so could not be placed there by Ezra.



{n} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 8. sect. 5.





Nehemiah 12:11



Ver. 11. See Gill on "Ne 12:10".





Nehemiah 12:12



Ver. 12-21. And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers,.... This was the son and successor of Jeshua, or Joshua, the first high priest of the second temple; the principal men of the priesthood in his time were as follow, and who were the sons, or however the descendants of the priests in the time of his father before mentioned: these were Meraiah, Hananiah, Meshullam, Jehohanan, Jonathan, Joseph, Adna, Helkai, Zechariah, (the prophet of that name,) Meshullam, Zichri, Piltai, Shammua, Jehonathan, Mattenai, Uzzi, Kallai, Eber, Hashabiah, Nethaneel; in all twenty, whereas there are twenty two named, as in his father's days, there being no sons or descendants from two of them, namely, Hattush and Miamin.





Nehemiah 12:13



Ver. 13. See Gill on "Ne 12:12"





Nehemiah 12:14



Ver. 14. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:15



Ver. 15. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:16



Ver. 16. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:17



Ver. 17. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:18



Ver. 18. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:19



Ver. 19. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:20



Ver. 20. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:21



Ver. 21. See Gill on "Ne 12:12".





Nehemiah 12:22



Ver. 22. The Levites, in the days of Eliashib,.... The third priest of the second temple:



Joiada; he was the son of Eliashib, and the fourth high priest:



and Johanan; the same with Jonathan, Ne 12:11 and whom Josephus {o} also calls Joannes:



and Jaddua; the same as in Ne 12:10 in the days of each of these were



recorded chief of the fathers; the principal men among the Levites:



also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian; thought to be Darius Codomannus, the last king of the Persian monarchy, whom Alexander conquered; and if so, this verse must be inserted after the death of Nehemiah, and as the next verse also seems to be; for these two verses interrupt the natural order of the relation: an account is given of the priests in the times of Joiakim, Ne 12:12, these verses being inserted, the account goes on, Ne 12:24, &c. of the chief of the Levites in the times of Joiakim only.



{o} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 7. sect. 1.





Nehemiah 12:23



Ver. 23. The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles,.... Some think this refers to 1Ch 9:14, &c.



until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib; from whence Dr. Lightfoot {p} concludes, that the Chronicles were written by Ezra in the times of this Johanan.



{p} Works, vol. 1. p. 146.





Nehemiah 12:24



Ver. 24. And the chief of the Levites,.... Here the thread of the history of Nehemiah, interrupted by the insertion of the two preceding verses, is carried from the priests to the Levites in the times of the third high priest:



Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel; these were singers, since it follows:



with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward; which office of theirs they performed by turns in courses, as David under a divine direction ordered, see

1Ch 23:5.





Nehemiah 12:25



Ver. 25. Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters,.... At the gates of the temple, see 1Ch 9:15,



keeping the ward, at the thresholds of the gates; of the temple, where they stood and watched; or "at the collection of the gates", meaning either where the people were gathered together, or where money gathered was laid up; and so some render it, "the treasuries of the gates": unless a place called Asuppim should be meant, 1Ch 26:15.





Nehemiah 12:26



Ver. 26. These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak,.... Who was high priest in Babylon, and whose grandson was now high priest in the time referred to:



and in the days of Nehemiah the governor; the writer of this book:



and of Ezra the priest, the scribe; who was contemporary with him.





Nehemiah 12:27



Ver. 27. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem,.... In which many priests and Levites assisted, and seems to be the reason of the above account of them; the dedication of the wall takes in the whole city, gates, and houses, Ne 12:30, and if a new house was to be dedicated, much more a new city, and especially the holy city, in which stood the temple of the Lord, see De 20:5, this dedication was made by prayer and songs of praise, as follow, and no doubt by sacrifices, and was kept as a festival; and indeed, according to the Jewish writers {q}, it was annually observed on the seventh of Elul, or August; it was on the twenty fifth of that month that the wall was finished, Ne 6:15, but the gates were not set up, and all things for the dedication were not ready till Elul, or August, following; and then all being finished, they made and served the seventh of that month as a festival:



they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness; to assist in the solemnity of the day both with vocal and instrumental music, as follows:



both with thanksgiving and with singing; with songs of praise and thankfulness vocally, that they had been able, notwithstanding all the malice of their enemies, to build the wall in so short a time; or with a song, perhaps the thirtieth psalm was sung on this occasion:



with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps; some playing on one, and some on another, which were the three principal instruments of music used by them, see 1Ch 15:16.



{q} Megillath Thainith, c. 3. apud Selden. de Synedr. l. 3. c. 13. sect. 12.





Nehemiah 12:28



Ver. 28. And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together,.... Such of the Levites that were singers, and their sons that were trained up as such:



both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem the plain of Jordan by Jericho, and the plain of Saron and Lydda:



and from the villages of Netophathi: see 1Ch 9:16, here they dwelt, when not in their courses, to minister in the temple; but on this public occasion were summoned together.





Nehemiah 12:29



Ver. 29. Also from the house of Gilgal,.... Which likewise was in a champaign country in the plains of Jericho, De 11:30,



and out of the fields of Geba; which was a Levitical city in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 21:17



and Azmaveth; the same with Bethazmaveth, Ne 7:28 where it follows Anathoth and Netophah, as it does in Ezr 2:24, and was very probably in the tribe of Benjamin:



for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem; that they might be near it, to do their duty when required; by which it appears that the said places were near Jerusalem.





Nehemiah 12:30



Ver. 30. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves,.... By washing their bodies and their clothes, perhaps by sprinkling the water of purification on them, see Nu 8:6.





Nehemiah 12:31



Ver. 31. Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall,.... Which was so broad as to walk upon it, and there was a procession of the princes on it at its dedication, and here is described the manner of it; the princes of Benjamin must be included here:



and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks; he divided the people who were met together to praise God on this occasion into two companies: whereof



one went on the right hand upon the wall; that is, on the southern part of it:



towards the dung gate; of which see Ne 2:13 some Jewish writers, as Jarchi and Ben Melech, give a different sense of twdwt ytv, which we render "two companies", and take them to be two eucharistical loaves of leavened bread, with which a rite or ceremony was performed at the enlargement of a court or city; at the utmost boundary of which those were carried, and one was eaten and the other burnt {r}; which rite is thus described by Maimonides {s},



"how do they add to a city? the sanhedrim make two eucharistical sacrifices, and they take the leavened bread in them, and the sanhedrim go after the two eucharistical sacrifices, which follow one another, and they stand with harps, and psalteries, and cymbals, at every corner and at every stone in Jerusalem, and say, I will extol thee, for thou hast lifted up, &c. (#Ps 30:1) until they come to the end of the place they consecrate, there they stand and eat the thanksgiving loaf, one of the two, and the other is burnt.''



{r} Miss. Shebuot, c. 2. sect. 2. & Maimon, & Bartenora in ib. {s} Hilchot, Beth-habechirah, c. 6. sect. 12. Vid. Selden. de Synedr. l. 3. c. 13. sect. 6.





Nehemiah 12:32



Ver. 32. And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah. The other half of them, with Hoshaiah at the head of them.





Nehemiah 12:33



Ver. 33. And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam. Not Ezra the priest and the scribe, for he has another place assigned him in this procession,

Ne 12:36, but this seems to be one of the princes.





Nehemiah 12:34



Ver. 34. Judah and Benjamin,.... Not the tribes, but the names of the two princes, as Jarchi:



and Shemaiah and Jeremiah; who were two others.





Nehemiah 12:35



Ver. 35. And certain of the priests' sons with trumpets,.... To blow with on this occasion; for these the priests sounded: namely,



Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph; not the Levite, but a priest of this name.





Nehemiah 12:36



Ver. 36. And his brethren,.... The brethren of Zechariah, the priest's son, and such are those that follow:



Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; which were invented by him, and ordered by him to be used in religious service, under the divine direction:



and Ezra the scribe before them; for he being a priest also, and a man of great eminence, was placed at the head of them in this procession.





Nehemiah 12:37



Ver. 37. And at the fountain gate, which was over against them,.... Of which see Ne 2:14 and which was to the south of the dung gate:



they went up; that is, one of the two companies, that which took to the right on the wall, Ne 12:31 with which these words are to be connected:



by the stairs of the city of David; which went up to the city of Zion, built on an eminence:



at the going up of the wall, above the house of David; where the wall was higher, and there was an ascent to it:



even unto the water gate eastward; of which see Ne 3:26 turning from the south to the east, and so drew nigh the temple.





Nehemiah 12:38



Ver. 38. And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them,.... On the left hand, on the northern part of the wall:



and I after them; Nehemiah, he brought up the rear of his company, as Ezra led the van of his:



and the half of the people upon the wall; the chief of them, for all could not walk upon it:



from beyond the tower of the furnaces; where they baked their bread, or their bricks, see Ne 3:11,



even unto the broad wall; where the wall was broader than common, for some reason or another, see Ne 3:8.





Nehemiah 12:39



Ver. 39. And from above the gate of Ephraim,.... The gate which led to the tribe of Ephraim, where that tribe formerly dwelt, see Ne 8:16



and above the old gate; of which mention is made, Ne 3:6



and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate; of all which see Ne 3:1, and they stood still in the prison gate; which was not a gate of the city, but of the court of the prison, Ne 3:25, which was near both the king's palace and the temple, see Jer 20:1.





Nehemiah 12:40



Ver. 40. So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God,.... Having made their procession on the wall in different ways, they met in the temple, that is, in the great court of it, for no other would hold them:



and I, and the half of the rulers with me; Nehemiah, and the other half with Hoshaiah, Ne 12:32.





Nehemiah 12:41



Ver. 41. And the priests,.... They stood there also, whose names follow:



Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; to sound on this occasion.





Nehemiah 12:42



Ver. 42. And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer,.... These seem to be all priests that blew the trumpets:



and the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer; these were the Levites, that sung the songs of praise vocally, and raised their voices very high, Jezrahiah being precentor, who led the tune, as well as played on instruments.





Nehemiah 12:43



Ver. 43. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced,.... Or many sacrifices, as Ben Melech interprets it; and these perhaps of the larger sort of cattle, oxen; and which, at least many of them, being peace offerings, the people feasted on them, so that it was a festival day:



for God had made them rejoice with great joy; on account of the wall being set up all around, and so were in greater safety from their enemies:



the wives also and the children rejoiced; while the priests blew the trumpets, and the singers sung and played on their instruments, the women and children gave loud shouts for joy:



so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off; as at the laying of the foundation of the temple, Ezr 3:13.





Nehemiah 12:44



Ver. 44. And at that time were some appointed over the chamber for the treasuries,.... On the selfsame day the dedication was; while the people were in a good disposition, and a suitable frame for such service, certain persons from among the priests were appointed to be overseers of the chambers fixed upon for treasuries, to lay up safe in them the following things, and take care of them, that they were put to the use for which they were designed:



for the offerings, for the first fruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites; what by the law of God were assigned them for their maintenance, and which the people had lately bound themselves to bring in, Ne 10:35,



for Judah rejoiced for the priests, and for the Levites that waited; at the temple, and performed their services there; they were so pleased with their ministrations that day, that they were determined to take care of them, and provide well for them, and that nothing should be wanting to them, enjoined by the law of God, and that they might not be obliged to dwell in fields and villages for the sake of their living,

Ne 12:28.





Nehemiah 12:45



Ver. 45. And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of their purification,.... The singers kept their turns in course in the temple, and were not wanting to officiate on all occasions, besides morning and evening services; and the porters they diligently kept the gates of the temple, that no impure person or thing in a ceremonial sense entered:



according to the commandment of David, and Solomon his son; who made very good rules and orders relative to the better and more regular performance of service by them; see 1Ch 25:1.





Nehemiah 12:46



Ver. 46. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers,.... Persons appointed over the rest to instruct them, and see that they did their work aright, as besides Asaph, Haman, and Jeduthun, and their sons, 1Ch 25:2



and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God; such were made by them, some under divine inspiration, which bear the names of David and Asaph, as may be observed in the book of Psalms.





Nehemiah 12:47



Ver. 47. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters every day his portion,.... While these two men governed they did their duty, and punctually paid the Levites their dues at the proper season:



and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; set them apart for their use, and brought them to them, their offerings, firstfruits, and tithes: and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron; the Levites set apart the tenth part of the tithes, and delivered them to the priests, and so each had what belonged to them.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Nehemiah 13:1



INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 13



This chapter relates the reformation of various abuses crept in among the Jews by Nehemiah, who removed the Moabites and Ammonites, mixed with them, Ne 13:1, threw the household goods of Tobiah out of a chamber of the temple, and restored it to its former use, Ne 13:4, took care that the Levites had their portion given them which had been kept from them, Ne 13:10 prevented the profanation of the sabbath by selling goods on that day, Ne 13:15, and put a stop to the marrying of strange wives, which had prevailed again among them,

Ne 13:23.



Ver. 1. On that day,.... Not when the wall of the city was dedicated, nor quickly after; for it cannot be thought that people should be so corrupted so soon as this chapter shows; but when Nehemiah had governed them twelve years, and had been at Babylon, and was returned again, as appears from Ne 13:6, compared with Ne 2:1,



they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; for from the time of the reading of the law by Ezra, Ne 8:1 it became a custom to read the law publicly:



and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of the Lord; that is, be admitted to marry with any of the people of Israel; See Gill on "De 23:3".





Nehemiah 13:2



Ver. 2. Because they met not the children of Israel with bread,.... The same reason is given, and what follows in this verse is observed in

De 23:4;

See Gill on "De 23:4" See Gill on "De 23:5".





Nehemiah 13:3



Ver. 3. Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law,.... Or the law concerning the Ammonite and the Moabite, and which included other nations also, and forbad marriage with them:



that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude; all of these, and other nations, they had contracted affinity with.





Nehemiah 13:4



Ver. 4. And before this,.... Before the above law was read, and observed and acted upon:



Eliashib the priest; whom some take to be a common priest; so Bishop Usher {a}; but he seems rather to be the high priest, by comparing it with Ne 13:28,



having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God; which has led some to the notion of his being a common priest; but chamber may be put for chambers, and those for the whole house or temple, which the high priest had the greatest concern in, and oversight of:



was allied to Tobiah; the servant and Ammonite, an inveterate enemy of the Jews, Ne 2:10, having married a daughter of Shecaniah, and his son a daughter of Meshullam, who were both priests, and so as it seems related to Eliashib, Ne 6:18.



{a} Annal. Vet. Test. p. 200.





Nehemiah 13:5



Ver. 5. And he had prepared for him a great chamber,.... In the temple, by throwing together several chambers, as Piscator observes:



where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and to the singers, and the porters, and the offerings of the priests; see Ne 10:37.





Nehemiah 13:6



Ver. 6. But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem,.... Nehemiah, who was absent all the while these things were done by Eliashib, or otherwise they would not have been suffered:



for in the thirty second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, came I unto the king from Jerusalem; after he had governed there twelve years, to whom he came to give an account of affairs there; this was not Xerxes, as some {b} have thought, for he reigned but twenty one years; but Darius Hystaspis, who reigned thirty six years, according to Ptolemy's canon, and with which Herodotus {c} agrees; he is called king of Babylon, because that, with the whole empire, was in the hands of the king of Persia, as it had been from the times of Cyrus:



and after certain days obtained I leave of the king; to return to Jerusalem again; not after five years, as Dr. Prideaux {d} thinks; for it is not likely that Nehemiah would stay so long ere he asked leave of the king to return to Jerusalem, which was so much his care, and on whose prosperity his heart was so much set; rather at most it was but a full year he stayed ere he got leave to return, as Vatablus and Piscator interpret it; in which sense the phrase of certain days is used in Le 25:29, and in other places quoted by the last mentioned interpreter.



{b} Apud Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 2. fol. 8. 2. {c} Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 1. {d} Connect. par. 1. p. 397.





Nehemiah 13:7



Ver. 7. And I came to Jerusalem,.... Through the king's leave, and with a commission from him:



and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah; was informed of the mal-administration of his office:



in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God; whereby it was profaned and polluted.





Nehemiah 13:8



Ver. 8. And it grieved me sore,.... That such a sacred place should be converted to common use, and to that of an Heathen, and of an enemy to the Jews and their religion:



therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber; as being chief magistrate, and acting by commission under the king of Persia, and to regulate everything amiss, according to the Jewish laws, as well as those of the king, his power being, no doubt, as large as Ezra's, Ezr 7:25, by "household stuff" is meant what is movable in the house, as chairs, tables, vessels for dressing, caring, drinking, &c. there are various opinions about this with the ancients {e}.



{e} Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 19.





Nehemiah 13:9



Ver. 9. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers,.... By which it appears there were more than one, or that several were thrown into one; which was done not only by washing them, but as this was a ceremonial uncleanness, contracted by the habitation of an Heathen in them, their purification might be by the water of separation, Nu 19:9



and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense; replaced them where they were before.





Nehemiah 13:10



Ver. 10. And I perceived that the portion of the Levites had not been given them,.... The tithes, being removed to some other place, might be converted to another use; or the people, seeing what was done by Eliashib, neglected to bring them in, as judging they would not be properly disposed of; and besides, the Levites had deserted their station upon this:



for the Levites and the singers that did the work were fled everyone to his field; to look after their country farms, or to get their living by agriculture, since there was no care taken of them at Jerusalem; see Ne 12:28.





Nehemiah 13:11



Ver. 11. Then I contended with the rulers;.... The ecclesiastical rulers, the priests that were appointed over those chambers, Ne 12:44, he expostulated with them warmly, and chode them severely for their conduct:



and said, why is the house of God forsaken? no care being taken of the maintenance of the ministers of it, contrary to the promise made

Ne 10:37,



and l gathered them together; the Levites and singers that were dispersed in the countries round about:



and set them in their place; in the temple, and in the course of their ministry there.





Nehemiah 13:12



Ver. 12. Then brought all Judah the tithe of corn, and the new wine, and the oil, into the treasuries. When they saw a reformation made, and things were going in their proper channel, and a right use would be made of their tithes, these given to proper persons, who were now reinstated in their office.





Nehemiah 13:13



Ver. 13. And I made treasurers over the treasuries,.... New ones, since the others appointed were either dead or unfaithful to their trust, Ne 12:44,



Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe; who also was a priest, as Ezra was both priest and scribe; one that besides his office as a priest was expert in the law, and capable of instructing others:



and of the Levites, Pedaiah, and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, for they were counted faithful; had a good report of all that knew them, for men of fidelity and uprightness, and so fit for such a trust:



and their office was to distribute unto their brethren; to deliver to them their share in the tithes, first fruits, &c.





Nehemiah 13:14



Ver. 14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this,.... Not in a way of strict justice, as if he thought he merited anything at the hand of God for what he had done; but in a way of grace and mercy, that he would graciously accept thereof, as done for the honour of his name, and overlook all failings and infirmities therein, see Ne 13:22



and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof; for the support of the worship of God in the temple, and for the regulating of the wards and courses in it, both priests and Levites, and for the maintenance of them; which being done from a right principle, love to God, and with a right view, the glory of his name, might be truly reckoned good works: and which he desires might not be wiped or blotted out of the book of his remembrance, see Ho 6:10.





Nehemiah 13:15



Ver. 15. In those days saw I in Judah some treading winepresses on the sabbath,.... Which was not a work of necessity, and so did not drive away the sabbath, as the Jews express themselves, but might have been deferred to another day:



and bringing in sheaves; of wheat, it being the time of wheat harvest:



and lading asses; with goods to be carried from place to place, and sold on that day; this was contrary to the express law, for the ass was to rest, De 5:14,



as also wine, grapes, and figs: it being the time of ingathering the fruits of the earth:



and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; besides those borne on asses, others were carried on men's shoulders; this was contrary to the law of the sabbath, which required that both men and beasts should have rest:



and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals; that is, the sabbath day; and if it was not lawful to sell food, then not anything else; so far from it, that according to the Jewish canons {f}, such that were in partnership might not discourse together of what they should sell or buy on the morrow, the day after the sabbath; and so far from gathering and carrying grapes and figs, that a man might not go into his gardens and fields to see what were wanting, or how the fruits were: now Nehemiah admonished the Jews of these evils they committed, and testified against them as breakers of the law, and called heaven and earth to testify against them, should they go on to violate it.



{f} Maimon. Hilchot Sabbat, c. 24. sect. 1, 2.





Nehemiah 13:16



Ver. 16. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish,.... From Tyre and Zidon, and the parts adjacent: these they brought from Joppa, and from thence to Jerusalem, and had houses or lodgings near the fish gate or fish market, where they sold them:



and all manner of ware; or merchandise, which, being a trading city, they had from all nations:



and sold on the sabbath day unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem; or even in Jerusalem, the holy city, where stood the temple, and where the worship of God was kept, and where the magistrates lived, who should have been terrors to evildoers: indeed, the law of the sabbath was not binding on these Tyrians, but then they tempted the Jews to break it, by bringing their ware to sell.





Nehemiah 13:17



Ver. 17. Then I contended with the nobles,.... The rulers of the city, the civil magistrates, sharply reproved them for their neglect of duty:



and said unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? by suffering servile works to be done in it, and things sold on it.





Nehemiah 13:18



Ver. 18. Did not your fathers thus,.... Profane the sabbath in like manner:



and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon our city? suffered them to be carried captive into a strange land, and their city destroyed for their sins, and for this of sabbath breaking among the rest, see Jer 17:21,



yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath; additional judgments to those that had been already upon them for the same evil with others.





Nehemiah 13:19



Ver. 19. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath,.... Or "were shaded" {g}; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, when the shadows of the eve of the sabbath were stretched out upon the gates; the sabbath did not begin till sun setting, and the stars appeared; but before that, as the sun was declining, the shadows through the houses in Jerusalem, and mountains about it, spread themselves over the gates: and when it was near dusk, and as soon as it was so,



I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath; until sun setting the next day:



and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should be burden brought in on the sabbath day; the porters being not to be trusted, being liable to be bribed and corrupted, which he knew his servants were not; and therefore, since it might be necessary on a few occasions to open the gates to let some persons in and out, and especially such who dwelt near, and came to worship, he placed his servants there, to take care that none were admitted that had any burdens upon them.



{g} wllu "obumbratae", Pagninus, Montanus; "obumbrarentur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rambachius; "incidentibus umbris", Tigurine version.





Nehemiah 13:20



Ver. 20. For the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware,.... The Tyrians particularly, Ne 13:16 lodged without Jerusalem once or twice; one sabbath day or two, not being able to get into the city, such strict watch and care being taken to keep the gates shut; this they did, hoping the Jews would come out to them and buy their goods, though they were not admitted to bring them within the city.





Nehemiah 13:21



Ver. 21. Then I testified against them,.... Against their continuance there, and threatened them, and called heaven and earth to witness what he would do to them, if they did not depart:



why lodge ye about the wall? of the city, waiting an opportunity to get in, and tempting the Jews to come out and buy their ware:



if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you; beat them, or slay them, at least imprison them:



from that time forth came they no more on the sabbath; finding there was no likelihood of getting into the city, and that they were liable to be taken up and punished.





Nehemiah 13:22



Ver. 22. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves,.... From all ceremonial uncleanness, that they might be fit in a ceremonial sense to perform the duties of the office on the sabbath day:



and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day; not the gates of the city, his servants were placed there, nor was this the work of the Levites, and much less did this require a particular purification to fit for it; but the gates of the temple, that no impure person might enter there; and on that day it required the greater diligence, because of the number of people that came to worship:



remember me, O my God, concerning this also; with respect to his care to have the sabbath kept holy, as well as his concern for the honour of the house of God, and the maintenance of his ministers, Ne 13:14,



and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy; he desired to be dealt with, not according to any merits of his own, but according to the abundant mercy of God; that he would kindly and graciously vouchsafe to accept any good that he had done for his mercy sake, and forgive whatever was amiss in him.





Nehemiah 13:23



Ver. 23. In those days also I saw Jews that married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab. Ashdod, or Azotus, as it is called in Ac 8:40, was one of the five cities of the Philistines; which, though none of the seven nations with whom marriage was forbid, yet it was very unfit and improper to marry with them, Jud 14:3. This place was a mart of the Arabians {h}, where they sold their goods, to which the Jews might resort, and thereby be ensnared into such marriages; and which with the Ammonites and Moabites were unlawful, Ne 13:1.



{h} Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 10.





Nehemiah 13:24



Ver. 24. And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod,.... Which they learned of their mothers, so that it was a mixed language they spoke, partly Jewish and partly Philistine; but some refer this not to their speech, but to the number of their children; that half of them, which Jarchi interprets many of them, spoke in the language of Ashdod, even as many as were most with their mothers, and chiefly brought up by them:



and could not speak in the Jews' language; not at all, or so much as to be understood well, which inclines to the last sense:



but according to the language of each people; their mothers were of, whether of Ashdod, or of Ammon, or of Moab.





Nehemiah 13:25



Ver. 25. And I contended with them,.... Argued with them, faithfully admonished them, and sharply reproved them:



and cursed them; assuring them that the curse of God would come upon them, unless they repented. Aben Ezra interprets it of excommunicating them, either with "Cherem" or "Niddui", which were two sorts of excommunication among the Jews; but it is a question whether as yet those were used by them:



and smote certain of them; ordered them to be beaten with rods or scourges, as transgressors of the law:



and plucked off their hair; or ordered it to be plucked off by the executioner that smote them; which sort of punishment, as it was painful, it was disgraceful and ignominious, see Isa 1:6,



and made them swear by God, saying, ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves; not intermarry with them; this they had sworn to before,

Ne 10:29.





Nehemiah 13:26



Ver. 26. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?.... By marrying strange wives, by whom he was drawn into idolatry,

1Ki 11:3,



yet among many nations was there no king like him; as not for grandeur and riches, so not for wisdom, and yet was ensnared by his idolatrous wives:



who was beloved of God; alluding to his name Jedidiah, which signifies beloved of the Lord, 2Sa 12:24



and God made him king over all Israel; which was a proof of his love to him, and so he was under the greater obligation to serve him, and him only, and yet his heart, through his wives, was turned after other gods:



even him did outlandish women cause to sin; and if so great and wise a man was enticed by them to idolatry, much more may you, and therefore it was very dangerous to marry with them.





Nehemiah 13:27



Ver. 27. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil,.... To suffer it to be done, and connive at it, and not punish for it:



to transgress against our God; his law, his mind, and will:



in marrying strange wives? forbidden by him, De 7:1.





Nehemiah 13:28



Ver. 28. And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest,.... A grandson of the high priest; for the high priest here is Eliashib, according to our version, and not Joiada his son, according to Dr. Prideaux {i}; the person designed, Josephus {k} makes to be Manasseh, the brother of Jaddua the high priest: was



son in law to Sanballat the Horonite; married a daughter of his, who was the avowed enemy of the Jewish nation; and for whom, according to the same writer, Sanballat obtained leave of Alexander to build a temple on Mount Gerizim; but this is to protract the age of Nehemiah and Sanballat to too great a length; besides, Eliashib seems to have been now high priest, and not even his son Joiada, and much less Jaddua, a grandson of Joiada:



therefore I chased him from me; drove him from his court, suffered him not to minister at the altar; banished him from the city, as Jarchi, and even from the land of Judea.



{i} Connect. par. 1. p. 412. {k} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 8. sect. 2, 4.





Nehemiah 13:29



Ver. 29. Remember them, O my God,.... The priests, and punish them: because they have defiled the priesthood; by marrying strange wives, and rendering themselves unfit to officiate in it:



and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites; made with Levi, Aaron, and Phinehas, see Nu 24:11, of the corruption of which, complaint is made, Mal 2:4.





Nehemiah 13:30



Ver. 30. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers,.... Both people and priests from strange wives, obliging them to put them away, or flee their country:



and appointing the wards of the priests and the Levites, everyone in his business: to do the work of their office in their courses and turns.





Nehemiah 13:31



Ver. 31. And for the wood offering, at times appointed,.... Of which see Ne 10:34. Levites were appointed to receive the wood that was brought at the times and by the persons fixed, and lay it up in its proper place, and carry it to the altar when wanted:



and for the first fruits; to receive and take care of them, and distribute them to the persons to whom they belonged:



remember me, O my God, for good; to bless him with all good things, temporal and spiritual, to keep him faithful, to make him useful in church and state, and protect him from all his enemies: or rather this may respect what goes before, that as to the wood offering and the firstfruits, that God would graciously remember him as to them, since the one was as necessary to the altar as the other was to those that minister at it.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Esther 1:1



INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF ESTHER



This book has its name from the person who is the principal subject of it; it is by Clemens of Alexandria {a} called the Book of Mordecai also; it is commonly called, in the Hebrew copies, "Megillah Esther", the Volume of Esther; and sometimes in the Jewish writings only "Megillah", by way of eminency, "the Volume". It was written, according to the Talmudists {b}, by the men of the great synagogue, composed by Ezra; and some think it was written by Ezra himself {c}; but Aben Ezra is of opinion it was written by Mordecai, since he was concerned in, and had perfect knowledge of, all things related in it; which is rejected by Spinosa {d}, who conceits that this, and the books of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were written by one and the same historian long after the times of Judas Maccabaeus: as to the canonical authority of it, it has been generally received by Jews and Christians; our wise men, says Maimonides {e}, openly and plainly affirm of the book of Esther, that it was dictated by the Holy Spirit; so Aben Ezra on Es 6:6, and he himself {f} affirms, that



"all the books of the prophets, and all the Hagiographa (or holy writings), shall cease in the days of the Messiah, except the volume of Esther; and, lo, that shall be as stable as the Pentateuch, and as the constitutions of the oral law, which shall never cease.''



Though the versions of other books of Scripture might not be read in the synagogues, versions of this book might to those who did not understand Hebrew {g}; and so Luther {h} says, the Jews more esteem the book of Esther than any of the prophets. Whence Mr. Baxter {i} had that notion, I can not devise, that the Jews used to cast to the ground the book of Esther before they read it, because the name of God was not in it: nor is that any objection to its authenticity, since the hand and providence of God may be most clearly seen in it; in raising Esther to such grandeur, and that for the deliverance of the people of the Jews, and in counter working and bringing to nought the plots of their enemies, and in saving them: nor that it is not quoted in the New Testament; it is sufficient there is no disagreement between them, yea, an entire agreement, particularly in the account of the captivity of Jeconiah, which is expressed almost in the same words in Es 2:6 as in Mt 1:11. It stands in Origen's catalogue {k} of the books of the Old Testament; nor is it any material objection that it appears not in the catalogue of Melito {l}, since in that list is comprehended under Ezra not Nehemiah only, but Esther also, which Jerom {m} mentions along with it. This book is not only of use to the Jews, as it shows the original and foundation of a feast of theirs, still kept up by them, the feast of Purim, and makes for the glory of their nation, and therefore it is no wonder it should be so highly esteemed by them; but serves to show the singular providence of God in taking care of his people in adversity, in humbling the proud, and exalting the lowly, and saving those that pray to him, and trust in him; it furnishes out various instructions in the conduct of the several persons herein mentioned; it is a history but of ten or eleven years at most, from the third of Ahasuerus, to the twelfth of his reign, Es 1:3.



{a} Stromat. l. 1. p. 329. {b} T. Bava Bathra, fol. 15. 1. {c} August. de Civ. Dei, l. 18. c. 36. Isidor. Origin. l. 6. c. 2. {d} Tract. Theolog. Politic. c. 10. p. 189, &c. {e} Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. c. 45. {f} Hilchot Megillah, c. 2. sect. 18. {g} Misn. Megillah, c. 2. sect. 1. T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 18. 1. {h} Mensal. Colloqu. c. 31. p. 358. {i} The Saints Everlasting Rest, part 4. c. 3. sect. 1. {k} Apud Euseb. Eccl. Hist. l. 6. c. 25. {l} Apud ib. l. 4. c. 26. {m} Ad Domnion. & Rogat. tom. 3. fol. 7. F.



INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 1



This chapter relates, how that Ahasuerus, a great king of Persia, made a feast, first for the grandees of his kingdom, and then for his people, as his queen did for the women, Es 1:1, who being sent for by him, and she refusing to come, was, by the advice of one of his counsellors, divorced from him, and an order made and published throughout his dominions, that every man should bear rule in his own house, Es 1:10.



Ver. 1. Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus,.... Who he was is not easy to say; almost all the kings of Persia are so named by one or another writer. He cannot be the Ahasuerus in Da 9:1, he was Astyages, the father of Cyaxares or Darius the Mede; but this must be one who had his royal palace in Shushan, which was never the royal city of the Medes, but of the Persians only; nor does he seem to be the Ahasuerus in Ezr 4:6, who is thought to be Cambyses, the son and successor of Cyrus; since, according to the canon of Ptolemy, he reigned but eight years, whereas this Ahasuerus at least reigned twelve, Es 3:7, though indeed some account for it by his reigning in his father's lifetime; besides, Cambyses was always an enemy to the Jews, as this was not; and yet this way go many of the Jewish writers {n} and so a very learned man, Nicolaus Abram {o}; according to Bishop Usher {p}, this was Darius Hystaspis, who certainly was a friend to the Jewish nation; but he is rather the Artaxerxes of Ezra and Nehemiah; and so says the Midrash {q}. Dr. Prideaux {r} thinks Ahasuerus was Artaxerxes Longimanus, which is the sense of Josephus {s}, and who is thought by many to be the Artaxerxes in the foresaid books. Capellus {t} is of opinion, that Darius Ochus is meant, to which Bishop Patrick inclines; but I rather think, with Vitringa {u} and others {w}, that Xerxes is the Ahasuerus that was the husband of Esther here spoken of; so the Arabic writers {x}; and as he was the son and successor of Darius Hystaspis, if he is meant by Artaxerxes in the preceding books, the history of which is carried to the thirty second year of his reign, Ne 13:6 and who reigned but four years more; this book of Esther stands in right order of time to carry on the history of the Jewish affairs in the Persian monarchy; and Mr. Broughton {y} owns, that the name of Xerxes, in Greek, agrees with Achasuerus in Hebrew; and in Es 10:1 his name is Achashresh, which, with the Greeks, is Axeres or Xerxes {z}:



this is Ahasuerus, which reigned from India even unto Ethiopia; properly so called; the Ethiopians had been subdued by Cambyses the son and successor of Cyrus {a}, and the Indians by Darius Hystaspis the father of Xerxes {b}; and both, with other great nations, were retained in subjection to him {c}; and many of both, as well as of other nations, were with him in his expedition into Greece {d}:



over an hundred and twenty and seven provinces; there were now seven provinces more under his jurisdiction than were in the times of Darius the Mede, Da 6:1.



{n} Targum & Jarchi in loc. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 29. Zuta, p. 108. {o} Pharus Vet. Test. l. 11. c. 12. p. 305. {p} Annal. Vet. Test. p. 160. so Broughton, Works, p. 38, 259, 581. {q} Midrash Esther, fol. 86. 2. {r} Connection, &c. par. 1. B. 4. p. 252, &c. {s} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 1. and so Suidas in voce esyhr. {t} Chronolog. Sacr. p. 294. {u} Hypotypos. Hist. Sacr. p. 110. {w} Schichart. de Festo Purim. Rainold. Praelect. 144. p. 231. Alsted. Chronolog. p. 126, 181. {x} In Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 87. {y} Ut supra. (Broughton, Works, p. 38, 259, 581.) {z} Vid. Hiller. Arcan. Keri & Ketib, p. 87. & Onomastic. Sacr. p. 639. {a} Herodot. Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 97. {b} lb. Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 44. {c} lb. Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 9. {d} lb. c. 65, 69, 70.





Esther 1:2



Ver. 2. That in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom,.... Not only was placed upon it, but settled in it; after Xerxes had subdued Egypt, in the second year of his reign {e}, and enjoyed great peace and tranquillity:



which was in Shushan the palace; that is, the throne of his kingdom was in Shushan, the royal city of the kings of Persia; of which

See Gill on "Ne 1:1" See Gill on "Da 8:2".



{e} Herodot. ib. (Thalia, sive, l. 3.) c. 7.





Esther 1:3



Ver. 3. In the third year of his reign he made a feast unto all his princes, and his servants,.... The nobles and officers in his court; on what account this was cannot be said with certainty, whether the first day of it was his birthday, or the day of his coming to the throne, on which day Xerxes used to make a feast annually, as Herodotus relates {f}:



the power of Persia and Media; the mighty men therein, the potentates thereof; or the "army", the principal officers of it:



the nobles and princes of the provinces being with him. The first word Aben Ezra declares his ignorance of, whether it is Hebrew or Persian; Jarchi interprets it governors; and the persons intended by both seem to be the deputy governors of the one hundred and twenty seven provinces who were present at this feast. Xerxes, having reduced Egypt, meditated a war with Greece, to which he was pressed by Mardonius, a relation of his; upon which he summoned the chief men of his kingdom, to have their advice about it {g}, which perhaps was taken at this time; for it was in the third year of his reign he resolved upon the war, and began to make preparations for it; and it was usual, at banquets and feasts, that the Persians debated their most important affairs {h}.



{f} lb. (Herodot.) Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 109. {g} Ib. l. 7. c. 8. {h} lb. Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 133.





Esther 1:4



Ver. 4. When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom,.... Xerxes was the fourth king of the Persian monarchy, and was "far richer than all" that went before him, all their riches coming into his hands,

Da 11:2, and now that prophecy began to be fulfilled, "that by his strength, through his riches, he should stir up all against the realm of Grecia"; which he began to do in the third year of his reign, and for which these his nobles might be called together, as to have their advice, so to animate them to come in the more readily into the expedition, by showing them the riches he was possessed of; for to none of the kings of Persia does this largeness of riches better belong than to Xerxes:



and the honour of his excellent majesty; the grandeur he lived in, the pomp and splendour of his court; he was the most grand and magnificent of all the kings of the Medes and Persians {i}:



and this he did many days, even an hundred and fourscore days; to which seven more being added, as in the following verse, it made one hundred and eighty seven, the space of full six months; though some think the feast did not last so long, only seven days, and that the one hundred and eighty days were spent in preparing for it; but the Persian feasts were very long, large, and sumptuous. Dr. Frye {k} says, this custom of keeping an annual feast one hundred and eighty days still continues in Persia. Cheus {l}, a Chinese emperor, used frequently to make a feast which lasted one hundred and twenty days; though it cannot be well thought that the same individual persons here were feasted so long, but, when one company was sufficiently treated, they removed and made way for another; and so it continued successively such a number of days as here related, which was six months, or half a year; a year then in use consisting of three hundred and sixty days, as was common with the Jews, and other nations, and so the Persians {m}.



{i} Pausan. Laconica, sive, l. 3. p. 165. {k} Travels, p. 348. apud Patrick in loc. {l} In Martin. Sinic. Hist. l. 3. p. 78. {m} Prideaux's Connect. par. 1. p. 197.





Esther 1:5



Ver. 5. And when these days were ended,.... The one hundred and eighty, in which the nobles, princes, and great men of the kingdom were feasted:



the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small; of every age, rank, state and condition of life; these were the common people, whether inhabitants of the city or country people there on business, whether natives or foreigners; according to the Targum, there were Israelites there, but not Mordecai and his family; yea, it is said in the Midrash {n}, that they were all Jews, and that their number was 18,500; but this is not probable; it is very likely there were some Jews among them, as there were many in the army of Xerxes, when he made his expedition into Greece, according to the poet Choerilus {o}; which is not to be wondered at, since there were so many of them in his dominions, and they men of valour and fidelity, and to whose nation he was so kind and favourable: and this feast was kept



seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace; which no doubt was very large, and sufficient to hold such a number as was assembled together on this occasion, when there was not room enough for them in the palace. There is in history an account of a Persian king that supped with 15,000 men, and in the supper spent forty talents {p}.



{n} Midrash Esther, fol. 94. 1. {o} Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 22. {p} Ctesias & Dinon in Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 4.





Esther 1:6



Ver. 6. Where were white, green, and blue hangings,.... Or curtains of fine linen, as the Targum, which were of these several colours; the first letter of the word for "white" is larger than usual, to denote the exceeding whiteness of them. The next word is "carpas", which Ben Melech observes is a dyed colour, said to be green. Pausanias {q} makes mention of Carpasian linen, and which may be here meant; the last word used signifies blue, sky coloured, or hyacinth:



fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings, and pillars of marble; these pillars are said, in the Targum, to be of divers colours, red, green, and shining yellow and white, on which the silver rings were fixed, and into them were put linen strings of purple colour, which fastened the hangings to them, and so made an enclosure, within which the guests sat at the feast:



the beds were of gold and silver; the couches on which they sat, or rather reclined at eating, as was the manner of the eastern nations; these, according to the Targum, were of lambs' wool, the finest, and the softest, and the posts of them were of gold, and their feet of silver. Such luxury obtained among the Romans in later times {r}:



these were placed in a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble; which, according to some, are the porphyrite, Parian, alabaster, and marble of various colours; the marble of the Persians is of four colours, white, black, red and black, and white and black {s}; but others take them to be precious stones, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; the first is by the Targum interpreted crystal, by others the emerald, one of which Theophrastus {t} speaks of as four cubits long, and three broad, which might be laid in a pavement; the third is, by Bochart {u}, supposed to be the pearl; and in the Talmud {w} it is said to be of such a nature, that if placed in the middle of a dining room, will give light in it as at noonday, which seems to be what is called lychnites; to which Lucian {x} ascribes a like property: nor need all this seem strange, since great was the luxury of the eastern nations. Philostratus {y} speaks of a temple in India paved with pearls, and which he says all the Barbarians use in their temples; particularly it is said {z}, that the roofs of the palaces of Shushan and Ecbatana, the palaces of the kings of Persia, shone with gold and silver, ivory, and amber; no wonder then that their pavements were of very valuable and precious stones: and from hence it appears, that the "lithostrata", the word here used by the Septuagint, or tesserated pavements, were in use four hundred years before the times of Sylla, where the beginning of them is placed by Pliny {a}; there was a "lithostraton" in the second temple at Jerusalem, by us rendered the pavement, Joh 19:13, perhaps the same with the room Gazith, so called from its being laid with hewn stone. Aristeas {b}, who lived in the times of Ptolemy Philadelphus, testifies that the whole floor of the temple was a "lithostraton", or was paved with stone: it is most likely therefore that these had their original in the eastern country, and not in Greece, as Pliny {c} supposed.



{q} Attica, sive, l. 1. p. 48. {r} Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 33. c. 11. Sueton. Vit. Caesar. c. 49. {s} Universal History, vol. 5. p. 87. {t} Apud Plin. l. 37. c. 5. {u} Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 5. c. 8. {w} T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 12. 1. {x} De Dea Syria. {y} Vit. Apollon. l. 2. c. 11. {z} Aristot. de Mundo, c. 6. Apuleius de Mundo. {a} Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 25. {b} De 70 Interpret. p. 32. {c} Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 36. c. 25.)





Esther 1:7



Ver. 7. They gave them drink in vessels of gold, the vessels being divers one from another,.... In the pattern and workmanship of them, though of the same metal, which diversity made the festival the more grand; earthen cups, with the Persians, were reckoned very mean; when a king would disgrace a man, he obliged him to use earthen cups {d}. The Targum represents these vessels to be the golden vessels of the temple at Jerusalem Nebuchadnezzar carried away; which could not be, since they had been delivered by Cyrus to Zerubbabel, Ezr 1:7,



and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king; such as the king was able to give, the best he had, and that in great plenty; the wine the kings of Persia used to drink, as Strabo {e} relates, was Chalybonian wine, or wine of Helbon, as it is called, Eze 27:18,

See Gill on "Eze 27:18", but by the wine of the kingdom, as it may be rendered, is meant wine of the country; the wine of Schiras is reckoned the best in Persia {f}.



{d} Ctesias in Athenaei Deipnosoph. l. 11. {e} Geograph. l. 15. p. 505. {f} Universal History, vol. 5. p. 85.





Esther 1:8



Ver. 8. And the drinking was according to the law, none did compel,.... According to the law Ahasuerus gave to his officers next mentioned, which was not to oblige any man to drink more than he chose; the Targum is,



`according to the custom of his body;'



that is, as a man is able to bear it, so they drank: some {f} read it, "the drinking according to the law, let none exact"; or require it to be, according to the custom then in use in Persia; for they were degenerated from their former manners, and indulged to intemperance, as Xenophon {g} suggests: the law formerly was, not to carry large vessels into feasts; but now, says he, they drink so much, that they themselves must be carried out, because they cannot go upright: and so it became a law with the Greeks, at their festivals, that either a man must drink or go out {h}; so the master of a feast, at which Empedocles was, ordered either that he should drink, or the wine be poured on his head {i}; but such force or compulsion Ahasuerus forbad: and thus with the Chinese now, they force none to drink, but modestly invite them {k}:



for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure; to let them have what wine they would, but not force them to drink more than was agreeable to them.



{f} Vid. Drusium in loc. {g} Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 51. {h} Cicero. Tusculan. Quaest. l. 5. {i} Laert. in Vit. ejus, l. 8. p. 608. {k} Semedo's History of China, par. 1. c. 13.





Esther 1:9



Ver. 9. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women.... For it was not customary with the Persians, nor other eastern nations, to admit of women to their festivals {m}, but they feasted by themselves. Who Vashti was is not known with any certainty. Bishop Usher, who takes Ahasuerus to be Darius Hystaspis, thinks Vashti was Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, whom he married. The Targumist says, she was the daughter of Evilmerodach, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Her name seems to be the same with Vesta, a deity worshipped by the Persians, as Xenophon {n}, and signifies vehement fire, which was in great veneration with them; and therefore this queen is most likely to be of Persian original: she kept her feast



in the royal house which belonged to Ahasuerus; her guests not being so many, there was room enough in the king's palace for them, and where it was more decent for them to be than in the open air in the garden, and exposed to the sight of men.



{m} Justin c Trogo, l. 41. c. 3. {n} Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 23.





Esther 1:10



Ver. 10. On the seventh day,.... Of the feast, the last day of it, which the Rabbins, as Jarchi observes, say was the sabbath day, and so the Targum:



when the heart of the king was merry with wine; when he was intoxicated with it, and knew not well what he said or did; and the discourse at table ran upon the beauty of women, as the latter Targum; when the king asserted there were no women so beautiful as those of Babylon, and, as a proof of it, ordered his queen to be brought in:



he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains, that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king; or "eunuchs", as the word is sometimes rendered; and such persons were made use of in the eastern countries to, wait upon women, and so were proper to be sent on the king's errand to the queen.





Esther 1:11



Ver. 11. To bring Vashti the queen before the king,.... Not against her will, or by force; but they were sent to let her know it was the king's pleasure that she should come to him immediately:



with the crown royal; that is, upon her head, to make her look the more grand and majestic:



to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look upon; which was not wisely done, neither was it comely nor safe.





Esther 1:12



Ver. 12. But the queen refused to came at the king's commandment by his chamberlains,.... Even though he sent by them again, as the Targum; and so says Josephus {o}; which might not purely arise from pride in her, and contempt of him, but because she might conclude he was drunk, and knew not well what he did; and therefore had she come at his command, when he was himself and sober, he might blame her for coming, nay, use her ill for it, and especially if she was to come naked, as say the Jews {p}; and besides, it was contrary to the law of the Persians, as not only Josephus {q}, but Plutarch {r} observes, which suffered not women to be seen in public; and particularly did not allow their wives to be with them at feasts, only their concubines and harlots, with whom they could behave with more indecency; as for their wives, they were kept out of sight, at home {s}; and therefore Vashti might think it an indignity to be treated as an harlot or concubine:



therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him; which was the more fierce, as he was inflamed with wine.



{o} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 1. {p} Targum in loc. Midrash Esther, fol. 90. 1. {q} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 1. {r} In Themistoele. {s} Macrob. Saturnal. l. 7. c. 1.





Esther 1:13



Ver. 13. Then the king said to the wise men that knew the times,.... Astrologers, as Aben Ezra, that knew the fit time for doing anything; or that had knowledge of ancient times, historians, well read in history, and knew things that had happened similar to this:



for so was the king's manner towards all that knew law and judgment; it was customary with him in any case of difficulty to have the opinion and advice of those that were expert in the law, and well understood right and wrong. These are called by Herodotus {t} the king's judges.



{t} Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 14, 31. so in Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 1. c. 34.





Esther 1:14



Ver. 14. And the next unto him,.... That sat next to the king, and was the chief in dignity and authority under him:



was Carshena; and so everyone in their rank and order, as next mentioned:



Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan; who, according to the latter Targum, were of different countries; the first of Africa, the second of India, the third of Idumea, the fourth of Egypt, the fifth of Resen, Ge 10:12 which is framed out of Marsena, who is dropped, and the last of Jerusalem, said to be Daniel; though the former Targum makes him to be Haman:



the seven powers of Persia and Media; which custom of having seven counsellors with the kings of Persia arose from the seven princes that slew Smerdis the pretender, and made Darius Hystaspis king, the father of Xerxes:



which saw the king's face; were intimate and familiar with him, often in his presence; yea, might go into it when they pleased, without the ceremony of being introduced; which privilege the above persons reserved to themselves, when they placed Darius on the throne, as Herodotus relates {u}:



and which sat the first in the kingdom; next to the king, and were assisting to him in the administration of government, see Ezr 7:14.



{u} lb. (Thalia, sive, l. 3.) c. 84, 118.





Esther 1:15



Ver. 15. What shall we do unto the Queen Vashti, according to law,.... The king desired to know what law was provided in such a case as her's, and what to be done according to it:



because she hath not performed the commandment of the king by the chamberlains? as this was the crime, disobedience to his commands, he would have those who had knowledge of the law consider what punishment was to be inflicted on her for it, according to former laws, usages, and customs, or as reason and justice required; and it being a festival, and they heated with wine, was no objection to a consultation on this head; for it was the manner of the Persians at festivals, and when inflamed with wine, to consult and determine about matters of the greatest moment {w}; yea, reckoned their counsels and decrees firmer than when made when they were sober {x}; so the ancient Germans {y}.



{w} Clio, sive, l. 1. c. 133. {x} Strabo. Geograph. l. 15. p. 505. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 11. & l. 5. c. 21. {y} Tacitus de Mor. German. c. 22.





Esther 1:16



Ver. 16. And Memucan answered before the king and the princes,.... Who was the last, and perhaps the least and the youngest of the counsellors; it being appointed by the king, according to the latter Targum that when his counsellors sat, the least should give their counsel first; just as puisne judges, and the youngest peers with us, give their opinion in a case first:



Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus; he means, by setting a bad example to their wives, as after explained; it is an exaggeration of her crime, and made with a design to incense the king the more against her.





Esther 1:17



Ver. 17. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women,.... It will soon be spread all over the king's dominions, and reach the ears of the wives of all his subjects, and become their general talk everywhere:



so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes: make light of their authority, refuse subjection to them, slight their commands, and neglect to yield obedience to them, and so not give them the honour that is due unto them:



when it shall be reported, the King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, and she came not; was disobedient to his commands, refused to go along with the chamberlains sent by the king to fetch her.





Esther 1:18



Ver. 18. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto the king's princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen,.... From henceforward they will give a like answer to their husbands, when they lay their commands upon them, as Vashti has to the king; they will tell them to their faces they will not obey their orders:



thus shall there arise too much contempt and wrath; there will be in wives a general contempt of their husbands, which will cause discord and strife, quarrels, wrath and anger; contempt on one part, wrath on the other, and contention between both.





Esther 1:19



Ver. 19. If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him,.... Not only a proclamation made, but a law enacted and published by royal authority:



and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and Medes that it be not altered; for so it was, that when a law was made, and signed, and sealed, and registered among the laws of the kingdom, it remained unalterable, Da 6:8, this precaution Memucan took for his own safety; for had the king acted upon his advice, without passing it into a law in such form, he might change his mind, and recall Vashti, who would not fail of venting her wrath upon the counsellor, and so he be in danger of losing his life for it:



that Vashti come no more before King Ahasuerus; but be entirely divorced, never to be received any more:



and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she; or "to her companions" {z}; that was with her in the house of the women in the seraglio; one that was fairer, as the Targum, or of a better disposition than her; let her be made queen, and enjoy all the honour, and dignity, and marks of royalty Vashti did; her throne, her crown, and royal apparel, as it is interpreted in an ancient Jewish writing {a}.



{z} htwerl "sodali ejus", Montanus; "sociae ejus", Tigurine version, Drusius, Rambachius. {a} Tikkune Zohar, correct. 21. fol. 59. 2.





Esther 1:20



Ver. 20. And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire,.... As it was proper it should, since the report of the queen's deed would be made everywhere:



for it is great; the empire consisting of one hundred and twenty seven provinces, Es 1:1, Aben Ezra and Abendana interpret it, "though" it is great, yet the decree should be published throughout; the latter observes, that this may respect the king's decree; and so the Targum is,



"for his decree is great;''



it respecting a matter of great importance, and relating to a great personage, and would have great effect on the minds of persons, when it was observed that one so great was treated in this manner: and therefore



all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small; speaking respectfully to them, yielding a ready and cheerful obedience to all their commands; which would be done to princes and peasants, to high and low, to every rank of men.





Esther 1:21



Ver. 21. And the saying pleased the king and the princes,.... The king, and the other six princes and counsellors, approved of the proposal, and unanimously agreed to it:



and the king did according to the word of Memucan; passed a law according to his advice, and signed and sealed it, and registered it among the laws of the kingdom, not to be revoked.





Esther 1:22



Ver. 22. For he sent letters unto all the king's provinces,.... The one hundred and twenty seven provinces, Es 1:1, which, according to the Targum, were written and sealed with his own seal; which is very probable:



into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; that is, these letters were written in the language, and in the characters in which that language was written, used in each of the provinces to which these letters were sent, that they might be easily read and understood by all: the sum of which was,



that every man should bear rule in his own house; be prince, lord, and master there, and his commands obeyed, not only by his children and servants, but by his wife also:



and that it should be published according to the language of every people; but as this is expressed, or at least implied, in the first clause of this verse, it should rather be rendered, "and that he should speak according to the language of his people"; and so is the latter Targum; it seems as if a man, who had married a woman in another country, in complaisance to her had neglected his own native tongue, and used hers in the family, by which means he lost, or seemed to lose, his authority in it: now, to guard against this, this part of the law was made; and, according to Jarchi, the husband was to compel his wife to learn and speak his language, if she was a foreigner; to which agrees the first Targum, which paraphrases the whole thus,



"that a man rule over his wife, and oblige her to speak according to the language of her husband, and the speech of his people;''



and, in later times, Bahram Gaur forbid any other language, besides the Persian, to be used within his port, either in speaking or writing {b}.



{b} Vid. Castel. Lexic. Persic. col. 266.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Esther 2:1



INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 2



By the advice of the ministers of King Ahasuerus, fair virgins were sought for throughout his dominions, and brought to his chamberlain, the keeper of the women, among whom was Esther, a Jewish virgin, Es 2:1, who found favour with the chamberlain, and afterwards with the king, who made her queen instead of Vashti, and a feast on that account, Es 2:9. Mordecai, to whom Esther was related, and according to whose advice she acted, sitting in the king's gate, discovered a conspiracy against the king, which he now made known to Esther, Es 2:19.



Ver. 1. After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was appeased,.... Which went off with his wine, and so was quickly after, a few days at most, unless this can be understood as after the expedition of Xerxes into Greece, from whence he returned to Shushan, in the seventh year of his reign; and if he is the Ahasuerus here meant, he married Esther that year, Es 2:16 and it seems certain, that after his expedition he gave himself up to his amours, and in his way to Sardis he fell in love with his brother's wife, and then with his daughter {b}:



he remembered Vashti; her beauty, and was grieved, as Jarchi observes, that she was removed from him; and so Josephus says {c}, that he passionately loved her, and could not bear parting with her, and therefore was grieved that he had brought himself into such difficulties: the Targumists carry it further, and say that he was wroth with those that advised him to it, and ordered them to be put to death, and that they were:



and what she had done; that it was a trivial thing, and not deserving of such a sentence as he had passed upon her; that it was not done from contempt of him, but from modesty, and a strict regard to the laws of the Persians:



and what was decreed against her; that she should come no more before him, but be divorced from him; the thought of which gave him great pain and uneasiness.



{b} Herodot. Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 107. {c} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.





Esther 2:2



Ver. 2. Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him,.... Fearing that, if Vashti should be restored, vengeance would be taken on them; or however to remove the grief and melancholy of the king, they gave the following advice:



let there be fair young virgins sought for the king; that he might enjoy them, and choose one of them, the most agreeable to him, and put her in the room of Vashti.





Esther 2:3



Ver. 3. And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom,.... Who best knew where beautiful virgins might be found in their respective provinces, in which they dwelt:



that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace; the metropolis of the kingdom, where was the royal palace:



to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women; in which house it seems were two apartments, one for the virgins before they were introduced to the king, the other for them when they were become his concubines, which had a keeper also; but this Hege seems to have been over the whole house, Es 2:14. It was not only usual with the eastern people, as with the Turks now, for great personages to have keepers of their wives and concubines, but with the Romans also {d}:



and let their things for purification be given them; such as oil of myrrh, spices, &c. to remove all impurity and ill scent from them, and make them look smooth and beautiful.



{d} "Pone seram, cohibe", &c. Juvenal. Satyr. 6. ver. 346, 347.





Esther 2:4



Ver. 4. And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti,.... Have the royal estate, that was taken from Vashti, given to her, the crown royal set on her head, &c.



and the thing pleased the king, and he did so; appointed officers in all his provinces to seek out the most beautiful virgins, and bring them to his palace; so with the Chinese now, the king never marries with any of his kindred, though ever so remote; but there is sought throughout his kingdom a damsel of twelve or fourteen years, of perfect beauty, good natural parts, and well inclined to virtue; whence, for the most part, the queen is the daughter of some artisan; and in their history {e}, mention is made of one that was the daughter of a mason.



{e} Semedo's History of China, part 1. ch. 23.





Esther 2:5



Ver. 5. Now in Shushan the palace was a certain Jew,.... Not one of the tribe of Judah, for he was afterwards called a Benjaminite; but was so called, because he was of the kingdom of Judah, which consisted of both tribes. Jarchi says, all that were carried captive with the kings of Judah were called Jews among the nations, though of another tribe:



whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; who was among those that came with Zerubbabel from Babylon to Jerusalem, and returned to Persia again, Ezr 2:2, though some think this was another Mordecai; See Gill on "Ezr 2:2", who descended not from Kish, the father of Saul, but a later and more obscure person.





Esther 2:6



Ver. 6. Who had been carried away from Jerusalem,.... Which, according to some {f}, is to be connected, not with Mordecai, but with Kish, his great-grandfather; and indeed otherwise Mordecai must be now a very old man, and Esther his first cousin, they being brothers' children, must be at an age, one would think, not to be reckoned among young virgins, and not be so amiable as she is represented; and indeed, according to the former Targum, she was seventy five years of age, which is not credible; and yet this, and more she must be, to be equal to Mordecai, if he was carried captive, as follows:



with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away; which was eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, for so long Zedekiah reigned after that captivity of Jeconiah: hence Sir John Marsham {g} makes this affair of Esther to be within the time of the Babylonish captivity, and places Ahasuerus her husband between Darius the Mede and Cyrus, contrary to history and Scripture, see Da 6:28



{f} Vid. Rainold. de Lib. Apocryph. Praelect. 113, 117, 146. {g} Chronicon. see. 18. p. 609, 621.





Esther 2:7



Ver. 7. And he brought up Hadassah (that is Esther) his uncle's daughter,.... Her Hebrew name was Hadassah, which signifies a myrtle, to which the Israelites, and good men among them, are sometimes compared, Zec 1:8. Her Persian name was Esther, which some derive from "satar", to hide, because hidden in the house of Mordecai, so the former Targum, and by his advice concealed her kindred: or rather she was so called by Ahasuerus, when married to him, this word signifying in the Persian language a "star" {h} and so the latter Targum says she was called by the name of the star of Venus, which in Greek is asthr; though it is said {i}, that the myrtle, which is called "hadassah" in Hebrew, is in the Syriac language "esta"; so "asa" in the Talmud {k} signifies a myrtle; and, according to Hillerus {l}, "esther" signifies the black myrtle, which is reckoned the most excellent; and so "amestris", according to him, signifies the sole myrtle, the incomparable one. Xerxes had a wife, whose name was Amestris, which Scaliger thinks is as if it was rtoa Mh, and the same with Esther; but to this are objected, that her father's name was Otanes, and her cruelty in the mutilation of the wife of Masistis, her husband's brother, and burning alive fourteen children of the best families of the Persians, as a sacrifice to the infernal gods; and besides, Xerxes had a son by her marriageable, in the seventh year of this reign {m}, the year of Ahasuerus, in which he married Esther: but it is observed by some, that these things are confounded with the destruction of Haman's family, or told by the Persians to obliterate the memory of Esther, from whom they passed to the Greek historians:



for she had neither father nor mother; according to the former Targum, her father died and left her mother with child of her, and her mother died as soon as she was delivered of her:



and the maid was fair and beautiful; which was both the reason why she was taken and brought into the king's house, and why Mordecai took so much care of her:



whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter; loved her, and brought her up as if she had been his daughter, and called her so, as the Targum. The Rabbins, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra observe, say, he took her in order to make her his wife; and so the Septuagint render it; though perhaps no more may be intended by that version than that he brought her up to woman's estate. Josephus {n} calls him her uncle; and so the Vulgate Latin version, his brother's daughter; but both are mistaken.



{h} Castell. Lex. Persic. Latin. col. 329. Vid. Pfeiffer. difficil. Script. cent. 3. loc. 28. {i} Caphtor Uperah, fol. 60. 2. {k} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 44. 1. {l} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 621, 622. {m} Herodot. Calliope, sive, l. 9. c. 107. 111. & Polymnia, sive, l. 7. c. 61. 114. {n} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.)





Esther 2:8



Ver. 8. So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and decree was heard,.... In the several provinces of his kingdom:



and when many maidens were gathered unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai; Josephus {o} says, there were gathered to the number of four hundred:



that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, the keeper of the women: by force, as Aben Ezra and the former Targum, and so the word is sometimes used.



{o} Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.)





Esther 2:9



Ver. 9. And the maiden pleased him,.... Not the king, into whose presence she was not yet introduced, but the chamberlain; her beauty and her behaviour recommended her to him, and he concluded within himself that she was the person that of all would be acceptable to the king:



and she obtained kindness of him: had favours shown others had not:



and he speedily gave her things for purification; as oil, spices, &c. that she might be the sooner fitted to be had into the king's presence:



with such things as belonged to her; food and drink from the king's table; the Targum interprets it gifts, as chains and royal apparel:



and seven maidens, which were given her, out of the king's house; to wait upon her the seven days of the week, as the same Targum:



and he preferred her and her maids unto the best place of the house of the women; removed her and them to it, which was the most splendid, had large, airy, and pleasant rooms.





Esther 2:10



Ver. 10. Esther had not showed her people nor her kindred,.... What nation or family she was of; it not being asked, she was under no obligation to declare it; and being born in Shushan, as very probable, she was taken to be a Persian:



for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it; lest she should be despised and ill treated on that account; fearing, if the king knew it, he would not marry her, as Aben Ezra; or rather, as the same writer thinks, that she might keep the law of God privately, observe the sabbath, &c.





Esther 2:11



Ver. 11. And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house,.... Being one of the court, and in an high post, as Aben Ezra thinks, he might walk there without being examined, and called to an account for it:



to know how Esther did; to inquire of her health and prosperity, or peace, the word here used signifies, even all sorts of it:



and what should become of her; or was done to her, whether she was well used, or as yet introduced to the king, how it fared with her, and what befell her.





Esther 2:12



Ver. 12. Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to King Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of women,.... That were prepared in the house of the women to be presented to the king for his liking; for it seems that these virgins came in turns to him, according to the time they had been in the house; as did the wives of the kings of Persia, as Herodotus relates {p}:



for so were the days of their purifications accomplished; that is, in the space of twelve months, which were thus divided: to wit,



six months with oil of myrrh; which Ben Melech interprets of musk:



and six month's with sweet odours; the former was used to make the skin smooth and soft, and these to remove all ill scents through sweat, or any other cause:



and with other things for the purifying of women: by bathing, rubbing, &c. and such a space of time was observed not only for the thorough purification of them, but partly was of state and grandeur, and partly that it might be a clear case they were not with child by another, before they came to the king.



{p} Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 69.





Esther 2:13



Ver. 13. Then thus came every virgin unto the king,.... When her twelve months were up, and she was purified in the manner before observed:



whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house; whatever she commanded the chamberlain was obliged to furnish her with, or grant it to her, whether for ornament, as jewels, rich apparel, &c. or for attendance; whatever prince or peer she required to accompany her to the king, was to be obtained for her, as the Targum: and everything for mirth, all kinds of songs, or instruments of music, as Jarchi.





Esther 2:14



Ver. 14. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women,.... Or the other apartment of the house of the women, where were kept those the king had made his concubines or secondary wives. Aben Ezra interprets it the second time, and so the Targum by "again":



to the custody of Shaashgaz the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines; of which the kings of Persia had a great number; Darius, whom Alexander conquered, had three hundred and sixty {q}:



she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she was called by name; but remained shut up in the house, and might not lie with, nor be married to, another man.



{q} Curt. Hist. l. 3. c. 3.





Esther 2:15



Ver. 15. Now when the turn of Esther the daughter of Abihail,.... For this was her father's name, and not Aminadab, as the Septuagint version:



the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter; which makes it quite clear that Mordecai was not Esther's uncle, as Josephus, but her own cousin: now when her turn



was come to go in unto the king; which the virgins under purification took by turns, Es 2:14,



she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed; what he ordered her to have, or to do, she submitted to, being in his hands, and so obeyed his orders; but more she asked not, either for ornament or attendance, being not at all solicitous whether the king liked her or not; for it was not of choice, but by constraint, she went unto him; nor needed she anything to recommend her, her virtue, modesty, and beauty, were sufficient:



and Esther obtained favour of all them that looked upon her: when she came to court, the eyes of all were attracted to her; all admired her beauty, her innocent and modest look, and her graceful mien and deportment.





Esther 2:16



Ver. 16. So Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus, into his house royal,.... Did not return on the morrow to the house of the women, as those who only became the king's concubines did, Es 2:14, but she was taken to be his wife, and designed for his queen, and so was retained in his palace, and placed in an apartment suitable to the dignity she was about to be advanced unto:



and this was done in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth; and answers to part of December and part of January; not the twelfth month Adar, as the Septuagint version, and so Josephus {q}, contrary to the original text: either that law had not obtained among the Persians, or the king thought himself not bound by it, which forbid marriage at any other time than the beginning of the vernal equinox {r}:



in the seventh year of his reign; and the divorce of Vashti being in the third year of his reign, it was four years before Esther was taken by him; who, if Xerxes, it may be accounted for by his preparation for, and engagement in, a war with Greece, which took him up all this time; and from whence he returned in the seventh year of his reign, at the beginning of it, and married Esther at the close of it, see Es 2:1 as may be suggested.



{q} Ut supra (Antiqu. l. 11. c.6. sect. 2.) {r} Strabo. Geograph. l. 1. p. 504.





Esther 2:17



Ver. 17. And the king loved Esther above all the women,.... The virgins he made his concubines, as next explained; though Jarchi interprets it of married women, for such he supposes were gathered and brought to him, as well as virgins:



and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; who had been purified, and in their turns brought to him:



so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti; declared her queen, and gave her all the ensigns of royalty: so it was usual with the eastern kings to put a crown or diadem on the heads of their wives at the time of marriage, and declare them queens {s}.



{s} Vid. Paschalium de Coronis, l. 10. c. 8. p. 689.





Esther 2:18



Ver. 18. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and servants, even Esther's feast,.... A feast to all his nobles, courtiers, and ministers of state, on account of his marriage with Esther; which, according to the Greek version, was held seven days; but, according to Josephus, it lasted a whole month {t}:



and he made a release to the provinces; of taxes and tribute due to him, as was the custom of the kings of Persia when they came to the throne, as Herodotus {u} relates; so Smerdis the magus, that mounted the throne after Cambyses, pretending to be his brother, released them for three years to come {w}; and Grotius says kings used to do it at their marriage, but gives no instance of it:



and gave gifts: according to the latter Targum, to the provinces, all of them, that he might be sure that the people of Esther shared his favours, who were as yet unknown; but rather these gifts were given to his nobles, or it may be to Esther; so the former Targum,



"he gave to her a gift and portion:''



according to the state of the king; his royal ability and munificence, and suitable to his grandeur; and it was usual with the Persian kings to give to their wives whole cities for one thing or another, as for necklaces, hair laces, shoes, &c. {x}; Socrates {y} speaks of a whole country in Persia called the "Queen's girdle", and another her "Headdress".



{t} Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 2.) {u} Erato, sive, l. 6. c. 59. {w} Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 67. {x} Herodot. Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 98. Cicero in Verrem, l. 3. Orat. 8. {y} In Plat. Alcibiad.





Esther 2:19



Ver. 19. And when the virgins were gathered together the second time,.... Some think this second collection is that which was made when Esther was taken and brought to the keeper of the women, called the second, in reference to a former collection of them, made when Vashti was taken and made queen; but as there is no proof of any such collection then made, rather the case was this, such was the lust of the king, though he had a queen he loved, and a multitude of concubine's, yet a second collection of virgins was made for his gratification:



then Mordecai sat in the king's gate; or court, being an officer in it, promoted by the interest of Esther, though not as yet known to be a relation of her's: so yura in Xenophon {z} is used of the court of the king of Persia, as the Ottoman or Turkish court is now called the "Porte".



{z} Cyropaedia, l. 8. c. 2, 5, 11, 40.





Esther 2:20



Ver. 20. Esther had not showed her kindred nor her people, as Mordecai had charged her,.... As not before, so neither since she was made queen, see Es 2:10, though, according to the Targums, she was urged to it by the king himself:



for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him: which showed great humility in her, notwithstanding her advancement, great respect to him, and a sense of gratitude for the kindness he had shown; and this charge to her was still continued by Mordecai, partly that she might not fall into contempt, and partly to prevent hatred and envy to the Jewish nation, through her promotion; but chiefly so it was ordered in Providence, the proper time being not yet come.





Esther 2:21



Ver. 21. In those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate,.... Being, as before observed, an officer at court:



two of the king's chamberlains, Bigthan and Teresh, of those that kept the door; of the inner court, as Aben Ezra, of the doors of his bedchamber; perhaps they were the chief of his bodyguards, as the Septuagint version; in later times, such officers were about the chambers of great personages as their guards {a}:



these were wroth, and sought to lay hand on the King Ahasuerus; to poison him, as Jarchi and both the Targums; however, to take away his life by some means or another. Gorionides {b} says their design was, while the king was asleep, to cut off his head, and carry it to the king of Greece; there being at that time great wars between the kingdom of Greece and the kingdom of Persia, which exactly agrees with the times of Xerxes, and with this part of his reign, about the seventh year of it, what was the occasion of this wrath is not said, it is thought to be either the divorce of Vashti, whose creatures they were, or the marriage of Esther, and particularly the promotion of Mordecai, fearing they should be turned out of their places; so the former Targum.



{a} Vid. Pignorium de Servis, p. 408, &c. & Popma de Servis, p. 33. & Alstorph. de Lectis Vet. c. 12. {b} Hist. Heb. l. 2. c. 1. p. 72.





Esther 2:22



Ver. 22. And the thing was known to Mordecai,.... But by what means does not appear; the Jewish writers say {c}, these two men were Tarsians, and spoke in the Tarsian language, which they thought Mordecai did not understand; but he, being skilled in languages, overheard them, and understood what they said; but, according to Josephus {d}, it was discovered to him by Barnabazus, a servant of one of the chamberlains; the latter Targum says, it was showed unto him by the Holy Ghost:



who told it unto Esther, and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name; whose name she mentioned, partly as a voucher of the truth of what she reported, and partly to ingratiate Mordecai to the king, that he might be still yet more promoted in due time.



{c} T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 13. 2. Targum prius & Jarchi in loc. {d} Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 4.





Esther 2:23



Ver. 23. And when inquisition was made of the matter, it was found out,.... That these two men had entered into a conspiracy to take away the king's life; full proof and evidence were given of it:



therefore they were both hanged on a tree; Josephus {e} says they were crucified; but hanging was frequent among the Persians, as Grotius observes, and better agrees with the word here used:



and it was written in the book of the chronicles before the king; in a diary kept by the king's order, in which memorable events were set down, and might be done in the presence of the king, as well as the book lay open before him to read at any time; and this is observed to agree with the manner of Xerxes, who is reported {f} to sit on a throne of gold to behold a sea fight between the Grecians and Persians, and had several scribes by him to take down whatever was done in the fight.



{e} Ibid. (Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 4.) {f} Plutarch. in Themistocle.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

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