TOTC Esther

Debra Reid

• Publisher: IVP
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781844742448
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783592395
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The place: Persia. The time: fifth century BC. The Jews were threatened with genocide. A decree ordered the extermination of young and old, women and children.

The book of Esther describes how this crisis was averted through the bravery of Esther, the wisdom of her stepfather and the unity of the Jewish people. It also reveals the God who quietly - and sometimes unexpectedly - works behind the scenes to order the events of our lives.

Following the complete revision of the Tyndale New Testament series, the Old Testament series is now also being fully revised with new volumes, allowing the series to relevantly engage with current scholarship.

COMMENTARY

1. INTRODUCTION: THE REIGN OF XERXES (AHASUERUS) (Esther 1:1–9)

Context

This opening section of the story of Esther serves two purposes. First, it provides a historical setting; secondly, it introduces the reader to the world that setting represents.

A. The stage is set: ‘in the days of Xerxes …’ (1:1–2)

The first two verses place the story within a historical framework, without which it does not make sense. It is because this king reigns that the plot can develop. The vulnerability of the Jewish people is assumed as soon as Xerxes’ status and sovereignty are mentioned—his controlling power versus their vulnerability is a central theme in this story.

Comment

1. The narrative begins, This is what happened during the time of (NIV), which seems a predictable phrase to start a new narrative. However, its varied translation in other versions (cf. RSV, NRSV, NKJV) hints at the rarity of this compound. Within the OT, historical narratives usually use ‘this is what happened’, whereas prophetic writings opt for the second half of the compound ‘during/in the days of’. These opening words may alert the reader to the quasi-historical character of the story (or folklore-like, see Berlin [2001: 5], comparing the compound to ‘Once upon a time, in the days of the great and glorious Ahasuerus …’). Alternatively, the compound may serve to connect the story with preceding historical narrative (cf. Gen. 14:1; Isa. 7:1; Ruth 1:1)1. Thus the compound does not necessarily imply the story’s historicity, but neither does it rule it out.

Xerxes is the Greek form of an old Persian name meaning ‘he rules over men/heroes’. The Hebrew text has ʾǎḥašwērōš (cf. Ahasuerus in some modern versions, e.g. NKJV, NRSV and RSV). The preference for Xerxes (NIV) has emerged because it is the recognized name for the Persian king who was the son of Darius I, to whom the Greek historian Herodotus bears witness. Xerxes (b. 518 BC) ruled between 485 and 465 BC and appears on only one other occasion in the OT (Ezra 4:6), when he opposed the re-building of the temple. Xerxes was certainly a powerful oppressor but his rule ended in humiliating defeat at the hands of the Greeks. His desire for excessive glory led him to make military errors when all the numerical advantages had been his. Xerxes’ reign is a suitable setting for the story, but it is possible that the writer did not intend to bring a historical king to mind (which may account for the humorous sound of the Hebrew name and the Greek alternative rendition, Arta-xerxes), but created a world for the story that bore similarities to a historical world. However, the overlap between the author’s presentation of this king, and the presentation of Xerxes by Herodotus, is too great to dispense with lightly.

127 provinces stretching from India to Cush describes the extent of Xerxes’ sovereignty. The author could have described Xerxes’ reign by mentioning the larger administrative districts (satrapies) that made up his empire (Herodotus says there were initially only about twenty of these, though perhaps thirty-one over time). Instead, he refers to smaller areas (mědînâ), probably associated with individual cities (see Neh. 7:6; Ezra 2:1; Dan. 2:49), and chooses the largest possible way of numbering them, hence exceeding even Daniel’s recognition of 120 provinces (see Dan. 6:1). India to Cush designates the geographical (rather than the administrative) extent of Xerxes’ reign. Cush (English ‘Ethiopia’, now north Sudan) denotes the province in the south-west corner of the empire. India (now south Pakistan) was added to the empire by Darius and lies in the south-east corner.

2. The king’s royal residence is in the citadel of Susa (NIV, NRSV). Although sometimes translated as ‘capital’ (RSV) or simply ‘city’ (LXX), perhaps ‘palace’ (NKJV) in the sense of the palace and its environs, or ‘citadel’, are preferable. This term, borrowed from Akkadian, was particularly used for the high ground at the centre of the city of Susa where Darius built the Persian palace. This is supported by the use of the word in 1:5 (description of the palace gardens) and the fact that edicts are issued from the citadel (3:15; 8:14–15). This fortified area, a favourite winter residence for the Persian kings, was where Xerxes took refuge after his defeat at the hands of the Greeks (480 BC).

The city of Susa was the pre-eminent city among four capital cities used by the Persian rulers. Situated in Elam (south-west Iran), about 240 kilometres north of the Persian Gulf, it had the advantage of being situated in a fertile plain with plentiful rivers.

Meaning

Susa sums up the success and pleasure this king enjoyed. The citadel at Susa was a physical representation of Xerxes’ physical comfort and security, and the success and glory of his reign. The overview is in place: Xerxes is reigning happily. Now the writer’s view narrows to a particular time in his reign.

B. The royal banquets (1:3–9)

Context

This descriptive section is punctuated by the formula he/the king/the queen gave a banquet (vv. 3, 5, 9). The repeated phrase adds movement to the narrative that is otherwise excessively detailed. There is no dialogue, no explanation of the banquets’ purpose, and the language seems hyperbolic in purpose. It is significant that the theme of feasting features at the start and end of the book of Esther, as well as at the centre of the story (chs. 5–7).

Comment

i. Xerxes’ banquet for his officials (1:3–4)

3. This first feast is excessive in terms of its participants (v. 3) and its duration (v. 4). It is held in the third year of his (Xerxes’) reign (i.e. in 483 or 482 BC, after Xerxes’ campaigns in Egypt and Babylon). Irony may be intended here because Esther’s first readers knew that this period of carefree rule was abruptly ended by Xerxes’ unsuccessful campaigns against the Greeks. This banquet was possibly part of the warm-up for Xerxes’ war council that planned the attack against the Greeks. Certainly the author schedules this banquet so that its timing is both historically viable and ironically significant.

The exact meaning of nobles, officials, military leaders, princes and nobles of provinces is debatable, though they are probably people groups honoured by appointment rather than by birthright. Even the divisions within this list are not straightforward, because the conjunction is used in a seemingly random manner. The list as a whole clarifies that this banquet was for the great and the mighty, for those who upheld the structures that supported Xerxes’ rule.

Additional note: Persia and Media

The Medes and the Persians are two related people groups, both Indo-European Iranians, who migrated south from Russia into the Iranian plateau. In the early years after migration the Medes were a decentralized group, but by the early seventh century they established a capital city and a state. They experienced a level of success in 612 BC, joining with the Chaldeans to take the Assyrian capital city, Nineveh, but under Cyrus II (559–530 BC), who had a Median mother and a Persian father, the Persians eventually absorbed the Medes and their independence was lost. Consequently Esther 1:3 refers to Persia first as the controlling force.

4. 180 days may be the length of this first banquet or the length of the display of the king’s wealth. The writer emphasizes the ridiculously lengthy nature of the king’s self-glorifying celebrations (it would be impossible for all these important officials to be relieved of their duties for half a year!).

ii. Xerxes’ banquet for the people of Susa (1:5–8)

The purpose of this banquet is not explicitly identified, though its attendees and its duration may inform our conjecture. It may have marked Xerxes’ wedding to Vashti, as everyone in the service of the palace was invited to join the celebrations which lasted seven days (cf. the bridal week for Jacob and Leah, Gen. 29:27). The quality of decorations (v. 6), the free flow of wine (vv. 7–8) and the demand for Vashti’s appearance (v. 10ff.) are consistent with a wedding banquet.

5. The setting is in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace. Excavations of Persian palaces suggest that the citadels housed the palace buildings surrounded by gardens decorated with murals and water features. The gardens also contained pavilions supported by columns serving as large outdoor banqueting halls. This area appears to be the location of the banquet (cf. Bush 1996: 347).

The invitation is extended to all the people who were in the citadel of Susa (i.e. including people not among the select company invited to the first feast, but restricted to those who served the king in the citadel). It is likely that a residential area existed within the citadel of Susa, so there were plenty of people to invite.

6. The guests are treated to overwhelmingly lavish surroundings (v. 6) and provisions (v. 7). It is hardly possible to string together a more luxurious description than that in verse 6. The writer seems overwhelmed by the scene he describes and piles on the images of luxury. The syntax is unusual and creates the effect of poetic exclamation. The royal colours, white and purple, bring majestic tones. The intended impact is visual rather than verbal, and the use of rare words supplements the exotic picture that is created. Although the descriptions have hyperbolic effect, even Greek writers and Jewish tradition describe Persian palaces in luxurious terms.

7. The goblets of gold demonstrate Xerxes’ wealth. The Persians generally used glass or metal vessels but brought out the gold vessels on special royal occasions (cf. Dan. 5:2). The vessels here are individually designed indicating Xerxes’ flamboyant style. The wine was abundant and literally ‘according to the king’s hand’ (NIV in keeping with the king’s liberality) (cf. 1 Kgs 10:13, which uses the same phrase to describe Solomon’s generosity to the Queen of Sheba when he wanted to impress her!).

8. Even the amount of wine to be drunk was not restricted, for the king issued a command (dāt not tôrâ) that there was to be no ‘law’ (restriction). This hints at Xerxes’ lack of moral fibre: his ‘law’ permits a lawless free-for-all. However, it is possible that this verse implies that Xerxes gave up his right to dictate the duration of wine drinking—normally it would be expected that guests drank wine for as long as the king did. But in this opening scene it seems more likely that the intention is to highlight the indulgence of the banquet.

iii. Vashti’s banquet for the women of Xerxes’ palace (1:9)

This third banquet for women receives little comment. The author starts with the most magnificent and lengthy banquet, moves to a shorter banquet, and then arrives at this understated event.

Queen Vashti enters the story as host of the banquet. Even though Persian men and women often enjoyed banquets together, royal queens were excluded from social occasions where drunkenness and licentious behaviour featured. It seems that Vashti’s banquet was an indoor affair (in the royal palace, better ‘royal house or hall’) in contrast to the outdoor setting of Xerxes’ banquet.

The name Vashti sounds like the Persian for ‘beautiful woman’, possibly indicating that this is the Persian name for the queen, referred to by Herodotus by her Greek name Amestris. Herodotus tells us that Amestris was queen when Xerxes was involved in the campaign against the Greeks, and he identifies her as the mother of Artaxerxes.

Meaning

The reader has been introduced to the Persian world typified by Xerxes and his palace at Susa. The descriptions exaggerate the grandeur and wealth of Xerxes who places his honour on ostentatious display. Xerxes’ honour is challenged immediately by the first real incident of the story that follows.

Additional note: The Palace of Susa

French excavators found extensive remains of the palace in Susa, built by Darius in 490 BC and subsequently occupied by Xerxes. The palace ‘was decorated with friezes of coloured tiles, showing divine animals and floral patterns. In particular, a handsome frieze of gaily coloured tiles in relief representing in life-size a parade if the Great King’s bodyguard of Bowmen, called the Immortals, may be mentioned. A figure from this frieze … shows a bowman wearing long Elamite dress, holding a spear’ (Barnett 1966: 78). The ornate detail, the bright colours and the very size of this frieze support the description of the palace in Esther 1. A detailed account of the history and the physical appearance of the palace of Susa, based on archaeological evidence, is provided by Yamauchi (1990: 279–303). Of particular note is the claim that the palace of Susa was decorated more ornately than any other Persian palace and that its structure was highly complex. Inscriptions also indicate that materials (gold, cedar timber, precious stones, silver, ebony) were brought from all over the realm to decorate the palace (e.g. stone columns came from a village in Elam; stone-cutters were Ionians and Sardians; Babylonians baked bricks; and the Medes and Egyptians provided decoration for the walls). In this way, the palace was ‘owned’ by the realm as a whole and it was due to such labours that Xerxes inherited his ornate palace complex.

2. ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN (Esther 1:10–2:20)

Context

Now the historical and political scene has been set, attention turns to a necessary prelude to the main story. This prelude is an example of how the Persian court operates, and thus perhaps confirms the reader’s suspicions about Xerxes’ modus operandi. The narrative comes to life as the action begins and conversations are recorded, although it is not until Vashti is deposed and Esther is enthroned that the main story can emerge.

With the incidents that are unveiled in this prelude, Xerxes’ world is disrupted by a female presence that threatens his power. The operations of Xerxes’ court are ridiculed through the incident of Vashti’s demise, but when Esther replaces Vashti, another banquet is held to celebrate Xerxes’ honour.

A. The demise of Vashti: ‘on the seventh day’ (1:10–2:4)

This first real incident highlights Xerxes’ weaknesses. First Vashti does not comply with his wishes and then Xerxes shows his inability to make decisions. The incident explains the rather unlikely outcome that a young Jewish orphan girl becomes queen in Persia, and adds tension to Esther’s story because her vulnerability as queen is at least equal to Vashti’s. Vashti vanishes from the text as quickly as she appeared. She gives a banquet (v. 9), refuses to come for the king (v. 12), and then is talked about rather than talked to. Her quick demise, and the lack of interest in her motives or her future, suggest that the author is concerned with the political chaos her experiences expose, rat...

Table of contents

• Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
• Esther
• Contents
• General preface
• Author’s preface
• Select bibliography
• Abbreviations
• INTRODUCTION
• ANALYSIS
• COMMENTARY
• 2. ESTHER BECOMES QUEEN (Esther 1:10–2:20)
• 3. THE PLOT AGAINST XERXES: ‘in those days’ (Esther 2:21–23)
• 4. HAMAN’S PLOT AGAINST THE JEWISH EXILES: ‘after these things …’ (Esther 3:1–15)
• 5. MORDECAI AND ESTHER RESPOND TO HAMAN’S PLOT: ‘when Mordecai learned …’ (Esther 4:1–5:8)
• 8. PARTIAL SUCCESS: THE DEATH OF HAMAN (Esther 6:12–7:10)
• 9. FULL SUCCESS: THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE SAVED (Esther 8:1–9:16)
• 10. THE JEWS CELEBRATE THEIR VICTORY (Esther 9:17–32)
• 11. CONCLUSION: MORDECAI’S HONOUR: ‘He worked for the good of his people’(Esther 10:1–3)
• APPENDIX: The Greek Additions
• the text of the GREEK ADDITIONS1