_rent his clothes_ So e.g. Reuben, when his brother Joseph was sold to the Midianites (Genesis 37:29), and Jacob, when he thought that his son had perished (Genesis 37:34). Cp. 2 Kings 18:37; Matthew 26:65. _put on sackcloth with ashes_ the two things together constituting an expression of the deep... [ Continue Reading ]
Esther 4:1-3. Dismay of Mordecai and the Jews Mordecai not only shares with the other dwellers in Susa the knowledge of the impending calamity, but also has obtained (Esther 4:7) information as to the nature of the transactions between the king and Haman. He exhibits the usual Oriental tokens of gr... [ Continue Reading ]
_and he came even before the king's gate_ either as being his usual place of resort, or with the hope that in this time of distress he might have some chance of communication with Esther, even though his garb precluded him from nearer approach.... [ Continue Reading ]
_many lay in sackcloth and ashes_ lit. _sackcloth and ashes were spread under many_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Esther's grief and the communications between her and Mordecai 4. _came and told it her_ Although unaware, according to the story, of the queen's relationship to Mordecai, her attendants knew (see Esther 2:11) the importance which he attached to her welfare, and therefore they presumed that his mou... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hathach_ The LXX. call him Achrathaeus (Ἀχραθαῖος), while the Targum makes him to be Daniel! _to know what this was, and why it was_ to know what his mourning attire meant.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the broad place_ the open space in front of the entrance to the palace, where Mordecai still lingered.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the exact sum_ The A.V. less closely _the sum_. The Heb. word is derived from a root meaning _to distinguish, explain_. It occurs again in Esther 10:2 (- _the full account_of the greatness of Mordecai"). _that Haman had promised to pay_ See on Esther 3:11. _for the Jews_ as the price of the destr... [ Continue Reading ]
_to make request before him, for her people_ See Esther 2:10. It was now necessary for Esther to declare her nationality. It was only by identifying herself with the imperilled nation that their deliverance could be hoped for.... [ Continue Reading ]
_gave him a message_ A.V. _gave him commandment_; but, although the word in the original often bears this sense, yet here the point of the expression is not the order to convey her communication but that that communication was to the effect that follows.... [ Continue Reading ]
Esther points out that it is a matter of common notoriety, not only among the courtiers but throughout the Empire, that death would be the penalty for entering the king's presence unsummoned, unless he should hold out the golden sceptre. Herodotus puts the rule in a modified form, saying that those... [ Continue Reading ]
_Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house_ Rank and position will avail nothing against so absolute an edict.... [ Continue Reading ]
_relief_ A.V. _enlargement_, a word now obsolete in the sense of relief or deliverance. It does not occur elsewhere in the A.V., but we find the corresponding verb, meaning _to set at large, to give freedom to move without obstruction_, in 2 Samuel 22:37 (Psalms 18:36) (-Thou hast enlarged my steps... [ Continue Reading ]
_all the Jews that are present in Shushan_ We are to suppose them to be a considerable number, if they were subsequently able to dispose of three hundred of their foes (Esther 9:15). _fast ye for me_ in connexion with intercession on my behalf. Prayer and fasting went together in time of sorrow or... [ Continue Reading ]
_went his way_ The Targum takes advantage of the frequent though by no means exclusive use of the original verb in the sense _to pass beyond, transgress_, to interpret it as indicating that Mordecai transgressed the rule of Passover, which prohibited fasting at that season. It is true that the Passo... [ Continue Reading ]