Esther 10:3

For Mordecai the Jew was next unto Ahasuerus,.... The second man in the kingdom, the principal of the counsellors, and prime minister of state: and great among the Jews; highly respected by them, in

For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his Mordecia ... was next unto king Ahasuerus ...

Accepted of the multitude of his brethren; who did not envy his greatness, as men most commonly do in such cases, but rejoiced in it, and blessed God for it, and praised and loved him for his right and sweet management of his vast power. To all his seed; or, for all his seed, to wit, the Jews, who were of the same seed and root from which he was descended. He spoke and acted with great kindness and friendliness to them, when they resorted to him upon any occasion.

Esther 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.Ver. 3. For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus] Proximus a primo, the king’ s second, as 2 Chronicles 28:11, having the next chief seat to him, as Josephus expoundeth it, and set over all the princes of that monarchy (Mεταβασιλεαεχωνπροεδριαν); so that he might well cry out, with that noble general Iphicrates, εξοιωνειςοια, from what mean beginnings to how great an estate and dignity am I raised! How long he held it is not recorded; all the days of his life, it is likely, for the good and comfort of the Church, though not without the envy of many of the courtiers, which he overcame more by patience than pertinancy. And great among the Jews] A kind of king in Jeshurun, as Moses, as great among them as if he had been their proper king. There is mention made of one Mordecai, Ezra 2:2, who was of the first that went up with Zorobabel. Aben Ezra saith that this Mordecai was he; and that when he saw that the building of the city and temple went not on as was to be wished, he returned again out of Judea to Shushan, and lived about the king’ s court, being not known to be a Jew, till Haman was in his greatness; soon after which himself became much greater than Haman. And accepted of the multitude of his brethren] He was their Corculum, sweet heart, as Scipio; their darling (Orbis deliciae), world of delight, as Titus; Mundi Mirabilia, wonder of the world, as Otho, the third emperor of Germany, was called. Of Mordecai it might be sung, as Cardanus did of our Edward VI, Deliciae saecli et gloria gentis erat. He was the delight of the generation and the glory of the nation. Seeking the wealth of his people] Far more than his own private profit, glory, and dignity, labouring their good, both of soul and body, by all means possible, that they might have Gaius’ prosperity, and be as happy as heart could wish. And speaking peace] He was gentle and courteous to all, not like Polyphemus, who was Nec visu facilis, nec dictu affabilis ulli. Now affability and courtesy in high degree easily draweth men’ s minds, as fair flowers in the spring do passengers’ eyes; Queen Elizabeth, If or instance, of whom before. Moreover, he spoke good of them, and for them, to the king, and promoted their prosperity to the utmost. To all his seed] i.e. To all his countrymen, as if they had been his own children. And here that sweet promise of God, made to the good figs, was fulfilled. Jeremiah had persuaded Jehoiakim, and many others with him, to yield themselves up into the hands of the king of Assyria, assuring them that, so doing, they should fare far better than those that stood out.

(3) Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus.—We have seen that the events recorded in this book carry us to the year 470 B.C., at which time Mordecai was at the zenith of his greatness. How long he kept it, whether death or disgrace brought it to a close, and if the latter, from what cause, we cannot say. All we know is, that near the end of Xerxes’ reign his favourite and chief adviser was Artabanus, the captain of the guard, by whom he was murdered in B.C. 464. The last we hear of Mordecai, whatever was his afterfate, is that he was loyal to his people, and approved himself their benefactor, “seeking the wealth (i.e., weal—literally, good), and speaking peace to all his seed,” all of the stock of Israel.

Verse 3. Was next unto king Ahasuerus] He was his prime minister; and, under him, was the governor of the whole empire. The Targum is extravagant in its encomiums upon Mordecai: "All the kings of the earth feared and trembled before him: he was as resplendent as the evening star among the stars; and was as bright as Aurora beaming forth in the morning; and he was chief of the kings." Seeking the wealth of his people] Studying to promote the Jewish interest to the utmost of his power. Speaking peace to all his seed.] Endeavouring to settle their prosperity upon such a basis, that it might be for ever permanent. Here the Hebrew text ends; but in the ancient Vulgate, and in the Greek, ten verses are added to this chapter, and six whole chapters besides, so that the number of chapters in Esther amounts to sixteen. A translation of these may be found in the Apocrypha, bound up with the sacred text, in most of our larger English Bibles. On any part of this work it is not my province to add any comment. THIS is the last of the historical books of the Old Testament, for from this time to the birth of Christ they had no inspired writers; and the interval of their history must be sought among the apocryphal writers and other historians who have written on Jewish affairs. The most complete supplement to this history will be found in that most excellent work of Dean Prideaux, entitled The Old and New Testaments connected, in the History of the Jews and Neighbouring Nations, from the Declension of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the time of CHRIST, 4 vols. 8vo. 1725. The editions prior to this date are not so complete. We have already seen what the Feast of PURIM means, and why it was instituted; if the reader is desirous of farther information on this subject, he may find it in the works of Buxtorf, Leusden, Stehlin, and Calmet's Dictionary, article Pur. MASORETIC NOTES ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER Number of verses, 167. Middle verse, Es 5:7. Sections, 5. The following excellent remarks on the history of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, I borrow from Dr. John Taylor's Scheme of Scripture Divinity, and make no doubt I shall have the thanks of every reader whose thanks are worth having. "After the Babylonish captivity, the Jews no more lapsed into idolatry, but remained steady in the acknowledgment and worship of the one living and true God. Even then they fell into new ways of perverting religion, and the wise and holy intentions of the Divine law: 1. By laying all the stress on the external and less momentous parts of it, while they neglected the weighty and substantial, true holiness of heart and life.

Chap. Esther 10:1-3. Mordecai’s greatness The connexion of this short chapter with the rest of the Book is obscure. It may be a fragment of some other work, which, owing to its subject-matter, came to be attached to the preceding narrative. On the other hand it may be nothing more than the closing paragraph or postscript of the Book, having for its object to emphasize the power of Ahasuerus, and so to reflect glory on Mordecai. In that case the thought which inspires the chapter is that Ahasuerus, whose prime minister Mordecai was, could command the service of the continent of Asia, and the coast of the Mediterranean.

Mordecai ... was next unto king Ahasuerus - See Esther 2:5 note. Artabanus (Esther 1:14 note) was favorite toward the end of Xerxes’ reign, i. e. in his 20th and 21st years.

3. For — Introducing the reason why the acts of Mordecai and Ahasuerus were recorded in the same book. Next unto king Ahasuerus — His grand vizier, or prime minister. Comp. Esther 8:2; Esther 8:9; Esther 8:15; Esther 9:3-4.