Esther 2

Chap. II. Ver. 1—23. A selection of “fair young virgins” is made for the king, among whom is Esther, the niece of Mordecai, who is made queen.—Esther’s feast.—It affords a melancholy reflection, to think how many families in humble life must be robbed, and how many poor girls must be forced to sacrifice their affections to gratify the lust of an eastern despot. True it is, that this was considered as an honour, and some might seek it: but among them were doubtless parents whose hearts bled to part with their beloved children; and probably females who were the objects, or the subjects of a virtuous love, which must be sacrificed to suit the pleasure of the monarch. Those females who happened to please their lord, were elevated to rank and distinction, and surrounded with every sensual pleasure; but the far greater part, as we know from good authority, were neglected and despised; and, except a few, whom his majesty might happen to recollect, condemned to the solitude of a convent.

Such are the miseries resulting from polygamy, and such the consequences of having the lives and property of whole nations dependent on the will of an arbitrary prince. A new and interesting character is now brought before us: Mordecai the Jew, the uncle of Esther. She, whom he had brought up as his own child, and who was remarkable for her personal beauty, is taken among the many virgins gathered for the harem of Ahasuerus; and Providence so ordered it, that this child should be the temporal saviour of the Jews, though nothing could at this time be farther from her ideas. Mordecai also, though equally unconscious, contributes to the great object, by discovering the conspiracy of two of the king’s chamberlains against his life.

We know not the rank in which Mordecai moved, but he was probably rich, and by his sitting in the king’s gate, a magistrate, though perhaps only over his own nation. His relation to Esther, must have given him great interest in her success and promotion, though, as he had charged her not to discover her nation (probably lest it should injure her) so was he careful to conceal his relation to her;

Notes on the verses

Phat it be not altered.—{Let it be inserted among the permanent laws, and be made a part of the constitution of the empire. The Persians seem to have affected such a degree of wisdom in the construction of their laws, that they never could be amended, and should never be repealed; and this formed the ground of the saying, ‘The laws of the Medes and Persians bar ere" 3 Biter linia oster. AP. II, Ver. 3. Shushan the palace.—The whole city seems to be comprehended in the palace and its environs. ™ Ai ae Ver. 7. Hadassah.—In Chaldee, ‘‘a myrtle;” but Esther, her Persian name, a star.—Dr. Clarke. Ver. 11. To know how Esther did.—[The apartments of the women are accounted so inviolable, that it is even a crime to inquire what passes within their walls.

A man, says Chardin, may walk a hundred days, one after the other, by the house where the women are, and yet know no more what is done there than at the farther end of Tartary. This sufficiently explains the conduct of Mordecai.]—Baxter. Ver. 12, Six months with oil of myrrh.—[The general use of such precious oils and fragrant perfumes even among the ancient Romans, particularly among ladies of rank and fashion, is inferred from the words of Virgil: ~~ a - " a7 s “* From her head the ambrosial locks breathed divine fragrance: her robe hung waving down to the ground.” In the remote age of Homer, the Greeks had already learnt the lavish use of such perfumes; for in describing Juno’s dress, he represents her pouring ambrosia and other perfumes all over her body.]—B.

Ver. 16. Tebeth.—Answering partly to our December, and partly to January. Ver. 18. Release to the provinces.—{We learn from Herodotus and Atheneus, that the Persian monarchs were accustomed to give their wives distinct cities and provinces for the purpose of paying them with different articles of dress: one was assigned for ornamenting the head and neck; another provided robes, zones, &c.; and the city of Anthilla was given to a Persian queen, we read, to supply her with shoes and sandals. It is probable, therefore, that at the desire of Esther, Ahasuerus relieved those cities and provinces that had before paid it, from this expense.]—Baxter.