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1st addition to the book: Mordecai's dream and the revelation of the conspiracy against the king. 1–9. Feast of Artaxerxes. 10–22 Queen Vashti’s refusal to come to the meeting of guests at the king’s call and her removal by the king. Esph.1:0a. [In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great, on the first day of the month Nisan, Mordecai, the son of Jairus, Shimei, Kiseev, from the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream. In the history of Mordecai's dream, the following contradiction should first of all be noted: the narrator says that the dream appeared to Mordecai “in the second year” (Esther 1:0a) of Artaxerxes, and Mordecai is already referred to as “serving in the royal palace.” Meanwhile, according to the Hebrew text, Esther was taken to the king only “in the seventh year of his reign” (Esther 2:16, cf. Esther 2:19), when Mordecai was close to the court and could provide a certain service to the king by exposing the conspiracy started against him. It is possible to resolve the bewilderment caused by this contradiction, either by making an error in indicating the year of Artaxerxes’ reign, or by admitting another situation in which Mordecai could have learned and brought to the king’s attention the conspiracy against him, or, finally, by assuming a longer period of time between the dream and the conspiracy. The history of the conspiracy according to various lists is presented in four ways (Hebrew text, 2 Greek and Josephus). According to the Hebrew text (Esther 2.21–23), the conspiracy causes Mordecai to approach the court, while according to the main Greek text (Addition 1), Mordecai was already at court and he himself, and not through the queen, reports the conspiracy to the king. Josephus generally follows this Greek text, supplementing it, however, with the message that Mordecai did not learn about the conspiracy himself, but through a certain Barnabas, a Jewish servant of one of the conspirators. Other Greek variants also allow for a repetition of the conspiracy, admitting the first in the 2nd year of Artaxerxes, and the second in the 7th, and thus trying to reconcile the disagreement and contradiction of the texts with the various dates and presentations of the conspiracy, or accept one, eliminating the other. Esther 1:0b A Judean who lived in the city of Susa, a great man who served in the royal palace. "Mordecai" is a Persian name meaning "worshipper of Merodach." In 1 Ezra 2.2 and Neh. 7.7 – Mordecai is mentioned among those who came with Zerubbabel from the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar. In the addition Mordecai is also called ἄνθροπος μέγας ("great man"), i.e. great in power and significance for the Jews (cf. Esther 10.3), in Josephus (Jewish Antiquities. Book 11, Chapter 6, 2) - he is designated as a person τῶν πρώτων παρὰ τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις. In the Hebrew text, the name Mordecai first appears with Esther 2.5–6. Esther 1:0c He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judah. Esther 1:0d And his dream was this: behold a terrible noise, thunder and an earthquake and confusion on the earth; Esther 1:0e and behold, two great serpents came out, ready to fight each other; Esther 1:0f And their howl was great, and because of their howl all the nations made ready for war to smite the nation of the righteous; “Righteous people” - righteous people, i.e. Jews. Esther 1:0g And behold, a day of darkness and gloom, sorrow and distress, suffering and great confusion on the earth; Esther 1:0h And all the righteous people were troubled, fearing their own troubles, and they prepared to perish Esther 1:0i and they began to cry to the Lord; Esther 1:0j out of their cry there came forth, as from a small spring, a great river with abundance of water; Esther 1:0k And the light and the sun shone, and the humble were exalted and destroyed the vain. – A detailed explanation of Mordecai's dream is given in the special 7th addition to the book (after Esther 10:3), to which we refer the reader. Esther 1:0l Mordecai, awakening from this dream, which depicted what God wanted to do, kept this dream in his heart and wanted to understand it in all parts of it until nightfall. those. until the next night, all day. Esther 1:0m And Mordecai stayed in the palace with Gabetha and Terah, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the palace, Esther 1:0n and heard their conversations and scouted out their plans and found out that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and he reported them to the king; Esther 1:0o And the king tortured these two eunuchs, and when they confessed, they were executed. Esther 1 :0p The king wrote this event down for memory, and Mordecai wrote about this event. Esther 1:0q And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the palace and gave him gifts for this. Esther 1:0r At that time, Haman the son of Amadath, a Bougite, was a nobleman under the king, and he tried to harm Mordecai and his people on account of the king’s two eunuchs.] “Haman” – according to Esther 3.1 of the main text – Agagit – הָאֲגָגִי . The Greek texts, in contrast to the Hebrew, call him either a Macedonian or a Bogean (Βουγαῖος). The latter, however, is neither the name of a people, nor the name of a locality, much less a proper name. It is rather a nickname (Βουγαῖος), the meaning of which is “big braggart.” As for the name of Haman “Agagit,” for a long time they thought on this basis that Haman was an Amalekite, for one of the Amalekite kings was called Agag. And since already in ancient times the names of Esau and Amalek were taken to designate the pagans of Europe, the LXX translates the Hebrew “agagi” through Μακεδῶν, Macedonian. However, the name of Haman, like the name of his father, is of Mid-Persian origin. And we also now know from the Karzabad inscriptions that the country of Agag was really part of Media - a new circumstance that shows even in the smallest details the historical significance of the book. Esther. From this it is clear that the objection made against Esther 16.10 - according to the Vulgate - and borrowed from the fact that in this place Haman is called “Macedonian in spirit and race” (animo et gente macedo), has no significance. This passage is not contradicted (as has been claimed) by Esther 3.1, 10, 8.3, 9.10, 24. The word "Macedonian" in Chapter XVI. - comes from the fact that the Greek translators, according to whom the Latin translation of Chapter XVI was made, in vain conveyed here, as in Esther 9.24, the word “Agagite” through “Macedonian” (Viguru, Guide to Reading and Studying the Bible, Book of Esther). The names of the eunuch conspirators are not the same in different editions. In the accepted Greek text they are called "Gawath a and Terah" (Γαβαθά and Θάρρα); in Josephus - Βαγαθῶος and Θεόδεστος; according to other variations Ἄστβγος ( Ἀστυάγης) and Θεδευτός. The Vulgate has Bagatha instead of Γαβαθά. Esther 1:1. And it happened [after this] in the days of Artaxerxes, - this Artaxerxes reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven regions from India to Ethiopia - The name of the king according to the Hebrew text is אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, according to one of the Greek variations Ἀρταξέρξης - “Artaxerxes”, according to others - Ασυηρος (cf. Tob 14.15, 1 Ezra 4.6, Dan 9.1), according to the Vulgate – Assuerus. It is debatable which king should really be meant here. In any case, it is most certain that we are talking here only about either Artaxerxes Longimanus or Xerxes. The name of this Artaxerxes “great” in the 1st addition (τοῦ μεγάλου. – Esther 1:0a) should be understood as the usual designation of the Persian kings, and not as Artaxerxes’ own distinction. Recent research has led to the idea that this “Artaxerxes” is none other than Agasvere (Xerxes I, 485–465, son of Darius I, son of Hystaspes). “One of the very first results of reading the Persian inscriptions,” says one of the researchers (Oppert), “was the identification of Agasver (Assuer) with Xerxes. Grotefend already expressed this opinion more than half a century ago, and the successes of science did not leave even a shadow of doubt about its truth.” And the biblical image of “Artaxerxes” could not be more similar to the “Agasber” of history and the circumstances of his reign. Thus, everything that is said about the space of the Persian Empire (Esther 1.1, 10.1), about the customs of the court, about the capricious, voluptuous, cruel, vengeful, extravagant disposition of Agasber - all this is most applicable to Xerxes in his description by Herodotus. The 127 regions, from India to Ethiopia, over which Artaxerxes reigned, should not be confused with the 20 satrapies established by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, in his state. The former were based on geographical and ethnographic features to divide them, while satrapies were more general administrative units to facilitate the collection of taxes. Esther 1:2. while King Artaxerxes sat on his royal throne, which is in Susa, the capital city, The action takes place “in Susa, the capital city,” where the king usually spent several months of the year. Esther 1:3. in the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and for those serving under him, for the main commanders of the Persian and Median armies and for the rulers of his regions, “In the third year... of his reign” - approximately 482 BC. Esther 1:4. showing the great wealth of his kingdom and the excellent splendor of his greatness for many days, one hundred and eighty days. The duration of the feast - without any exaggeration - is indicated at 180 days. It was, more precisely, a whole series of feasts, opened for more and more guests of the king, who flowed at his call from the most remote regions of the vast kingdom. Herodotus gives remarkable confirmation of this, reporting that, preparing for the campaign in Greece, after the conquest of Egypt, Xerxes invited all the nobles of his kingdom to his court to consult with them about this war, and spent four years preparing for it. Esther 1:5. At the end of these days, the king held a seven-day feast for his people who were in the capital city of Susa, from great to small, in the garden courtyard of the king’s house. Esther 1:6. White, paper and yellow woolen fabrics, attached with fine linen and purple cords, hung on silver rings and marble pillars. Esther 1:7. Gold and silver boxes were on a platform covered with green stones and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black stones. Esther 1:8. The drinks were served in golden vessels and various vessels, valued at thirty thousand talents; and the king's wine was abundant, according to the king's wealth. The drinking went on orderly, no one forced it, because the king gave such an order to all the managers in his house that they should do it according to the will of each. Everything that is told about the greatness of the Persian kings, the great wealth of their kingdom and the beauty of palace decorations is sufficiently confirmed by the result of excavations carried out on the site of Susa in 1884-1886. Esther 1:9. And Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal house of King Artaxerxes. The name of the queen in Hebrew: וַשְׁתִּּי, in LXX: Αστιν, in the Vulgate: Vasthi, in ancient Persian: Vahista - excellent. – The queen could usually dine with the king, but she could not be present at public feasts due to Persian concepts of female honor. Esther 1:10. On the seventh day, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Bizpha, Harbon, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zephar and Karkas - the seven eunuchs who served before King Artaxerxes, Esther 1:11. so that they bring Queen Vashti before the king in a royal crown in order to show her beauty to the peoples and princes; because she was very beautiful. Esther 1:12. But Queen Vashti did not want to come according to the king’s order, announced through the eunuchs. The king’s eccentric thought of “showing the peoples and princes the beauty” of Queen Vashti makes the queen’s refusal all the more attractive because it was in the midst of the feast and sensuality of the king and his guests: “on the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry from the wine.” Esther 1:13. And the king became very angry, and his rage burned within him. And the king said to the wise men who knew the former times, for the king’s deeds were done before all who knew the law and rights, “And the king asked the wise men who knew the times - for the king’s deeds are before all those who know the law and rights,” i.e. the king consulted with the sages (naturalists or magicians) who were with him about this matter, because this was his custom - to carry out trials and sentences openly, in front of everyone who knew and respected laws and rights. Esther 1:14. Those close to him at that time were: Karshena, Shephar, Admapha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memukhan - seven princes of Persia and Media, who could see the face of the king and sat first in the kingdom: “They could see the king’s face,” i.e. had access to him when he carried out his royal affairs. The number of these privileged persons was very limited (Esth. 1:10); Even the king’s closest friend, the queen, did not belong to him, as we see further in Esther (Esther 4.11 ff.). Esther 1:15. What should be done according to the law with Queen Vashti for what she did not do according to the word of King Artaxerxes, announced through the eunuchs? Esther 1:16. And Memukhan said before the king and the princes: Queen Vashti is not guilty before the king alone, but before all the princes and before all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Artaxerxes; Esther 1:17. because the queen’s deed will reach all the wives, and they will despise their husbands and say: King Artaxerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not go. Esther 1:18. Now the princesses of Persia and Media, who hear about the queen’s act, will say the same to all the king’s princes; and neglect and grief will be enough. In the verdict of the king’s close associates in the case of Vashti, there is absolutely no indication of circumstances mitigating her guilt; it is clear that the servility of the courtiers placed above all else - to act in the tone of the king’s mood and to please this mood; Moreover, the courtiers even exaggerate, exaggerate the matter, overgeneralize it, expressing the fear that “the princesses of Persia and Media” and all Persian wives in general “will neglect their husbands,” excluding any possibility of cases where this neglect could be a matter of women’s life and honor, and, thus, placing a woman in complete slavish submission to all the whims of a man. Esther 1:19. If it pleases the king, let a royal decree come out from him and be included in the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed, that Vashti will not enter before the face of King Artaxerxes, and the king will transfer her royal dignity to another who is better than her. “Let a royal decree come from him and fit into the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed.” A literally similar expression is found in the book of Daniel - Dan 6.8, confirming the close contact of the authors of both books with Persian life and their precise knowledge of Persian legal formulas and customs. Esther 1:22. And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, written to every province in its script, and to every nation in its language, that every man should be master of his own house, and that this should be declared to every one in his natural language. A more accurate translation: “so that every man may be master of his house and the language of his people,” i.e. so that in marriages between persons of different nationalities, the husband’s dialect and life customs should be dominant in the house. This is something similar to how the law now states that in mixed marriages the religion of the country should be taken as a guide in the upbringing of children. You might be interested in: