Esther 1:2 “[That] in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which [was] in Shushan the palace,” “Shushan” (Susa). was the ancient capital of Elam (the southwestern area of modern Iran). The city reached its height of importance as the residence and especially as the winter capital of the kings of Persia. When Cyrus the Great (reigned 550 – 529 B.C.), established the Persian Empire, he made Shushan its capital. At Shushan, Darius the Great (ruled 521 – 485 B.C.), built his magnificent royal palace, which later figured prominently in the story of Esther. In fact, most of the events recorded in the Book of Esther took place in Shushan (verses 1:2-5; 2:3-8; 3:15; 4:816; 8:14-15; 9:6-18). The great prophet Daniel had his vision of the ram and the goat in Shushan (Dan. 8:2), and Nehemiah lived there in exile (Neh. 1:1). “Which was in Shushan”: Shushan or Susa, the winter residence, was one of 4 capital cities. The other 3 included Babylon, Ecbatana (Ezra 6:2), and Persepolis. Shushan (referred to as the citadel),” is referring to the fortified palace complex built about the city for protection. Shushan, the palace, sat on a hill. It was in the area of Shushan the city, but was separate. Verses 3-4: Feasting is a frequent theme in Esther. This 180 day “feast” was staged to present the king’s wealth and present his people of his ability to carry out a campaign against Greece.Success would make him the supreme ruler of the world of that day. Photo by Gideon Hezekiah on Unsplash
Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, [being] before him:” “The third year” (ca. 483 B.C.). This probably included the planning phase for Ahasuerus’ later campaign against Greece in which the king suffered a humiliating defeat (ca. 481 – 479 B.C.). “Persia and Media”: Cyrus the Persian inherited Media and thus the name Media became just as prominent as Persia (550 B. C.).
This was like a diplomatic dinner. This dinner probably included as many as 15,000 people. The governors of the various provinces had gathered for this feast. It appears from the verse above, that his servants were included in this celebration. The nobles mentioned, were possibly some of the Medes who held high favor with Persia, even though they were a captured nation as well. Verses 4-12: Herodotus refers to this as a time when Xerxes laid plans for the great invasion of Greece. Along with him were military and civil leaders during the “hundred and fourscore days” (180 days). At the conclusion, a seven-day drinking feast was held (verses 5, 7), with the queen, “Vashti,” holding a separate feast for the women guests (verse 9). On the last day of the feast, the drunken king (verse 10), summoned his queen, perhaps to make a lewd display of her before his guests, but she refused to obey (verse 12). The name “Vashti” is puzzling because according to Herodotus, the queen’s name was Amestris, daughter of Otanes, who had supported Darius in his bid for the throne (in 522 B.C.). Possibly he had other queens, whose names have not come to light, or she had alternative names. Or there may be a linguistic link between the names “Vashti” and “Amestris”.
Esther 1:4 “When he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, [even] a hundred and fourscore days.”
Xerxes was the fourth king of the Persian monarchy, and was “far richer than all” that went before him, all their riches coming into his hands (Dan. 11:2). And now that prophecy began to be fulfilled, “that by his strength, through his riches, he should stir up all against the realm of Grecia”; which he began to do in the third year of his reign. And for which these his nobles might be called together, as to have their advice. So to animate them to come in the more readily into the expedition, by showing them the riches he was possessed of; for to none of the kings of Persia does this largeness of riches better belong than to Xerxes. “And the honor of his excellent majesty”: The grandeur he lived in, the pomp and splendor of his court; he was the most grand and magnificent of all the kings of the Medes and Persians. “And this he did many days, even a hundred and fourscore days”: To which seven more being added, as in the following verse, it made one hundred and eighty seven, the space of full six months. This 180 days is a lengthy time of festivity in their land. Possibly a few of the governors and nobles would come, and when they left, another group would come. We are not told for sure but 180 days is a long time for one party to last. He was showing off his wealth and power to the subordinate rulers of his provinces.
Esther 1:5 “And when these days were expired, the king made a feast unto all the people that were present in Shushan the palace, both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace;” The “citadel,” or palace, was in “Shushan (Susa), and served as one of the king’s lavish winter residences. It was also the site of one of Daniel’s visions (Dan. 8:2). Remains of this palace have been discovered in the modern-day city of Shush, in Iran. It was not unusual for a feast of this kind to last for 7 days. This court was estimated to be about 350 feet long by 250 feet wide. It seems, there was a building sitting in the middle of it. To accommodate the large numbers of people, it would have been necessary for it to be this large. This feast was for everyone. The servants of the king and all the people, small and great, joined in the feast.
Esther 1:6 “[Where were] white, green, and blue, [hangings], fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars of marble: the beds [were of] gold and silver, upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.” The fashion, in the houses of the great, on festive occasions, was to decorate the chambers from the middle of the wall downward with damask or velvet hangings of variegated colors suspended on hooks, or taken down at pleasure. “The beds were of gold and silver”: That is, the couches on which, according to Oriental fashion, the guests reclined, and which were either formed entirely of gold and silver or inlaid with ornaments of those costly metals, stood on an elevated floor of parti-colored marble. This court was magnificent. The hangings could have been used as a type of awning to shade the people from the heat, since the court probably had no roof. The beds mentioned, were actually couches where the people reclined. They were probably made of the precious metals, silver and gold, because there was so much wealth. The pillars of marble were possibly limestone blue. The floors were of the same material as the pillars, and some other colors that made a mosaic design. There were 4 different mosaics mixed and matched to make a beautiful floor.
Esther 1:7 “And they gave [them] drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king.”
In the pattern and workmanship of them, though of the same metal, which diversity made the festival grander. Earthen cups, with the Persians, were reckoned very mean; when a king would disgrace a man, he obliged him to use earthen cups. “And royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the king”: Such as the king was able to give, the best he had, and that in great plenty. The wine the kings of Persia used to drink, as Strabo relates, was Chalybonian wine, or wine of Helbon, as it is called (see notes on Ezek. 27:18). But by the wine of the kingdom, as it may be rendered, is meant wine of the country; the wine of Schiras is reckoned the best in Persia. The fact that the drinking cups were of gold, just showed the extreme wealth of the Persian king. It is interesting to me, that the cups were different. Perhaps it would have been easier for each one to keep up with his cup that way. It certainly would have been more expensive to make them different. This would have taken many barrels of wine to have enough to furnish so large a party. Photo by Gideon Hezekiah on Unsplash
Esther 1:8 “And the drinking [was] according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure.” According to the law Ahasuerus gave to his officers next mentioned, which was not to oblige any man to drink more than he chose. The Targum is, “according to the custom of his body”; that is, as a man is able to bear it, so they drank. Some read it, “the drinking according to the law, let none exact”; or require it to be, according to the custom then in use in Persia. “For so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure”: To let them have what wine they would, but not force them to drink more than was agreeable to them. It was usually understood that the officers must all drink. This generally led to many getting drunk. It is interesting to me, that the edict of the king here, allowed each person to decide for himself whether he would drink or not. It appears the king wanted to treat all of these people as guests, and not as his subjects.
Esther 1:9 “Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women [in] the royal house which [belonged] to king Ahasuerus.” “Vashti the queen”: Greek literature records her name as Amestris. She gave birth (ca. 483 B.C.), to Ahasuerus’ third son, Artaxerxes, who later succeeded his father Ahasuerus on the throne (Ezra 7:1). This shows that the men and women had separate feasts. We mentioned before that the feast was like a diplomatic dinner. Vashti was the wife of the king. She was queen, because she was married to the king. It was in his royal house that Vashti held the feast for the women. “Vashti” means beautiful. This was probably a name the king gave her, after they were married. Many believe her real name was Amestris. Verses 10-12: The king’s “anger” was aroused, probably because of embarrassment. His guests were gathered to decide whether or not they were going to follow him into war against Greece, and he could not even control his own wife.
Esther 1:10 “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,” Of the feast, the last day of it, which the Rabbins, as Jarchi observes, say was the Sabbath day, and so the Targum. “When the heart of the king was merry with wine”: When he was intoxicated with it, and knew not well what he said or did. And the discourse at table ran upon the beauty of women, as the latter Targum; when the king asserted there were no women so beautiful as those of Babylon, and, as a proof of it, ordered his queen to be brought in. “He commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains, that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king”: Or “eunuchs”, as the word is sometimes rendered; and such persons were made use of in the eastern countries to, wait upon women, and so were proper to be sent on the king’s errand to the queen. Photo by Gideon Hezekiah on Unsplash
Esther 1:11 “To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she [was] fair to look on.” Not against her will, or by force; but they were sent to let her know it was the king’s pleasure that she should come to him immediately. “With the crown royal”: That is, upon her head, to make her look the more grand and majestic. “To show the people and the princes her beauty”: For she was fair to look upon; which was not wisely done, neither was it comely nor safe.
On the seventh day of the feast, it seems the king had too much to drink, and asked seven of his eunuchs to go and get the queen. He wanted to exhibit her before the men at his party to show her great beauty. We may assume that he wanted her to remove her veil of covering. He was very proud of all his possessions and he counted the queen as part of his possessions. To present the queen in such a manner as this was a breach in Persian etiquette.
Esther 1:12 “But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by [his] chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.”
“Vashti refused”: Her reason is not recorded, although suggestions have included that: Her appearance would have involved lewd behavior before drunken men, or That she was still pregnant with Artaxerxes. “Queen Vashti” was deposed at about the same time that she gave birth to a son, Artaxerxes (484 or 483 B.C.). Although her insubordination infuriated the king and cost her the kingdom, Vashti seems to have regained some of her influence when Artaxerxes ascended the throne (in 465 B.C. and until she died in 424 B.C.).
Vashti had to realize that it might cost her her life to refuse to obey the command of her king, who was also her husband. She, perhaps, would rather lose her life, than become shamed by such an exhibit. This was as if he were showing her off for the envy of the other men. Her refusal to come would greatly shame her husband before his subordinates. He would possibly not have asked such a thing, had he not been drinking. She would have to be severely punished, and it had to be known publicly for him to regain his self-respect. Most kings would have had her killed for such an act of disobedience. Verses 13-20: King Ahasuerus liked to make decisions by committee, gathering together those he deemed “wise”. In this case, he was advised by lawyers and astrologers. Like modern-day spin-doctors, they sought to help him out of an embarrassing political situation so that the people of Persia would know their king could command both his wife and his country.
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