Esther 2:22 Kommentar

Two things are recorded in this chapter, which were working towards the deliverance of the Jews from Haman's conspiracy: - 1I. The advancement of Esther to be queen instead of Vashti. Many others were candidates for the honour (Est 2:1-4); but Esther, an orphan, a captive-Jewess (Est 2:5-7), recommended herself to the king's chamberlain first (Est 2:8-11) and then to the king (Est 2:12-17), who made her queen (Est 2:18-20). II. The good service that Mordecai did to the king in discovering a plot against his life (Est 2:21-23).

INTRODUCTION TO ESTHER 2 By the advice of the ministers of King Ahasuerus, fair virgins were sought for throughout his dominions, and brought to his chamberlain, the keeper of the women, among whom was Esther, a Jewish virgin, Est 2:1, who found favour with the chamberlain, and afterwards with the king, who made her queen instead of Vashti, and a feast on that account, Est 2:9. Mordecai, to whom Esther was related, and according to whose advice she acted, sitting in the king's gate, discovered a conspiracy against the king, which he now made known to Esther, Est 2:19.

And the thing was known to Mordecai,.... But by what means does not appear; the Jewish writers say (c), these two men were Tarsians, and spoke in the Tarsian language, which they thought Mordecai did not understand; but he, being skilled in languages, overheard them, and understood what they said; but, according to Josephus (d), it was discovered to him by Barnabazus, a servant of one of the chamberlains; the latter Targum says, it was showed unto him by the Holy Ghost: who told it unto Esther, and Esther certified the king thereof in Mordecai's name; whose name she mentioned, partly as a voucher of the truth of what she reported, and partly to ingratiate Mordecai to the king, that he might be still yet more promoted in due time. (c) T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 13. 2. Targum prius & Jarchi in loc. (d) Antiqu. l. 11. c. 6. sect. 4.

Now, what can these two eunuchs, who were doorkeepers of the royal house and presided over the first rank in the palace, symbolize if not the scribes and the Pharisees of the Jews about whom it is said that though they had the key to knowledge, they did not enter themselves and would not allow anyone else to enter. These men decided to rise up against the king and kill him because they constantly envied the teachings and virtues of the Savior and so decided to plot against him; and together with the administrators of Roman rule they were trying to kill him in some way. Hence we read in the Gospel that “the Pharisees went out and hatched a plot to catch him with his words; and they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians, saying ‘Master, we know that you are truthful and you teach the way of God in truth; and that you do not concern yourself with anyone because you show no regard for a man’s status. Tell us, then, what you think—should one pay taxes to Caesar, or not (Matthew 22)?’” And elsewhere it is written that “the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled a council, and they said ‘what shall we do? Because this man does many wonders, if we let him go like this everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and do away with our place and our nation’” (John 11). Hence a bit after that, he adds: “So from that day forth they determined to kill him” (ibid.). The prophet Isaiah is alluding to these two characters when he mentions the two houses in which the Savior incarnate became a stone to trip against and a rock to stumble over, a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem on which many of them will stumble and fall, and be bruised, and ensnared, and caught. So our Mordecai, who knew about the wickedness of these eunuchs, turned them into the king through Esther, because the order of preachers shows the faithful—who are the limbs of Christ—how to be on guard against the deceit and the depravity of these men. These two eunuchs might also represent the character of heretics and schismatics who, because they carry in their hearts the poison of deception and wickedness, attack the truth by assiduously constructing evil schemes for removing it from the hearts of believers, and somehow killing within them Christ who is the life of the faithful. But the sacred teachers, who illuminate the sinfulness of these men, expose to the light the darkness of their errors by showing how the innocent are rescued from the death of the soul because God has pointed them out; how the guilty are punished with just vengeance; and how those who deserve it are repaid with the appropriate reward.

The counsellors advise that a selection of virgins should be made throughout the empire, out of whom the king should choose one to be queen in place of Vashti, Est 2:1-4. Account of Mordecai and his cousin Esther, Est 2:5-7. She is chosen among the young women, and is placed under the care of Hegai, the king's chamberlain, to go through a year's purification, Est 2:8-11. The manner in which these young women were introduced to the king, and how those were disposed of who were not called again to the king's bed, Est 2:12-14. Esther pleases the king, and is set above all the women; and he makes her queen in the place of Vashti, and does her great honor, Est 2:15-20. Mordecai, sitting at the king's gate, discovers a conspiracy formed against the king's life by two of his chamberlains; he informs the king, the matter is investigated, they are found guilty and hanged, and the transaction is recorded, Est 2:21-23.

Was known to Mordecai - Josephus says that a Jew, named Barnabasus, overheard the plot, told it to Mordecai, Mordecai to Esther, and Esther to the king, in Mordecai's name; and he was registered as the discoverer.

ESTHER CHOSEN TO BE QUEEN. (Est. 2:1-20) After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased--On recovering from the violent excitement of his revelry and rage, the king was pierced with poignant regret for the unmerited treatment he had given to his beautiful and dignified queen. But, according to the law, which made the word of a Persian king irrevocable, she could not be restored. His counsellors, for their own sake, were solicitous to remove his disquietude, and hastened to recommend the adoption of all suitable means for gratifying their royal master with another consort of equal or superior attractions to those of his divorced queen. In the despotic countries of the East the custom obtains that when an order is sent to a family for a young damsel to repair to the royal palace, the parents, however unwilling, dare not refuse the honor for their daughter; and although they know that when she is once in the royal harem, they will never see her again, they are obliged to yield a silent and passive compliance. On the occasion referred to, a general search was commanded to be made for the greatest beauties throughout the empire, in the hope that, from their ranks, the disconsolate monarch might select one for the honor of succeeding to the royal honors of Vashti. The damsels, on arrival at the palace, were placed under the custody of "Hege, the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women," that is, the chief eunuch, usually a repulsive old man, on whom the court ladies are very dependent, and whose favor they are always desirous to secure.

Elevation of Esther to the Throne - Esther 2 Service Rendered by Mordochai to the King When the wrath of King Ahashverosh was appeased, and he remembered his harsh treatment of Vashti, his courtiers proposed that he should send to fetch fair young virgins from all parts of his realm to the house of the women in Susa, that he might choose a new queen from among them. This proposal pleasing the king, was acted upon (Est 2:1-4). In the fortress of Susa, however, there dwelt one of the Jews who had been carried into captivity from Jerusalem, and whose name was Mordochai. This man had brought up Esther, his uncle's daughter, as his own child (Est 2:5-7). When, then, in pursuance with the king's commands, many maidens were gathered together in Susa, Esther also was brought into the king's house, and found favour with the keeper of the women while, according to order, she was going through a course of purification and anointing (Est 2:8-14). Then her turn came to be brought before the king, she found favour in his sight above all the other maidens, and was chosen by him to be queen in the place of Vashti. By Mordochai's command, however, she disclosed her race and lineage to no one (Est 2:15-20). At the same time two courtiers conspired against the life of the sovereign. Their conspiracy being discovered by Mordochai, was by him revealed to Esther, who gave information of it to the king, whereupon the matter was investigated, and found to have been correctly stated. The offenders were punished, and the event duly registered in the chronicles of the kingdom.