14 15 to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted "faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. 0 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds1 that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof. "ch. 7. 2; 2 KL. 12. B 1 Cor. 4 2. * vers. 22,31; ch. 1. 12. P Ex. 20. 8-IL 21-27. ver. 21. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: 7 ch. 10. 31; Jer. 17. 16 and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold 17 on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this 18 that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? yet "ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19 ver. 11. Jer. 17. 21-3 * L... 19,9; Num 32.14. 7 ch. 7. 3; Jer. 17. 19 -22 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark E before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I 20 at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or 21 twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. 22 23 a And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. с Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness [or, multitude] of thy mercy. 4 ch. 7. 64, 65. © vers. 14, 31. ch. 10. 30, Ezra 92 8 ch. & 13. In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, 24 and of Moab: and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. 25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, Pra 21 and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, 'Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your 26 sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet "among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did out27 landish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was 'son29 in-law to 'Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased 3 him from me. "Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Ex. 34. 16 KL 1L 1. etc. 1 K 3 13; 2 Chr. 1. 12. • 2 Sara. 12. 24, 25 PIKL 11. 4 ? Ezra 10. 2 #ch. 6. 14. ch. 12. 1, etc. y ch. 10, 31 30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the ch 10 * Remember me, O my God, for good. 1 The prayer in ver. 22 shows that, with a happy consciousness of the service which by Divine grace he had been enabled to render, Nehemiah joined an humble sense of his need of sparing mercy. 2 This reform is supposed to have been from twelve to twenty years after a like reform by Ezra. See Ezra x. vers. 14,2 3 Josephus says that this expelled priest was named Manasseh; that he went to his father-in-law Sanballst. who built a temple for him upon mount Gerizim, in! opposition to that at Jerusalem; and that this was the origin of the religious rivalry, and extreme hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. See John iv. 20. NOTE ON THE STATE OF THE IDOLATRY, the master sin of the Jewish nation, appears to have been effectually cured by the captivity in Babylon. It is not, indeed, to be supposed that all the exiles who there learned the folly of worshipping idols became spiritual worshippers of Jehovah; but it is evident that, on their restoration to their own land, there was much of the vitality of religion amongst them, and their hearts were turned to Him who had chastened them for their good. Towards the close of the government of Nehemiah, the ardour of religious feeling began to decline; and it appears, from the prophecies of Malachi, that this declension increased. A severe persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes was made, by the grace of God, the means of rekindling, for a short time, the almost extinguished spark JEWS AFTER THE CAPTIVITY. of spiritual life. But the people gradually fell into new ways of perverting religion: by laying all the stress on its external parts to the neglect of the weighty and substantial-making it to consist in the zealous observance of rites and ceremonies, instead of real piety and holiness of heart and life; by speculating and refining upon the the Divine commandments, till their true intent and meaning were quite lost; and, further, by setting up the authority of human traditions, and the doctrines and commandments of men-so making the word of God of none effect. And this was the general state of religion among them for several centuries before the coming of Christ; though they still continued stedfast in the outward worship of the true God. THE book of Esther derives its name from one of the principal personages whose actions it records. It is not, however, a biography, but a narrative of interesting and important public transactions; and appears to be an extract from those official memoirs of the Persian court to which a distinct reference is made in ch. x. 2. The Asiatic sovereigns, as is well known, and as this book attests (ch. ii. 23; vi. 1), caused annals of their reigns to be kept; and from such national records this fragment of sacred history was probably translated by the inspired writer. This accounts for the omission of the name of God in this book, and for the minuteness of some of the details given respecting the court and empire of the Persian king (ch. i., ií., etc.), and the names of his ministers and officers, and even of Haman's sons (ch. i. 10, 14; x. 7, 10); also for Mordecai being frequently designated by the epithet of the Jew,' and the whole nation being always mentioned in the third and never in the first person. It supplies a reason, also, for the numerous parentheses which we find containing explanations which would be necessary for a Jewish reader; and it explains the abrupt termination of the narrative by one sentence relating to the power of Ahasuerus, and another concerning Mordecai's greatness. But the prominence which is given to Divine Providence (though the name of God is not expressly mentioned), and the hightoned moral suggestions which are occasionally made (see particularly ch. iv. 14), indicate the enlightened piety of the writer, and favour the supposition that Mordecai himself, or some other pious Jew, was at this time the royal annalist. Its The authority of this book has always been acknowledged by the Jews, by whom it is held in the highest estimation. The feast of Purim, the origin and institution of which are here described, is mentioned in 2 Maccabees xv. 37; and its continued observance, down to the present time, affords a standing proof of the truth and genuineness of this history. The account here given of a remarkable preservation in a time of imminent peril supplies new and interesting facts in the history of that people of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came:' and this history is probably referred to in Heb. xi. 34, which speaks of those who 'by faith escaped the edge of the sword.' internal evidence appears peculiarly striking when it is compared with the apocryphal addition given in some Bibles. The book itself is extant in Hebrew; the apocryphal addition is in Greek. In the former, everything exactly corresponds with the time at which it professes to have been written, and the narrative is simple, natural, and consistent; in the latter, persons and events are mentioned which did not exist till the Persian empire was overthrown; and it abounds with repetitions, and even contradictions. And whilst the sacred name is omitted in the genuine book, it is worthy of remark that it occurs in the very first sentence of the apocryphal additions, and is repeated no less than eight times in the 1 a course of five verses. So that it would seem as if Divine Providence had permitted these additions to be handed down in order to set in a clearer light the antiquity, genuineness, and intrinsic value of the book itself. The events related in this book have been referred, by different critics, to the reign of almost every Persian king, from Cyaxares to Artaxerxes III. Many, following the Septuagint and Josephus, suppose 'Ahasuerus' to be Artaxerxes Longimanus. But it appears impossible to conceive that the king, who, in the twelfth year of his reign, gave his ready consent to a decree for the extirpation of all the Jews in his empire (see ch. iii. 7), was the same man who, in the seventh year of his reign (only five years previously, according to this supposition), made to the Jewish nation the large grant of favours and privileges contained in the commission to Ezra (see Ezra vii. 11-28). Other facts in this history give rise to similar difficulties; and, upon the whole, it appears most likely that the Ahasuerus here mentioned was Xerxes 1., the invader of Greece; whose character, as made known to us from other sources, entirely corresponds with the facts here related. This supposition is further supported by the circumstance that some historians state that his son and successor, Artaxerxes Longimanus, had a Jewish mother. The principal dates also concur with remarkable periods in the life of Xerxes; the feast in ch. i. corresponds in point of time with the great council which he convened to decide upon the invasion of Greece; and the events in ch. ii. coincide with the period of his return, when he is said by Herodotus to have given himself up to unbounded personal indulgence. It does not, however, appear that either Esther or Mordecai can be satisfactorily identified with any persons mentioned in profane history. The two foregoing books have shown God's mercy towards the Jews who returned from Babylon to their own land: from this we learn that those also who remained in heathen countries were the objects of his watchful care. It exhibits, also, the wonderful manner in which He who sees and declares the end from the beginning' provides for the execution of his purposes; exercising an absolute though unseen control even over the results of men's free actions. It shows, further, how easy it is for him to put down the mighty from their seats,' and to 'exalt them of low degree;' and teaches us how safe it is to put our trust in God, and to walk humbly with him. It is thus excellently adapted to repress pride and vain glory, to administer comfort under trial, and to confirm faith and hope. The contents of this book are as follows: The elevation of Esther to be queen in the place of Vashti (ch. i., ii.); Haman's plot for the destruction of the Jews (iii.); their consequent distress; the defeat of Haman's plot; the triumph of the Jews over their enemies; and the institution of the festival commemorating their deliverance (iv.—x.) deposition of Vashti. c Ahasuerus's great feast; NOW it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and 2 twenty provinces:) that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the 3 throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, 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: 4 when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom, and the honour of his excellent majesty, many days, even an hundred and fourscore days. 2 1 Herodotus (Hist. vii. 9. 61-98) expressly mentions the 'Indians and Ethiopians' as being subjects of the Persian empire when Xerxes was preparing to invade Greece. 2 We have accounts in other ancient writings of equally protracted feasts; and the custom still obtains to some extent in Persia. 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, 6 in the court of the garden of the king's palace; 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, see eh. 7. 8: Ex. 2 and blue, and white, and black marble for, of porphyre, and marble, and alabaster, 7 and stone of blue colour]. And they gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another,) and royal wine in abundance, according 8 to the state of the king. And the drinking was according to the law; none did 58; BA 2 compel:3 for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they 10 15, 16. * ch. 7. 3. 9 should do according to every man's pleasure. Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to king Ahasuerus. On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he2 Sam. 15. 3: Pa commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and * Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the 11 king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show 12 the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. 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. m 6 13 16 Pro, 13, 13; ♬ 2 7: Dan 2 12: NL 2 L 1 Chr. 12. a • Fira 7. 14. P2 KL 23 1 And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the 17 people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their Eph husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus com18 manded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. Likewise shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king's princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus shall there arise too much 19 contempt and wrath. If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and 20 let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she. And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. 21 ch. 88; Dan 6 6 12, 13, 17. Eph. 53: 0.1 18; 1 Pet & H And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according 22 to the word of Memucan: for he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into 3 every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should" bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.7 Esther is chosen queen. "Eph. 5 22-91; 1 Tim. 2. 12 2 AFTER these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. c. 1. 2 Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young 3 virgins sought for the king: and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege theyor, Hega, vec. ik king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be 1 Rather, 'couches;' on which the guests reclined at their meals, as was usual among the ancients. 2 That is, the vessels were replaced by new ones as soon as they were emptied. 3 Or it may be rendered, the drinking according to custom none did compel:' that is, the usual forms were not to be strictly enforced. 4 According to eastern usages, women hold their feasts separately from the men. While the king's feast was in the court of the garden,' Vashti's was in the royal house,' conducted more privately. 5 Such an appearance as the king required would be, according to Oriental notions, a degradation to which a woman of reputation would not be likely to submit. 6 That is, men well versed in political affairs. See 1 Chron. xii. 32. 7 Some render this clause, and should speak the language of his own people;' making his wife, though a foreigner, conform to it. 8 This narrative affords a sad illustration of the truth, that the higher men are raised in power and wealth, the lower they often sink in subjection to their own sensual appetites; making the gratification of these their chief pursuit. And it shows how much the gospel of Christ was needed to give woman her right place in society, and to restore marriage to its original purity. 4 given them: and let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so. 5 a Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of 7 Babylon had carried away. And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. 8 So it came to pass, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king's house, to the 9 custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. And the maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her her things for purification, with such things as belonged to her, and seven maidens, which were meet to be given her, out of the king's house: and he preferred her and her maids unto the 10 best place of the house of the women. Esther had not showed her people nor 11 her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not show it. And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her. 12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the 13 women;) then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's 14 house. In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name. 15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, ver. 7. who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king's chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that 16 looked upon her. So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his 17 reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour [or, kindness] in his sight more than all the virgins; 'so that he set 18 the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's "ch. 1. 3. feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king. 19 0 And when the virgins were gathered together the second time, then Mordecai 20 sat in the king's gate. Esther had not yet showed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was brought up with him.6 P Mordecai discovers a conspiracy against the king. ch. 4. 14; Ps. 75. 6,7. " ver. 21; ch. 3. 2. • ver. 10. Por, Bigthana, ch.6.2. 21 IN those days, while Mordecai sat in the king's gate, two of the king's 1 Apparently, therefore, of the Benjamite royal family of Saul. 2 Hadassah' (a myrtle) was her Hebrew name; Esther' her Persian name. 3 It was not left to the choice of Esther, or of her guardian, whether she should be brought to the palace (ver. 3). A disclosure of her lineage might have kept her from being chosen as queen, but would not have saved her from concubinage. Every one whom the king thus took was considered a secondary wife; and her situation was not, according to the custom of those times and of those countries, deemed unlawful or dishonourable. ch. 6. 1. 4 Mordecai was a keeper of the gate, an office held only by persons of some consideration. 5 This is understood by the Septuagint and the Chaldee to mean a remission of tribute. This was the practice of the Persian kings on such occasions. 6 Although the ancient Persians imposed a greater restraint on females than is practised among us, yet they seem not by any means to have gone so far in that respect as the Oriental nations do at present; so that Mordecai was able to maintain a correspondence with Esther. 7 The Sept. adds, because Mordecai was promoted.' 8 Probably 'impaled;' and so in other places. 3 Haman, being displeased, obtains a decree for the extirpation of the Jews. AFTER these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes 2 that were with him. And all the king's servants, that were 'in the king's gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman:2 for the king had so commanded concerning him. 3 But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence. Then the king's servants, which were in the king's gate, said unto Mordecai, Why transgressest thou the *king's commandment? 4 ver. 2; eh. 52 Dan. 3, Now it came to pass, when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai's matters would 5 stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew. And when Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath. 6 And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman a sought to destroy all the Jews3P 54 that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai. c ch. 9.24; Fra 16.23 16. 20 7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king 12 A ch. 8. 2 i eh. 1. 22; &2 8; Dan & 8, 12 Then were the king's scribes [or, secretaries] called on the thirteenth day of the first month; and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province' according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king 88, 10; 1 K. E 13 Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.7 And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month 14 Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, 15 that they should be ready against that day. The posts went out, being 1 Haman supposed to have been an Amalekite, de- | posed upon by their favourites and flatterers; and it is scended from the ancient kings of that people, whose royal title was Agag. See Numb. xxiv. 7. 2 The Hebrew may be rendered, 'They knelt down, and fell prostrate before Haman.' This was the homage usually rendered to the Persian kings. 3 Haman's personal pique was doubtless connected with feelings of implacable hatred towards the nation who had been commissioned to exterminate the Amalekites, and had shattered the once celebrated power of Agag. See ver. 10; also Numb. xxiv. 7; Deut. xxv. 17-19; 1 Sam. xv. 2, 8; xxvii. 4 The Sept. adds, "that he might destroy in one day the race of Mordecai; and the lot fell for the fourteenth of the twelfth month; that is, the month Adar.' The practice of casting lots to discover a lucky day for any important enterprise was, and still is, common in the East, particularly among the Persians. It must not be inferred from our translation that Haman had recourse to the lot every day during a whole year: but he determined by lot first which month of the year was most auspicious, and then which day of the month; and the lots fell upon the fourteenth day of the month Adar, which was nearly twelve months after the time at which the decision was given. The overruling providence of God was herein strikingly manifested; for this long interval allowed time to take the necessary measures for defeating the plot. 5 Such is the way in which princes are too often im thus that persecution has been usually excited against the people of God: they have been rendered odious by falsehood and misrepresentation, and then treated as the vilest of criminals. 6 A sum amounting to more than two millions of pounds sterling of our money. This immense sum was promised for the purpose of gratifying a cruel revenge, and in compensation for the tribute of the slaughtered people; for that was the standard by which Haman and his despotic master estimated the worth of his subjects. Haman probably intended to reimburse himself from the spoil of the Jews. 7 A seal-ring, bearing the cipher of the sovereign, and thus answering the purpose of both seal and signature. 8 It appears surprising that the king should have given his consent to so inhuman a proposal; but history shows, that when an arbitrary monarch has become the dupe af a wicked favourite, it frequently becomes the chief object of his life to gratify and aggrandize him, without regard to the lives of his subjects or the interests of his empire. To estimate rightly the peril of the Jews, it should be remembered that, at that period, the whole nation, including even those in Judea, were under the dominion of the Persian king. 9 Xenophon states (Cyrop. viii. 6. 17, 18) that Cyrus first established a regular system of posts and couriers throughout the Persian dominions. |