Ester 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ¹  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ²  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 3:4

3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day ³  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ⁴  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ⁵ 

[2:20]  ¹ sn That Esther was able so effectively to conceal her Jewish heritage suggests that she was not consistently observing Jewish dietary and religious requirements. As C. A. Moore observes, “In order for Esther to have concealed her ethnic and religious identity…in the harem, she must have eaten…, dressed, and lived like a Persian rather than an observant Jewess” (Esther [AB], 28.) In this regard her public behavior stands in contrast to that of Daniel, for example.

[2:20]  ² tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[3:4]  ³ sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

[3:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”

[3:4]  ⁵ sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.