Ester 2:3

2:3 And let the king appoint officers throughout all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the attractive young women to Susa the citadel, to the harem ¹  under the authority of Hegai, the king’s eunuch who oversees the women, and let him provide whatever cosmetics they desire. ² 

Ester 3:7

3:7 In the first month (that is, the month of Nisan), in the twelfth year ³  of King Ahasuerus’ reign, pur ⁴  (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman in order to determine a day and a month. ⁵  It turned out to be the twelfth month (that is, the month of Adar). ⁶ 

Ester 7:7

7:7 In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life, ⁷  for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him. ⁸ 

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “the house of the women” (so KJV, ASV). So also in vv. 9, 11, 13, and 14.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “their ointments”; cf. NIV, CEV, NLT “beauty treatments.”

[3:7]  ³ sn This year would be ca. 474 b.c. The reference to first month and twelfth month indicate that about a year had elapsed between this determination and the anticipated execution.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn The term פּוּר (pur, “lot”) is an Akkadian loanword; the narrator therefore explains it for his Hebrew readers (“that is, the lot”). It is from the plural form of this word (i.e., Purim) that the festival celebrating the deliverance of the Jews takes its name (cf. 9:24, 26, 28, 31).

[3:7]  ⁵ tc The LXX adds the following words: “in order to destroy in one day the race of Mordecai, and the lot fell on the fourteenth day of the month.” The LXX reading is included by NAB.

[3:7]  tn Heb “from day to day and from month to month” (so KJV, NASB).

[3:7]  ⁶ tn Since v. 7 seems to interrupt the flow of the narrative, many scholars have suggested that it is a late addition to the text. But there is not enough evidence to warrant such a conclusion. Even though its placement is somewhat awkward, the verse supplies to the reader an important piece of chronological information.

[7:7]  ⁷ sn There is great irony here in that the man who set out to destroy all the Jews now finds himself begging for his own life from a Jew.

[7:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “for he saw that calamity was determined for him from the king”; NAB “the king had decided on his doom”; NRSV “the king had determined to destroy him.”