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, ¹  for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him. ² 

Ester 2:7

2:7 Now he was acting as the guardian ³  of Hadassah ⁴  (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive. ⁵  This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure. ⁶  When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her ⁷  as if she were his own daughter.

Ester 9:16

9:16 The rest of the Jews who were throughout the provinces of the king assembled in order to stand up for themselves and to have rest from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand ⁸  of their adversaries, but they did not confiscate their property.

Ester 9:19-20

9:19 This is why the Jews who are in the rural country – those who live in rural cities – set aside the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a holiday for happiness, banqueting, holiday, and sending gifts to one another.

9:20 Mordecai wrote these matters down and sent letters to all the Jews who were throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

Ester 8:15

8:15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in purple and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy. ⁹ 

Ester 2:20

2:20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people, ¹⁰  just as Mordecai had instructed her. ¹¹  Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.

Ester 4:13

4:13 he ¹²  said to take back this answer to Esther:

Ester 2:12

2:12 At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, ¹³  when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus – for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women –

Ester 5:9

Haman Expresses His Hatred of Mordecai

5:9 Now Haman went forth that day pleased and very much encouraged. ¹⁴  But when Haman saw Mordecai at the king’s gate, and he did not rise nor tremble in his presence, ¹⁵  Haman was filled with rage toward Mordecai.

Ester 9:13

9:13 Esther replied, “If the king is so inclined, let the Jews who are in Susa be permitted to act tomorrow also according to today’s law, and let them hang the ten sons of Haman on the gallows.”

[7:7]  ¹ 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]  ² 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.”

[2:7]  ³ tn According to HALOT 64 s.v. II אמן the term אֹמֵן (’omen) means: (1) “attendant” of children (Num 11:12; Isa 49:23); (2) “guardian” (2 Kgs 10:1, 5; Esth 2:7); (3) “nurse-maid” (2 Sam 4:4; Ruth 4:16); and (4) “to look after” (Isa 60:4; Lam 4:5). Older lexicons did not distinguish this root from the homonym I אָמַן (’aman, “to support; to confirm”; cf. BDB 52 s.v. אָמַן). This is reflected in a number of translations by use of a phrase like “brought up” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV) or “bringing up” (NASB).

[2:7]  ⁴ sn Hadassah is a Jewish name that probably means “myrtle”; the name Esther probably derives from the Persian word for “star,” although some scholars derive it from the name of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar. Esther is not the only biblical character for whom two different names were used. Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and his three friends Hananiah (renamed Shadrach), Mishael (renamed Meshach), and Azariah (renamed Abednego) were also given different names by their captors.

[2:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for there was not to her father or mother.” This is universally understood to mean Esther’s father and mother were no longer alive.

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “beautiful of form.” The Hebrew noun תֹּאַר (to’ar, “form; shape”) is used elsewhere to describe the physical bodily shape of a beautiful woman (Gen 29:17; Deut 21:11; 1 Sam 25:3); see BDB 1061 s.v. Cf. TEV “had a good figure.”

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “had taken her to him.” The Hebrew verb לָקַח (laqakh, “to take”) describes Mordecai adopting Esther and treating her like his own daughter: “to take as one’s own property” as a daughter (HALOT 534 s.v. I לקח 6).

[9:16]  ⁸ tc For this number much of the Greek MS tradition reads “fifteen thousand.” The Lucianic Greek recension reads “70,100.”

[8:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “shouted and rejoiced.” The expression is a hendiadys (see the note on 5:10 for an explanation of this figure).

[2:20]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tc The LXX adds the words “to fear God.”

[4:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Mordecai.” The pronoun (“he”) was used in the translation for stylistic reasons. A repetition of the proper name here is redundant in terms of contemporary English style.

[2:12]  ¹³ tc The LXX does not include the words “that were required for the women.”

[2:12]  tn Heb “to be to her according to the law of the women”; NASB “under the regulations for the women.”

[5:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “happy and good of heart”; NASB “glad and pleased of heart”; NIV “happy and in high spirits.”

[5:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “tremble from before him”; NIV “nor showed fear in his presence”; TEV “or show any sign of respect as he passed.”