A few commentators believe that after Xerxes sent out his royal decree, Esther 1:22, he went on his four-year campaign against Greece, which ended up being a disaster for him. The Persians were defeated at Salamis in 480 B.C. and again at Plataea in 479 B.C.
This implies that four years have passed between chapters 1 and 2. Further evidence of this is also seen by the fact that he banished Vashti in the third year of his reign, and he married Esther in the seventh year of his reign.
After the king had banished Vashti from his sight, he began to remember her, and he began to remember what she had done and how he had made this royal decree, Esther 2:1. We’re not told what he was thinking about, but it appears he’s in remorse and reflecting upon his decree and his decision to banish her from his presence.
Because he was drunk when he signed the decree, Esther 1:10, he couldn’t go against his own decree; he couldn’t change his mind and bring Vashti back again.
The king obviously thought he had made a rather rash decision, and so, his personal attendants encouraged him to seek to replace her with another beautiful woman, Esther 2:2.
In an effort to find a replacement, all the virgins from one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of his kingdom, Esther 1:1, were to be brought to Susa, Esther 2:3. Josephus says Xerxes had a total of four hundred women selected.
They were to be prepared for the king and kept under the care of Hegai, who was a eunuch, so that he could choose which one would become his new queen, Esther 2:3-4.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the Persian palaces it was very extensive, since the monarchs maintained, besides their legitimate wives, as many as 300 or 400 concubines, Esther 2:14.’
Being a eunuch meant that he couldn’t have sexual relations with women. A man was a eunuch for three reasons.
1. Congenital.
They were born that way; their sexual organs were dysfunctional, so they have no sexual drive. They have no real need to be married to satisfy that desire, so they don’t get married. Jesus says some people are born that way.
2. Castration.
They were made that way by men; kings in ancient society used to do that a lot. They had their harems, and they didn’t want the man in charge of the Harem messing around with the women, so they castrated them so they would lose sexual desire, and they could do their business without being attracted to the women.
3. Commitment to God.
They want to serve the kingdom of God without being tied down to a wife and the responsibilities and time commitment that would take. So, by choice, they remained single.
We must note that none of these young virgins would have a choice in this matter, and all of them would become part of the king’s harem. King Xerxes is more than happy with the advice, and so he goes along with the plan to find a new queen for himself, Esther 2:4.
Here, we’re first introduced to Mordecai and Esther. Mordecai belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, and his great-grandfather was Kish, who had been taken into captivity, Esther 2:5.
The Jews were taken into captivity in three different stages, and Kish was taken into captivity in the second stage, Esther 2:6. The name Mordecai is believed to be derived from the pagan god Marduk, meaning dedicated to Mars.
Both Mordecai and Esther, as well as their parents, were born in captivity. Mordecai adopted his cousin Hadassah, that is, Esther, as his own daughter because she had no one else to take care of her, Esther 2:7. She was a beautiful young lady, Esther 2:7, which is why she was one of the women chosen to go before the king, Esther 2:8-9.
We can be sure that all of the virgins were beautiful in appearance but for some reason, which we’re not told about how Esther stood out from all the other virgins, Proverbs 3:3-4, and Hegai made sure she got extra beauty treatments that the other virgins didn’t receive, Esther 2:9.
Each of the virgins were provided with seven female attendants and Hegai moved Esther along with her attendant to the best part in the house of the women, Esther 2:9.
Notice that Esther was forbidden by Mordecai to reveal that she was a Jew, Esther 2:10. The Jews weren’t culturally favoured by the Persians, and the Jews may have been looked down upon by them, so he didn’t want her ethnic background to cause her to become a mere concubine in the king’s harem.
Mordecai’s love for Esther, his adopted daughter, is clearly seen in that he paces back and forth around the women’s quarters waiting for updates on Esther’s welfare, Esther 2:11.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Mordecai occupied, apparently, a humble place in the royal household. He was probably one of the porters or doorkeepers at the main entrance to the palace, Esther 2:21.’
We can only imagine the stress these women are going through as they are taken from their homes, knowing they were going to belong to the king and having to go through a one-year preparation process, Esther 2:12.
Rawlinson, in his commentary, says the following concerning the oils and perfumes.
‘Myrrh was highly esteemed, both for its scent and for its purifying power, by the ancients. In Egypt, it was employed largely in the preparation of mummies. The Jews were directed to make it one of the chief ingredients of their ‘holy anointing oil’, Exodus 30:23-25. Dresses and beds were scented with it, Psalm 45:8 / Proverbs 7:17. The word translated ‘sweet odours’, that is, perfumes, seems to mean ‘spices’ generally.’
After one year of preparation, the virgins were allowed to wear whatever they wanted to try and impress the king when they went to his bed that night, Esther 2:13-14.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Esther returned to the ‘house of the women,’ but not to the same part of it. She became an inmate of the ‘second house,’ or ‘house of the concubines,’ under the superintendence of a distinct officer, Shaashgaz.’
This again must have been very stressful because they knew that if the king didn’t choose them to be his queen, then they would be sent to the second house, which was the place where his concubines would stay for the rest of their lives. The only time they would ever see the king again was if he asked for them, and the chances of that happening were next to none.
It’s interesting that when it came to her turn to go to the king, she relied on Hegai, the eunuch to pick out what clothes she should wear before the king, Esther 2:15.
Notice again, that Esther stood out and gained the favour of everyone who saw her, Esther 2:15. The good news is that the eunuch’s advice paid off because the king chose her out of all the women that came before him and he made her queen in the seventh year of his reign Esther 2:16-17.
According to the customs of that time, the king made a great feast for this occasion and proclaimed a holiday in honour of his new wife, Esther 2:18. He also reduced the taxes of the people, Esther 2:18, which I’m sure the people would be grateful for.
Since Mordecai was sitting at the gate and was able to stay outside the woman’s courtyard, it’s believed by many that he was employed by the king as a gatekeeper, Esther 2:19.
We read that Esther was obedient and she respected Mordecai as her adopter father because she didn’t reveal who her family was, Esther 2:20. Even though she is now the queen of the greatest world empire at the time, she still respected and obeyed the one who took care of her in her youth, Esther 2:20.
Whilst sitting at the king’s gate, Mordecai finds out about the plot of the two officers, Bigthana and Teresh, Esther 2:21. He tells Esther and she then goes on to tell the king, Esther 2:22 / 1 Peter 2:17. This is one of these moments that can’t be a coincidence, when we think about what will eventually happen in the life of Esther and Mordecai.
We begin to understand that God was working in the lives of these two people in order to bring about the deliverance of the Jews in their land of captivity. If Mordecai hadn’t spoiled their plans, it would have been very easy for them to assassinate the king because they had access to the king when he was sleeping.
When King Xerxes finds out about the conspiracy, he investigates the matter and finds it to be true, and he had Bigthana and Teresh impaled on poles, Esther 2:23. They would have been impaled, and then their corpses were hung on a tree for public exhibition.
Later, we will see that the ten sons of Haman were first killed with the sword, but afterwards, their bodies were hanged on the gallows of their father, Esther 9:10-14 / Deuteronomy 21:22-23 / Joshua 8:29 / Joshua 10:26 / 1 Samuel 31:8-10 / 2 Samuel 4:12 / 2 Samuel 21:9-10.
Mordecai’s deed was recorded in the annals, Esther 2:23, and notice that the king didn’t reward Mordecai at this time, but later on, he will be rewarded. As I mentioned in the introduction, the Name of God isn’t mentioned anywhere within this book, but it’s clear that everything which has happened so far has happened because of the providence of God, Psalm 75:6-7.