From Humble Hadassah to Exalted Esther: Esther 2 Commentary

Previously on Bible Book Club

The entire first chapter of Esther was the setup for the rest of the book. It began with King Xerxes’ 180-day banquet and his banishment of Queen Vashti, which paved the way for Esther and the deliverance of God’s people.

At a Glance: The Story of Esther 2

During the four years between Vashti‘s banishment and Esther‘s coronation, King Xerxes fights and loses a war with Greece. Upon his return, the advisors devise a national beauty competition to distract the king and save themselves. Young Hadassah, a Jewish orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, is taken into the harem where she finds favor and becomes Queen Esther.]

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The Scriptural Account of Esther 2:1-4

Later when King Xerxes’ fury had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what he had decreed about her. Then the king’s personal attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful young women into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it. (Esther 2:1-4)

What was the timeline between Queen Vashti and Queen Esther?

Vashti defied King Xerxes in 483 BC, the third year of his reign, and Esther was made queen in the seventh year. During those four years between the two queens, Xerxes fought the war with Greece that he had been raising support for during the 180-day banquet. 

When he returned to Persia, it was not pretty. He had lost the war, depleted Persia’s wealth, and he didn’t even have a wife to welcome him home. The king had no queen. All he had were scheming advisors clamoring to make him happy in any way that benefited them.

Why did King Xerxes need a new queen after the war?

The King needed a new queen because he was lonely standing before the public in his military defeat. It was a reminder to the public of his double humiliation: the defiance of Vashti and the defeat by Greece. He needed a lovely queen by his side to distract the public and assuage his pride.

A lonely king needs a lovely queen, which sounds romantic. It was not. This is not a story of romance as some films about Esther portray it. 

To the Persian king, the queen is an instrument for enhancing his royal image. It is an official position. He can have multiple wives for heirs, but only one queen. He can have a harem of hundreds for pleasure, but only one queen. And after the humiliation of Vashti’s defiance, the new queen has to be a controlled partner not a co-ruler. She has to be beautiful, compliant, and manageable.

How did Vashti’s story set everything in motion?

The advisors had to make a move to protect themselves, because the king missed Vashti. If he were to bring her back, we all know how that would have gone down. To save face with her, Xerxes would have blamed her banishment on the advisors, and Vashti would have demanded that the advisors be killed for their bad advice.

What was the advisors’ plan to find a replacement for Vashti?

The advisor’s plan was a national search for the perfect queen in which King Xerxes could try out a different woman every night until he found one he liked. The advisors, knowing the king’s lust for women, devised this as a much more entertaining plan to distract Xerxes from Vashti, thereby saving themselves. 

Now this was not the way a queen in Persia was normally chosen. Most often a queen was chosen from one of the noble families of Persia, which makes sense as the queen held a political and public role. This competition was a creative way to appeal to the king’s lust. It worked, and the gathering of virgins began.

A lot has been written about the social injustice against the women of Persia in general and at this time specifically. It is worth pointing out that this is not a story of romance. There was more, so much more, to the cruelty of the king and the time. 

It was not only women who suffered. Hundreds of boys were gathered and castrated to serve as eunuchs in the growing harem and in the Persian Court. Everyone, male or female, was at risk of being forced into the king’s service.

The pleasure contest for the king was the advisor’s plan to conceal their mistake in advising the king to banish Vashti. But God had a plan to use it for good, for the saving of many lives.

How does the author explain God’s role in Esther’s story?

God is working behind the scenes to turn what man had planned for evil into good. He moves the queens around like pieces on a chessboard. Vashti needed to be removed from the easily influenced king, because she would have done nothing to help the Jews. So God moved her out so Esther could step in.

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The Scriptural Account of Esther 2:5-7

Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin king of Judah. Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther, had a lovely figure and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died. (Esther 2:5-7)

Numerous clues to the plot are hidden in this one paragraph masked as a boring genealogical detail.

What is the ancestral connection between Mordecai and King Saul?

Mordecai is a Jew from the Tribe of Benjamin, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, and Kish is the father of King Saul. However, King Saul lived about 500 years before. The author is laying the groundwork for a coming Bible Bender, irony, reversal, and fulfillment of prophecy all in one!

Whoever wrote this wants us to know that Mordecai is a descendant of Saul. And therefore, he has a direct connection to Saul’s conflict with Amalek. In 1 Samuel 15, King Saul conquered King Agag of Amalek, but he disobeyed God’s command to destroy the Amalekites completely. He spared King Agag. The failure cost Saul the kingdom and the kingship passed to David. 

Why did God command the Israelites to destroy the Amalekites?

Because the Amalekites took advantage of the weak, those who were at the rear of the Exodus trail and most likely the elderly, sick, and orphaned, God commanded the Israelites to blot out the name of Amalek. In other words, completely destroy them. God was very insistent they never forget.

Amalekites attack the weak

In Exodus 15, the Israelites were crossing the Red Sea to safety, or so they thought, but just two chapters later as a weak, unorganized nation, they are attacked by a new enemy.

Exodus 17:8-14 The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven.”

In Deuteronomy we learned more about this attack

Deuteronomy 25:17-19 Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!

In 1 Samuel 15 Saul, the first king of Israel, is given the opportunity to wipe out this vile enemy of God.

1 Samuel 15:3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.

Saul did not obey, instead:

1 Samuel 15:9 Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good.

Saul spared them, and the Amalekites lived on and in particular King Agag. Remember that name. 

So back to our story and the connection between Mordecai and Saul. Mordecai is a member of Saul’s tribe, Benjamin, and they are descended from the same ancestor, Kish. Will God accomplish what he promised, to wipe out the Amalekites for what they did to the Israelites? And will the fulfillment of this promise come from the tribe that failed before? The tribe of Benjamin, and the family of Kish? Stay tuned. Our author is setting the stage for us! 

And the author gives us another obscure but important detail. Mordecai is recorded with only one name, a name derived from a Babylonian god. The author doesn’t give him a Hebrew name. Again, the author is seeding the narrative, preparing us for a hidden lesson. 

Why does the author introduce Esther by two names?

The author wants us to see Hadassah and to appreciate her transformation to Queen Esther. This story is about a young, orphaned woman who is forced to live between two worlds with two identities. The humble Jewish world in which she had been raised by her cousin Mordecai. And the lavish, sophisticated Persian world, where she must hide her Jewish origins.

It is a painful transformation from Hadassah to Esther:

• Physically frightening
• Spiritually convicting
• Emotionally confusing
• Socially and politically threatening

In the cocoon of the harem, all alone and far from her family and her God, Hadassah transforms from an innocent young girl most likely in her teens into Esther, a wise, courageous woman capable of fulfilling God’s plan for her people. The saving of many lives.

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The Scriptural Account of Esther 2:8-11

Was Esther forced to compete in the queen contest?

The majority opinion is that Esther was forced to compete in the queen competition. Much is written about this contest to be queen and whether Esther was forced to compete or if she volunteered. Two factors contribute to the opinion she was forced:

1. The language used. It says the women were “taken or gathered.” There is never any mention of consent. Esther was taken to the King. The word choice is specific. If the author had said Esther went to the king or was dragged to the king. We could assume she was willing or unwilling. The fact that she was taken to the king implies that it was beyond her control. 

2. This was a sentence of isolation. After the women spent the night with the king, they were confined as concubines for the rest of their lives. Think about that. Young women were in a patriarchal society under the protection of their parents. Few parents would choose to have their daughter locked away, never to be seen again. And no woman would choose that. 

They were never released from the harem. They could never marry or have children unless they pleased the king enough to be called back for enough nights to get pregnant. In this pleasure contest of virgins, it is assumed that participants received only one night. 

Mordecai had yet another reason for not wanting this life for his little Hadassah. She was Jewish. 

Why did Mordecai tell Esther to hide her Jewish identity?

Mordecai’s instructions to conceal her identity implies he had good reason to fear anti-Sematism was lurking in the palace. And it was most likely why he daily paced in front of the palace, hoping to find out what had happened to her. Mordecai was worried. If they discovered she was Jewish, she might be in danger. And Mordecai was right. 

Hadassah is taken, and Mordecai is worried. The child he raised is gone. He can’t see her, communicate with her, or protect the child he has cared for since the day her parents died. He can only wonder how she was coping and how she could survive this.

What was Esther doing? 

Esther was finding favor. It’s the phrase I love to analyze. We ended the Book of Nehemiah with Nehemiah seeking favor with God. Joseph found favor with Potiphar, the prison warden, and pharaoh. Esther, we will see, is a fair competitor for Joseph.

First, she finds favor with Hegai, the head eunuch. But how does she just happen to be placed in the care of the head of the harem? Divine providence is the only answer. 

We don’t know exactly how Esther finds favor, but she immediately pleases Hegai, and he provides her with what appears to be more than the other women. Probably the young Hadassah’s character reflects her name.

What is the meaning of the names Hadassah and Esther?

Hadassah means myrtle and the name Esther means Star. In Jewish tradition the myrtle tree was associated with peace and prosperity. Because the tree has a sweet fragrance, it symbolizes good deeds and a pleasant character. And the myrtle tree’s blossoms are little white stars. 

Would sweet Hadassah blossom into the star Esther? Was the transformation of the young woman to a queen, hidden in the meaning of her two names?

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The Scriptural Account of Esther 2:12-15

It appears the king had only three requirements of the queen. She had to be:

• Beautiful: only beautiful women were taken.
• Obedient: that was made law when Vashti was defiant.
• Pleasing to him: but we don’t know exactly how. 

Was it physically, emotionally, sexually, or all three? It’s unclear. But the preparation for that one night with the king is very clear and extensive.

How were the women prepared for their night with the king?

The women were prepared for their night with the king with twelve months of treatments, and no expense was spared: oils, perfumes, cosmetics! At the end of the 12-month period, the woman was given anything she wished to take with her. Most certainly clothes and probably jewelry. And it is implied that they are to keep whatever they take.

What were Persian cosmetics like? Did many of the girls lavishly load up? Humble, compliant Hadassah-Esther did not.

How did Esther find favor with Hegai and the king?

Esther found favor with Hegai and the king because when it came time for her night with the king she turned to Hegai, the head of the harem, and deferred to his wisdom. She was not tempted by the largest jewels but trusted Hegai to make her selection. The result: Esther found favor with all who saw her. 

God used Hegai, a gentile, the head of the harem, the one man who more than anyone would know how to please the king and make a woman look her best. And because Esther had already found favor with Hegai, he assisted her and she found favor with everyone who saw her. Quite simple, she looked stunning.

How do compliance and favor work together? 

Compliance is the act of adhering to a request or rule, performed as a favor to maintain goodwill or secure a beneficial outcome from an authority figure. Esther complied with Hegai’s advice and found favor with the king.

Just as we cannot judge Vashti’s defiance, we cannot judge Esther’s deference. Was it wrong of her, a Jew, to comply with or defer to whatever the gentiles ask of her? The point in this story is not judgement. 

The point is that the hand of God is using a young girl known for her sweet, compliant nature to further his redemption. Because, if the Jews were exterminated, the Messiah would be with them, for God had promised the Saving Seed would come from the line of David.

For Esther, this story continues, but it’s a different story for the women who are not chosen.

What happened to the women who were not chosen as queen?

After their one night with the king, the women who were not chosen were taken to the other harem, the one for concubines (surely not willingly). They could not marry or return to their family. They could not even see the king again unless he remembered them by name. With 365 women a year, names would be tough. The fact that Esther stood out is a miracle. 

Any child conceived in one night was raised to serve their father in a high position. But they were not legitimate heirs to the throne. You had to be a wife for that. For these women, their one night with the king was followed by thousands of nights alone.

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The Scriptural Account of Esther 2:16-18

How did Esther feel?

The author provides no hint of how she felt about that night, but it cannot have been positive. So much of who she was or wanted to be faded with each step she took down the corridor to the king’s room.

• Gone were the dreams of her marrying a nice Jewish boy and raising children to be spoiled by their grandfather Mordecai.
• Gone were the virtues she aspired to as a good Jewish girl in the eyes of God.
• Gone were any hopes of seeing her family and friends ever again.

It had to be frightening. She was a virgin in her teens. The king was over twice her age at 39 years old. He had a notorious reputation for insatiable lust, proven by this very competition. She knew that he would have no regard for her. She would be used and discarded like the hundreds of women before her.

Despite all her feelings of fear, regret, helplessness, frustration, anger even, she had to perform. Her life, her future, depended on it. The sad reality is, as a Jew, she despairs that she cannot win either way. If she becomes queen, she will be in violation of Jewish law for marrying a pagan king. And if she does not become queen, she will suffocate trapped in a harem of hundreds.

How did Esther do it? 

We don’t know how Esther overcomes her fear and despair, or how this innocent, young woman pleases the experienced, insatiable, depraved king. It says only that “she won his favor.” Favor. I don’t think it had anything to do with whatever Esther did that night. It wasn’t her; it was God. She found favor because God moved the King of Persia.

The irony here is that the advisors are moving the king where they think they want him. They persuade the King to banish Vashti. Then they persuade the King to hold the virgin competition. But each time the advisors plan to move the king where they want him, in reality they are moving the king where God wants him–with Esther.

There is no mystery here. With the odds stacked against her, Esther found favor. It was not a coincidence. It was divine providence. 

Esther won the crown, the king, and a whole new public identity. The competition is over. But the ironies in this story and the reversals continue. And ironically, there was another great banquet, the fourth. 

What ironies exist between the banquets of Vashti and Esther?

It’s ironic that Vashti’s crown was taken for not attending a banquet, and Esther was given the crown and a banquet. The queen of defiance was replaced by a queen of compliance. And ironically Persia celebrates the marriage of Jewish Esther to Gentile Xerxes just about the same time Jerusalem mourns the marriages of Jewish exiles to Gentiles.

In fact, it is during this same time period that Ezra and Nehemiah are pulling their hair out because of intermarriage. In Ezra chapter 9 and Nehemiah chapter 13.

And ironically, Esther does not rise to her high position by consistent obedience like Joseph in Exodus and David in 1 Samuel. Esther is given the opportunity to save despite her imperfect faithfulness.

What is God doing here? 

God is encouraging us! No matter how difficult, crazy, or just plain wrong our circumstances are, God can turn them around and make them right. No matter what our past mistakes, God gives us new opportunities to do the right thing.

It is also a great lesson for all of us to refrain from judging. We do not know the heart of man, or in this case a woman. Nor do we know the plan, path, or purpose of God for each man or woman. And because we don’t know, we cannot judge.

God will use the imperfect faith of people to complete his perfect plan. It will all come together for good.

Well, it appears that all of this took place so that King Xerxes would have everything he wanted: a beautiful, compliant queen who satisfies his desires. Who just happens to be hiding a secret. A divinely provident secret. As our heroine rises, so does the villain in our next chapter.

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Group Discussion Questions for Esther Chapter 2

1. God often works through family lines to complete unfinished business. Are there any patterns or themes in your own family history that you see God redeeming or completing?
2. The transformation from Hadassah to Esther was “physically frightening, spiritually convicting, emotionally confusing, socially and politically threatening.” When have you experienced a difficult transformation that God used for His purposes?
3. Have you ever felt the tension of living between two worlds or two identities in your own life?

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