Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Esther 10:3
For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
Mordecai … was next unto king Ahasuerus – See Est 2:5 note. Artabanus (Est 1:14 note) was favorite toward the end of Xerxes reign, i. e. in his 20th and 21st years.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. Was next unto king Ahasuerus] He was his prime minister; and, under him, was the governor of the whole empire.
The Targum is extravagant in its encomiums upon Mordecai: “All the kings of the earth feared and trembled before him: he was as resplendent as the evening star among the stars; and was as bright as Aurora beaming forth in the morning; and he was chief of the kings.”
Seeking the wealth of his people] Studying to promote the Jewish interest to the utmost of his power.
Speaking peace to all his seed.] Endeavouring to settle their prosperity upon such a basis, that it might be for ever permanent. Here the Hebrew text ends; but in the ancient Vulgate, and in the Greek, ten verses are added to this chapter, and six whole chapters besides, so that the number of chapters in Esther amounts to sixteen. A translation of these may be found in the Apocrypha, bound up with the sacred text, in most of our larger English Bibles. On any part of this work it is not my province to add any comment.
THIS is the last of the historical books of the Old Testament, for from this time to the birth of Christ they had no inspired writers; and the interval of their history must be sought among the apocryphal writers and other historians who have written on Jewish affairs. The most complete supplement to this history will be found in that most excellent work of Dean Prideaux, entitled The Old and New Testaments connected, in the History of the Jews and Neighbouring Nations, from the Declension of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah to the time of CHRIST, 4 vols. 8vo. 1725. The editions prior to this date are not so complete.
We have already seen what the Feast of PURIM means, and why it was instituted; if the reader is desirous of farther information on this subject, he may find it in the works of Buxtorf, Leusden, Stehlin, and Calmet’s Dictionary, article Pur.
MASORETIC NOTES ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER
Number of verses, 167. Middle verse, Es 5:7. Sections, 5.
The following excellent remarks on the history of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, I borrow from Dr. John Taylor’s Scheme of Scripture Divinity, and make no doubt I shall have the thanks of every reader whose thanks are worth having.
“After the Babylonish captivity, the Jews no more lapsed into idolatry, but remained steady in the acknowledgment and worship of the one living and true God. Even then they fell into new ways of perverting religion, and the wise and holy intentions of the Divine law:
1. By laying all the stress on the external and less momentous parts of it, while they neglected the weighty and substantial, true holiness of heart and life. Mankind are too easily drawn into this error; while they retain a sense of religion, they are too apt to listen to any methods by which it may be reduced to a consistency with the gratification of their passions, pride, and avarice. Thus, by placing religion in mere profession, or in the zealous observance of rites and ceremonies, instead of real piety, truth, purity, and goodness, they learn to be religious without virtue.
2. By speculating and commenting upon the Divine commands and institutions till their force is quite enervated, and they are refined into a sense that will commodiously allow a slight regard instead of sincere obedience.
3. By confirming and establishing the two former methods of corrupting religion by tradition, and the authority of learned rabbins, pretending that there was a system of religious rules delivered by word of mouth from Moses explanatory of the written law, known only to those rabbins, to whose judgment and decision, therefore, all the people were to submit.
“This in time (the space of two hundred and nineteen years) became the general state of religion among the Jews, after they had discarded idolatry: and this spirit prevailed among them for some ages (two hundred and ninety years) before the coming of Messiah; but, however, it did not interfere with the main system of Providence, or the introducing the knowledge of God among the nations, as they still continued steadfast in the worship of the true God, without danger of deviating from it.
“Thus the Jews were prepared by the preceding dispensation for the reception of the Messiah, and the just notions of religion which he was sent to inculcate; insomuch that their guilt must be highly aggravated if they rejected him and his instructions. It could not be for want of capacity, but of integrity, and must be assigned to wilful blindness and obduracy. Out of regard to temporal power, grandeur, and enjoyments, they loved darkness rather than light.
“For many ages the Jews had been well known in the Eastern empire, among the Assyrians, Chaldeans, Medes, and Persians; but till the time of Alexander the Great they had no communication with the Grecians.
“About the year before Christ 332 Alexander built Alexandria in Egypt; and to people his new city, removed thither many of the Jews, allowing them the use of their own laws and religion, and the same liberties with the Macedonians themselves. The Macedonians, who spake the Greek language, and other Greeks, were the principal inhabitants of Alexandria; from them the Jews learnt to speak Greek, which was the common language of the city, and which soon became the native language of the Jews that lived there, who on that account were called Hellenists, or Greek Jews, mentioned Ac 6:1; Ac 6:9; Ac 11:20. These Greek Jews had synagogues in Alexandria, and for their benefit the Five Books of Moses, which alone at first were publicly read, were translated into Greek, (by whom is uncertain,) and were read in their synagogues every Sabbath day; and in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, about 168 years before Christ, the prophets were also translated into Greek for the use of the Alexandrian Jews.
“This translation contributed much to the spreading the knowledge of true religion among the nations in the western parts of the world.
“For the Jews, their synagogues and worship there, after Alexander’s death, dispersed almost everywhere among the nations. Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s successors, having reduced Jerusalem and all Judea about 320 years before Christ, carried one hundred thousand Jews into Egypt, and there raised considerable numbers of them to places of trust and power, and several of them he placed in Cyrene and Libya. Seleucus, another of Alexander’s successors, about 300 years before Christ, built Antioch in Cilicia, and many other cities, in all thirty-five, and some of the capital cities in the Greater and Lesser Asia, in all which he planted the Jews, giving them equal privileges and immunities with the Greeks and Macedonians, especially at Antioch in Syria, where they settled in great numbers, and became almost as considerable a part of that city as they were at Alexandria. On that memorable day of Pentecost (Ac 2:5; Ac 2:9; Ac 2:11-12) were assembled in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven, namely, Parthians, Medes, and Persians, of the province of Elymais, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Cyrene in Libya, and Rome, Cretes, and Arabs, who were all either Jews natural, or devout men, i.e., proselytes to the Jewish religion. And in every city of the Roman empire where Paul preached, he found a body of his countrymen the Jews, except in Athens, which was at that time, I suppose, a town of no considerable trade, which shows that the Jews and their synagogues, at the time of our Lord’s appearance, were providentially scattered over all the Roman empire, and had in every place introduced more or less, among the nations the knowledge and worship of God; and so had prepared great numbers for the reception of the Gospel.
“About the time that Alexander built Alexandria in Egypt, the use of the papyrus for writing was found out in that country. This invention was so favourable to literature, that Ptolemy Soter was thereby enabled to erect a museum or library, which, by his son and successor, Philadelphus, who died two hundred and forty-seven years before Christ, was augmented to seven hundred thousand volumes. Part of this library happened to be burnt when Julius Caesar laid siege to Alexandria; but after that loss it was again much augmented, and soon grew up to be larger, and of more eminent note, than the former; till at length it was burnt and finally destroyed by the Saracens, in the year of our Lord 642. This plainly proves how much the invention of turning the papyrus into paper contributed to the increase of books, and the advancement of learning, for some ages before the coming of our Lord. Add to all this, that the world, after many changes and revolutions, was, by God’s all-ruling wisdom, thrown into that form of civil affairs which best suited with the great intended alteration. The many petty states and tyrannies, whose passions and bigotry might have run counter to the schemes of Providence, were all swallowed up in one great power, the ROMAN, to which all appeals lay; the seat of which, Rome, lay at a great distance from Jerusalem, the spring from which the Gospel was to rise and flow to all nations; and therefore as no material obstruction to the Gospel could come but from one quarter, none could suddenly arise from thence, but only in process of time, when the Gospel was sufficiently opened and established, as it did not in the least interfere with the Roman polity and government.
“The Gospel was first published in a time of general peace and tranquillity throughout the whole world, which gave the preachers of it an opportunity of passing freely from one country to another, and the minds of men the advantage of attending calmly to it.
“Many savage nations were civilized by the Romans, and became acquainted with the arts and virtues of their conquerors. Thus the darkest countries had their thoughts awakened, and were growing to a capacity of receiving, at the stated time, the knowledge of true religion; so that all things and circumstances conspired now with the views of heaven, and made this apparently the fullness of time, (Ga 4:4,) or the fittest juncture for God to reveal himself to the Gentiles, and to put an end to idolatry throughout the earth. Now the minds of men were generally ripe for a purer and brighter dispensation; and the circumstances of the world were such as favoured the progress of it.” – P. 368.
Hated and despised as the Jews were among the proud Romans, and the still more proud and supercilious Greeks, their sojourning among them, and their Greek version of the Scriptures, commonly called the Septuagint, were the means of furnishing them with truer notions, and a more distinct knowledge of vice and virtue, than they ever had before. And on examination we shall find that, from the time of Alexander’s conquest of Judea, a little more than three hundred years before our Lord, both Greeks and Romans became more correct in their theological opinions; and the sect of eclectic philosophers, whose aim was to select from all preceding sects what was most consistent with reason and truth, were not a little indebted to the progress which the light of God, dispensed by means of the Septuagint, had made in the heathen world. And let it be remembered, that for Jews, who were settled in Grecian countries, this version was made, and by those Jews it was carried through all the places of their dispersion.
To this version Christianity, under God, owes much. To this version we are indebted for such a knowledge of the Hebrew originals of the Old Testament, as we could never have had without it, the pure Hebrew having ceased to be vernacular after the Babylonish captivity; and Jesus Christ and his apostles have stamped an infinite value upon it by the general use they have made of it in the New Testament; perhaps never once quoting, directly, the Hebrew text, or using any other version than some copy of the Septuagint. By this version, though prophecy had ceased from the times of Ezra, Daniel, and Malachi, yet the law and the prophets were continued down to the time of Christ; and this was the grand medium by which this conveyance was made. And why is this version neglected? I hesitate not to assert that no man can ever gain a thorough knowledge of the phraseology of the New Testament writers, who is unacquainted with this version, or has not profited by such writers as derived their knowledge from it. A. CLARKE.
Millbrook, February 3, 1820. Finished the correction of this volume, Oct. 16, 1828. – A. CLARKE.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Accepted of the multitude of his brethren; who did not envy his greatness, as men most commonly do in such cases, but rejoiced in it, and blessed God for it, and praised and loved him for his right and sweet management of his vast power.
To all his seed; or, for all his seed, to wit, the Jews, who were of the same seed and root from which he was descended. He spoke and acted with great kindness and friendliness to them, when they resorted to him upon any occasion.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. For Mordecai . . . was next untoKing Ahasuerus . . . great among the Jews, c.The elevation ofthis pious and patriotic Jew to the possession of the highestofficial power was of very great importance to the suffering churchat that period for it enabled him, who all along possessed thedisposition, now to direct the royal influence and authority inpromoting the interests and extending the privileges of his exiledcountrymen. Viewed in this light, the providence of God is plainlytraceable in all the steps that led to his unexpected advancement.This providential interposition is all the more remarkable, that, asin the analogous case of Joseph, it was displayed in making theordinary and natural course of things lead to the most marvellousresults. To use the pious words of an eminent prelate, “thoughin the whole of this episode there was no extraordinary manifestationof God’s power, no particular cause or agent that was in its workingadvanced above the ordinary pitch of nature, yet the contrivance, andsuiting these ordinary agents appointed by God, is in itself moreadmirable than if the same end had been effected by means that weretruly miraculous.” The sudden advancement of individuals fromobscurity and neglect to the highest stations of power and influenceis, in Eastern courts, no extraordinary nor infrequent occurrence.The caprice, the weak partiality of the reigning sovereign, or, itmay be, his penetrating discernment in discovering latent energy andtalent, has often “raised the beggar from the dunghill, and sethim among princes” [1Sa 2:8].Some of the all-powerful viziers in modern Persia, and not a few ofthe beys in Egypt, have been elevated to their respective dignitiesin this manner. And, therefore, the advancement of “Mordecai,who was next unto Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews,” was inperfect accordance with the rapid revolution of “the wheel offortune” in that part of the world. But, considering all thecircumstances of Mordecai’s advancement, not only his gaining thefavor of the king, but his being “accepted of the multitude ofhis brethren, it was beyond all controversy the doing of the Lord,and was truly marvellous in his people’s eyes.”
accepted of the multitude ofhis brethrenFar from being envious of his grandeur, theyblessed God for the elevation to official power of so good a man.
speaking peace to all hisseedWhile his administration was conducted with a mild andimpartial hand, he showed a peculiarly warm and friendly feeling toall his countrymen when asked his counsel or his aid.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For Mordecai the Jew was next unto Ahasuerus,…. The second man in the kingdom, the principal of the counsellors, and prime minister of state:
and great among the Jews; highly respected by them, in great honour and esteem with them, for which there was great reason:
and accepted of the multitude of his brethren; or of many, of most, of the greatest part of them; for, let a man be ever so deserving, there are some that will envy his greatness, cavil at everything done by him, and speak evil of him without any just reason:
seeking the wealth of his people; their good, their welfare and happiness, temporal and spiritual:
and speaking peace to all his seed; not only to his family, but to all the Jews who were of the same seed with him, the seed of Abraham; either speaking to them in an humble and condescending manner, being very humane, affable, and courteous; or speaking for them to the king, asking of him for them what might conduce to their peace, prosperity, and happiness. No mention is made in this history of the death and burial either of Mordecai or Esther; but the author of Cippi Hebraici says z, that Mordecai was buried in the city of Shushan, and that all the Jews in those parts assemble at his grave on the day of Purim, and sing songs, playing on tabrets and pipes, rejoicing that there was a miracle wrought; and the same writer says a, they do the like at that time at the grave of Esther, half a mile from Tzephat, read this book that bears her name, eat, drink, and rejoice. Benjamin of Tudela says b, they were both buried before a synagogue, at a place called Hamdan.
z P. 70. Ed. Hottinger. a Ib. p. 64. b Itinerar. p. 96.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(3) Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus.We have seen that the events recorded in this book carry us to the year 470 B.C., at which time Mordecai was at the zenith of his greatness. How long he kept it, whether death or disgrace brought it to a close, and if the latter, from what cause, we cannot say. All we know is, that near the end of Xerxes reign his favourite and chief adviser was Artabanus, the captain of the guard, by whom he was murdered in B.C. 464. The last we hear of Mordecai, whatever was his afterfate, is that he was loyal to his people, and approved himself their benefactor, seeking the wealth (i.e., wealliterally, good), and speaking peace to all his seed, all of the stock of Israel.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. For Introducing the reason why the acts of Mordecai and Ahasuerus were recorded in the same book.
Next unto king Ahasuerus His grand vizier, or prime minister. Comp. Est 8:2; Est 8:9; Est 8:15; Est 9:3-4.
Great among the Jews Greatly distinguished and honoured by them.
Accepted of the multitude Or, acceptable to the multitude. The great mass of his kindred were pleased with his acts and his honours.
Seeking the wealth of his people Literally, seeking the good of his people; that is, seeking in all practicable ways to promote their happiness and prosperity.
Speaking peace to all his seed That is, saluting with most cordial salutation all those of his race and nation whom he met. Mordecai was no proud and puffed up courtier, who disdained to mingle with or recognise his own race and kindred. Though made the prime minister of Persia, he was still known as the Jew, and he hesitated not to use his high office and power to promote, in all proper and lawful ways, the interests of the people of God.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
(3) For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
What a delightful character is given of Mordecai! Accepted of his brethren; seeking their happiness, and speaking peace to all his seed. Think, Reader what a blessing such a man must have been in his days.
But oh! forget not to look to One infinitely higher, infinitely greater, infinitely surpassing every other, both in love, and grace, and mercy. Thou, O blessed Jesus, art the happiness of all creation, and of thy church, in a most peculiarly sweet way: accepted indeed of all thy brethren, for their happiness thou seekest, and thou not only speakest peace to all thy seed, but thou thyself art our peace, and our portion forever. Mic 5:5 .
FAREWELL Mordecai! blessed be a faithful God in covenant for his faithfulness to thee and his people. Sharp were thy exercises, and deep the waters of tribulation, which broke in upon thee; when under the pressure, a loud and bitter cry issued from thy very soul. But oh! how hath the Lord brought thee out, and led thee through fire and water, until he hath brought thee into a wealthy place. See, my soul, and in the view always take confidence in the contemplation, how certain the issue is in all the appointments of the Lord. Not one thing hath failed, neither can ever fail, of God’s covenant engagements to his people; but all are come to pass as it is this day. And shall not all the promises in Christ Jesus be sure to all his seed? Did Mordecai utter a loud and bitter cry in the midst of the city, while in the very moment the Lord was bringing about all the gracious purposes that followed: and shall my soul forget the unequalled cry of Jesus in the garden, when in an agony the sweat of his sacred body was as great drops of blood falling down to the ground! Was the Son of God thus afflicted, and his soul exceedingly troubled, in the very moment when, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, he was to be taken, and by wicked hands crucified and slain, that by his stripes we might be healed, and by his death our souls live forever: and shall my heart despond, or doubt the efficacy of his blood, and the security of his righteousness? Oh! Lord, henceforth give me more firmness, more assurance of faith, that I may behold thee in those sacred seasons accomplishing redemption, sure to all thy seed. Thou must see the travail of thy soul. The solemn word, the solemn oath is gone forth; Men shall be blessed in thee; all nations shall call thee blessed. Hail! holy, blessed, almighty Jesus! In the Lord have I righteousness and strength. To thee do I come, and in thy salvation make my boast. Thou art the Lord my righteousness, the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof. Amen.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Est 10:3 For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
Ver. 3. For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus ] Proximus a primo, the king’s second, as 2Ch 28:11 , having the next chief seat to him, as Josephus expoundeth it, and set over all the princes of that monarchy ( M ); so that he might well cry out, with that noble general Iphicrates, , from what mean beginnings to how great an estate and dignity am I raised! How long he held it is not recorded; all the days of his life, it is likely, for the good and comfort of the Church, though not without the envy of many of the courtiers, which he overcame more by patience than pertinancy.
And great among the Jews
And accepted of the multitude of his brethren
Deliciae saecli et gloria gentis erat.
He was the delight of the generation and the glory of the nation.
Seeking the wealth of his people
And speaking peace
Nec visu facilis, nec dictu affabilis ulli.
Now affability and courtesy in high degree easily draweth men’s minds, as fair flowers in the spring do passengers’ eyes; Queen Elizabeth, If or instance, of whom before. Moreover, he spoke good of them, and for them, to the king, and promoted their prosperity to the utmost.
To all his seed
Again, to all his seed
O fortunatam natam me consule Romam.
Oh fortune that made me a consul of Rome. So he elsewhere professeth, that he was in no less care what the commonwealth would do when he was dead than whiles he was yet alive.
Soli Deo Gloria in aeternum.
Glory to God in eternity
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
next = the second = the Grand Vizier. Compare Est 8:2.
speaking peace = maintaining peace.
his seed: i.e. the People of Israel. N. B. in Persia, not Judea. Thus was prepared the way for the emancipation of the Jews, which, not long after, was proclaimed by Cyrus (Ezr 1:1), the son of Astyages and Esther (see App-57), and is further proof that this book comes, chronologically, before the book Ezra-Nehemiah. N.B. the year 461 is the midway year of the Babylonian Servitude (496-426). See special note on 2Ch 36:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
next unto king: Gen 41:44, 1Sa 23:17, 2Ch 28:7, Dan 5:16, Dan 5:29
accepted: Est 3:2, Rom 14:18
seeking: Neh 2:10, Psa 122:6-9, Rom 9:2, Rom 9:3, Rom 10:1
Reciprocal: Gen 41:41 – General Gen 41:42 – his ring Gen 49:28 – the twelve 2Ki 5:1 – a great Est 2:5 – a certain Jew Job 36:7 – with Pro 22:11 – the king Isa 22:23 – a glorious Isa 49:23 – kings Dan 5:7 – the third
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Est 10:3. Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus Long had he sat contentedly at the kings gate, but now at length he is arrived at the presidency of the kings council. Men of merit may, for a time, seem buried alive; but often, by some means or other, they are discovered and preferred at last. And great among the Jews Not only great above them, and more honourable than any of them, but great with them, and dear to them, which they manifested by giving him a commanding interest among them, and submitting all their affairs to his direction; and accepted of his brethren His greatness did not make him forget or disown his brethren, nor was he ashamed of his relation to them, though they were strangers and captives, dispersed and despised. And they did not envy his greatness, according to the disposition very prevalent among mankind in such cases, but rejoiced in it, and blessed God for it, and commended and loved him for the right and proper exercise of his great power. Seeking the wealth of his people He did not seek his own wealth, and the raising of an estate for himself and his family, which is the chief thing most men aim at when they get into great places at court; but he consulted the welfare of his people, and made it his business to advance that. His power, his wealth, and all his interest with the king and queen, he improved for the public good. And speaking peace to all his seed He was easy of access, courteous and affable, condescending and kind in his carriage, and ready, to the uttermost of his power, to assist all that made application to him. Doing good works is the best and chief thing expected from those that have wealth and power, but giving good words is also commendable, and makes the good deeds the more acceptable. It is said, to all his seed, probably to signify that he did not side with any one party of his people against another, nor make some of them his favourites, while the rest were neglected and crushed; but whatever differences there were among them, he was a common father to them all, and spoke peace to them all without distinction. Thus making himself acceptable by humility and beneficence, he was universally accepted, and gained the good-will of all his brethren.
Thus have we gone through all the historical books of the Old Testament. If our readers have received any edification from our endeavours to illustrate the Divine Oracles, and have been thereby assisted to read them with more pleasure and profit than formerly, we beseech them to give all the praise to the Father of lights, from whom every good and perfect gift cometh, and especially all true understanding, and knowledge of his word: and to entreat him to afford us the continuance and increase of his gracious assistance in the further prosecution of our work, especially as we are to enter next on the more sublime and spiritual parts of the sacred writings.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:3 For Mordecai the Jew [was] next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and {a} accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
(a) These three points are here set forth as commendable and necessary for him that is in authority to have the favour of the people, to procure their wealth, and to be gentle and loving to them.