Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, by R.A. Torrey, [ca. 1880], at sacred-texts.com
Esther Chapter 1
Overview
Est 1:1, Ahasuerus makes royal feasts; Est 1:10, Vashti, sent for, refuses to come; Est 1:13, Ahasuerus, by the counsel of Memucan, puts away Vashti, and makes the decree of men's sovereignty.
Ahasuerus: Prideaux has shewn satisfactorily that Ahasuerus was the Artaxerxes Longimanus of the Greeks, agreeably to the Septuagint and Josephus. See note on Ezr 6:14. Ezr 4:6; Dan 9:1
from India: Est 8:9; Isa 18:1, Isa 37:9
an hundred: Dan 6:1
sat: Sa2 7:1; Kg1 1:46; Dan 4:4
Shushan: Est 2:3, Est 3:15, Est 4:16, Est 9:12-15; Neh 1:1; Dan 8:2
am 3542, bc 462
he made: Est 2:18; Gen 40:20; Kg1 3:15; Dan 5:1; Mar 6:21
of Persia: Est 1:14; Ezr 1:2; Isa 21:2; Jer 51:11; Dan 5:28, Dan 8:20
the nobles: Dan 3:2, Dan 3:3, Dan 6:1, Dan 6:6, Dan 6:7
When he: Isa 39:2; Eze 28:5; Dan 4:30
the riches: Psa 76:1-4, Psa 145:5, Psa 145:12, Psa 145:13; Dan 2:37-44, Dan 7:9-14; Mat 4:8, Mat 6:13; Rom 9:23; Eph 1:18; Col 1:27; Rev 4:11
excellent: Ch1 29:11, Ch1 29:12, Ch1 29:25; Job 40:10; Psa 21:5, Psa 45:3, Psa 93:1; Dan 4:36, Dan 5:18; Pe2 1:16, Pe2 1:17
present: Heb. found
seven days: Ch2 7:8, Ch2 7:9, Ch2 30:21-25
white: Exo 26:1, Exo 26:31, Exo 26:32, Exo 26:36, Exo 26:37
blue: or, violet, Est 8:15
the beds: These were couches, covered with gold and silver cloth, on which the guests reclined; for the Orientals do not sit, but recline at their meals. Est 7:8; Eze 23:41; Amo 2:8, Amo 6:4
red: etc. or, of porphyre, and marble, and alabaster, and stone of blue colour
vessels of gold: Kg1 10:21; Ch2 9:20; Dan 5:2-4
royal wine: Heb. wine of the kingdom
state of the king: Heb. hand of the king.
none did compel: Every person drank what he pleased. Among the Greeks, however, each guest was obliged to keep the round, or leave the company. hence the proverb Η πιθι, η απιθι, Drink, or begone. Mr. Herbert, in his poem entitled "The Church Porch," has severely reprobated this vile custom. In Britain, however, this demoralizing custom is now almost destroyed, and a new era of social pleasure is arising, by temperate habits, increased domestic comforts, and the spread of gospel truths. Jer 35:8, Jer 51:7; Hab 2:15, Hab 2:16
the officers: Joh 2:8
the heart: Gen 43:34; Jdg 16:25; Sa1 25:36, Sa1 25:37; Sa2 13:28; Pro 20:1; Ecc 7:2-4; Ecc 10:19; Eph 5:18, Eph 5:19
Harbona: Est 7:9, Harbonah
chamberlains: or, eunuchs, Dan 1:3-5, Dan 1:18, Dan 1:19
Vashti: Pro 16:9, Pro 23:29-33; Mar 6:21, Mar 6:22
fair to look on: Heb. good of countenance, Sa1 25:3; Sa2 14:25; Pro 31:30
the queen: This refusal of Vashti's, to expose herself to the view of such a group of drunken Bacchanalians, was highly praiseworthy, and became the dignity of her rank and the modesty of her sex.
refused: Gen 3:16; Eph 5:22, Eph 5:24; Pe1 3:1
by his chamberlains: Heb. which was by the hand of his eunuchs
was the king: Pro 19:12, Pro 20:2; Dan 2:12, Dan 3:13, Dan 3:19; Nah 1:6; Rev 6:16, Rev 6:17
burned: Exo 32:19, Exo 32:22; Deu 29:20; Psa 74:1, Psa 79:5
the wise: Jer 10:7; Dan 2:2, Dan 2:12, Dan 2:27, Dan 4:6, Dan 4:7, Dan 5:7; Mat 2:1
the seven: Ezr 7:14
saw: Kg2 25:19; Mat 18:10; Rev 22:4
What shall we do: Heb. What to do, Est 6:6
Vashti: This reasoning was inconsequent and false. Vashti had not generally disobeyed the king, therefore she could be no precedent for the general conduct of the Persian women. She disobeyed only in one particular; and this, to serve a purpose, Memucan draws into a general consequence, and the rest came into the conclusion, being either too intoxicated to be able to discern right from wrong, or too intent on reducing women to a state of vassalage, to neglect the present favourable opportunity.
done wrong: Act 18:14, Act 25:10; Co1 6:7, Co1 6:8
the ladies: Saroth, the princesses, but the meaning is well expressed by our term ladies. Jdg 5:29; Kg1 11:3
it please the king: Heb. it be good with the king, Est 1:21, Est 3:9, Est 8:5
from him: Heb. from before him
it be not altered: Heb. it pass not away, Est 8:8; Dan 6:8-15, Dan 6:17; Let it be inserted among the permanent laws, and be made a part of the constitution of the empire. The Persians seem to have affected such a degree of wisdom in the construction of their laws, that they never could be amended, and should never be repealed; and this formed the ground of the saying, "The laws of the Medes and Persians that change not."
another: Heb. her companion
that is better: Sa1 15:28; Kg1 3:28
throughout: Deu 17:13, Deu 21:21
all the wives: Eph 5:33; Col 3:18; Pe1 3:1-7
pleased the king: Heb. was good in the eyes of the king, Est 1:19, Est 2:4; Gen 41:37
into every province: Est 3:12, Est 8:9; Dan 3:29, Dan 4:1
that every man: Both the law of God and common sense taught this from the foundation of the world; and this parade of enactment was only to deprive Vashti of her crown. Eph 5:22-24; Ti1 2:12; Tit 2:4, Tit 2:5
it should: etc. Heb. one should publish it according to the language of his country, Est 3:12
according: Luk 16:8; Act 2:5-11; Co1 14:19, Co1 14:20