Matthew Henry on Esther 1:10–end
We have here a damp to all the mirth of Ahasuerus's feast; it ended in heaviness, not as Job's children's feast by a wind from the wilderness, not as Belshazzar's by a hand-writing on the wall, but by is own folly. An unhappy falling out there was, at the end of the feast, between the king and queen, which broke of the feast abruptly, and sent the guests away silent and ashamed.
I. It was certainly the king's weakness to send for Vashti into his presence when he was drunk, and in company with abundance of gentlemen, many of whom, it is likely, were in the same condition. When his heart was merry with wine nothing would serve him but Vashti must come, well dressed as she was, with the crown o…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 1:10
On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine--As the feast days advanced, the drinking was more freely indulged in, so that the close was usually marked by great excesses of revelry.
he commanded . . . the seven chamberlains--These were the eunuchs who had charge of the royal harem. The refusal of Vashti to obey an order which required her to make an indecent exposure of herself before a company of drunken revellers, was becoming both the modesty of her sex and her rank as queen; for, according to Persian customs, the queen, even more than the wives of other men, was secluded from the public gaze. Had not the king's blood been heated with wine, or his reason overpower…
Read the whole note in the consoleAdam Clarke on Esther 1:11
To bring Vashti the queen - The Targum adds naked.
For she was fair to look on - Hence she had her name Vashti, which signifies beautiful. See Est 1:9.
John Gill on Esther 1:11
To bring Vashti the queen before the king,.... Not against her will, or by force; but they were sent to let her know it was the king's pleasure that she should come to him immediately:
with the crown royal; that is, upon her head, to make her look the more grand and majestic:
to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look upon; which was not wisely done, neither was it comely nor safe.
