Esther 2:14

In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
evening	בָּעֶ֣רֶב ba.'E.rev	H6153	dusk · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
went	בָאָ֗ה va.'Ah	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
morrow	וּ֠בַבֹּקֶר U.va.bo.ker	H1242	properly · conjunction + preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
returned	שָׁבָ֞ה sha.Vah	H7725	to turn back (hence · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
second	שֵׁנִ֔י she.Ni	H8145	properly · ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
house	בֵּ֤ית beit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
women	הַנָּשִׁים֙ ha.na.Shim	H802	a woman · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
custody	יַ֧ד yad	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · noun, common both genders singular construct
Shaashgaz	שַֽׁעֲשְׁגַ֛ז sha.'ash.Gaz	H8190	Shaashgaz · proper noun, a man's name
king’s	הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
chamberlain	סְרִ֥יס se.Ris	H5631	a eunuch · noun, common masculine singular construct
kept	שֹׁמֵ֣ר sho.Mer	H8104	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
concubines	הַפִּֽילַגְשִׁ֑ים ha.pi.lag.Shim	H6370	a concubine · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
in	תָב֥וֹא ta.Vo'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
king	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
king	הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
delighted	חָפֵ֥ץ cha.Fetz	H2654	properly · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
called	וְנִקְרְאָ֥ה ve.nik.re.'Ah	H7121	to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, niphal sequential perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
name	בְשֵֽׁם ve.Shem	H8034	an appellation · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Esther 4:11 All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king int…
Genesis 34:19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob’s daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of…
Deuteronomy 21:14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money,…
Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called…
Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me…
Isaiah 62:4-5 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 2:1-20

How God put down one that was high and mighty from her seat we read in the chapter before, and are now to be told how he exalted one of low degree, as the virgin Mary observes in her song (Luk 1:52) and Hannah before her, Sa1 2:4-8. Vashti being humbled for her height, Esther is advanced for her humility. Observe, I. The extravagant course that was taken to please the king with another wife instead of Vashti. Josephus says that when his anger was over he was exceedingly grieved that the matter was carried so far, and would have been reconciled to Vashti but that, by the constitution of the government, the judgment was irrevocable - that therefore, to make him forget her, they contrived how t…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 2:12

Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus--A whole year was spent in preparation for the intended honor. Considering that this took place in a palace, the long period prescribed, together with the profusion of costly and fragrant cosmetics employed, was probably required by state etiquette.

Adam Clarke on Esther 2:14

She returned into the second house - This was the place where the king's concubines were kept. They went out no more, and were never given in marriage to any man, and saw the king's face no more unless specially called. Custody of Shaashgaz - This is probably another Persian name; sheshkhunj, beardless, a proper epithet of a eunuch; or sestgunj, weak loins, for the same reason. Names of this kind at once show the reason of their imposition, by describing the state of the person.

John Gill on Esther 2:14

In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women,.... Or the other apartment of the house of the women, where were kept those the king had made his concubines or secondary wives. Aben Ezra interprets it the second time, and so the Targum by "again": to the custody of Shaashgaz the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines; of which the kings of Persia had a great number; Darius, whom Alexander conquered, had three hundred and sixty (q): she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she was called by name; but remained shut up in the house, and might not lie with, nor be married to, another man. (q) Curt. Hist. l…

The Church Fathers

What then follows—"She would enter in the evening and leave in the morning, and was then brought to the second building"—and so on, proves in an allegorical way that after our vices have subsided, the glow of our virtues (which will not shine properly anywhere but in the unity of the holy Church) ought to rise. And yet one who has sequestered himself from it because he has some foul odor of error or vice is quite rightly kept from being brought to the second building where the king's concubines were waiting, because a decline in robust faith deserves not a advance in but a restoration of respect; and he will no longer have such an authorization to return to our king until he has been visited once again by celestial grace, and restored through his calling to his original dignity.
— Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Shaasgaz — (servant of the beautiful), the eunuch in the palace of Xerxes who had the custody of the women in the second house. (Esther 2:14)
Shaashgaz — Servant of the beautiful, a chief eunuch in the second house of the harem of king Ahasuerus (Esther 2:14).
Chamberlain · An officer of a king — An officer of a king
Lasciviousness · .Persian kings — .Persian kings
Shaashgaz · A chamberlain of Ahasuerus — A chamberlain of Ahasuerus

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Esther 2:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 2:1-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 2:12

Adam Clarke on Esther 2:14

John Gill on Esther 2:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Esther 2:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 2:1-20

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 2:12

Adam Clarke on Esther 2:14

John Gill on Esther 2:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 2:12-18

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Esther 2:14

Rashi on Esther 2:14