the new moon · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
month
חֹ֣דֶשׁCho.desh
H2320
the new moon · noun, common masculine singular construct
Tebeth
טֵבֵ֑תte.Vet
H2887
Tebeth · proper noun, a title
seventh
שֶׁ֖בַעShe.va'
H7651
seven (as the sacred full one) · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
year
בִּשְׁנַתbish.nat-
H8141
a year (as a revolution of time) · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
reign
לְמַלְכוּתֽוֹle.mal.khu.To
H4438
a rule · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
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 8:9 Then were the king’s scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and i…
Ezra 7:8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.
Esther 2:1 After these things, when the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against…
Esther 2:3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan…
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…
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 2:16
The tenth month - Tebeth - Answering to part of our December and January.
John Gill on Esther 2:16
So Esther was taken unto King Ahasuerus, into his house royal,.... Did not return on the morrow to the house of the women, as those who only became the king's concubines did, Esther 2:14, but she was taken to be his wife, and designed for his queen, and so was retained in his palace, and placed in an apartment suitable to the dignity she was about to be advanced unto:
and this was done in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth; and answers to part of December and part of January; not the twelfth month Adar, as the Septuagint version, and so Josephus (q), contrary to the original text: either that law had not obtained among the Persians, or the king thought himself not bound by it, which…
Hence we should also bear in mind the crucial moment when Esther was brought to the king's bedchamber: "So she was brought to the bedchamber of King Ahasuerus in the tenth month, which is called Tevet, in the seventh year of his reign; and the king loved her more than all the women, and placed the diadem of kingship on her head, and had her rule in place of Vashti." For Tevet is that month in the Hebrew calendar which corresponds to the Greek Eudymos and the Latin Januarius, when the Lord incarnate was circumcised on the eighth day and was adored even as a tiny infant by the Magi, who were brought there by a star that led the way, and honored as God, man and king with the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that were offered to him. This was also the month when he was heralded and baptized by John. So in the seventh year of Ahasuerus, Esther went up to the king's bed; and the Church was brought to and joined with the king Christ, in whom she remains without change by the grace of the sevenfold Spirit. "Whom he loved more than all the women;" and she had before him grace and mercy above all women, that is, above all the nations of the world. "He placed on her head the diadem of kingship," when he summoned her as his consort in kingship; "and he had her rule in place of Vashti," i.e. the Synagogue of the Jews which lost its place of honor when it spurned and crucified our king. That is, the prophet is looking at the excellence of this queen when he says to Christ the king: "The queen stood at your right hand in golden robes, cloaked in colorful clothing" (Psalms 45). And right after that, he speaks to her as follows: "Listen daughter, and see, and lend your ear, and forget your people and your father's home, because the king has desired your beauty. He is the Lord your God, and the daughters of Tyre will adore him; with gifts all the wealthy among the people will seek your face" (ibid.).
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
Month — Among the Egyptians the month of thirty days each was in use long before the time of the Exodus, and formed the basis of their calculations. From the time of the institution of the Mosaic law the…
Tebeth — (Esther 2:16), a word probably of Persian origin, denoting the cold time of the year; used by the later Jews as denoting the tenth month of the year. Assyrian tebituv, “rain.”
Chamberlain · An officer of a king — An officer of a king
Months · Names of the twelve: Tenth, Tebeth — Names of the twelve: Tenth, Tebeth
Tebeth · The tenth month (Ja — The tenth month (Ja
Wives · Good — Exemplified: Esther — Good — Exemplified: Esther
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).
Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 2:12-18
Before relating the appearance of Esther before the king, the narrator more particularly describes in Est 2:12-14 the preparations for this event, and how Esther behaved with respect to them.
Est 2:12-13
"When every maid's turn came (i.e., at every time that any maid's turn came) to go in to King Ahashverosh, after the time when it had been done to her twelve months according to the law of the women - for thus were the days of their purification accomplished: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with balsam and ointments of purification for women - and the maiden came to the king, all that she desired was given her to go with her out of the women's house unto the king's house." תּור,…
Hegai apparently knew the king’s preferences, so he was able to give Esther good advice, which she wisely accepted and followed.
Rashi on Esther 2:16
In the tenth month. The cold season, when one body enjoys [the warmth of] another body.15Maseches Megillah 13a. The Holy One Blessed Is He, designated that cold season in order to endear her to him.
