Esther 2:4

And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti. And the thing pleased the king; and he did so.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
maiden	וְהַֽנַּעֲרָ֗ה ve.ha.na.'a.Rah	H5291	a girl (from infancy to adolescence) · conjunction + definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
pleaseth	תִּיטַב֙ ti.Tav	H3190	to be (causative) make well · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
king	הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
queen	תִּמְלֹ֖ךְ tim.Lokh	H4427	to reign · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Vashti	וַשְׁתִּ֑י vash.Ti	H2060	Vashti · proper noun, a woman's name
thing	הַדָּבָ֛ר ha.da.Var	H1697	a word · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
pleased	וַיִּיטַ֧ב vai.yi.Tav	H3190	to be (causative) make well · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
king	הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
so	וַיַּ֥עַשׂ vai.Ya.'as	H6213	to do or make · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 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

Matthew 14:6 But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.
Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
2 Samuel 17:4 And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Esther 1:21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:
Esther 3:9-10 If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those tha…
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
2 Samuel 13:4-6 And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar…
2 Samuel 16:21-23 And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that t…

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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Adam Clarke on Esther 2:3

Hege the king's chamberlain - הגא סריס המלך Hege seris hammelech, "Hege, the king's eunuch;" so the Septuagint, Vulgate, Targum, and Syriac. In the Eastern countries the women are intrusted to the care of the eunuchs only. Let their things for purification be given them - תמרקיהן tamrukeyhen, their cosmetics. What these were we are told in Est 2:12; oil of myrrh, and sweet odours. The myrrh was employed for six months, and the odours for six months more, after which the person was brought to the king. This space was sufficient to show whether the young woman had been chaste; whether she were with child or not, that the king might not be imposed on, and be obliged to father a spurious offspri…

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John Gill on Esther 2:4

And let the maiden which pleaseth the king be queen instead of Vashti,.... Have the royal estate, that was taken from Vashti, given to her, the crown royal set on her head, &c. and the thing pleased the king, and he did so; appointed officers in all his provinces to seek out the most beautiful virgins, and bring them to his palace; so with the Chinese now, the king never marries with any of his kindred, though ever so remote; but there is sought throughout his kingdom a damsel of twelve or fourteen years, of perfect beauty, good natural parts, and well inclined to virtue; whence, for the most part, the queen is the daughter of some artisan; and in their history (e), mention is made of one t…

Dictionary and topics

Chamberlain · An officer of a king — An officer of a king
Persia · courtiers — courtiers
Vashti · banquet — banquet

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 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 2:1-20

Adam Clarke on Esther 2:3

John Gill on Esther 2:4

Dictionary and topics

Esther 2:4

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 2:1-20

Adam Clarke on Esther 2:3

John Gill on Esther 2:4

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 2:1-4

Rashi on Esther 2:3