Esther 5:1

Now it came to pass on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
third	הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֗י ha.she.li.Shi	H7992	third · definite article + ordinal number, masculine singular absolute
day	בַּיּ֣וֹם bai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Esther	אֶסְתֵּר֙ 'es.Ter	H635	Ester · proper noun, a woman's name
on	וַתִּלְבַּ֤שׁ va.til.Bash	H3847	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
royal	מַלְכ֔וּת mal.Khut	H4438	a rule · noun, common feminine singular absolute
stood	וַֽתַּעֲמֹ֞ד va.ta.'a.Mod	H5975	to stand · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
inner	הַפְּנִימִ֔ית ha.pe.ni.Mit	H6442	interior · definite article + adjective, feminine singular absolute
court	בַּחֲצַ֤ר ba.cha.Tzar	H2691	a yard (as inclosed by a fence) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
king’s	הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
house	בֵּית beit-	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
against	נֹ֖כַח No.khach	H5227	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular construct
king’s	הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
house	בֵּ֣ית beit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
king	וְ֠הַמֶּלֶךְ Ve.ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · conjunction + definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sat	יוֹשֵׁ֞ב yo.Shev	H3427	properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
royal	מַלְכוּתוֹ֙ mal.khu.To	H4438	a rule · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
throne	כִּסֵּ֤א ki.Se'	H3678	properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
royal	הַמַּלְכ֔וּת ha.mal.Khut	H4438	a rule · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
house	בְּבֵ֣ית be.Veit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
against	נֹ֖כַח No.khach	H5227	properly · cardinal number, masculine singular construct
gate	פֶּ֥תַח Pe.tach	H6607	an opening (literally) · noun, common masculine singular construct
house	הַבָּֽיִת ha.Ba.yit	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · definite article + 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 6:4 And the king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman was come into the outward court of the king’s house, to speak unto the king to hang Mordec…
Esther 4:16 Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also…
1 Peter 3:3-5 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Esther 1:11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.
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…
Esther 8:15 And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment o…
Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 5:1-8

Here is, I. Esther's bold approach to the king, Est 5:1. When the time appointed for their fast was finished she lost no time, but on the third day, when the impression of her devotions were fresh upon her spirit, she addressed the king. When the heart is enlarged in communion with God it will be emboldened in doing and suffering for him. Some think that the three days' fast was only one whole day and two whole nights, in all which time they did not take any food at all, and that this is called three days, as Christ's lying in the grave so long is. This exposition is favoured by the consideration that on the third day the queen made her appearance at court. Resolutions which have difficultie…

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Adam Clarke on Esther 5:1

On the third day - Most probably the third day of the fast which she has prescribed to Mordecai and the Jews.

John Gill on Esther 5:1

Now it came to pass on the third day,.... Of the fast; though the former Targum paraphrases it the third day of the passover, the sixteenth of Nisan; see Gill on Esther 4:17, though it is probable this was nearer the time fixed for the destruction of the Jews, see Esther 8:9, yet the Jews have fixed the fast of Esther on that very day, the thirteenth of Adar (f): that Esther put on her royal apparel; in order to go in to the king, and appear before him; which to do in a mournful habit, such as she had on when fasting, was not proper; for then she put off her royal crown, as is intimated in the additions to the book of Esther,And upon the third day, when she had ended her prayers, she laid a…

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Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 5:1-8

On the third day Esther put on her royal apparel and entered the inner court of the king's house, opposite the dwelling of the king, where he was sitting on his throne before the gate (Est 5:1). The third day must be counted from the day of the transaction between the queen and Mordochai (Est 4:14); the first day being that on which it took place. The fasting, then, would not begin till midday; and on the third day Esther went to the king to invite him on that day to a banquet, which would surely take place in the forenoon. Thus the three days' fast would last from the afternoon of the first to the forenoon of the third day, i.e., from 40 to 45 hours. מלכוּת תּלבּשׁ, she put on royalty, roya…

The Church Fathers

The fact that Esther put on all her royal robes on the third day undoubtedly signifies that the church of the nations, in the third time of the world, that is, after the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ, clothed herself through the sacrament of baptism and the confession of the Holy Trinity with faith, hope and charity, and the ornament of every virtue so that she might become worthy of the royal marriage while the love of (the Lord) remained constantly fervent. She stood in the inner court of the royal palace, that is, in the pious actions of this life which look at the future reward in heaven where the king himself sits on the supreme throne and fulfills the prayers of those who implore him piously.
— Rabanus Maurus, EXPLANATION ON THE BOOK OF ESTHER 8

What can it mean that on the third day Esther dressed in royal garments, if not that in the third age of the world—i.e. after the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Christ—the Church of the nations dressed herself in faith, hope and charity, and in the beauty of all the virtues, to receive the sacraments of baptism through the confession of the holy Trinity so that she would then be worthy of the king's company, since she was burning incessantly with a special love for him? She stands in the courtyard of the king's house which was inside, opposite the king's basilica, i.e. in the righteous works of this life which looks toward future compensation in Heaven, where the king himself sits on his celestial throne and assents to the prayers of those who piously cry out to him.
— Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on Esther

If the Lord places more importance on beauty of soul than on that of the body, what must he think of artificial beautification when he abhors so thoroughly every sort of lie? "We walk by faith, not by sight." As a matter of fact, it is the Lord who plainly teaches by the example of Abraham that one who obeys God will make small account of even father and relations and possessions and of his entire fortune. He made Abraham an exile, and then, because of that, gave him the name "friend," because he was so little attached to the things of his own home. Yet, Abraham was of a noble family and had possessed a large fortune. A proof of this is that he overcame the four kings who had captured Lot, with 318 servants belonging to him. As for women, the only one we know of who used ornaments without blame is Esther. Her action in making herself beautiful had a mystical significance, however, for, as the wife of her king, she obtained deliverance for her people by her beauty when they were being slaughtered.

Dictionary and topics

Banquet — A feast provided for the entertainment of a company of guests (Esther 5; 7; 1 Pet. 4:3); such as was provided for our Lord by his friends in Bethany (Matt. 26:6; Mark 14:3; comp. John 12:2). These…
Time · Part of a period of, usually counted as the whole — Part of a period of, usually counted as the whole

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).

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 5:1-8

Adam Clarke on Esther 5:1

John Gill on Esther 5:1

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 5:1-8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Esther 5:1-8

Adam Clarke on Esther 5:1

John Gill on Esther 5:1

Keil & Delitzsch on Esther 5:1-8

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Rashi on Esther 5:1