Matthew Henry on Esther 8:15–end
It was but a few days ago that we had Mordecai in sackcloth and all the Jews in sorrow; but here is a blessed change, Mordecai in purple and all the Jews in joy. See Psa 30:5, Psa 30:11, Psa 30:12. 1. Mordecai in purple, Est 8:15. Having obtained an order for the relief of all the Jews, he was easy, he parted with his mourning weeds, and put on the royal apparel, which either belonged to his place or which the king appointed him as a favourite. His robes were rich, blue and white, of fine linen and purple; so was his coronet: it was of gold. These are things not worth taking notice of, but as they were marks of the king's favour, and that the fruit of God's favour to his church. It is well w…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Esther 8:15
MORDECAI'S HONORS, AND THE JEWS' JOY. (Est 8:15-17)
Mordecai went out . . . in royal apparel--He was invested with the khelaat of official honor. A dress of blue and white was held in great estimation among the Persians; so that Mordecai, whom the king delighted to honor, was in fact arrayed in the royal dress and insignia. The variety and the kind of insignia worn by a favorite at once makes known to the people the particular dignity to which he has been raised.
Next: Esther Chapter 9
Adam Clarke on Esther 8:15
Blue and white - Probably stripe interchanged with stripe; or blue faced and bordered with white fur.
A great crown of gold - A large turban, ornamented with gold, jewels, etc.
Fine linen and purple - See on Gen 41:42 (note). The בץ buts, here mentioned, is most probably the same with the byssus of the ancients; supposed to be the beautiful tuft or beard, growing out of the side of the pinna longa, a very large species of muscle, found on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, of which there are a pair of gloves in the British Museum. This byssus I have described elsewhere.
Shushan - was glad - Haman was too proud to be popular; few lamented his fall.
John Gill on Esther 8:16
And the Jews had light,.... Prosperity, as opposed to the darkness of adversity in which they had been, see Isaiah 8:22, or lightsomeness and cheerfulness of spirit, as explained by the two next words:
and gladness and joy; at the good news of their deliverance, so unexpected by them; thus light is explained by gladness, Psalm 97:11
and honour: among men; from their neighbours, who before were held in contempt, as a people doomed to destruction.
