Esther Chapter 1

Conversational Yahveh Covenant

King Xerxes’ Banquet

¹ Ahasuerus/Xerxes ruled from India to Nubia over 127 provinces [486-65 B.C.]. ² In his third year on his throne in Susa the capital, ³ he held a banquet for his nobles and officials, the army chiefs of Persia and Media, and the nobles and governors of the provinces. ⁴ For 180 days he showed the wealth of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his majesty. ⁵ After that, he gave everybody there—least and greatest—a banquet that lasted a week in the court of his palace garden. ⁶ There were white cotton curtains and blue hangings held up by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble pillars. There were gold and silver couches on a mosaic pavement made out of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. ⁷ Drinks were served in gold cups of different kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful according to the king’s bounty. ⁸ The drinking was done by law: attendees were not compelled, because the king had ordered each official of his household to follow each person’s wishes. ⁹ Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the king’s palace.                        Esther 1:1-9

Queen Vashti Deposed

¹⁰ On the seventh day, when the king was half drunk from wine, he told Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—the seven eunuchs serving in his presence— ¹¹ to bring him Queen Vashti with her royal crown to show the people and princes how beautiful she was. ¹² But she wouldn’t come. He was mad and it smoldered in him. ¹³ He consulted the wise men who understood customs.  It was his custom so to speak to everybody that knew law and justice. ¹⁴ Those close to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media who had access to him and sat in first place in the kingdom. ¹⁵ He asked them, “By law, what should be done with Queen Vashti? She didn’t obey my command sent through the eunuchs.” ¹⁶ In the presence of the king and princes, Memucan said,                                                     Esther 1:10-16a

“She has not only wronged you but your officials and the people groups in your provinces. ¹⁷ Women will find out what she’s done and look with contempt on their husbands and say King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought into his presence, but she didn’t come. ¹⁸ Today the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard about what she did will speak the same way to your officials, and there’ll be plenty of contempt and anger. ¹⁹ If it pleases you, issue a royal edict—written in the laws of Persia and Media so it can’t be altered—that Vashti should not come into your presence anymore. Give her royal position to someone more worthy. ²⁰ When they hear your edict throughout your great kingdom, women will respect their husbands, great^m and small.”

²¹ The king and the officials liked the idea, and he did what Memucan proposed. ²² He sent letters to all his provinces, to each province in its script and to every people in their language, that every man should be the master in his house and speak in the language of his own people.