Problems of Interpretation (Esther 2:5-8)

In the study of interpretation of history there is often room for great diversity of opinion. What may seem to be of great importance to one may be quite trivial to another. What seems to be right to one may seem to be entirely wrong to another. Esther chapter two serves as a good illustration of this. Did Esther do wrong to appear before the king in a beauty contest? Was Mordecai at fault when he charged Esther not to show “her people nor her kindred”? These are just a few of the difficult questions raised in the book of Esther. The answers to these questions will vary from the affirmative to the negative. The best we can do in this situation is to study the facts as given to us and pray for God’s direction as we strive to understand the interpretation of this text.

The scene in chapter two opens not long after Vashti was deposed, for it takes place “when [the king’s] wrath had subsided,” and Xerxes does not seem like the sort of person to persist in his anger for very long.  However, the aforementioned statement is not a universally accepted truth by Bible scholars. Some Bible scholars argue that there was an interval of four years between chapters one and two. People that argue this extended time period between chapters one and two state that Xerxes was actively engaged in the tremendous overland and sea expeditions against the Greeks. The Greeks has burned Sardis and defied the power of Persia. During the battle Xerxes suffered a disastrous outcome of the entire enterprise at and returned to his capital humiliated and dishonored in the eyes of his realm.  Whatever the view is on the time period between chapters one and two we can be assured that Xerxes was upset at the beginning of chapter two.

“Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king” (2:2). The king’s servants are his personal attendants available at night (6:1, 3) as well as day. Though the servants may be the same as the servants mentioned in chapter one verse ten, this is not necessarily the case. According to their plan, all the beautiful virgins in the empire would be gathered by officials and brought to “Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women.” The only criterions for the women are virginity and beauty. The Hebrew word used here is the word bethuloth, this word is often used to denote to virgins, but it is regularly the context and not the word itself that postulates the idea of virginity. The context of Esther strongly advocates that the sense here is “virgins.” Though the selection of Esther is frequently assumed of as a beauty contest, beauty is the specified criterion only for the first stage of the process and that step is not a contest – the desirable girls are merely “gathered.” On the other hand, in the choice of the queen from among the beauties we are to envision a beauty competition, for not only is it desirable to be queen, but it is also inferred that the other women, by distinction with Esther (2:13, 15) are expending energies to gain the king’s favor.

In verse five the text makes a sudden pause from the preceding story line. In studied custom the author interrupts his account to announce “a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite.” It is here the Esther’s story begins but although Esther is the theme of the events in the following verses, it is Mordecai who is presented, with Esther revealed as a dependent to him. The author begins the verse by telling his audience that Mordecai was a Jew, but only after telling his readers that Mordecai was a Jew does he indicate where he lived. The question immediately arises: What is the significance of Mordecai’s location? Mordecai lived in “Shushan the palace,” however, as a Jew he could have gone back to Palestine. God had permitted his people to return to their land (II Chronicles 36:22,23) and those who were in the will of God did return to Palestine. Cyrus the King of Persia at the time had given a decree to permit the Jews to return but very few returned. The greater number of the Jews had made a place for them in the land of captivity and stayed put. By all accounts Mordecai belonged back in his homeland, but he was instead living near the place of Persia. As you can see Mordecai was from the tribe of Benjamin, from the family of King Saul, he shouldn't have been in Shushan at all. Mordecai was not in the will of God. Mordecai was one of those who had grown comfortable in Persia. He has taken a political job, living and working at the palace.  However, the book of Esther is a story of God’s providence and God brought Mordecai back to a right relationship with Him, even though Mordecai was not looking to God for help.

In verse seven we are introduced to Esther. Esther is characterized by brief, general description only, what is significant here is the fact that Esther was beautiful. Hadassah was Esther’s Hebrew name and Esther was her non-Hebraic name. This name is the feminine form of the Hebrew word for “myrtle,” a kind of evergreen tree or shrub that produces scented berries and yields fragrant oil. Her name Esther is a name of uncertain origin. If it is a Babylonian name (as some scholars believe) it would most likely be a variant of the name Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of love.  If it is a Persian name (as other scholars believe) it came from the word for “star.” The second half of verse seven clearly states that Esther had no parents; they had died. Her cousin Mordecai had taken her “as daughter.” Mordecai’s name is derived from the Babylonian god Marduk. This is not evidence that Mordecai and Esther were devotees to the Babylonian deities. Jews in Palestine often received foreign names (e.g. Daniel took the name Belteshazzar). Evidently Mordecai was a kindly man. Mordecai, being a Jew, may have known the law of Moses in Exodus 22:22 which says “Ye shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.” Indeed Mordecai did more than what the law required. It is with this in mind that some scholars argue that Mordecai is a type of Christ in the Old Testament. Indeed the purpose of chapter two verses two through seven is primarily to introduce Mordecai and secondarily Esther.

According to her introduction in verse seven Esther had one asset and that was her beauty. So when the announcement was made that there was to be a choice of another queen immediately Mordecai was interested. To be fair we don’t know for sure who entered Esther into the contest. However, Jewish and even Babylonian culture of that time would seem to suggest that Mordecai was the one who entered Esther into the contest.  Here is yet another question: Should Esther have entered the contest? Verse eight seems to demonstrate that this was no mere beauty contest. These girls were to be held in the custody of Hegai. In this beauty contest the losers were not simply going to be sent home. Many Biblical scholars suggest that those who lose would go into seclusion for the rest of their lives. Other scholars suggest that those who fail to be chosen as queen will spend the rest of their lives as the king’s concubines. With these views in mind some older Jewish commentators and interpreters suggests Mordecai actually tried to keep Esther out of the contest.  In truth though Mordecai really had no choice in the matter, the will of the families is not a factor in the selection of the participants in the king’s contest. It was “the king’s commandment and his decree.” 

Yet, the question still remains: Should Esther have entered the contest? After all God had commanded the Jews not marry unbelievers. An interesting fact in verse ten could help shed light on this issue. Chapter two verse ten says, “Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.” Esther and Mordecai were part of a captive people and felt the pressures of anti-Semitism; Mordecai, being sensitive to this feeling, warned Esther not to reveal her nationality. It should be noted that there are scholars who believe Esther’s withholding of her nationality was merely an act of protection from anti-Semitism and nothing more. These scholars argue that the fact that Esther did not make know kindred did not cause others to suffer so therefore it is fine. However, Esther’s silence about her nationality could be interpreted as being tantamount to a denial about her religion; after all it is her religion that is the very thing that identified God’s chosen people. The moment Esther and Mordecai denied their nationality, that moment they denied their religion. Similar to Jonah when he headed to Tarsus, Esther and Mordecai were out of the will of God in a land they shouldn’t have been in denying a God who deserved their loyalty. Mordecai is not resting upon God at all. Chapter two verse eleven tells us that, “Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.” Being out of the will of God, Mordecai anxiously awaited the outcome of the contest. He did not put his worries into God’s hands.  

However, God is overruling in these events. God providentially is leading Esther and Mordecai to fulfill his purpose even when they were far away from Him. God is leading a man (Mordecai) who is not willing to be led. In the book we see God move to direct the intentions of King Xerxes, Mordecai, Esther, and Haman to fulfill His plan. It is no accident that Esther is given the most prominent place, or that she is shown favor and given every consideration. There are no accidents with God. Despite the mistakes of Mordecai and Esther, God would use them to save a nation.

Works Cited 
Armerding, Carl. Esther, For Such a Time as This. Chicago: Moody Press, 1955.
Fox, Micaell V. Character and Ideology in the Book of Esther. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991.
MacArthur, John. Ruth and Ester: women of faith, bravery and hope. Nashville: Word Publications, 2000.
McGee, J. Vernon. Esther, The Romance of Providence. New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982.
Omanson, Roger L. and Philip A. Noss. The Book of Esther, the Hebrew and Greek Texts. New York: United Bible Societies, 1992.
Whitcomb, John. Esther, the Triumph of God's Sovereignty. Chicago: Moody Press, 1979.


Posted by Caleb