Ester 1:3

1:3 in the third ¹  year of his reign he provided a banquet for all his officials and his servants. The army ²  of Persia and Media ³  was present, ⁴  as well as the nobles and the officials of the provinces.

Ester 1:14

1:14 Those who were closest to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These men were the seven officials of Persia and Media who saw the king on a regular basis ⁵  and had the most prominent offices ⁶  in the kingdom.

Ester 3:4

3:4 And after they had spoken to him day after day ⁷  without his paying any attention to them, they informed Haman to see whether this attitude on Mordecai’s part would be permitted. ⁸  Furthermore, he had disclosed to them that he was a Jew. ⁹ 

Ester 5:8

5:8 If I have found favor in the king’s sight and if the king is inclined ¹⁰  to grant my request and perform my petition, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet that I will prepare for them. At that time ¹¹  I will do as the king wishes. ¹² 

[1:3]  ¹ sn The third year of Xerxes’ reign would be ca. 483 b.c.

[1:3]  ² tc Due to the large numbers of people implied, some scholars suggest that the original text may have read “leaders of the army” (cf. NAB “Persian and Median aristocracy”; NASB “the army officers”; NIV “the military leaders”). However, there is no textual evidence for this emendation, and the large numbers are not necessarily improbable.

[1:3]  ³ sn Unlike the Book of Daniel, the usual order for this expression in Esther is “Persia and Media” (cf. vv. 14, 18, 19). In Daniel the order is “Media and Persia,” indicating a time in their history when Media was in the ascendancy.

[1:3]  ⁴ sn The size of the banquet described here, the number of its invited guests, and the length of its duration, although certainly immense by any standard, are not without precedent in the ancient world. C. A. Moore documents a Persian banquet for 15,000 people and an Assyrian celebration with 69,574 guests (Esther [AB], 6).

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “seers of the face of the king”; NASB “who had access to the king’s presence.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “were sitting first”; NAB “held first rank in the realm.”

[3:4]  ⁷ sn Mordecai’s position in the service of the king brought him into regular contact with these royal officials. Because of this association the officials would have found ample opportunity to complain of Mordecai’s refusal to honor Haman by bowing down before him.

[3:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “Will the matters of Mordecai stand?”; NASB “to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand.”

[3:4]  ⁹ sn This disclosure of Jewish identity is a reversal of the practice mentioned in 1:10, 20.

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “if upon the king it is good.” Cf. the similar expression in v. 4, which also occurs in 7:3; 8:5; 9:13.

[5:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and tomorrow” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV “and then.”

[5:8]  ¹² tn Heb “I will do according to the word of the king,” i.e., answer the question that he has posed. Cf. NCV “Then I will answer your question about what I want.”