Ester 1:12

1:12 But Queen Vashti refused ¹  to come at the king’s bidding ²  conveyed through the eunuchs. Then the king became extremely angry, and his rage consumed ³  him.

Ester 7:7

7:7 In rage the king arose from the banquet of wine and withdrew to the palace garden. Meanwhile, Haman stood to beg Queen Esther for his life, ⁴  for he realized that the king had now determined a catastrophic end for him. ⁵ 

Mazmur 72:5-6

72:5 People will fear ⁶  you ⁷  as long as the sun and moon remain in the sky,

for generation after generation. ⁸ 

72:6 He ⁹  will descend like rain on the mown grass, ¹⁰ 

like showers that drench ¹¹  the earth. ¹² 

Amsal 16:14-15

16:14 A king’s wrath ¹³  is like ¹⁴  a messenger of death, ¹⁵ 

but a wise person appeases it. ¹⁶ 

16:15 In the light of the king’s face ¹⁷  there is life,

and his favor is like the clouds ¹⁸  of the spring rain. ¹⁹ 

[1:12]  ¹ sn Refusal to obey the king was risky even for a queen in the ancient world. It is not clear why Vashti behaved so rashly and put herself in such danger. Apparently she anticipated humiliation of some kind and was unwilling to subject herself to it, in spite of the obvious dangers. There is no justification in the biblical text for an ancient Jewish targumic tradition that the king told her to appear before his guests dressed in nothing but her royal high turban, that is, essentially naked.

[1:12]  ² tn Heb “at the word of the king”; NASB “at the king’s command.”

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “burned in him” (so KJV).

[7:7]  ⁴ sn There is great irony here in that the man who set out to destroy all the Jews now finds himself begging for his own life from a Jew.

[7:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “for he saw that calamity was determined for him from the king”; NAB “the king had decided on his doom”; NRSV “the king had determined to destroy him.”

[72:5]  ⁶ tn In this context “fear” probably means “to demonstrate respect for the Lord’s power and authority by worshiping him and obeying his commandments.” See Ps 33:8. Some interpreters, with the support of the LXX, prefer to read וְיַאֲרִיךְ (vÿ’a’arikh, “and he [the king in this case] will prolong [days]”), that is, “will live a long time” (cf. NIV, NRSV).

[72:5]  ⁷ tn God is the addressee (see vv. 1-2).

[72:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “with [the] sun, and before [the] moon [for] a generation, generations.” The rare expression דּוֹר דּוֹרִים (dor dorim, “generation, generations”) occurs only here, in Ps 102:24, and in Isa 51:8.

[72:6]  ⁹ tn That is, the king (see vv. 2, 4).

[72:6]  ¹⁰ tn The rare term zg refers to a sheep’s fleece in Deut 18:4 and Job 31:20, but to “mown” grass or crops here and in Amos 7:1.

[72:6]  ¹¹ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to be an otherwise unattested noun. Many prefer to emend the form to a verb from the root זָרַף (zaraf). BHS in textual note b on this verse suggests a Hiphil imperfect, third masculine plural יַזְרִיפוּ (yazrifu), while HALOT 283 s.v. *זרף prefers a Pilpel perfect, third masculine plural זִרְזְפוּ (zirzÿfu). The translation assumes the latter.

[72:6]  ¹² sn The imagery of this verse compares the blessings produced by the king’s reign to fructifying rains that cause the crops to grow.

[16:14]  ¹³ sn This proverb introduces the danger of becoming a victim of the king’s wrath (cf. CEV “if the king becomes angry, someone may die”). A wise person knows how to pacify the unexpected and irrational behavior of a king. The proverb makes the statement, and then gives the response to the subject.

[16:14]  ¹⁴ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[16:14]  ¹⁵ tn The expression uses an implied comparison, comparing “wrath” to a messenger because it will send a message. The qualification is “death,” an objective genitive, meaning the messenger will bring death, or the message will be about death. E.g., 1 Kgs 2:25, 29-34 and 46. Some have suggested a comparison with the two messengers of Baal to the god Mot (“Death”) in the Ugaritic tablets (H. L. Ginsberg, “Baal’s Two Messengers,” BASOR 95 [1944]: 25-30). If there is an allusion, it is a very slight one. The verse simply says that the king’s wrath threatens death.

[16:14]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is כָּפַּר (kapar), which means “to pacify; to appease” and “to atone; to expiate” in Levitical passages. It would take a wise person to know how to calm or pacify the wrath of a king – especially in the ancient Near East.

[16:15]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the light of the face of the king.” This expression is a way of describing the king’s brightened face, his delight in what is taking place. This would mean life for those around him.

[16:15]  sn The proverb is the antithesis of 16:14.

[16:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “cloud.”

[16:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “latter rain” (so KJV, ASV). The favor that this expression represents is now compared to the cloud of rain that comes with the “latter” rain or harvest rain. The point is that the rain cloud was necessary for the successful harvest; likewise the king’s pleasure will ensure the success and the productivity of the people under him. E.g., also Psalm 72:15-17; the prosperity of the land is portrayed as a blessing on account of the ideal king.