Esther 1

This is the first chapter of the Book of Esther. As the opening chapter, it begins the book by introducing the court of the Persian Empire. Through the events that leave the queen's position vacant, it sets the stage for Esther's appearance in Esther 2.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 In the third year of his reign, Ahasuerus, who rules 127 provinces (administrative districts) from India to Cush, holds a feast for his princes and servants in the palace at Shushan and displays the riches and majesty of his kingdom for 180 days.
• Verses 5–8 He then holds a seven-day feast in the court of the palace garden for the people of the capital, Shushan. The narrative describes the hangings, the couches of gold and silver, and the golden vessels, and each guest is allowed to drink as he pleases.
• Verse 9 Queen Vashti also holds a feast for the women in the royal palace.
• Verses 10–12 On the seventh day, the king, merry with wine, sends seven chamberlains to command Vashti to come wearing the royal crown and show her beauty to the people and the princes. When Vashti refuses, the king becomes very angry.
• Verses 13–15 The king asks the seven princes of Persia and Media, who know law and judgment, how the matter should be handled.
• Verses 16–20 Memucan argues that if this becomes known, all women will despise their husbands. He proposes that a royal decree be written into the laws of the Persians and the Medes barring Vashti from ever coming before the king again, and that her royal position be given to someone better than she.
• Verses 21–22 The king does as Memucan advises and sends a decree to every province in its own script and language, declaring that every man should bear rule in his own house and speak in the language of his own people.

Key Verses

• Esther 1:1 "this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces" — shows the vast extent of the empire in which the story takes place.
• Esther 1:12 "But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment" — this refusal sets in motion the events of the entire book.
• Esther 1:19 "let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered" — the principle that a decree, once issued, cannot be changed becomes important again in Esther 8.

People and Places

• Ahasuerus: King of Persia. He is commonly identified with Xerxes I, and the Septuagint is known to render his name as Artaxerxes.
• Vashti: Ahasuerus's queen. She is deposed for refusing the king's summons.
• Memucan: One of the seven princes; he proposes Vashti's removal.
• The seven chamberlains: Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas.
• Shushan (Susa): The capital city where the Persian royal palace stood.
• Media (the Medes): The people who, together with the Persians, formed the empire.
• India and Cush: The eastern and southwestern extremities of the empire. Cush (rendered "Ethiopia" in the KJV) refers to the region of the upper Nile.

Points for Reflection

• The name of God never appears in the Book of Esther, and this chapter likewise narrates only events at the royal court. Many interpreters read this as a literary device pointing to the hidden providence of God.
• Some interpreters regard Vashti's refusal as disobedience to a royal command, while others see it as an act that preserved her dignity, since she refused to be made a spectacle at a drinking feast. Some Jewish traditions relate that Vashti was ordered to appear wearing only the crown, but this detail is not found in the text.
• Interpretations differ on whether the decree of verse 22 should be read as an expression of the household order commended by Scripture or as a satirical account of an overblown decision by a pagan court.
• The unalterable law of the Medes and Persians also appears in Daniel 6. The Book of Esther is not directly quoted in the New Testament.

In the Korean Church

In sequential preaching through the Book of Esther, this chapter is treated as the introduction. Because Vashti's removal opened the way for Esther to become queen, the chapter is frequently used in sermons on the theme of providence.