Vashti

Biblical Account

Vashti appears in Esther 1 as the queen of King Ahasuerus. Ahasuerus was the king of Persia who ruled over 127 provinces, from India to Ethiopia. In the third year of his reign he held a great feast in Shushan the palace, and at the same time Vashti held a feast for the women in the royal house (Esther 1:9).

On the seventh day of the feast, when the king's heart was merry with wine, he sent seven chamberlains to summon Vashti. He commanded them "to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty" (Esther 1:10–11). Vashti refused to come, and the king was greatly angered (Esther 1:12).

The king asked his advisers who were versed in the law how the matter should be handled. One of them, Memucan, argued that the queen's conduct would lead wives throughout the kingdom to despise their husbands. He proposed that Vashti never again come before the king and that her royal estate be given to another (Esther 1:16–19). The king accepted this advice and sent letters into every province (Esther 1:22).

Later, when the king's wrath had subsided, he remembered Vashti and what had been decreed against her (Esther 2:1). At his servants' suggestion a search was made for a new queen, and in the end Esther was made queen "instead of Vashti" (Esther 2:17). Scripture says nothing further about Vashti's later life.

Significance Within Scripture

Within the Book of Esther as a whole, Vashti's deposition sets the stage for Esther's rise to the throne. It brings Esther into the palace, which leads in turn to the account of how she and Mordecai later deliver the Jews from the plot of Haman. Because the name of God does not appear directly in the Book of Esther, many interpreters read Vashti's removal as the opening scene of God's hidden providence. The New Testament does not mention Vashti.

Interpretation and Debated Questions

Reasons for her refusal and assessments of her conduct. The text does not explain why Vashti refused, and assessments of her therefore differ.

• Some sermons and commentaries regard Vashti as a woman who disobeyed the command of her husband and king.
• Other interpreters see her as a woman who preserved her dignity by refusing to be made a spectacle at a drinking feast. This view is especially prominent in feminist and other women-centered readings of Scripture.
• Still others read the episode, in which the king and his advisers treat one queen's refusal as a national crisis, as a satire of the Persian court.

Traditions not found in the text. Some later Jewish writings (the Talmud and midrash) are known to add stories not found in the Bible, such as that Vashti was a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar or that she could not appear because of a physical affliction. These traditions must be distinguished from the biblical record. It is also commonly said that Vashti was executed, but Scripture states only that she was not to come before the king again and that she lost her position as queen.

Historical identification. Many identify Ahasuerus with Xerxes I. However, the Greek historian Herodotus gives the name of Xerxes' queen as Amestris, and scholars differ on whether Vashti should be identified with Amestris.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Vashti is presented mainly in expository preaching on the Book of Esther and in Sunday school lessons on the story of Esther, as a background figure in the account of Esther's becoming queen. How Vashti is evaluated varies with the preacher and the interpretive perspective.