The Meaning of Esther 1:8 Explained

Esther 1:8

KJV: And the drinking was according to the law; none did compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.

YLT: And the drinking is according to law, none is pressing, for so hath the king appointed for every chief one of his house, to do according to the pleasure of man and man.

Darby: And the drinking was, according to commandment, without constraint; for so the king had appointed to all the magnates of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.

ASV: And the drinking was according to the law; none could compel: for so the king had appointed to all the officers of his house, that they should do according to every man's pleasure.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the drinking  [was] according to the law;  none did compel:  for so the king  had appointed  to all the officers  of his house,  that they should do  according to every man's  pleasure. 

What does Esther 1:8 Mean?

Context Summary

Esther 1:1-22 - Vashti's Noble Refusal
The book opens with a royal festival, which lasted for six months, Esther 1:1-9. Perhaps the princes came up from their governments to partake of it in rotation. It finished with a banquet, open to all the people who dwelt in Shushan, great and small. Whenever men are overcome with wine, there is grave peril for women. Coarseness, indelicacy, and impurity troop in at the door, which has been unlocked by the excess of wine. Who can tell the anguish which has been caused to women, children, and the dumb creation through the intemperance of man! Here is given a glimpse of a noble woman, who respected herself too highly to yield to a demand, wholly foreign to the customs of the time, which forbade women to appear in public. Of course the king was incensed, all the more so because he knew that he was in the wrong. He had command over 127 provinces, but he could not rule his own spirit, and the sense of moral weakness is always irritating. He consulted his counselors, who were only too glad to fall in with and humor the royal whims; they counseled that the divorce of Vashti was a public duty, for the repression of wife-insubordination throughout the empire. Men are not always to be trusted when they legislate about women, or in respect to their own dignity. When wine is in them they may be expected to say and do very stupid things. It has been truly said that every Ahasuerus had his Memucan, a man who was sycophant and parasite, who held his influence by humoring caprice and lust. [source]

Chapter Summary: Esther 1

1  Xerxes makes royal feasts
10  Vashti, sent for, refuses to come
13  Xerxes, by the counsel of Memucan, puts away Vashti, and decrees men's sovereignty

What do the individual words in Esther 1:8 mean?

And the drinking in accordance with the law was not compulsory for so had ordered the king to all the officers of his household that they should do according to pleasure each and man's
וְהַשְּׁתִיָּ֥ה כַדָּ֖ת אֵ֣ין אֹנֵ֑ס כִּי־ כֵ֣ן ׀ יִסַּ֣ד הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ עַ֚ל כָּל־ רַ֣ב בֵּית֔וֹ לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת כִּרְצ֥וֹן אִישׁ־ וָאִֽישׁ

וְהַשְּׁתִיָּ֥ה  And  the  drinking 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁתִיָּה  
Sense: drinking (mode or manner or amount).
כַדָּ֖ת  in  accordance  with  the  law 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: דָּת  
Sense: decree, law, edict, regulation, usage.
אֵ֣ין  was  not 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
אֹנֵ֑ס  compulsory 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אָנַס  
Sense: (Qal) to compel, to constrain.
כֵ֣ן ׀  so 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֵּן 
Sense: so, therefore, thus.
יִסַּ֣ד  had  ordered 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָסַד 
Sense: to found, fix, establish, lay foundation.
הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
רַ֣ב  the  officers 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
בֵּית֔וֹ  of  his  household 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
לַעֲשׂ֖וֹת  that  they  should  do 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
כִּרְצ֥וֹן  according  to  pleasure 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: רָצֹון  
Sense: pleasure, delight, favour, goodwill, acceptance, will.
אִישׁ־  each 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וָאִֽישׁ  and  man's 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.

What are the major concepts related to Esther 1:8?

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