Esther 1:1-9

Esther 1:1-9

[1] Now it came to pass in the days  of Ahasuerus,  which reigned,  from India  even unto Ethiopia,  over an hundred  and seven  and twenty  provinces:)  [2] That in those days,  when the king  Ahasuerus  on the throne  of his kingdom,  which was in Shushan  the palace,  [3] In the third  year  of his reign,  he made  a feast  unto all his princes  and his servants;  of Persia  and Media,  the nobles  and princes  of the provinces,  being before  [4] When he shewed  the riches  of his glorious  kingdom  and the honour  of his excellent  majesty  many  days,  even an hundred  and fourscore  days.  [5] And when these days  were expired,  the king  made  a feast  unto all the people  that were present  in Shushan  the palace,  both unto great  and small,  seven  days,  in the court  of the garden  of the king's  palace;  [6] Where were white,  green,  and blue,  hangings, fastened  with cords  of fine linen  and purple  to silver  rings  and pillars  of marble:  the beds  were of gold  and silver,  upon a pavement  of red,  and blue,  and white,  and black,  marble.  [7] And they gave them drink  in vessels  of gold,  (the vessels  being diverse  one from another,)  and royal  wine  in abundance,  according to the state  of the king.  [8] 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.  [9] Also Vashti  the queen  made  a feast  for the women  in the royal  house  which belonged to king  Ahasuerus. 

What does Esther 1:1-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Ahasuerus is the Hebrew name of the Persian king, Khshayarsha, whom we know better in ancient history by his Greek name, Xerxes. [1] He reigned over the Persian Empire from486 to464 B.C. and was the son of Darius I (521-486 B.C.). Another high-ranking Persian government officer, Artabanus, eventually assassinated him.
Xerxes is famous in secular history for two things: his defeat at the hands of the Greeks, and his building of the royal Persian palace at Persepolis. In481 B.C. he took about200 ,000 soldiers and hundreds of ships to Greece to avenge his father Darius" loss at the battle of Marathon (490 B.C.). However, he too suffered defeat, in a three-fold manner. His soldiers lost the battle of Thermopylae to the Spartans, his army also lost at the battle of Plataea, and the Greeks destroyed his navy in the battle of Salamis.
The writer mentioned the vast area Xerxes controlled (cf. Esther 8:9; Esther 10:1). Perhaps he did this to avoid confusion with another Ahasuerus ( Daniel 9:1) whose Song of Solomon , Darius the Mede, governed the Babylonian provinces under Cyrus the Great from539 to about525 B.C. "India" refers to the territory that is now western Pakistan. "Cush" was the upper (southern) Nile region including southern Egypt, the Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia, land west of the Red Sea. The127 "provinces" (Heb. medina) were governmental units of the empire. These were political subdivisions of the satrapies (cf. Esther 3:12). [2]
"Susa" ( Esther 1:2) is the Greek name for the Hebrew "Shushan." It was a winter capital and had formerly been the capital of the kingdom of Elam. Susa was the name of both the capital city and the royal fortress that occupied a separate part of the city. [3] Other Persian capitals were Ecbatana (200 miles north of Susa, modern Hamadan, Ezra 6:2), Babylon (200 miles west, Ezra 6:1), Pasargadae, and Persepolis (both300 miles southeast). [4] Persepolis was Xerxes" main residence. [5] Forty years after the events the writer described in the Book of Esther , Nehemiah served as cupbearer to Artaxerxes, Xerxes" son (cf. Nehemiah 1:1 to Nehemiah 2:1).
The Hebrew word translated "capital" (NASB) or "citadel" (NIV habirah) refers to an acropolis or fortified area that stood72feet above the rest of the city. A wall two and one-half miles long surrounded it. [6]
The third year of Ahasuerus" (Xerxes") reign ( Esther 1:3) was evidently482 B.C. For180 days (six months) he entertained his guests ( Esther 1:4). This was evidently the military planning session that Ahasuerus conducted to prepare for his campaign against the Greeks. The Greek historian Herodotus referred to this meeting and said it took Ahasuerus four years (484-481 B.C.) to prepare for his Greek campaign. [7] Ahasuerus" Persian army suffered defeat at the hands of the Greeks at Plataea in479 B.C.
"While labourers received barely enough to live on, even though they were producing works of art that are still unsurpassed, life at court was extravagant beyond imagining. The more lavish the king"s hospitality, the greater his claim to supremacy." [8]
White and violet (blue, Esther 1:6) were the royal colors of Persia. [9] This palace burned to the ground about435 B.C, toward the end of Artaxerxes" reign. [10]
Banquets are a prominent feature of this story. At least nine receive mention ( Esther 1:1-9; Esther 2:18; Esther 3:15; Esther 5:4; Esther 5:8; Esther 8:17; Esther 9:17-19).