The Meaning of Esther 1:16 Explained

Esther 1:16

KJV: And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

YLT: And Memucan saith before the king and the heads, 'Not against the king by himself hath Vashti the queen done perversely, but against all the heads, and against all the peoples that are in all provinces of the king Ahasuerus;

Darby: Then said Memucan before the king and the princes, The queen Vashti has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

ASV: And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Memucan  answered  before  the king  and the princes,  Vashti  the queen  hath not done wrong  to the king  only, but also to all the princes,  and to all the people  that [are] in all the provinces  of the king  Ahasuerus. 

What does Esther 1:16 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 1:16 mean?

and answered Memucan Memucan before the king and the princes not to only has wronged Vashti the Queen but also all the princes and the people who [are] in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [מומכן] (מְמוּכָ֗ן) לִפְנֵ֤י הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וְהַשָּׂרִ֔ים לֹ֤א עַל־ לְבַדּ֔וֹ עָוְתָ֖ה וַשְׁתִּ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה כִּ֤י עַל־ כָּל־ הַשָּׂרִים֙ וְעַל־ הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֕ר בְּכָל־ מְדִינ֖וֹת הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר  and  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
[מומכן]  Memucan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
(מְמוּכָ֗ן)  Memucan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מְומֻכָן 
Sense: one of the 7 princes of Persia in the reign of Ahasuerus.
לִפְנֵ֤י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
וְהַשָּׂרִ֔ים  and  the  princes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
לְבַדּ֔וֹ  only 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: בַּד 
Sense: alone, by itself, besides, a part, separation, being alone.
עָוְתָ֖ה  has  wronged 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: עָוָה 
Sense: to bend, twist, distort.
וַשְׁתִּ֣י  Vashti 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: וַשְׁתִּי  
Sense: the queen, wife of Ahasuerus, whom he divorced for disobeying his orders.
הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה  the  Queen 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַלְכָּה  
Sense: queen.
עַל־  also 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַשָּׂרִים֙  the  princes 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
בְּכָל־  [are]  in  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
מְדִינ֖וֹת  the  provinces 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: מְדִינָה  
Sense: province, district.
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ  of  King 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אֲחַשְׁוֵרֽוֹשׁ  Ahasuerus 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֲחַשְׁוֵרֹושׁ 
Sense: title of the king of Persia, probably Xerxes.

What are the major concepts related to Esther 1:16?

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