--- title: "Esther 1 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Esther 1 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty prov" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1" --- [ Read](/kjv/esther/1)[ Commentary](/study/esther/1)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/esther/1) Audio 1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this *is* 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 sat 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; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, *being* before him: 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. 10 ¶ On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king,* 11 To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she *was* fair to look on.* 12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by *his* chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.* 13 ¶ Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so *was* the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment: 14 And the next unto him *was* Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, *and* Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, *and* which sat the first in the kingdom;) 15 What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?* 16 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. 17 For *this* deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. 18 *Likewise* shall the ladies of Persia and Media say this day unto all the king’s princes, which have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus *shall there arise* too much contempt and wrath. 19 If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.**** 20 And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. 21 And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan:* 22 For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that *it* should be published according to the language of every people.* [Nehemiah 13](/study/nehemiah/13) [Esther 2](/study/esther/2) ## Commentary To verse 1 Concerning the *author* of this book there are several opinions: some attribute the work to *Ezra*; some to one *Joachim*, a high priest; others, to the *men of the Great Synagogue*; and others to *Mordecai*. This latter is the most likely opinion: nor is that to be disregarded which gives to *Mordecai* for co-partner *Ezra* himself; though it is likely that the conclusion, from [Esther 9:23](/kjv/esther/9/23) to the end of the book, was inserted by another hand, and at a later time. Though some Christians have hesitated to receive the book of Esther into the sacred canon; yet it has always been received by the Jews, not only as perfectly *authentic*, but also as one of the most excellent of their sacred books. They call it *megillah*, THE VOLUME, by way of eminence; and hold it in the highest estimation. That it records the history of a real fact, the observation of the feast of *Purim*, to the present day, is a sufficient evidence. Indeed, this is one of the strongest evidences that any fact can have, viz., that, to commemorate it, a certain rite, procession, feast, or the like, should have been instituted at the time, which, without intermission, has been continued annually through every generation of *that people*, and in whatsoever place they or parties of them may have sojourned, to the present day. This is the fact concerning the feast of *Purim* here mentioned; which the Jews, in all places of their dispersion, have uninterruptedly celebrated, and do still continue to celebrate, from the time of their deliverance from the massacre intended by Haman to the present time. *Copies* of this book, widely differing from each other, exist in *Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac,* *Greek*, and *Latin*. All these differ much from the *Hebrew* text, particularly the *Greek* and the *Chaldee*: the former has many additional paragraphs; and the latter, as it exists in the *London* *Polyglot*, contains five times more than the *Hebrew* text. To notice all the various readings, additions, and paraphrases, in the above copies, would require a volume of no inconsiderable magnitude. The reader who is curious may consult the above *Polyglot*. This book does not appear to be extant in *Arabic*, or in any other of the Oriental languages, besides the *Hebrew* and *Syriac*. The question may naturally arise, What was the original of this book? or, In what language was it written? Though learned men in general decide in favour of a *Hebrew* original, yet there are many reasons which might be urged in favour of the *Persian*. Several of the proper names are evidently of a *Persian* origin; and no doubt all the others are so; but they are so transformed by passing through the *Hebrew*, that they are no longer discernible. The *Hebrew* has even retained some of the Persian words, having done little else than alter the character, e.g., *Esther, Mehuman,* *Mishak, Melzar, Vashti, Shushan, Pur, Darius, Paradise*, c., several of which will be noted in their proper places. The *Targum* in the *London Polyglot* is widely different from that in the *Complutum, Antwerp*, and *Paris* editions. The principal additions in the *Greek* are carefully marked in the *London Polyglot*, but are too long and too numerous to be inserted here. It is a singular circumstance that the *name of God* does not once occur in the whole of this book as it stands in Hebrew. NOTES ON CHAP. I Verse [Esther 1:1](/kjv/esther/1/1). ***Now it came to pass*** — The *Ahasuerus* of the *Romans*, the *Artaxerxes* of the *Greeks* and *Ardsheer* of the *Persians*, are the same. Some think that this *Ahasuerus* was *Darius*, the son of *Hystaspes* but *Prideaux* and others maintain that he was *Artaxerxes Longimanus*. ***Reigned from India even unto Ethiopia*** — This is nearly the same account that is given by Xenophon. How great and glorious the kingdom of Cyrus was beyond all the kingdoms of Asia, was evident from this: Ὡρισθῃ μεν πρως ἑῳ τῃ Ερυθρᾳ θαλαττῃ· προς αρκτον δε τῳ Ευξεινῳ ποντῳ· προς ἑσπεραν δε Κυπρῳ και Αιγυπτῳ· προς μεσημβριαν δε Αιθιοπιᾳ. "It was bounded on the east by the Red Sea; on the north by the Euxine Sea; on the west by Cyprus and Egypt; and on the south by Ethiopia." - CYROP. lib. viii., p. 241, edit. *Steph*. 1581. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1","name":"Esther 1 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Esther 1 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty prov","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary","name":"clarkes commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther","name":"Esther"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/esther/1","name":"1"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```