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1 In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Great, on the first day of the month Nisan, Mordecai, the son of Jairus, Shimeev, Kiseev, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Judean who lived in the city of Susa, a great man who served in the royal palace, had a dream. He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judah. His dream is this: behold, there is a terrible noise, thunder and earthquake and confusion on the earth; and behold, two great serpents came out, ready to fight each other; and their howl was great, and because of their howl all the nations prepared for war to defeat the nation of the righteous; and behold, a day of darkness and gloom, sorrow and oppression, suffering and great confusion on earth; and all the righteous people were confused, fearing troubles for themselves, and they prepared to perish and began to cry out to the Lord; from their cry there arose, as if from a small spring, a great river with plenty of water; and the light and the sun shone, and the humble were exalted and destroyed the vain. - Mordecai, waking up from this dream, depicting what God wanted to do, kept this dream in his heart and wanted to understand it in all parts of it, until the night. And Mordecai stayed in the palace with Gawatha and Terah, two of the king's eunuchs who were guarding the palace, and he heard their conversations and scouted out their plans and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and reported them to the king; and the king tortured these two eunuchs, and when they confessed, they were executed. The king wrote this event down for memory, and Mordecai wrote about this event. And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the palace and gave him gifts for this. Was under the king Then Haman, the son of Amadath, a Bougite, was noble, and he tried to do harm to Mordecai and his people for the sake of two of the king's eunuchs.| And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes—this Artaxerxes reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia—
2 When King Artaxerxes sat on his royal throne, which was in Susa, the capital city,
3 In the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and for his servants, for the chief commanders of the Persian and Median armies, and for the rulers of his regions,
4 showing the great riches of his kingdom and the excellent splendor of his greatness during many days, one hundred and eighty days.
5 At the end of those days, the king held a seven-day feast for his people who were in the capital city of Susa, from great to small, in the garden courtyard of the king’s house.
6 White, paper and yellow-colored woolen fabrics, attached with fine linen and purple cords, hung on silver rings and marble pillars.
7 Gold and silver stocks were on a platform covered with green stones and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black stones.
8 Drinks served were in golden vessels and various vessels, valued at thirty thousand talents; and there was plenty of the king's wine, according to the king's wealth. Drink was going on decorously, no one forced, because the king gave such an order to all the managers in his house that they should do according to the will of each.
9 And queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal house of king Ahasuerus.
10 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbon, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zephar and Karkas, the seven eunuchs who served before King Artaxerxes,
11 that they should bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing a royal crown, to show her beauty to the nations and princes; because she was very beautiful.
12 But Queen Vashti did not want to come at the king’s command, announced through eunuchs.
13 And the king was greatly angry, and his wrath burned within him. And the king said to the wise men who knew former times - for the affairs of the king were done before all who know the law and rights, -
14 those close to him there were then: Karshena, Shephar, Admafa, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memukhan - seven princes of Persia and Media who could see the face of the king And sat first in the kingdom:
15 What should be done according to the law with Queen Vashti because she did not do according to the word of King Artaxerxes? announced through eunuchs?
16 And Memukhan said before the king and the princes: Queen Vashti is not guilty before the king alone, but before all the princes and before all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Artaxerxes;
17 Because the queen’s deed will reach all the wives, and they will despise their husbands and say: King Artaxerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not go.
18 Now the princesses of Persia and Media, who hear about the queen’s deed, will Same speak to all the princes of the king; and neglect and grief will be enough.
19 If it pleases the king, let a royal decree come out from him and be included in the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed, that Vashti will not enter before King Artaxerxes, and the king will transfer her royal dignity to another who is better than her.
20 When they hear about this decree of the king, which will be spread throughout his entire kingdom, no matter how great it is, then all the wives will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.

1st addition to the book: Mordecai's dream and the revelation of the conspiracy against the king. 1–9. Feast of Artaxerxes. 10–22 Queen Vashti’s refusal to come to the meeting of guests at the king’s call and her removal by the king.

Esther 1:0a. [In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great, on the first day of the month Nisan, Mordecai, the son of Jairus, Shimei, Kiseev, from the tribe of Benjamin, had a dream.

In the story of Mordecai’s dream, the following contradiction should first be noted: the narrator says that the dream occurred to Mordecai “in the second year” (Esther 1:0a) of Artaxerxes, and Mordecai is already referred to as “serving in the king’s palace.” Meanwhile, according to the Hebrew text, Esther was taken to the king only “in the seventh year of his reign” (Esther 2:16, cf. Esther 2:19), when Mordecai was close to the court and could provide a certain service to the king by exposing what was going on conspiracy against him. It is possible to resolve the bewilderment caused by this contradiction - either by making an error in indicating the year of Artaxerxes' reign, or by admitting another situation in which Mordecai could have learned and brought to the attention of the king a conspiracy against him, or, finally, by assuming a more significant period of time between sleep and conspiracy.

The history of the conspiracy according to various lists is presented in four ways (Hebrew text, 2 Greek and Josephus). According to the Hebrew text (Esther 2.21-23), the conspiracy causes Mordecai to approach the court, while according to the main Greek text (Addition 1), Mordecai was already at court and he himself, and not through the queen, reports the conspiracy to the king. Josephus generally follows this Greek text, supplementing it, however, with the message that Mordecai did not learn about the conspiracy himself, but through a certain Barnabas, a Jewish servant of one of the conspirators. Other Greek variants also allow for a repetition of the conspiracy, admitting the first in the 2nd year of Artaxerxes, and the second in the 7th, and thus trying to reconcile the disagreement and contradiction of the texts with the indicated various dates and representations of the conspiracy, or accept any one , eliminating the other.

Esther 1:0b A Judean who lived in the city of Susa, a great man who served in the king’s palace.

"Mordecai" is a Persian name meaning "worshipper of Merodach." In 1 Ezra 2.2 and Neh. 7.7 – Mordecai is mentioned among those who came with Zerubbabel from the captivity of Nebuchadnezzar. In the addition Mordecai is also called ἄνθροπος μέγας (“great man”), i.e. great in power and importance for the Jews (cf. Esther 10.3), in Josephus XÏ6, 2 - he is designated as a man τῶν πρώτων παρὰ τοῖς ᾿Ιουδαίοις. In the Hebrew text, the name Mordecai first appears with Esther 2.5-6.

Esther 1:0c He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judah.

Esther 1:0d And his dream was this: behold, a terrible noise, thunder and an earthquake and confusion on the earth;

Esther 1:0ë) and behold, two great serpents came out, ready to fight each other;

Esther 1:0f And their howl was great, and because of their howl all the nations made ready for war to smite the nation of the righteous;

“Righteous people” – righteous people, i.e. Jews.

Esther 1:0g And behold, a day of darkness and gloom, sorrow and distress, suffering and great confusion on the earth;

Esther 1:0h And all the righteous people were troubled, fearing their own troubles, and they prepared to perish

Esther 1:0) and began to cry out to the Lord;

Esther 1:0j out of their cry there came forth, as from a small spring, a great river with abundance of water;

Esther 1:0k And the light and the sun shone, and the humble were exalted and destroyed the vain. –

A detailed explanation of Mordecai's dream is given in the special 7th addition to the book (after Esther 10:3), to which we refer the reader.

Esther 1:0l Mordecai, waking up from this dream, depicting What God wanted to do, he held this dream in his heart and wanted to understand it in all parts of it, until the night. those. until the next night, all day.

Esther 1:0m And Mordecai stayed in the palace with Gabetha and Terah, two of the king's eunuchs who guarded the palace,

Esther 1:0n and heard their conversations and scouted out their plans and found out that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and he reported them to the king;

Esther 1:0ö) and the king tortured these two eunuchs, and when they confessed, they were executed.

Esther 1:0p The king wrote this event down for memory, and Mordecai wrote about this event.

Esther 1:0q And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the palace and gave him gifts for this.

Esther 1:0r And he was with the king Then Haman, the son of Hamadath, a Bogite, was noble, and he tried to do harm to Mordecai and his people for the sake of two of the king’s eunuchs.]

Esther 1.1 “Haman” – according to Esther 3.1 of the main text – Agagit – הָאֲגָגִי. Greek texts, in contrast to the Hebrew, call him either a Macedonian or a Bogean (Βουγαῖος). The latter, however, is neither the name of a people, nor the name of a locality, much less a proper name. It is rather a nickname (Βουγαῖος), the meaning of which is “big braggart.” As for the name of Haman “Agagit,” for a long time they thought on this basis that Haman was an Amalekite, for one of the Amalekite kings was called Agag. And since already in ancient times the names of Esau and Amalek were taken to designate the pagans of Europe, the LXX translates the Hebrew “agagn” through Μακεδῶν, Macedonian. However, the name of Haman, like the name of his father, is of Mid-Persian origin. And we also now know from the Karzabad inscriptions that the country of Agag was really part of Media - a new circumstance that shows even in the smallest details the historical significance of the book. Esther. From this it is clear that the objection made to Esther 16.10 - according to the Vulgate - and borrowed from the fact that in this place Haman is called “Macedonian in spirit and race” (animo et gente macedo), has no significance. This place is not contradicted (as has been argued) by Esther 3.1:10, 8.3, 9.10, 24. The word “Macedonian” in Chapter XVI. - comes from the fact that the Greek translators, according to whom the Latin translation of Chapter XVI was made, in vain conveyed here, as in Esther 9.24, the word “Agagite” through “Macedonian” (Viguru, Guide to Reading and Studying the Bible, book . Esf).

The names of the eunuch conspirators are not the same in different editions. In the accepted Greek text they are called "Gawatha and Terah" (Γαβαθά and Θάρρα); in Josephus - Βαγαθῶος and Θεόδεστος; according to other variations Ἄστβγος (Ἀστυάγης) and Θεδευτός. The Vulgate has Bagatha instead of Γαβαθά.

Esther 1:1. And it happened [after this] in the days of Artaxerxes, - this Artaxerxes reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven regions from India to Ethiopia -

The name of the king according to the Hebrew text is אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, according to one of the Greek variations Ἀρταξέρξης - “Artaxerxes”, according to others - Ασυηρος (cf. Tob 14.15, 1 Ezra 4.6, Dan 9.1 ), according to the Vulgate – Assuerus. It is debatable which king should really be meant here. In any case, it is most certain that we are talking here only about either Artaxerxes Longiman or Xerxes. The name of this Artaxerxes “great” in the 1st addition (τοῦ μεγάλου. - Esther 1:0a) should be understood as the usual designation of the Persian kings, and not as Artaxerxes’ own distinction. Recent research has led to the idea that this “Artaxerxes” is none other than Agasvere (Xerxes I, 485–465, son of Darius I, son of Hystaspes). “One of the very first results of reading the Persian inscriptions,” says one of the researchers (Oppert), “was the identification of Agasver (Assuer) with Xerxes. Grotefend already expressed this opinion more than half a century ago, and the successes of science did not leave even a shadow of doubt about its truth.” And the biblical image of “Artaxerxes” could not be more similar to the “Agasber” of history and the circumstances of his reign. Thus, everything that is said about the space of the Persian Empire (Esther 1.1:10.1), about the customs of the court, about the capricious, voluptuous, cruel, vengeful, extravagant disposition of Agasber - all this is most applicable to Xerxes in his description by Herodotus.

The 127 regions, from India to Ethiopia, over which Artaxerxes reigned, should not be confused with the 20 satrapies established by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, in his state. The former were based on geographical and ethnographic features to divide them, while satrapies were more general administrative units to facilitate the collection of taxes.

Esther 1:2. while King Artaxerxes sat on his royal throne, which is in Susa, the capital city,

The action takes place “in Susa, the capital city,” where the king usually spent several months of the year.

Esther 1:3. in the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and for those serving under him, for the main commanders of the Persian and Median armies and for the rulers of his regions,

“In the third year... of his reign” - approximately 482 BC.

Esther 1:4. showing the great wealth of his kingdom and the excellent splendor of his greatness during many days, one hundred and eighty days.

The duration of the feast - without any exaggeration - is indicated at 180 days. It was, more precisely, a whole series of feasts, opened for more and more guests of the king, who flowed at his call from the most remote regions of the vast kingdom. Herodotus gives remarkable confirmation of this, reporting that, preparing for the campaign in Greece, after the conquest of Egypt, Xerxes invited all the nobles of his kingdom to his court to consult with them about this war, and spent four years preparing for it.

Esther 1:5. At the end of these days, the king held a seven-day feast for his people who were in the capital city of Susa, from great to small, in the garden courtyard of the king’s house.

Esther 1:6. White, paper and yellow-colored woolen fabrics, attached with fine linen and purple cords, hung on silver rings and marble pillars.

Esther 1:7. Gold and silver stocks were on a platform covered with green stones and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black stones.

Esther 1:8. Drinks served were in golden vessels and various vessels, valued at thirty thousand talents; and there was plenty of the king's wine, according to the king's wealth. Drink was going on decorously, no one forced, because the king gave such an order to all the managers in his house that they should do according to the will of each.

Everything that is told about the greatness of the Persian kings, the great wealth of their kingdom and the beauty of the palace decorations is sufficiently confirmed by the results of excavations carried out on the site of Susa in 1884-1886.

Esther 1:9. And Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal house of King Artaxerxes.

The name of the queen in Hebrew: וַשְׁתִּּי, in LXX: Αστιν, in the Vulgate: Vasthi, in ancient Persian: Vahista - excellent. – The queen could usually dine with the king, but she could not be present at public feasts due to Persian concepts of female honor.

Esther 1:10. On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Bizpha, Harbon, Bigpha and Avagtha, Zephar and Karkas - the seven eunuchs who served before King Artaxerxes,

Esther 1:11. so that they bring Queen Vashti before the king in a royal crown in order to show her beauty to the peoples and princes; because she was very beautiful.

Esther 1:12. But Queen Vashti did not want to come by order of the king, announced through eunuchs.

The king’s eccentric thought to “show the peoples and princes the beauty” of Queen Vashti makes the queen’s refusal all the more attractive because it was in the midst of the feast and sensuality of the king and his guests: “on the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry from the wine.”

Esther 1:13. And the king became very angry, and his rage burned within him. And the king said to the wise men who knew former times - for the affairs of the king were done before all who know the law and rights, -

“And the king asked the wise men who knew the times, for the deeds of the king are before all who know the law and rights,” i.e. the king consulted with the sages (naturalists or magicians) who were with him about this matter, because this was his custom - to carry out trials and sentences openly, in front of everyone who knew and respected laws and rights.

Esther 1:14. close to him then there were: Karshena, Shephar, Admapha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memukhan - the seven princes of Persia and Media who could see the face of the king And sat first in the kingdom:

“They could see the king’s face,” i.e. had access to him when he carried out his royal affairs. The number of these privileged persons was very limited (Esther 1:10); Even the king’s closest friend, the queen, did not belong to him, as we see further in Esther (Esther 4.11 ff.).

Esther 1:15. what to do according to the law with Queen Vashti for what she did not do according to the word of King Artaxerxes, announced through eunuchs?

Esther 1:16. And Memukhan said before the king and the princes: Queen Vashti is not guilty before the king alone, but before all the princes and before all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Artaxerxes;

Esther 1:17. because the queen’s deed will reach all the wives, and they will despise their husbands and say: King Artaxerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not go.

Esther 1:18. Now the princesses of Persia and Media, who hear about the queen’s act, will Same speak to all the princes of the king; and neglect and grief will be enough.

In the verdict of the king's close associates in the case of Vashti, there is absolutely no indication of circumstances mitigating her guilt; it is clear that the servility of the courtiers placed above all else - to act in the tone of the king’s mood and to please this mood; Moreover, the courtiers even exaggerate, exaggerate the matter, overgeneralize it, expressing the fear that “the princesses of Persia and Media” and all Persian wives in general “will neglect their husbands,” excluding any possibility of cases when this neglect may be a matter of women’s lives and honor, and thus subjecting the woman to complete slavish submission to all the whims of a man.

Esther 1:19. If it pleases the king, let a royal decree come out from him and be included in the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed, that Vashti will not enter before the face of King Artaxerxes, and the king will transfer her royal dignity to another who is better than her.

“Let a royal decree come from him and fit into the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed.” A literally similar expression is found in the book of Daniel - Dan 6.8, confirming the close contact of the authors of both books with Persian life and their precise knowledge of Persian legal formulas and customs.

Esther 1:22. And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, written to every province in its script, and to every nation in its language,

"Letters", i.e. decrees.

that every man should be master of his own house, and that this should be declared to every one in his natural language.

A more accurate translation: “so that every man may be master of his house and the language of his people,” i.e. so that in marriages between persons of different nationalities, the husband’s dialect and life customs should be dominant in the house. This is something similar to how the law now stipulates that in mixed marriages the religion of the country should be taken as a guide in the upbringing of children.

Book of Esther

[In the second year of the reign of Artaxerxes the great, on the first day of the month Nisan, Mordecai, the son of Jairus, Shimeev, Kiseev, from the tribe of Benjamin, a Judahite who lived in the city of Susa, a great man who served in the royal palace, had a dream. He was one of the captives whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took captive from Jerusalem with Jeconiah king of Judah. His dream is this: behold, there is a terrible noise, thunder and earthquake and confusion on the earth; and behold, two great serpents came out, ready to fight each other; and their howl was great, and because of their howl all the nations prepared for war to defeat the nation of the righteous; and behold, a day of darkness and gloom, sorrow and oppression, suffering and great confusion on earth; and all the righteous people were confused, fearing troubles for themselves, and they prepared to perish and began to cry out to the Lord; from their cry there arose, as if from a small spring, a great river with plenty of water; and the light and the sun shone, and the humble were exalted and destroyed the vain. - Mordecai, awakening from this dream, which depicted what God wanted to do, kept this dream in his heart and wanted to understand it in all parts of it, until nightfall. And Mordecai was in the palace with Gawatha and Terah, two of the king's eunuchs who were guarding the palace, and he heard their conversations and scouted out their plans and learned that they were preparing to lay hands on King Artaxerxes, and reported them to the king; and the king tortured these two eunuchs, and when they confessed, they were executed. The king wrote this event down for memory, and Mordecai wrote about this event. And the king ordered Mordecai to serve in the palace and gave him gifts for this. At that time, Haman, the son of Amadath, a Bougite, was noble under the king, and he tried to harm Mordecai and his people for the sake of two of the king’s eunuchs.]

1 And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes, this Artaxerxes reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia,

2 When King Artaxerxes sat on his royal throne, which was in Susa, the capital city,

3 In the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and for his servants, for the chief commanders of the Persian and Median armies, and for the rulers of his regions,

4 showing the great riches of his kingdom and the excellent splendor of his greatness for many days, an hundred and eighty days.

5 At the end of those days, the king held a seven-day feast for his people who were in the capital city of Susa, from great to small, in the garden courtyard of the king’s house.

6 White, paper and yellow-colored woolen fabrics, attached with fine linen and purple cords, hung on silver rings and marble pillars.

7 The gold and silver boxes were on a platform covered with green stones and marble and mother-of-pearl and black stones.

8 The drinks were served in golden vessels and various vessels, the value of thirty thousand talents; and the king's wine was abundant, according to the king's wealth. The drinking went on orderly, no one forced it, because the king gave such an order to all the managers in his house that they should do it according to the will of each.

9 And queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal house of king Artaxerxes.

10 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zephar and Karkas, the seven eunuchs who served before King Artaxerxes,

11 that they should bring Queen Vashti before the king, wearing a royal crown, to show her beauty to the nations and princes; because she was very beautiful.

12 But Queen Vashti did not want to come according to the king’s command, which was announced through the eunuchs.

13 And the king was greatly angry, and his wrath burned within him. And the king said to the wise men who knew the former times - for the king’s deeds were done before all those who knew the law and rights, -

14 Those close to him at that time were: Karshena, Shephar, Admapha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memukhan - the seven princes of Persia and Media, who could see the face of the king and sat first in the kingdom:

15 What should be done according to the law with Queen Vashti for what she did not do according to the word of King Artaxerxes, announced through the eunuchs?

16 And Memukhan said before the king and the princes: Queen Vashti is not guilty before the king alone, but before all the princes and before all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Artaxerxes;

17 Because the queen’s deed will reach all the wives, and they will despise their husbands and say: King Artaxerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before him, but she did not go.

18 Now the princesses of Persia and Media, who hear about the queen’s deed, will say the same to all the king’s princes; and neglect and grief will be enough.

19 If it pleases the king, let a royal decree come out from him and be included in the laws of Persia and Media and not be repealed, that Vashti will not enter before King Artaxerxes, and the king will transfer her royal dignity to another who is better than her.

20 When they hear about this decree of the king, which will be spread throughout his entire kingdom, no matter how great it is, then all the wives will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least.

21 And this word was acceptable in the eyes of the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memukhan.

22 And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, written to every province in its script, and to every nation in its language, that every man should be master of his house, and that it should be made known to every man in his natural language.

1 After this, when the anger of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti and what she had done, and what had been decreed about her.

2 And the king’s servants who served with him said, “Let the king look for young beautiful maidens,

3 And let the king appoint observers to all the regions of his kingdom, who would gather all the young maidens, beautiful in appearance, to the capital city of Susa, to the house of the wives under the supervision of Hegai, the king's eunuch, the guard of the wives, and let them give them ointments [and so on , what do you need];

4 And the maiden who pleases the king's eyes shall be queen instead of Vashti. And this word was pleasing in the eyes of the king, and he did so.

5 There was in Susa, the capital city, a man of Judah, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jairus, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin.

6 He was carried away from Jerusalem along with the captives who had been led out with Jehoiachin king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away.

7 And he was the tutor of Hadassah, also known as Esther, the daughter of his uncle, since she had neither father nor mother. This girl was beautiful in figure and pretty in face. And after the death of her father and her mother,

The author of the Book of Esther is unknown, but the description of the history of the establishment of the holiday of Purim, the details of the life of the Persian court, folk customs, and knowledge of the geography of the kingdom suggest that it was the Persian Jew Mordecai, who lived in Susa, an ardent patriot with a talent for writing.

Period covered: approximately 5th century BC Currently, many scientists are inclined to date the book to the end of the 5th or beginning of the 4th century. BC This date, in their opinion, is confirmed by the peculiarities of the author’s language and his favor towards the Persian king and the pagans.

According to some researchers, this is the story of the Persian king Artaxerxes, also known as Xerxes (485/6-465 BC, Ezra 4:14).

Artaxerxes was a Persian king who became famous for uniting the empire of his father Darius, erecting several successful buildings and fighting wars with the Greeks in 480-470. BC

The Book of Esther explains to subsequent generations of Israel the circumstances of the establishment of the holiday of Purim, which is still celebrated by Jews today.

1:1- 4 And it came to pass in the days of Artaxerxes—this Artaxerxes reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to Ethiopia—
2 When King Artaxerxes sat on his royal throne, which was in Susa, the capital city,
3 In the third year of his reign, he held a feast for all his princes and for his servants, for the chief commanders of the Persian and Median armies, and for the rulers of his regions,
4 showing the great wealth of his kingdom and the excellent splendor of his greatness [for] many days—one hundred and eighty days.
Yes, we think that not every king can boast of his wealth for 180 days. It turns out that Artaxerxes had a lot of real estate wonders, if he managed to entertain the public for so long with “the excellent splendor of his wealth,” as it is written.

1:5-9 At the end of these days, the king held a seven-day feast for his people who were in the capital city of Susa, from great to small, in the garden courtyard of the king’s house.
6 White paper and yellow-colored woolen fabrics, attached with fine linen and purple cords, [hung] on silver rings and marble pillars.
7 Gold and silver boxes [were] on a platform covered with green stones, and marble, and mother-of-pearl, and black stones.
8 The drinks were served in golden vessels and various vessels, valued at thirty thousand talents; and the king's wine was abundant, according to the king's wealth. The drinking [went on] orderly, no one forced it, because the king gave such an order to all the managers in his house that they should do according to the will of each.
But even this seemed not enough to the king: for another 7 days the king decided to throw a feast for his people in the capital. But they didn’t act outrageously: they drank orderly and decently, no one forced anyone to get drunk, they got drunk of their own free will. I wonder if there really are people in the world who force their family members to drink the green snake?

1:9-12 And Queen Vashti also made a feast for the women in the royal house of King Artaxerxes. 1
0 On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he said to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbon, Bigtha and Avagtha, Zephar and Karkas - the seven eunuchs who served before King Artaxerxes,
11 So that they bring Queen Vashti before the king in a royal crown in order to show her beauty to the peoples and princes; because she was very beautiful.
12 But Queen Vashti did not want to come according to the king’s command, [announced] through the eunuchs.
The king and queen had fun in separate companies: he with the husbands, she with the ladies. The time has come for the king and his movable property to boast about a beautiful queen, such as all these princes have never seen. He ordered her to come to their company and demonstrate her beauty. And in vain. Boasting, as you know, does not lead to anything good: such a queen refused him the courtesy, not a thing or real estate - a queen, so that she could be shown as in a circus for the entertainment of drunken princes and bosses. Although the queen may not have obeyed the order, transmitted through the Eunuchs, because she expected that the king himself would deign to invite her to the bride.
However, be that as it may,It was unfortunate for the king; the royal word meant nothing in the eyes of the queen.

1:13-15 And the king became very angry, and his rage burned within him. And the king said to the wise men who knew the [previous] times, “for the king’s deeds [were done] before all those who knew the law and rights,
14 Close to him [then were]: Karshena, Shephar, Admapha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, Memukhan - seven princes of Persia and Media, who could see the face of the king [and] sat first in the kingdom:
15 “What should be done according to the law with Queen Vashti for what she did not do according to the word of King Ahasuerus [announced] through the eunuchs?”
N The wife’s disobedience, and even in public - in the presence of all the princes and in the presence of eunuch witnesses, plunged the king into rage. Of course, he was publicly disgraced. But, we must give him his due, anger did not cloud his mind and the sun did not set on his anger, he did not let his mind become darkened: having controlled himself and gathered his thoughts, he turned to the sages who knew the laws of the state since ancient times, because he did not want do as you please. The king was reasonable:He placed the interests and laws of the kingdom above his own, mercantile ones.A king is not a crown or a throne, however, but a royal BEHAVIOR.

1:16-18 And Memukhan said in the face of the king and the princes: “Queen Vashti is not guilty before the king alone, but before all the princes and before all the peoples who are in all the regions of King Artaxerxes;
17 because the queen’s deed will reach all the wives, and they will despise their husbands and say: “King Artaxerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought before his face, but she did not go.”
18 Now the princesses of Persia and Media, who hear about the queen’s deed, will say [the same] to all the king’s princes; and neglect and grief will be enough.
The wise men described to him the accusation against the queen: she was guilty not only before the king, but also hit the princes with a ricochet, for a bad example is contagious and the wives of all princes can adopt it. And if a wife is disobedient to her husband and dominates him, then there is no small grief for the whole country. So punishment is inevitable.
Yes, the beautiful queen went too far in her whims, there is nothing to say, she hoped that her beauty would overshadow the king’s mind and he would not get away from her. But it turned out differently.

We thought: the queen could at least be understood; she had something to manipulate in front of the king, trying to gain the upper hand: the beauty was indescribable, but the male sex was greedy for beauty.

And we have seen such vanity: no beauty, no intelligence, and some of the wives are queens and strive to rule over their husbands. And what are they hoping for? We think we know what: the fact that the husband is not of the royal family and tribe will not punish him, because he really needs a wife.

1:19 If it pleases the king, let a royal decree come out from him, and fit into the laws of Persia and Media, and let it not be canceled that Vashti will not enter before the face of King Artaxerxes, and the king will transfer her royal dignity to another who is better than her.
The king was offered a solution so that it would be possible to get out of this situation without losing his royal greatness and dignity. And the solution is simple: you need to drive away such restive wives and replace them with others, better ones, because a disobedient wife is not a helper to her husbands.
The queen had finished her game, she wanted something great: a husband to run errands, so now sit with nothing, Let not all the “queens” now think that there are no irreplaceable ones.

1:20 When they hear about this decree of the king, which will spread throughout his entire kingdom, no matter how great it is, then all the wives will honor their husbands, from great to small.”
In order to prevent the situation from developing into a mass “women’s” revolt in Medo-Persia, the source of the rebellion had to be nipped in the bud and the instigator had to be punished somehow. And instead of women's pseudo-freedom, it turned out the other way around, due to the stupidity of one, albeit beautiful and great woman, and the men in the kingdom strengthened their positions and rights, given to them by God himself from the very beginning.

Apparently, life was not easy for the male sex at that time, if a whole decree of the king was needed in order to rein in all the wives.

Having heard such a decision, other wives will be wary of the right of their husbands to shake: this decree also applied to them. The king allowed all disobedient wives to be persecuted, and the problem of a wife’s disobedience to her husband was easily resolved in the Persian kingdom.

1:21,22 And this word was pleasing in the eyes of the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memukhan.
22 And he sent letters to all the provinces of the king, written to every province in its own script, and to every nation in its own language, that every man should be master of his house, and that it should be made known to every one in his own language.
And such a decision was pleasing to the king, and to all the princes, and to all the husbands throughout Media and Persia. The wives did not want to treat their husbands as masters of their own free will, they forced them with fear: you can’t really give orders when the law allows you to get rid of such “commanders”.

We have also seen such a bustle on earth, difficult for our psyche: the wives of witnesses (sister-commanders) - sometimes not at all with beauty or intelligence - manipulate their husbands, neglecting them and even humiliating them in public. But here’s what they say – with the letter of the law: “I don’t commit adultery, so you won’t be able to get rid of me forever, you nonentity!” And they do what they want. Creepy.

We think that such a decree from Artaxerxes and these “queens” would have been able to make Christians out of them and respect their husbands - if not of their own free will, then at least out of fear of being replaced by another - by a better one.

Christianity, and especially Orthodoxy, is often called a “male religion”: men rule everything, and a woman’s job is to cook cabbage soup in the kitchen and feed her husband and children. Well, just like in the Old Testament... Was it really like that in the Old Testament? There are several books in it that bear female names, but the book of Esther (or Esther, as this name is spelled in the old spelling) is most suitable for us in our search for an answer to this question.

The action takes place in the Persian Empire during the reign of a king named Artaxerxes - apparently, we are talking about Artaxerxes I. His long reign occurred in the middle of the 5th century. BC, it was the era of the heyday of the Persian state - there were wars on the borders of a huge empire (from the Aegean Sea to India, from Central Asia to Egypt), but no one had yet been born who could pose a serious challenge to the Persians. So the king could indulge in luxuries and pleasures in his palace, located in the city of Susa - one of his residences. The Jews at that time lived in many cities and localities of the empire - only some of them returned from Babylonian captivity to their homeland, many went to other lands in search of a better life.

So, Artaxerxes “arranged a feast for all the nobles and associates in the third year of his reign. The Persian and Median military leaders, the nobility and the rulers of the regions appeared before the king, and he showed them the wealth and glory of his kingdom, the splendor and splendor of his greatness. This lasted for one hundred and eighty days. And after these days, the king arranged for all the people who were in the stronghold of the city of Susa, both noble and simple, a feast for seven days in the garden of the royal palace... the king ordered all the stewards of his palace: let the people drink as much as they wish.”

You can imagine this picture! It is not surprising that the queen eventually got tired of the endless celebrations and refused to appear to the feasters at the call of her master. What a grave insult this was! Now the wife of the last of the royal subjects could refuse, following the example of the queen, to carry out the commands of her husband. It was impossible to tolerate this, and the king drove his wife away, sending a decree throughout the kingdom in all the languages ​​of his empire, which read: “Let a man be the master of his home,” along with the decree and an announcement that a vacancy had opened for a queen at court.

Among the other beauties gathered at court was Esther, a young Jewish woman who was raised by her close relative Mordecai. He also served at court and even once performed an important service for the king by warning him about a conspiracy. The beauty contest then took place slowly: for a whole year, the beauties were rubbed and anointed with all sorts of oils and incense, and then they were sent to the king for one night. After this, the girls went to special chambers - but most of them never saw the king again, unless he himself wanted to meet them again. And who said that being a concubine of a great king is pure pleasure?

Esther, however, won this competition and remained at court with the rank of queen. It would seem, what is there in this story to include it in the Holy Scriptures? But the most important thing was yet to come...

The first attempt in history to completely exterminate the Jews, as the Bible says, was conceived precisely at the court of Artaxerxes. Even the Egyptian pharaoh at one time did not want to destroy the Jews at all, he was only going to limit their birth rate. Now a certain Haman appeared at the court, who proposed the following project to the king: “There is one people, scattered throughout all the regions of your kingdom among other peoples, but alien to them. The laws of these people are not at all the same as those of other nations, and they do not observe the laws of the king. It is not proper for a king to put up with this. If the king wishes, let him issue a decree to exterminate them, and then the treasurers will receive from me ten thousand talents of silver for the royal treasury.”

It must be assumed that Haman did not at all intend to be a “sponsor” of these pogroms: on the contrary, he wanted to profit from the property of those whom he could kill - and he promised in advance to give part of the spoils to the king. Actually, approximately the same thing happened as happened in the story with Daniel, only on a different scale: a people who have a King above all earthly kings is potentially dangerous for any ruler. Artaxerxes agreed, the decision to exterminate the Jews was made, the date was chosen by lot, and instructions were sent throughout the kingdom to governors and commanders on how exactly this event should be carried out.

Mordecai, as someone close to the king, could not help but learn about this order. What to do now? On the one hand, his pupil became a queen... And on the other, what did she decide? She couldn’t even enter the king’s presence without his special invitation. And Mordecai, accordingly, was not allowed to see her. The courtier had to resort to the help of servants to convey to the queen the news that they themselves wanted to be killed in the near future. Eastern courts may be luxurious and glorious, but life in these courts is still not as attractive as it seems at first glance.

And then this young woman, on whom nothing depended, who was simply a very beautiful and valuable toy of the most powerful man in the world, decided to act on her own. To begin with, she asked all Jews in the royal city of Susa to declare a strict three-day fast. By abstaining from food, or, in biblical terms, “humble[ing] themselves,” people showed God their complete dependence on Him, their readiness to accept His will. They no longer had any hope for their own strength.

Meanwhile, the narrator masterfully builds up the tension - and at the same time shows how unreliable Haman’s calculations are, how his plans collapse one after another. Firstly, he so wanted to deal with the hated Mordecai that he was not even ready to wait for the day appointed for the extermination of all Jews. He prepared a high pole on which he was going to hang his enemy.

But it didn't turn out that way. The next night the king could not sleep, he ordered the palace chronicles to be brought and read - and so he was reminded of Mordecai’s past merits. And it turned out that the faithful servant was not rewarded in any way! The king hastened to correct this injustice and first consulted with Haman: how to reward the most faithful servant? Haman replied: “Let them bring the royal robe in which the king dresses, and let them bring the horse crowned with the royal attire, on which the king rides. Let this robe and the horse be handed over to one of the most noble royal nobles, and he will dress the person to whom the king wishes to honor, put him on a horse and lead the horse by the bridle through the city square.” Haman was sure that all these honors were intended for him... but they went to his worst enemy Mordecai, and Haman had to lead the horse by the bridle.

It would seem that he could give up and understand that his plans were not destined to come true. But Haman insisted on his own - and so he walked towards his own destruction, as too many did before him and after him, who were blinded by hatred and their own high rank.

What about Queen Esther? After fasting, she arranged a luxurious feast and invited her husband-king and ill-wisher Haman to it. When the king was in a good mood at the feast, he, as is usual with kings, promised to fulfill any request of Esther. She replied: “If I have gained your mercy, O king, if it pleases the king, let them spare my life - that’s what I ask! Let my people be saved - that’s what I pray for! Because we are sold - both I and my people - handed over to extermination, to beating, to death! And the stunned king listened to the story of a terrible enemy who wanted to destroy both herself and Mordecai, devoted to the king. The sentence was pronounced right there on the spot: Haman was hanged on the very stake that he had prepared for Mordecai.

However, the story was not over yet: after all, the order to exterminate the Jews had already been sent throughout the vast Persian Empire, and it was not customary for the Persian rulers to cancel orders once given. Then another decree was issued on behalf of the king: now the Jews were allowed and even directly ordered to stand up for themselves, take revenge on all their enemies and kill them. The Book of Esther adds: “And in whatever region, in whatever city this decree came with the command of the king, everywhere the Jews began to have joy and joy, a feast and a holiday. And many people from the nations of this country converted to Judaism, because they were overcome by fear of the Jews.”

The Jews did not fail to take advantage of this opportunity and actually destroyed all their enemies - in Susa alone there were five hundred of them, including the ten sons of Haman who were hanged. It was decided to mark this day as a holiday, and to this day it is preserved in the calendar of Jewish holidays under the name Purim - this word is translated as “lots.” Once upon a time, the enemies of the Jewish people cast lots to determine the day on which the Jews needed to be killed, but as a result they themselves died. Such was their lot.

And yet, Christians often fail to treat this book calmly; sometimes it was even proposed to exclude it from the Bible. What does this mean? The chosen people not only got rid of death, but also repaid their enemies in the same coin? Couldn't it have been otherwise? Did they not understand that God's people should not be like their persecutors?

It is difficult to say whether it was possible in that era to protect enemies without causing them the slightest harm. Take away their weapons? Take him into custody? And if they refuse (and they definitely won’t agree), then what?

But the most important thing is that words about love for those who hate have not yet been spoken in that world. As in the cases of the Exodus and the conquest of Canaan, the question was one: “who will win?” And woe to the vanquished! Looking at the world depicted in the book of Esther, where the murder of one person or an entire nation is as commonplace as a royal feast, we better understand that the New Testament was truly new, revolutionary for its time.

But Christians have another reason to treat this book with caution... God is never mentioned in its Hebrew text. If it were not part of the Bible, we would have little reason to think that it has anything to do with matters of faith at all. This is a fascinating story from the life of the Persian court, with conflicts, intrigues, intense action and an unexpected ending. But in all cases, people and only people act in it.

It is for this reason that entire paragraphs were added to the Greek version of this book giving a theological view of the same story. Here, for example, is how Mordecai prays after learning about the danger: “And now, O Lord God, King, God of Abraham, have mercy on Your people; for they plot our destruction and want to destroy Your original inheritance; do not despise Your inheritance, which You rescued for Yourself from the land of Egypt; Hear my prayer and have mercy on Your inheritance and turn our lamentation into joy, so that while we live we may sing Your name, O Lord.” And the narrator adds that not only he, but all the Jews prayed fervently. But these lines were clearly added to the text later, precisely in order to make it more edifying for believers.

But even if you abandon them, the story does not lose its meaning. God acts in history in any case, just not always in the form of a pillar of fire and cloud, as during the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. His will can be done by the hands of people - even if they do not talk about Him in front of other people.

As for the role of a woman in the religion of the Old Testament and in Christianity, it is not at all identical to the role of a man - but also in no way inferior to it. She is simply different, as this biblical book shows us.