Bible Commentary - Esther 2

In this chapter, Esther becomes the queen.

In the beginning of the chapter, it’s as if king Xerxes was so distracted by everything with Vashti that he forgot he didn’t have a queen anymore.  “The king’s attendants” come forward with their business plan for how the king should select a new queen, basically by gathering up all of the prettiest young girls that they can find and having the king choose whichever one he likes the most.  This plan “pleased the king”.  I can only imagine it did; there aren’t many men who would not be pleased if they got to pick their favorite girl out of a hundred applicants.

Esther gets swept up in one of these dragnets, possibly against her will, but it doesn’t really matter because she does not get a choice about this.  We also learn that Esther is an orphan and is being raised by her uncle Mordecai.  The book does not dwell on it, but my readers should infer quite a bit of hardship in verses 6-7.

Mordecai, and all the people of his generation, were taken into exile by Nebuchadnezzar, and also Esther is an orphan.  It doesn’t specifically say that Esther was taken into exile too, so it’s possible she was born into exile after her parents were carried off to Babylon.  Either way, it should be clear that the Jews are being subjected to considerable hardship in their slavery; there may have been many such orphans as Esther.  However, I think we can also see a resiliency in such Jews as Mordecai.  Even though they live in slavery and hardship, men such as him are still laboring to protect and preserve their people.

In verse 9, we see that Esther quickly gains the favor of the chief eunuch Hegai.  In my opinion this is the first of God’s numerous interventions.  Similar to Ezra and Nehemiah, God’s deliverance in Esther largely occurs through “favor” with officials or through coincidences.

I mentioned this in my introduction, but I want to say again that there is a clear similarity to the story of Joseph (from the book of Genesis).  In the story of Joseph, we see him unfairly sold into slavery, but earning the favor of his master through hard work and excellence.  Joseph did not deserve to be sold into slavery; he didn’t deserve to be falsely accused of rape.  Joseph was mistreated, but he persevered, earned favor with his masters, and ultimately prevailed and saved his family from the famine.

Esther did not deserve to live in slavery.  I would say that she didn’t deserve to be taken into the king’s palace, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing for her since even the royal concubines would have been well treated and fed.  She doesn’t have a choice and may not desire it, but all things considered it is not entirely a bad outcome for her.  Anyway, Esther earns the favor of Hegai.

One core difference between Joseph and Esther is how they earn favor.  In the case of Joseph, he earned favor through hard work and excellence.  This is what would have been expected of him.  In the case of Esther, we don’t know what she did to please Hegai but I suspect it was because Esther fulfilled Hegai’s expectations for a good woman.

What we see from Esther, more than anything else, is her obedience.  Verse 15 and v. 20 show Esther obeying the instructions of Hegai and Mordecai respectively.  I’m sure there’s more to it than simple obedience; Esther was probably a quiet, gentle and respectful person.  What the text emphasizes the most, however, is obedience.  I think the overall effect is to draw a contrast with Vashti, who was just recently deposed for being disobedient to the king.  I don’t want to emphasize it too much, because I think Esther is simply doing what she needs to do to survive, but I do think her obedience and humility are Esther’s most obvious traits and part of the reason why she is selected to be the new queen.  The other reason is God’s intervention on her behalf, though this intervention is only implied.

In verse 17, Esther obtains favor a second time, this time with the king, and she is promoted to be queen.  The king celebrates with another feast, the second feast of Esther.  This marks Esther’s ascension to power; it is a much quicker and simpler process than what Joseph went through, but it’s also much less complete.  Esther’s power is a soft power; she has the power of suggestion, not the power of command.  Everything in Esther’s life hinges on maintaining her relationship with the king, and in the previous chapter we saw the king view his queen primarily as a treasure to be displayed.  Esther’s challenge is to change the king’s perspective.

I don’t know what’s the right way to describe it.  Esther doesn’t have to earn the king’s respect the way that a man would earn the king’s respect, through competence or wisdom.  Instead, I think Esther needs to first establish her identity as a person to the king, and second, to establish herself as a person that the king likes.  We have already seen how vulnerable the king is to suggestion, so if Esther is ever in a conflict it won’t be with the king; it will be with one of the king’s advisors.  What will ultimately decide Esther’s fate is whether the king likes her more than her opponent.  So far we have seen Esther please the king and earn his favor, but this is one of the threads I will follow through the book.

If the first chapter introduced king Xerxes, clearly this chapter is the introduction of Esther.  In the next chapter, we are introduced to Haman, who is the villain of the story and the opponent that Esther will later face.