1) During the reign of Ahasuerus—the same
Ahasuerus who ruled over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces from India to
Ethiopia—
COMMENTARY: Hyperbole. Xerxes actually only ruled around thirty
provinces. Inflating this number—which everybody
listening would know was wrong—shows how gradiose “Ahasuerus” is in his own
estimation.
2) while he was occupying the royal
throne in the royal precinct of Susa,
COMMENTARY: Susa
was the winter palace of the Persian empire, down on the plains where it would
be warm. In summer, when the plains
became miserably hot, the royal court would take off for Ecbatana in the cooler
mountains, and then come down again when the seasons turned to avoid the snow. This sets the story in the colder half of the
year, which is why Jews celebrate Esther’s eventual victory at the end of
winter.
3) in the third year of his reign, he
gave a feast for all his officials and ministers: the Persian and Median army
officers, the nobles, and the governors of the provinces.
COMMENTARY: This establishes the King’s power, and also
shows all of officialdom joining him in debauchery, soon to share his complete
lack of good judgment.
4) For as many as a hundred and eighty days, he displayed
the glorious riches of his kingdom and the resplendent wealth of his royal
estate.
COMMENTARY: They
already know. They’re his
officials. He’s showing off just because
he’s full of himself. But this also
establishes that Ahasuerus is powerful and rich, not to be crossed lightly.
5) At the end of this time the king gave
a feast of seven days in the garden court of the royal palace for all the
people, great and small, who were in the royal precinct of Susa.
COMMENTARY: Still,
that’s generous of him, including the servants in on it. Which can only mean that he drafted still
more servants from outside of Susa to cater to the spectacle. Because he can. But relevant to this story, it means that
later, when he sends forth the royal eunuchs, these normally discreet household
servants would not be at their most diplomatic.
6) There were white
cotton draperies and violet hangings, held by cords of fine crimson linen from
silver rings on marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were on a mosaic
pavement, which was of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and colored stones.
COMMENTARY: Showing
off. White cotton might seem like no big
deal to us, but cotton had to be imported from India, and whitening cloth took
a lot of extra effort. Violet and
crimson both came from a few coastal dye-masters who knew the secret of
extracting dye from the murex sea-snail (whether you got violet, crimson, or
royal blue depended on which mordant you used) and was extremely expensive—that’s
why we say “royal purple”.
7) Drinks were served in a variety of
golden cups, and the royal wine flowed freely, as befitted the king’s
liberality. 8) By ordinance of
the king the drinking was unstinted, for he had instructed all the stewards of
his household to comply with the good pleasure of everyone.
COMMENTARY: In other words, they got drunk, and stayed
drunk for seven days. Ahasuerus does not
harbor any fondness for moderation. I
suppose I should also mention that the ancient world considered it perfectly
normal to enhance party-wine with mind-altering herbs of various kinds. We know this because of the residues left in
amphorae, as well as occasional recipes found.
This differs from everyday wine, which they usually just mixed with
water to form a drink safe from diseases.
9) Queen
Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the royal palace of King Ahasuerus.
COMMENTARY: This was considered proper in Persia. Women and men had separate parties, the most
distinguishing feature being that a whole lot less wine flowed at female parties
than male ones, and probably not enhanced.
Unless you were a Greek Maenid, of course, on special holidays.
10) On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine,
he instructed Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas,
the seven eunuchs who attended King Ahasuerus,
COMMENTARY: “Merry”
is a euphemism for “smashed”. Keep in
mind that the eunuchs were equally intoxicated, by royal decree.
11) to bring Queen Vashti into his
presence wearing the royal crown, that he might display her beauty to the
populace and the officials, for she was lovely to behold.
COMMENTARY: This
is an ENORMOUS breach of protocol! You
only displayed the beauty of slave-girls at public parties. (Notice that, in the book of Judith,
Holofernes politely held a discreet feast only for his private servants when
Judith finally consented to dine with him.)
And to plan on displaying her to the populace as a whole was a real
insult! She might wear the crown beside
him on a sober formal occasion, but in this context, putting the crown on her
at a men’s party merely marked her as the King’s property, flaunted like the
gold and silver couches.
12) But Queen Vashti
refused to come at the royal order issued through the eunuchs. At this the
king’s wrath flared up, and he burned with fury.
COMMENTARY: The
listeners contemporary to the storyteller would understand this as the only
reasonable response to a drunken husband trying to humiliate his wife in
public.
13) He conferred with the sages who
understood the times, because the king’s business was conducted in general
consultation with lawyers and jurists.
COMMENTARY: “Understood
the times” might mean that they knew basic astrology, or that they knew the
King’s schedule and were therefore privy to all of his plans.
14) He summoned Carshena, Shethar,
Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven Persian and Median
officials who were in the king’s personal service and held first rank in the
realm, 15) and
asked them, “What is to be done by law with Queen Vashti for disobeying the
order of King Ahasuerus issued through the eunuchs?”
COMMENTARY: This
piles the sarcasm on thick—Ahasuerus is literally making a federal case out of
a domestic spat! By now all of the listeners
would be laughing at him. Keep in mind
also that all of these worthies have been drunk all week alongside him as well,
and are not in any frame of mind to offer good counsel.
16) In the presence of the king and of the
officials, Memucan answered: “Queen Vashti has not wronged the king alone, but
all the officials and the populace throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus.
COMMENTARY: Mentioning
the obvious, that he speaks in the presence of the king and officials,
underlines that he doesn’t dare say anything but what the king wants to hear. He might have spoken differently in a private
consultation.
17) For the queen’s conduct will become
known to all the women, and they will look with disdain upon their husbands
when it is reported, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti be ushered
into his presence, but she would not come.’ 18)
This very day the Persian and Median noblewomen who
hear of the queen’s conduct will recount it to all the royal officials, and
disdain and rancor will abound.
COMMENTARY: This
is the part that misogynists would love—if taken out of the context of the King
and his court being, at this moment, a mob of drunken buffoons taking
themselves way too seriously. To put
this reasoning in that context, on the other hand, means to reject it as the
insecurity of manchildren who cannot endure their women having any rights or dignity. Considering that this introduces a book about
a woman saving Israel makes the context even clearer.
19) If it please the king, let an
irrevocable royal decree be issued
by him and inscribed among the laws of the Persians and Medes, forbidding Vashti
to come into the presence of King Ahasuerus and authorizing the king to give
her royal dignity to one more worthy than she.
COMMENTARY: They think they’re being clever boys, fitting
the punishment to the crime. However,
sober kings rarely exercised their authority to issue an irrevocable royal
decree under any circumstance, least of all a party, over a minor domestic
dispute. Irrevocable decrees cut off all
options for flexibility later. This
underlines the bad judgment and excess of the king and his besotted court.
20) Thus, when the decree that the king will issue is
published throughout his realm, vast as it is, all wives will honor their
husbands, from the greatest to the least.”
COMMENTARY: The
storyteller mocks the slavish devotion that men expected of their wives in the
gentile nations.
21) This proposal pleased the king and the
officials, and the king acted on the advice of Memucan. 22) He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each
province in its own script and to each people in its own language, to the
effect that every man should be lord in his own home.
COMMENTARY:
My generation grew up hearing that every man should be lord in his own
home, and we females needed to know our subordinate place. This shows the harm done by teaching
scripture without any understanding of the original intent or context. Guys, it was supposed to be a joke!
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