And when these days were completed refers back to the 180 days of verse 4. New Jerusalem Bible reads “At the end of this period.” This clause may be translated as a transitional phrase that moves the story from the general setting of the first big banquet to the second and smaller banquet, where the story really begins.
All the people: the Hebrew says literally all the people, but since verse 9 says that the queen also gave a banquet for the women, some translations make explicit in verse 5 that the king’s banquet was for the men of the fortress or acropolis: “for all the men” (Anchor Bible [Anchor Bible]). However, to avoid giving the impression that the author is making an important point of distinguishing between men and women, it is preferable to translate with a general term people as Revised Standard Version has done. Since the banquet in verses 3-4 was for officials of the empire, Gordis translates these words as “for all the common people.”
As in verse 1, in Susa the capital refers not to the town but to the acropolis.
Both great and small: this does not mean that adults and children were present at the banquet. Great and small refers to the important people and the unimportant people, big people and little people alike (the same Hebrew terms are translated “high and low” in 1.20; see also 1 Sam 30.19; 2 Chr 15.13). Many translations show that social rank and not age is intended: “rich and poor” (Good News Translation); “high and low” (Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible); “from the least to the greatest” (New International Version); “from the most important to the most humble” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). What must be made clear in the translation is that the invitation to the banquet was all-inclusive.
The second banquet of the king lasted seven days. Good News Translation uses the more common English expression “a whole week.” The number “seven,” which often has symbolic meaning of completeness and perfection in the Bible, occurs frequently in Esther: seven days (1.5), seven eunuchs (1.10), seven princes (1.14), seven chosen maids (2.9), and the seventh year of the king’s reign (2.16). Because of this repeated occurrence of the number “seven,” and because of the emphasis the author places on precision in marking time throughout the book, it is preferable to retain the number “seven” but to use it according to receptor language practice; for example, seven days may need to be rendered “seven nights.” Translators may wish to indicate in a footnote the frequent use of the number seven and its significance for the Israelite people.
In the court of the garden of the king’s palace: in front of the king’s palace was a courtyard. This was an open space that was paved with special stones (see verse 6 below). Around the courtyard was a garden or gardens (Good News Translation). This was an area where there were trees and perhaps flowers. It was not a field for farming or a vegetable garden. The courtyard, the garden, and the palace were all surrounded by a fortified wall.
The Hebrew word here translated as palace is not the usual “house of the king” (see verse 9 below and 2.8, 13) but another word that may refer to an open structure with columns and a roof. Chouraqui and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible in a footnote refer to it as a “pavilion,” and Anchor Bible says “in the courtyard of the king’s pavilion.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .