SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:1

Section 1:1–9

King Xerxes gave a big feast

This section describes the setting for the story. It begins with a description of the Persian Empire and the feast which King Xerxes held in the third year of his reign to show his people how rich he was.

Paragraph 1:1–2

1:1a

This is what happened: In Hebrew, the story begins with a word which many versions do not translate at all (see 1:1 in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). If you have a special way in your language to indicate the beginning of a story, you should use it here.

Xerxes: Xerxes was the king of the Persian Empire from 485–464 BC. Xerxes was his name in Greek. In the Hebrew text, his name is given as Ahasuerus and a number of English versions use this form (King James Version, Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, Revised Standard Version). You should follow the English version most commonly used in your area.

1:1b

provinces: The Persian Empire was so large that it was divided into 127 districts, called provinces in the Berean Standard Bible. The king appointed officials in each province so that the whole empire could be governed well.

1:1c

India: This was the same area as present day India and was the part of the Persian Empire furthest to the east.

Cush: This referred to the upper Nile region which today is known as Ethiopia. It was the part of the Persian Empire furthest to the west.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:2

1:2

his royal throne: A throne is the special seat on which a king would sit, especially on special occasions when he was meeting with officials or other visitors. It may have been decorated with or even made of gold. Here, however, it is used in a figurative way and refers only to the fact that he was king. The Display shows one way of translating this meaning.

citadel of Susa: There were three major cities in the empire, and the king had a palace in each one. This story took place in the city of Susa, where the king lived during the winter. The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates citadel means “palace, fortress” and refers to a part of the city which was raised above the rest of the city and fortified with high walls against attack. The king’s palace would probably have been inside this fortified area.

Here are some other ways to translate citadel :

capital city (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version)
-or-
important city
-or-
capital city

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:3

Paragraph 1:3–4

The king displayed his riches to the officials of his kingdom for six months. During this time he may have been planning the battles against Greece which took place from 482–479 BC. At the end of the six months, he gave a huge feast for his officials and the public which lasted for a week.

1:3a

officials: This is the first of five groups of important people mentioned in this verse as guests at the banquet. The word in Hebrew which the Berean Standard Bible translates officials is a general term for a leader or other important person and refers to someone whom the king has appointed to that position.

servants: Literally “servants/slaves.” Here it does not refer to ordinary servants but those of high rank. The Berean Standard Bible has servants ; Good News Translation has “administrators.”

If you translate “officials” as “important people,” you may want to switch the two terms and say, for example, “administrators and other important people.”

1:3b

Three more groups of leaders are mentioned in this part of the verse. However, this was probably just another way of referring to the same people as in 1:3a. This is how the Display has linked the two parts of the verse.

military leaders: This is literally “armies.” However, it is more likely that the term refers here only to the army chiefs, not to all the soldiers (as Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version), and it is recommended that you translate it in this way.

Persia and Media: The Persian Empire was made up of these two kingdoms, which were ruled by the same king.

nobles: The Hebrew word here refers to important officials, governors ruling over a district or province.

princes: This is the same word that was translated “officials” in 1:3a.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:4

1:4

the magnificent splendor: This refers to the magnificent possessions of the king.

his greatness: This refers to his position as king.

Paragraph 1:5–9

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:5

1:5a

At the end of this time: That is, at the end of the six months.

1:5b

garden court: This means an area outside where there were grass, trees and flowers, and possibly paved areas. It does not mean a place where food is grown. It was probably surrounded by hedges or walls. The Berean Standard Bible states this explicitly by saying garden court.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

enclosed garden (New International Version)
-or-
courtyard (New Century Version)

the royal palace: The Hebrew word which the Berean Standard Bible translates palace probably refers to a small building apart from the main palace buildings. It was a roof set on columns to shelter people from the sun, but allowing the breezes to pass through.

the king held a seven-day feast: It isn’t clear whether this refers to another banquet or the same banquet as the one mentioned in 1:3. In those days, banquets could last as long as six months. However, it is more logical in the context to understand it to mean a separate banquet which was held at the end of the six months. Contemporary English Version and New Century Version have stated that meaning explicitly by adding “another.”

1:5c

in the citadel of Susa: See note on 1:2.

from the least to the greatest: This was a way of including everyone. least probably refers to the poorest and greatest to the richest in this context.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:6

1:6

This verse describes how the garden was decorated. There were marble pillars around the edge of the garden. Blue and white curtains were hung between these pillars and were tied to silver rings on the pillars by purple and white cords. Blue and white were the royal colors of Persia. The meaning of many of the Hebrew words in this verse is not known and that is why there are many differences in detail between the English versions.

1:6a

Hangings of white and blue linen: This probably refers to two separate sets of curtains, one set blue and the other white, not two-colored curtains.

linen: This is a finely woven cloth made from the flax plant.

1:6b

purple: Purple is a color between red and blue.

silver rings: This could refer to:

(1) rings made of silver which were attached to or embedded in the pillars (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version).

(2) silver rods which joined the pillars (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, God’s Word).

It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation.

marble: This is a kind of beautiful stone. It is hard and usually shiny. It can be different colors—white, black or white with stripes of other colors in it. It was used for pillars or for paving, as well as for statues.

1:6c

couches: This means a long low seat, often soft, where someone would normally recline (lie) to eat.

1:6d

mosaic pavement: The ground where the couches were was covered with beautiful stones of different colors arranged in patterns. There are four types of stone listed, but scholars are not sure what the Hebrew words mean, so nearly every version has a different translation. The important thing is that the area was paved with beautiful stones of different colors and this is how the verse has been translated in the Display. It is recommended that you do the same, rather than introducing names of stones which your readers do not know.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:7

1:7a

Beverages were served: The rest of the verse says that the beverages were wine. However, the text does not say who was serving the beverages. If your language has no passive, you may need to say something like: “The king’s servants served the beverages….”

goblets of gold: This word refers to specially designed and decorated cups.

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:8

1:8a

no limit was placed on the drinking: This means that each man was free to drink as much or as little as he chose. There was so much wine available that a person could drink a lot if he wanted, but he was not compelled to do so.

1:8b

every official of his household: This refers to the servants whose job was to pour the wine for the guests.

whatever he desired: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as whatever he desired means “as much as he wanted.”

© 2000 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.