Esther 2:12

12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve * months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished , to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

Esther 2:12 Meaning and Commentary

Esther 2:12

Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to King
Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the
manner of women
That were prepared in the house of the women to be presented to the king for his liking; for it seems that these virgins came in turns to him, according to the time they had been in the house; as did the wives of the kings of Persia, as Herodotus relates ^F16:

for so were the days of their purifications accomplished;
that is, in the space of twelve months, which were thus divided: to wit,

six months with oil of myrrh;
which Ben Melech interprets of musk:

and six month's with sweet odours;
the former was used to make the skin smooth and soft, and these to remove all ill scents through sweat, or any other cause:

and with other things for the purifying of women:
by bathing, rubbing, &c. and such a space of time was observed not only for the thorough purification of them, but partly was of state and grandeur, and partly that it might be a clear case they were not with child by another, before they came to the king.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Thalia, sive, l. 3. c. 69.

Esther 2:12 In-Context

10 Esther had not shewed her people nor her kindred: for Mordecai had charged her that she should not shew it.

11 And Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women's house, to know how Esther did, and what should become of her.

12 Now when every maid's turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished , to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)

13 Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king's house.

14 In the evening she went , and on the morrow she returned into the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.